The Early Road Trip

It certainly could have gone better, but it could also be worse. For instance last year the Rockies first multi-city trip resulted in a 2-8 record and put the Rockies in an early hole, already trailing the first place Dodgers by 4.5 games, and were going to get a lot worse before it got better.

So this trip's 3-4 record and overall 8-8 record only leaves the Rockies 1.5 games behind the first place San Diego Padres--off to a surprising 9-6 start despite 12 of their first 15 games being against division opponents.

The Rockies experienced some very big highs and lows on the trip, an Ubaldo Jimenez No-hitter, the death of Team President Keli McGregor. There was also the heart-wrenching loss on Sunday, the too many errors, as well as frequent walks by the pitching.

But the ups and downs come with the territory of being a contender, and the kinks will pop up from time to time. The importance of this coming home stand finishes a stretch with the East, before one series with each of the four NL West opponents. This is an opportunity to make a mark on the division, before embarking on another 2 week stretch out of the division. Last year by May 7th they had already played 22 of their 72 NL West games. This year they will only play 15 in that span. It's imperative that the Rockies improve on their 9-13 start with the West from last year.

An 8-8 start for the Rockies is not a hole. Check back on May 9th to see if kinks are out yet in the second 10% of the season.