After 2 straight years of finishing 5th in the West, the 2014 Colorado Rockies will finish 4th. It remains to be seen if Arizona ties them, but both teams are playing playoff teams this weekend. Colorado goes to LA to play the Dodgers who are chasing the Nationals for the #1 Seed in the NL, while St. Louis travels to Phoenix to play the D-Backs with Pittsburgh breathing down their necks to win the Central.
The Rockies also won't have the worst record in Franchise History, even though the local media ran with that one early in August, despite the fact that the Rockies have never been on pace to hit 100 Losses, as opposed to 2012, when the Rockies were below the .382 winning percentage needed to hit 100 losses in mid-August. Granted winning their last 11 of 13 games at home sealed the deal, but it still was premature to talk about 100 losses that early.
So what of the 2015 Rockies? There is a lot of talk about improved offense but in reality, the Rockies will likely finish with their 6th lowest Run output ever. On the other hand they will end up with their 8th Best Runs Scored Against Season, which is a little surprising considering that they wen through 15 different starters, 10 of them with at least 8 starts.
Can the Rockies find 5-8 consistent starters in 2015 either from their existing players or via trade? It may surprise you to know that Tyler Matzek had the best overall ERA of pitchers with 10 or more Starts at 4.05. DeLaRosa was #2 at 4.10 and Jordan Lyles had a 4.15 ERA. Do the Rockies exercise the option on Brett Anderson who only managed to pitch 49 games in the past 4 years including 8 this year.
On the Offense and Defense, more questions abound. Cargo and Tulo have been injury-prone for years, combining for a full-season this year, but can the Rockies move them via trade, or will they be back for 2015. Charlie Blackmon has exceeded expectations in the leadoff position and played in a team high 151 games so far edging out D.J. LeMahieu's 148. Those are the only two everyday players who did not hit the DL this season.
Michael Cuddyer in his last year of his contract is 36 years old, and only played in 47 games this season. His contract is up and the Rockies will have to decide whether it is worth it to bring the 2013 NL Batting champ back (and if he wants to.)
My biggest concern heading into the off season is why are there so many injuries to Rockies players? Is it a conditioning issue, or do the Rockies just have fragile players? If the answer is the former, they need to alter their training/conditioning. If it's the later, the Rockies need to be better about acquiring more solid players.
The current roster definitely has talent, and ultimately they may not be far off if they can find a way to avoid injuries. But is it enough?
Thursday, September 25, 2014
Saturday, July 12, 2014
The Collapse
You've heard it before, "all teams get injuries", "injuries are no excuse". This year the Rockies have had injuries to too many key players to really contend. From last night's game notes:
After last night's activation of Carlos Gonzalez, that still leaves 8 players on the DL, 7 of them pitchers. Brett Anderson will come back tomorrow, but the damage is already done.
The Rockies never have deep starting pitching and this year so far have used 13 different starting pitchers. Their projected 5 Starters at the beginning of the season (De La Rosa, Anderson, Chacin, Lyles, and Nicasio) have started a total of 59 of 93 games and De La Rosa has 19 of them. Chacin is done for the season most likely, Nicasio struggled without being hurt and is back in the minors.
For much of the year up until yesterday, there have been at least two of the starting 8 on the DL as well. Cuddyer is the only starting fielder who is still on the DL and has missed 56 games so far on two stints. Arenado missed 37 games, Gonzalez 35 and Rosario 12, although he has had other minor injuries that have not landed him on the DL in June and July. Fortuately, the Rockies have adequate backup in the Outfield to make up for Cuddyer's and Gonzalez's loss, but the lack of infield depth hurt.
I think Nolan Arenado's injury was the biggest blow, because try as they may with several players, there was no adequate fielding backup to Arenado, and outs that he could have made became hits and taxed the pitching even more.
But in the end, the pitching wore down quickly which affected the bullpen, (which was less than effective to begin with) overworking many of them.
With the upcoming break it may bring some relief, to recharge and start over. Winning the division is out of the question, but getting back to .500 and respectability is a noble goal for 2014. Getting the pitchers healthy will go a long way to achieving it.
But will they come through?
After last night's activation of Carlos Gonzalez, that still leaves 8 players on the DL, 7 of them pitchers. Brett Anderson will come back tomorrow, but the damage is already done.
The Rockies never have deep starting pitching and this year so far have used 13 different starting pitchers. Their projected 5 Starters at the beginning of the season (De La Rosa, Anderson, Chacin, Lyles, and Nicasio) have started a total of 59 of 93 games and De La Rosa has 19 of them. Chacin is done for the season most likely, Nicasio struggled without being hurt and is back in the minors.
For much of the year up until yesterday, there have been at least two of the starting 8 on the DL as well. Cuddyer is the only starting fielder who is still on the DL and has missed 56 games so far on two stints. Arenado missed 37 games, Gonzalez 35 and Rosario 12, although he has had other minor injuries that have not landed him on the DL in June and July. Fortuately, the Rockies have adequate backup in the Outfield to make up for Cuddyer's and Gonzalez's loss, but the lack of infield depth hurt.
I think Nolan Arenado's injury was the biggest blow, because try as they may with several players, there was no adequate fielding backup to Arenado, and outs that he could have made became hits and taxed the pitching even more.
But in the end, the pitching wore down quickly which affected the bullpen, (which was less than effective to begin with) overworking many of them.
With the upcoming break it may bring some relief, to recharge and start over. Winning the division is out of the question, but getting back to .500 and respectability is a noble goal for 2014. Getting the pitchers healthy will go a long way to achieving it.
But will they come through?
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