The Rockies were so close to making the playoffs last season before losing 17 of their last 18 games to end the season. The Rockies had a flare for the dramatic last year with 28 one run wins, including eight extra inning wins. A big part of their success last year had to do with the emergence of outfielder Carlos Gonzalez, shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, and starting pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez.
Gonzalez was acquired from Oakland in the Matt Holliday deal back in the November of 2008. The Venezuelan-born outfielder played in just 89 games for the Rockies in 2009 and hit .284 with 13 home runs, 29 RBI, and 16 stolen bases. Gonzalez was given an everyday job in 2010 and showed the baseball world what he can do. Gonzalez paced the National League with a .336 batting average, hit 34 home runs, drove in 117 runs, and managed to steal 26 bases in the process. He finished third in the MVP voting behind Albert Pujols and Joey Votto. Gonzalez definitely has the ability to become a 30-30 guy for the Rockies in 2011 and I don’t see a reason why he shouldn’t. Not only does Gonzalez possess tremendous skills at the plate but he can also field his position with the best of them. Gonzalez finished the 2010 season with eight outfield assists. Gonzalez has undoubtedly catapulted himself to one of the elite players in the majors today.
If it were not for an already injury-prone career, Troy Tulwitzki could have arguably been the best shortstop in the major leagues today. Instead, “Tulo,” as they call him around the baseball circles, ranks second amongst the best shortstops in baseball behind Hanley Ramirez. Tulo’s bat exploded in the month of September last season hitting .303 with 15 home runs and an incredible 40 RBI. If the young shortstop can stay healthy for a full season in 2011, he will once again be a force to be reckoned with, no question about it.
The third bright spot for the Rockies is Ubaldo Jimenez. Jimenez got off to a fast start in 2010 going 15-1 with an ERA of 2.20 for the first half of the season including a no-hitter against the Braves on April 17. As the season progressed, his stuff did not. Jimenez finished the season 4-7 with an ERA of 3.80 in the second half of the season. The Dominican pitcher has the stuff to solidify himself as the Rockies’ ace in 2011 and perhaps take it a step further and become one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball.
Three reasons why I don’t see the Rockies making noise late in September this year are because, number one, some members of the lineup will probably struggle throughout the year. Secondly, after Jimenez and De La Rosa, the Rockies’ rotation is questionable at best. Lastly, the Rockies’ bullpen is not as lights out as one may think.
Even though the Rockies lineup features players like Gonzalez and Tulowitzki, there are some wholes in that lineup. The productions from catcher Chris Iannetta, outfielder Seth Smith, and third baseman Ian Stewart were on and off for most of last season. All three combined to hit .240 with 44 home runs, and 140 RBI. In addition the lack of production from these players, the Rockies don’t have a clear-cut everyday second baseman for the 2011 season. As of now, the Rockies have Eric Young Jr. and newly acquired, Jose Lopez battling for the starting position. Chances are that both players will make the roster, but I don’t think the team wants a platoon situation at second base.
Had the Rockies not resigned pitcher Jorge De La Rosa in the offseason, the organization would be in a tougher predicament. With that being said, I believe the Rockies are still up a creek without a paddle with respect to their starting rotation this season. Rounding out the rotation in Colorado are Aaron Cook, Jhoulys Chacin, and Jason Hammel. Just this week we learned that Cook would be out until May with a broken ring finger on his pitching hand. Chacin started the first half with a 5-7 record and an ERA of 4.09 and really picked it up in the second half finishing 4-4 with an ERA 2.24 in his last 13 games. The other starting pitcher, Jason Hammel, had a more or less similar year to the season he had in 2009. Hammel finished 10-9 with an ERA of 4.81 in 30 starts for the Rockies in 2010. Hammel pitched better at home than he did on the road amazingly. Hammel went 7-2 with an earned run average just over four runs compared to a 3-7 record with an earned run average of 5.71 away from Coors Field.
Last year’s bullpen was average at best. There was one reliever who had success last season. Matt Belisle was given the opportunity to pitch in the Rockies’ bullpen and ended up pitching in the setup role. The former starting pitcher appeared in 76 games for Colorado and posted an ERA of 2.93. The rest of the bullpen did not do as well as they had anticipated combing to blow 20 saves and a save percentage of 62%. This offseason, the Rockies added Matt Lindstrom to the bullpen. Whether Lindstrom is an upgrade is questionable at best. With the Astros last season, Lindstrom went 2-1 with 21 saves, and an ERA of 2.80 in the first half of the season. In the second half of the season, Lindstrom only recorded two saves and finished 0-4 with an ERA over seven runs. Another startling stat for Lindstrom was that batters were hitting .341 in the second half. At Minute Maid Park last year, his home park, Lindstrom could not get people out. Lindstrom posted an ERA of 5.13 and allowed a batting average of .329. The only reason why these stats are relevant is because Lindstrom will now be calling Coors Field his home ballpark. In case you weren’t aware, Coors Field is known for a place where pitchers go to die, statistically speaking.
If the Rockies want to be one of the last teams standing at the end of the season, they are going to have to be more consistent all around. Because of the ballpark they play in and because of the competition in the National League, the Rockies will have a tough time competing for a wild card spot. The best advice that I can give to Rockies fans is to not get too high on the highs or too low on the lows.
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