The first full month of the season was riddled with peaks and valleys for the Colorado Rockies who are seeking to return to the postseason for the third consecutive year.
The club posted an 11-15 record through the first complete month of the year. April was by no means a success for the team, but they should use their experiences from the first month to gear up for the long haul moving forward.
April demonstrated just how good the Rockies could be this season, but also how far off they are from becoming a legitimate contender.
The past two seasons were impressive for Colorado, there is no doubting that. In order to evolve from a bubble postseason team to a legitimate threat in the playoffs, months like April will be unacceptable as the club now enters the thick of the season.
It’s normal for teams to go through stretches of poor play over the course of a 162-game season, but with a rocky April behind them, the Rockies must establish a winning footprint moving forward.
The clubs’ 13-17 record is a blessing considering how poorly the team performed out of the gate. At one point the Rockies’ found themselves on an eight-game losing streak and were winless at home following their first homestand of the season.
While the club was dealing with a glut of injuries over the losing period, anchors Nolan Arendo, Trevor Story and Charlie Blackmon remained fixtures in the lineup.
To their credit, the Rockies’ core players weathered the storm and eventually got the club back on track in the middle of the month. At one point the Rockies had won 10-of-13 games played and collected four consecutive series victories while creeping up on a .500 record.
Things were trending in the right direction for the Rockies at the start of their current seven-game road trip.
The club emerged victorious in the first three games of a four-game set versus the Atlanta Braves and entered the finale with an opportunity to sweep the 2018 National League East champions to keep momentum at a season high.
The club established a lead multiple times throughout the game, but poor pitching from starter Tyler Anderson and relief pitcher Seung-hwan Oh stalled Colorado’s momentum en route to a dishearting one-run loss.
After the series with the Braves, Colorado headed to Milwaukee to take on the Brewers, the very club that not just eliminated the Rockies’ from the postseason last year, but exposed their lack of consistency on a national level.
The four-game series represents a great early season evaluation to see where the Rockies stand after experiencing high’s and low’s over the previous weeks. So far, the Rockies trends have been negative after dropping the first two games of the series in discouraging fashion.
The Brewers have dismantled the Rockies in recent history and are in the midst of a five-game winning streak versus Colorado, including the NLDS. Additionally, the Rockies have scored in three of the 46 innings played during the five-game slide, with the three runs they posted in the ninth inning of Tuesday’s loss matching their highest total in all other innings during the span.
The Rockies are now on a three-game losing streak, their longest skid since their season-high eight game slide just a few weeks ago. The best possible outcome for this pivotal series against Milwaukee is now a split which is uncertain considering the Rockies’ putrid play as of late.
Since crumbling away a sweep versus the Braves Sunday, the Rockies find themselves on the brink of yet another prolonged slump, one that could be detrimental to their postseason aspirations should it develop.
Making the postseason is no easy task, but it will be more difficult this season than the last two years considering the field in the National League.
First off, if the Rockies want to have any chance of winning the division they better step on the gas now. The Dodgers are currently in firm control of the National League West and show no signs of relinquishing the crown.
It will take a monumental effort to dethrone the Dodgers for the division title and given the Rockies’ inconsistencies so far this year, the idea of winning the division seems more like wishful thinking rather than a legitimate opportunity.
The Rockies’ flaws have the team on a trajectory for yet another wild card spot, but given the National League’s improvement from last season, earning a spot in the one-game play-in will not be an easy task.
Regardless, is it too much to ask that the Rockies show significant improvement in May and beyond? I don’t think so, considering this is year three of the Bud Black regime. Also, Arenado, Story and Blackmon are another year wiser along with German Marquez and Kyle Freeland.
The Rockies are a solid bunch, and have made significant strides in each of the past two years, but given their current play this season, it’s looking like the Rockies could have hit their peak. Should they not show significant improvement soon, the Rockies are in danger of slipping in 2019.
It’s still early in the season and the Rockies will surely turn things around, but there is little time to waste if Colorado wants to make the jump from a fringe playoff team to a serious World Series threat.
