With all the young talent the Rockies have, why aren’t they winning more?

Joe Williams and Irv Brown of The Irv and Joe Show on Mile High Sports AM 1340 FM | 104.7 posed that question with longtime caller “Burnt Orange.”

“Burnt,” a Rockies fan since they arrived in Denver, has been trying lately to diagnose the Rockies issues and offer solutions to help them get back to winning ways.

Irv and Joe have been on the air in Denver longer than the Rockies have been a franchise, and Irv is a legendary baseball coach from the region, having coached at CU, UNC and Metro State.

“If they would quit walking people and actually hit the ball where it’s pitched, they would be amazed at the difference,” Burnt offers up for starters.

Irv thinks the Rockies need better pitching, “You gotta make a deal in July and get a pitcher.”

Joe agrees with Irv, adding a bold twist, “I think Cargo (Carlos Gonzalez) is gone.”

There has been speculation surrounding Gonzalez being traded for years. Jeff Bridich showed last year by trading Troy Tulowitzki that he’s willing to make big moves that his predecessor, Dan O’Dowd, was unwilling to make.

Burnt Orange disagrees about trading Gonzalez, “I don’t think you give up on Cargo… You gotta supplement it… You can’t just decide to have a wholesale unless you get two or three Cy Young Award-type prospects… and the Rockies have gotten fleeced by young pitching prospects in the past anyway”.

While the Rockies have had bad luck with pitching (see the Ubaldo Jimenez trade), Joe believes there’s a deeper issue. “Have they been fleeced, or is that a product of them getting good, young talent and not being able to develop it”?

“Look at [Drew] Pomeranz,” Orange offers as rebuttal. “He is lighting the world on fire with a team like San Diego, but we couldn’t develop him here.”

His solution to fix the pitching is simple, “Keep the ball down and refuse to walk people, the results will take care of themselves, especially with our defense”.

The Rockies have the third-worst ERA in baseball, but the real struggles have come at home. Their total ERA is 4.98, with a 6.71 at home, and a 3.63 on the road.

Listen to more on the Rockies and what other solutions Orange has for the Rockies in the podcast below…

Catch The Joe and Irv Show every Monday through Friday from 1-2p on Mile High Sports AM 1340 | FM 104.7 or stream live any time for the best coverage of Colorado sports from Denver’s biggest sports talk lineup.