It’s too soon for “The Swoon.” For crying out loud, we’re 40 days from June.
June Swoon. It’s a term all too familiar to those who follow the Colorado Rockies. The local nine have a history of playing respectable baseball early in the season and then collapsing mightily once May is in the rearview mirror. We’ve seen it too many times, and last night, after a disastrous 14-3 beatdown from the San Diego Padres – the team’s fourth straight loss – that swoony sensation oozed into the cool, damp air of Coors Field.
Before the time the game’s second out was recorded, Rockies “ace” Jorge De La Rosa, fresh off the DL, had an ERA of 135.0. When the Padres recorded their 27th out, there were 135.0 shivering Rockies fans (give or take) still watching at 20th and Blake.
In the bottom of the fourth, trailing 9-2, Rockies pitcher Christian Friedrich (the second hurler of the night) stepped into the batter’s box with two outs and two men on base. Friedrich did what pitchers do – he hit a dribbler to the mound – and grounded out. It sure felt like a white flag was being waved.
The days of Blake Street Bombing – implausible comebacks, made possible by improbably mighty hitting lineups – are over. Where have you gone, John Vander Wal? Our Rockies turn their lonely eyes to you.
“Better save the bullpen,” they say instead.
Well, Friedrich lasted two more outs, gave up two more runs, and was unceremoniously yanked in the top of the fifth anyway. Sure glad he got to bat.
And guess what? The bullpen isn’t being saved anyway. During the current four-game skid, the Rockies starters have averaged just over 4.1 innings pitched; opposing hurlers are giving their team 6.1.
Didn’t we see this coming? Didn’t everyone with a voice or a pen or a blog state their biggest concern about the Rockies: Colorado has the worst starting rotation in the NL West, yet they did virtually nothing to improve it over the offseason. Currently, the team ERA is the worst in the division and third last in the National League – 4.07.
Meanwhile, Jon Gray, the most-highly-hyped pitching prospect in the organization, is 0-2 with the triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes. Last night, Gray made his third appearance, and for the third straight time, the third overall pick of the 2013 draft gave up four runs in his first inning of work. Gray has given up 12 of his 15 runs allowed in his initial inning. He’s got an ERA of 9.0.
But lousy pitching can’t be blamed for everything. The Rockies lineup is supposed to be one of the greatest in the game. The team that jumped out of the gates with a 7-2 record – including two sweeps on the road – was producing five runs per game. The team that’s lost four-straight has managed only 2.25.
Last year’s batting champ, Justin Morneau is hitting just .222. Carlos Gonzalez is “raking” at a paltry of .204. And last night, Nolan Arenado, who’s thus far had a phenomenal season, having started in each of the Rockies 12 games and hitting .311 with 10 RBI and a team-leading three home runs, was a late scratch with a “sore left wrist.” His replacement was the deft-hitting, 1-for-9 Rafael Ynoa.
Y-now-a?
As the great Yogi Berra once said, “It’s déjà vu all over again.”
But it’s not even June. Hey Rockies, have some heart, and end this swoon – soon.