Baseball is a puzzling and challenging sport, as I was reminded in the last couple days. The Rockies split a doubleheader on Wednesday with Miami, losing 14-1 and then winning 13-12. Yesterday they were blasted by Atlanta, 13-6. It's a long season, as they say, but those three games saw opponents AVERAGE 13 runs.
Pitchers have their ups and downs, even the best of them, and so do hitters, but the last couple days have been distressing for any Colorado fan. One of the most effective innings of pitching for the poor Rox came on Wednesday, with an outfielder getting three quick outs while throwing 70 miles per hour max.
Yesterday's starter gave up 9 runs in five innings and I don't think I'm exaggerating to claim that allowing opponents to hit off a tee might have produced fewer runs.
I have never been a fan of the 1-0 pitchers' dual, and certainly enjoy lots of action in a sport that can test our patience, waiting for SOMETHING to happen. But there must be some happy medium, between an almost complete lack of offense and football-size scores.
Coors Field is a gigantic stadium, built to keep the ball in the park most of the time, but that huge outfield means there is a lot of space for almost any ball hit out of the infield to find somewhere safe to land.
But what can we say about the Rockies "boasting" more errors than any other team in the league?
Everyone on the field is making big money and every player has qualified to be one of the very small percentage of the population to play pro baseball over the past 100-plus years. But I have seen throwing errors this year that would be normal in Little League games. One of those errors was a comical overthrow by Brendan Rogers during a run-down... a situation 9-year-olds practice for. In the next game, Rogers hit three homeruns, including a walk-off two-run last to win the second game of the twin bill. Goat? Hero? Who knows?
Add in the fact that the Rockies are in the toughest division in the National League and that they traded away the two best players on the team in two consecutive years (Nolan Arenado and Trevor Story) and that the pitching overall is dead last in most categories... and it's tough to be a fan.
Thank goodness the ownership is unveiling unusual new uniforms tomorrow, though many compare them to state license plates in colors and design. THAT should boost enthusiasm!
On the other hand, it would not be all that surprising to have the team edge the Braves tonight by a 2-1 score. Each contest is unique and everyone starts even with each game. Even the worst major league teams can win 70-80 games out of 162. Even the best lose about 60 games.
Few sports rival baseball for such a small margin between great success and last place, and no other sports demand 162 games to simply complete the regular season. I assume the Rockies will shrug off the last couple days... even the shell-shocked pitching staff.
No, we aren't going to the playoffs, again, but there will still be opportunities for fun, game by game, even inning by inning. Even lousy teams include some terrific, talented players, and professionals don't just "give up" and stop playing.
The Rockies remind me of the Cubs of my youth, who I following no matter what, idolizing players like Ernie Banks and Billy Williams and Ferguson Jenkins. They would never win their division and rarely even had a winning record, but they were MY team. BTW: I also regularly attended Iowa football games from 1962-1978, a total of 17 consecutive seasons. In other words, rooting for losers and underdogs is in my blood. I have been doing that since 7th grade.
Baseball teaches humility. That is probably part of its diminishing appeal among fans.
America is not a naturally humble place.
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