Walt Weiss “La Russa’s” First Win for Rockies

The Colorado Rockies are in the winning column, and on the second day of the season even! According to Keith Law the Rox only have 52 of these happy mornings left so hopefully the boys use them wisely. Personally I think Keith Law was sitting in Boulder having a little too much fun when he came up with a 53 win prediction for the 2013 Rockies. I would post a link to his story, but it went to the “insiders-only” portion of ESPN…

But just how good do these Rockies appear to be? Let’s get carried away with ourselves for a moment shall we? Falling back to our old Bill James Pythagorean Expectation, this team is currently on pace to put up 972 runs scored and only allow 729 runs — good enough for a Joel Dill approved updated win prediction of 93!! OCTOBER HERE WE COME!!!! RIGHT?! RIGHT!?!?! WHO’S WITH ME!? For anyone saying it can’t be done the Yankees scored 968 runs in 2007 and 930 runs in 2006. The Red Sox put up 910 in 2005 and the Rangers scored 901 in 2008. The thought of a prolific scoring season is not completely out of bounds at all.

And how (insert overwhelming adjective here) have Cargo and Tulo been for the Rockies so far? The 3 and 4 hole of this lineup is on track to contribute roughly 60% of the total offense. With both fellas taking an easy 360-foot trot each game, and knocking in a combined 7 runs, there is really nothing to complain about. Seeing these guys in “mid-season” form is exciting. The lineup looks rock solid so far — to no one’s surprise — and hopefully it stays that way.

Hold on everyone I found something to complain about. I apologize because I momentarily blocked the fact that Wilton Lopez is on the 25-man roster. Talk about a total disappointment! What a great move by Dealing Danny O’Dudd O’Dowd to send away a young starting pitcher (Alex White) for these stellar performances. I am almost, kind of, shocked that it is the bullpen that is having issues versus the starting rotation….

Apr 2, 2013; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Colorado Rockies manager

hands the ball over to pitcher

(61) in the fifth inning during the game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Ok now back to reality. The Rockies are 1-1 and have put up two solid games against a very good Brewers club. They are still a long, long way away from being a playoff team but no one can fault them for going toe-to-toe with a legit contender, away from the friendly altitude of Coors Field! And Walt Weiss lead his team to his first W! Congrats Walter! While all of us fans (and the baseball world) are still trying to figure out Weiss’ management style, one thing was evident last night: he likes to use the relievers. In what was a very Tony La Russa-like move he even used 3 pitchers to get 3 outs in the 9th inning bringing in Rafael Betancourt to get a 1/3 IP save to end the game. Who knows if this will become the norm or if it was a one time deal but I would have no problem if Weiss ended up being the next TLR. The problem with being too much like TLR right now is that the starting rotation has not been going deep enough into games. Let’s just hope he doesn’t wear out a bullpen that has a lot of 2012 miles on it too early in the 2013 season. It is safe to say that whatever style he settles with there is nothing more satisfying then getting that first win in the books.

Rockies fans rejoice! You have a .500 baseball team!!