Morning Links: Rockies News 8/15

Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

The Colorado Rockies have righted the ship, at least enough to avert disaster and remain in third place in the National League West. Thanks to a 5-1 home stand in which they swept the Pittsburgh Pirates and took two out of three from the San Diego Padres, the level of distress has gone down significantly. They now hit the road and start a series against the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night. Here’s what else is happening with the Rockies and around the rest of the league:

From Ian McCue: Hot-hitting Dickerson developing in outfield (MLB.com)

"Though it does not account for balls he may not get to that stronger defensive outfielders like Dexter Fowler or Carlos Gonzalez might reach, Dickerson has not committed an error in 17 games spread across all three outfield spots.“Dickerson, who hit third for the fourth time in his career Wednesday, has taken off offensively since he returned to the big leagues on July 27. Since that date, he is batting .366 with two home runs, two doubles, a triple, four RBIs and seven runs in just 17 games.”"

From Patrick Saunders: Rockies top Padres 4-2 behind heady double play by Yorvit Torrealba (Denver Post)

"Depending on your point of view, Torrealba’s crazy double play was either the Rockies’ headiest play of the season or a case of questionable baserunning. Maybe both.“In the sixth inning, with no outs and Jedd Gyorko on third and Jesus Guzman on first, Logan Forsythe hit a hard grounder at third baseman Nolan Arenado. Gyorko broke for home on contact, prompting Arenado to throw home to Torrealba.”“The catcher faked a throw, then ran down Gyorko, tagging him out near third. Torrealba kept running and slid into third to block Guzman’s path and slapped a tag on him too.”"

From Joe Sheehan: Dodgers, History; History, Dodgers (Gammons Daily)

"If the Dodgers stumble, they can still be in great company. Just three teams since World War II have won 41 of 50 games. Two of them have iconic nicknames: The Boys of Summer and The Big Red Machine. The third, the 1998 Yankees, won 114 games and was the best team in a five-year dynasty. Eleven teams have won 41 of 50 games in the World Series era; all 11 of those teams reached the World Series.“What the Dodgers are doing right now may not reflect their true talent, may well be a mix of luck and ability, may not even mean they’re better than the Braves or the Pirates or the Cardinals. What we know, though, is that their play since early June matches that of not only some of the hottest teams ever, but the hottest stretches by some of the greatest teams ever. This week, they can make history.”"