Rox Pile » Dexter Fowler http://roxpile.com A Colorado Rockies Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More Sun, 19 May 2013 16:01:42 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.1 Dexter Fowler’s Foot Is OK http://roxpile.com/2013/04/19/dexter-fowler-foot-is-ok/ http://roxpile.com/2013/04/19/dexter-fowler-foot-is-ok/#comments Fri, 19 Apr 2013 18:29:00 +0000 Hayden Kane http://roxpile.com/?p=6306 Entering the season there was a long list of qualifiers before you could reasonably make the argument that the Colorado Rockies might be a good baseball team. In no particular order…

…If Jhoulys Chacin and Jorge De La Rosa stay healthy and pitch well…

…If Carlos Gonzalez regains his form with Troy Tulowitzki back in the lineup protecting him…

Look at this guy. Image: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

…If CarGo stays healthy…

…If Tulo stays healthy…

…If Michael Cuddyer and Todd Helton have something left in their respective tanks…

…If the bullpen remains solid and is not ridiculously overworked for a second consecutive season…

And finally, there was this one:

…If Dexter Fowler enjoys a full breakout season.

Fowler showed signs of finally getting “it” in 2012, especially during the second half of the season. The numbers were finally there (.300/.383/.474). His left-handed swing was finally consistent. He finally had the results to back up that distinct Dexter-swagger.

So far in 2013 he has built on that success. Actually, he has done far more than that. He has been dominant at times, bashing home run after clutch home run. Fowler has hit to the tune of .283/.367/.717 with 7 home runs and an 1.084 OPS, all with an apparent effortlessness, with not a hair of his dapper beard out of place.

Given that success, it was no small deal that he missed time this week with a bruised foot. Sure, it’s a minor injury and he returned without a problem on Thursday (hitting his 7th home run, to boot). But his brief absence served notice that we need to add another qualifier to the “If the Rockies are going to be good” list.

…If Dexter Fowler stays healthy…

Every team deals with injuries. Every team has its short list of players they cannot afford to lose for an extended period of time. Fowler, once a maddeningly inconsistent player and once thought to be trade fodder, is now officially on that list for the Rockies.

It matters that Dexter Fowler’s foot is OK. It means that, for at least one more day, the beat goes on for the surprisingly hot Rockies.

]]> http://roxpile.com/2013/04/19/dexter-fowler-foot-is-ok/feed/ 0 Holy Smokes, Dexter Fowler http://roxpile.com/2013/04/13/holy-smokes-dexter-fowler/ http://roxpile.com/2013/04/13/holy-smokes-dexter-fowler/#comments Sat, 13 Apr 2013 23:14:44 +0000 Hayden Kane http://roxpile.com/?p=6275 Is there any chance that people outside of Colorado would have believed you if you told them that Dexter Fowler would have 6 home runs through the first 10 games of the season? How about if you told them that seven of those games were played on the road?

Fowler. Image: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Don’t worry, he still didn’t hit any in San Francisco. Nothing good ever happens in San Francisco.

Fowler’s swagger might be rubbing off on Josh Rutledge, who made it back-to-back home runs in the 9th inning of last night’s 7-5 victory. Then again, the hanging pitches from former Rockies great Huston Street just might have been that bad.

Larry Walker won the MVP award in 1997. Through his first 10 games, he had 7 home runs (he eventually hit 49). So Fowler is still behind that pace.

After considering that statistic, I am going on the record that Dexter Fowler will not hit 49 home runs this year.

Fowler is 3-for-17 in his career against tonight’s starter, Edinson Volquez. We’ll see if it matters.

I bet you can’t find me a single Rockies fan who still wishes the team had traded Fowler this past off-season.

Finally, Dex is not necessarily obsessed with proving his critics wrong. Apparently.

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