Rockies Almost Ready to Hit Reset Button

The Rockies currently sit at 19-16, just three games north of .500 and a full game back in the NL West for the first time in over a month.

After starting the season 11-2, the Rockies have gone 8-14 since.

In their last 10 games, the Rockies are a paltry 2-8, and have only one two games in the month of May after winning 17 in April.

It’s not uncommon to find a copy of a baseball video game in a team’s clubhouse. The Rockies may not have video games in their clubhouse, but with eight of the nine regular starters in the lineup currently hitting below .300, it’s easy to say the Rockies are ready to hit the “reset button” on the month of May.

In their first thirteen games, the Rockies went 11-2, scoring nearly six runs per game. The team hit a collective .260 while hitting for 43 extra base hits. In the 21 games since before Thursday’s loss to the Mets, the Rockies were only hitting .210 as a team, and were scoring 3.4 runs per game. While they did hit for 50 extra base hits, the team still only went 8-13 including series losses to the Pirates, Diamondbacks, Giants, and Mets. They got swept in San Francisco for the first time, and currently have a record of 6-1 against the defending champs thus far in 2011.

Coors Field, before 2011, was the Rockies haven. In 2010, the team went 52-29 at home. So far this year, they’re just 8-8. If you can’t defend your home turf, you can’t contend for a title. There’s no two ways about it.

If the Rockies want to get their season on the whole back on track, they have to win the series against the Padres this weekend. It absolutely has to happen, and this needs to serve as a serious offensive wake-up call before the Rockies face the Giants at home, then travel to face the Major League juggernaut Phillies.

This next week will serve as a barometer for the season – if the team can’t find a way to win, and win a lot, this coming week, 2011 could be in serious jeopardy.