Colorado Rockies: What's really causing them to lose

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PHOENIX, AZ – MARCH 30: Starting pitcher Tyler Anderson #44 of the Colorado Rockies is removed by manager Bud Black #10 during the third inning of the MLB game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on March 30, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

We all like winning. We like it even more when the Colorado Rockies win. Sadly, they’ve only won five out of the 12 times they’ve played this season (heading into Wednesday’s matinee against San Diego). This isn’t ideal … but there is plenty of time to make up for those losses. There is also time to learn from the mistakes that have been made early in the season. Let’s look at those mistakes.

The starting rotation isn’t doing so hot

This is probably the first one that pops into many people’s heads … and it should. The starting rotation is extremely concerning. The starting rotation’s record is currently 2-5 with ace (I use that word loosely) Jon Gray and Kyle Freeland tying in losses (two).

It all started at the very beginning of the season when Gray gave us all a flashback to the Wild Card game. Gray only lasted four innings and gave up three runs in the season-opening loss. This appeared to roll over to the next game as Tyler Anderson couldn’t make it out of the third inning. However, his outing on Monday night went fairly well with his eight strikeouts in the 5-2 losing effort. We did see hope in German Marquez as he did give a decent outing, but his last one against the Braves didn’t help the Rockies. As of now, Chad Bettis is the only starter that seems to already be grounded.

The main issue with the pitching is that the starters are giving up runs so early into the games. This leaves the Rockies to rely so heavily upon their bullpen, which they shouldn’t be doing so early in the season. It’s not a good thing that the ace of the team can’t last five or more innings.

There are a lot of expectations for this rotation and they are not meeting them whatsoever. The starting pitcher is the man that sets the mood for the game. If the rotation continues the way it’s going, the Rockies will burn through their bullpen way before the All-Star break.

Where are the bats?

DENVER, CO – APRIL 08: DJ LeMahieu (Getty Images) /

If you went to the grocery store right now and picked up a milk carton, you’d see on the missing poster is the Colorado bats.

Let’s start with the strikeouts. Altogether, the Colorado Rockies posted a whopping total of 111 strikeouts in their first 12 games. That’s a lot … and the guy with the most currently is Trevor Story. Story’s season has gone off the beaten path and it’s not a pretty road as he’s 10-for-45 (through Tuesday’s action). Before the season started I wrote about how the Colorado Rockies shouldn’t depend on Nolan Arenado and Charlie Blackmon, but were right back to that tactic. They do have a combined 23 hits, 5 home runs, and 12 RBI. There’s not really any surprises there. The Rockies have to learn to move on from depending on these two men to carry the team.

A big factor in this downside of the offense is looking at these scores. Most of these games are very close, or they end up being close in later innings. Colorado just doesn’t seem to be able to get a rally started in order to plate the needed runs to win. The only exceptions to that would be the games against the Diamondbacks where they won 2-1 and the game against the Braves where they won 3-2.

Many analysts say the Colorado Rockies lineup is threat to the rest of the NL West. However, the way they’ve been playing as of late makes it moreso a surety of outs than a threat. If you don’t believe me, re-watch the 4-0 shutout by the Braves on Sunday.

What’s up with the bench?

PHOENIX, AZ – MARCH 29: Ryan McMahon (Getty Images) /

There are a total of four position players on the Colorado Rockies bench. Out of those four men, Tony Wolters and Pat Valaika are the only one to have a number in the hit column. Meaning that Ryan McMahon and Mike Tauchman have not gotten a single hit this season. In all, these four have combined to go 3-for-55 heading into Wednesday.

The purpose of having these guys on the bench is for those moments when the Rockies need a clutch at-bat. That hasn’t happened at all from these men, except for Wolters who had a walk-off walk against Atlanta.

The bullpen is truly proving its worth

DENVER, CO – APRIL 09: Pitcher Adam Ottavino (Getty Images) /

One of the constant positives we’ve seen so far this season is the bullpen. Despite being heavily depended upon early, they have stopped the bleeding when needed. Every Rockies reliever has played in either two or more games this season. This goes back to the starting pitchers not being able to stay in for longer than five or more innings.

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On the bright side, all eight relievers have a combined 38 strikeouts. The super bullpen still deserves that title … as of now.

Though the bullpen as a whole does look good, there are a couple of guys who are making very fun to watch the bullpen. First, there is Bryan Shaw, he was a bit overlooked as most eyes were on closer Wade Davis when they both signed three-year deals with the Colorado Rockies back in December. However, he gave up his first runs in seven outings on Tuesday night when a three-run homer ended his scoreless streak in a Rockies uniform.

The next man that we’ll be talking about is none other than Adam Ottavino. He’s on fire, with a 0.00 ERA and two wins under his belt. But it doesn’t stop there. Otto has only allowed one hit in the seven innings he’s pitched in. Also in those seven innings, he has struck out 15 of the 22 batters he’s faced.

Adam Ottavino is seriously hitting his mark and has shown no signs of stopping. He’s currently one of the reasons why this super bullpen is super this season.

Takeaways

We still have plenty of baseball left to play, meaning the Colorado Rockies have time to bounce back from these early season woes. There’s room for error right now, but only to an extent. If the Rockies want to stay near the top in such a competitive division,they must really analyze where the mistakes were made and make the necessary corrections.

Next: Rockies podcast: walkoffs, braves and young players

Adjustments are very well needed right now, especially in the categories that were listed in this article. If the Colorado Rockies can make these adjustments, then they will be a team that is a threat to everyone else in the National League West.

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Colorado Rockies: What’s really causing them to lose