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Colorado Rockies: Looking at the roller coaster 2018 season

By Aaron Hurt

TAMPA, FL - JULY 12: People ride a roller coaster at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay on July 12, 2012 in Tampa, Florida. The park is expecting more business during the 2012 Republican National Convention, being held at the Tampa Bay Times Forum building August 27-30. Republicans are expected to officially nominate former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney as their pick to run against President Barack Obama in the November general election. The city will play host to 2,286 delegates and 2,125 alternate delegates from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and five territories as well as scores of journalists, guests and protesters. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FL - JULY 12: People ride a roller coaster at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay on July 12, 2012 in Tampa, Florida. The park is expecting more business during the 2012 Republican National Convention, being held at the Tampa Bay Times Forum building August 27-30. Republicans are expected to officially nominate former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney as their pick to run against President Barack Obama in the November general election. The city will play host to 2,286 delegates and 2,125 alternate delegates from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and five territories as well as scores of journalists, guests and protesters. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) /
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I don’t know which is causing me more gray hairs. My 2- and 4-year old sons or the 2018 Colorado Rockies. The roller coaster ride that has been the first month and a half of the season has been driving me absolutely crazy.

If you want a clear picture of the Rockies’ roller coaster season, take a look the Rockies’ results since mid-April. The Rockies are 18-16 since April 8, including Monday’s 6-4 win in San Diego. In those 34 games, the Rockies have a six-game winning streak, three three-game winning streaks, and three three-game losing streaks.

What is even more maddening, here is a tweet by Rockies’ field reporter Taylor McGregor before Sunday’s 7-3 loss to the Brewers.

The debut for pitcher Freddy Peralta was just a bit better than an 8.37 ERA. How about 5.2 innings, one hit, two walks and 13 strikeouts? This is after the Rockies had scored 14 runs in the previous two games. Unbelievable!

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One of the reasons for the inconsistent play of this team is the inconsistency of the Rockies’ everyday lineup. In the first 40 games this year, Bud Black rolled out 31 different defensive lineups. Yes, matchups, injuries, suspensions and horrible play by some players have factored into this amount … but that is still not an excuse for this number being as high as it is.

The 31 different lineups also leads to the biggest question of them all. If the Rockies’ are willing to shake up the lineup daily, why are they willing to put up with inconsistent play? Why are they so afraid to shake up the roster? There are multiple players in Triple-A Albuquerque that need to be up with the big league club.

Why are Tom Murphy, Jordan Patterson, and Raimel Tapia not in a Rockies’ uniform right now? With the lack of offensive production from the catcher’s spot, Murphy, who is currently hitting .297 with nine home runs in the minors, would be an offensive upgrade behind the plate. We all know of Ian Desmond‘s struggles, so why are the Rockies’ keeping the streaking Patterson, a career .286 minor leaguer who hit 26 homers in Triple-A last year, in Albuquerque? Tapia should also be up, but the crowded outfield is blocking his way.

Of course, calling up a bunch of players from the minors would probably lead to more inconsistent play and growing pains … but at least they would trying something different than rolling out the same underperforming players day in and day out.

Next: Nolan Arenado discusses his view of the first 40 games

The Rockies need to get off this roller coaster ride and get some more consistent play. They have done a great job of at stopping the lows at three games but there have been way too many lows in order for the Rockies to compete for a playoff spot.

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