Colorado Rockies: More disappointment from Ian Desmond

Before I begin, I want to apologize for what you are about to read. I believe that, somewhere in the fine print of my agreement with Roxpile.com, there is a clause in which I’m required to write one scathing article a month on the awful play of Colorado Rockies’ first baseman Ian Desmond.

It is not that I enjoy doing it but I am obligated to meet the monthly quota that I agreed upon before the Colorado Rockies opened spring training. This is a preemptive “I am sorry” for making you read another one. So let’s get started.

In case you haven’t noticed in between the excitement of the Rockies taking the lead in the NL West and Trevor Story home runs that still haven’t landed, Ian Desmond has been back to his old pathetic ways.

After an excellent July, where he hit .321/.380/.500 with two home runs and 12 RBI, it has been all downhill for the Rockies’ highest paid player. To go along with his continued below average play at first, in his last 30 games, Desmond has been absolutely dreadful with a slash line of .184/.226/.327 with one home run and 18 RBI with 24 strikeouts, including 5 for his last 32, giving us a reminder of when his batting average bottomed out at .167 in mid-May.

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This may come as no surprise, but as much as we yell at our televisions or complain on social media, Bud Black refuses to take Desmond out of the everyday lineup. Black has shown no willingness to platoon Desmond with the left-handed bat of Ryan McMahon, who is hitting .271 with three home runs and 10 RBI in limited play since being recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque on July 29.

Black may not want to take McMahon’s bat off the bench, who has been clutch in pinch-hitting situations as of late, but the Rockies can’t have such a huge hole in lineup with 13 of the next 16 games against the Dodgers and Diamondbacks, games which will likely decide the NL West.

With 23 games left and the division title/playoffs on the line, the Rockies need Ian Desmond to find his swing. As hard as it is to believe, Trevor Story is not going to carry this team on his back to the playoffs alone. They will need Desmond and others to contribute.

Final Note: Speaking of Trevor Story, I am going to toot my own horn a bit for entering him in the MVP conversation a day before Wednesday night’s historic home run display. We all have been waiting for Nolan Arenado to break out and have an MVP-type moment but Story beat him to it and in unbelievable fashion.

I still seriously doubt he will get close to winning the MVP, but if he continues to play well the rest of the season and the Rockies make the playoffs, he has vaulted himself ahead of Nolan and into the top five list of candidates.