Colorado Rockies Runners on 1st…and 2nd Guesses: Snake Bit in Denver
Welcome back to another edition of Runners on First…and Second Guesses. Friday night’s game was littered with second-guess moments for the Colorado Rockies so let’s get started.
The 10-9 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night was a demoralizing defeat for the Colorado Rockies. They did everything they possibly could to make an epic comeback and win it in the 9th inning except for scoring the tying and winning runs who were in scoring position with less than 2 outs. With how everything played out, I have some very critical thoughts.
Let’s begin with Friday night’s starter: Tyler Anderson. It is officially safe to say Anderson should no longer be in the starting rotation going forward. After another poor outing (6 earned runs in 4 innings), he is now 0-3 in 5 starts with a 11.76 ERA. In all of those starts, he hasn’t pitched past the 5th inning or given up less 5 runs.
It is time to send him down to the minors (he does have one minor league option left) and let him figure things out in Albuquerque. I say let Jeff Hoffman have another shot at proving he can handle the big leagues or, if the organization feels that he is ready, give top-prospect Peter Lambert his Major League debut.
In the bullpen, Seunghwan Oh is struggling and needs to be moved out of his late inning role for the time being. In his last 3 appearances has given up 5 runs off 2 homers in 2.2 innings of work, including the devastating 3-run shot to the Braves’ Josh Donaldson last Sunday. Oh is a valuable piece to the bullpen, but the Rockies can’t keep running him out there in high-stress situations with an ERA over 7.
Some members of the offense
How much more of the Ian Desmond madness do we have to endure? Bud Black has put a lot of faith in his veterans but his faith in Desmond has to have run out, right? Right?!? I understand the rationale for starting him against a left-handed pitcher but at what point do the Rockies turn to Raimel Tapia full-time?
With the runners in scoring position with one out and the game on the line, all Desmond had to do was make contact and let the chips fall where they may. Instead, he did one of the most Desmond-esque things he could do: strike out. He numbers are now down to .188/.239/.347 with 3 HR, 14 RBI and 28 strikeouts in 101 at-bats. That is pathetic for someone making $15 million a year, or anybody in the major leagues, for that matter.
Last but not least, Chris Iannetta returned from the injured list on Friday and once again, he made me wonder why the Rockies’ didn’t acquire another catcher in the offseason. Yes, I am upset over the strikeout to end the game but there is a bigger reason for my frustration. In the 8th inning, his passed ball that allowed Tim Locastro to move into scoring position and later score on a fielder’s choice became the eventual deciding run.
Black continues to stick with Iannetta because of his leadership and defense but that was missing Friday night. There has to be a better option out there that the Rockies can sign/trade for because Iannetta is not getting the job done.
The Rockies loss along with the Denver Nuggets’ heart breaker in Game 3 really got my blood boiling so I needed to let out some steam. If you agree/disagree or have anything else to criticize, let us know in our comment section or on social media.