Colorado Rockies: The first half’s 3 biggest disappointments

Daniel Murphy‘s slow start

Eleven innings into the season, Colorado’s plan for jumpstarting the offense when completely off the rails. Daniel Murphy, by far the biggest Rockies offseason acquisition, suffered an avulsion fracture of his left index finger on a diving play at first base in Miami. He would be out of action from March 31-April 24 and part of that stretch would see Colorado start the season with a 3-12 record.

Even when he came back, it took quite some time for Murphy to find his swing again. In mid-May, I even suggested that Murphy should be put back on the injured list. At the time, he had gone just 11-for-55 since coming back off the IL with multiple hits in only one contest. On the day I wrote that, Murphy’s season average had dipped to .190 and Colorado saw its record fall to 20-23 with a 5-4 loss in Philadelphia.

To know those numbers and to now see that Murphy is hitting .274 at the All-Star break shows the tear he has been on at the plate as his finger’s health has improved. When I talked to Murphy during Colorado’s last homestead, he reminded me that the splint still wasn’t off his finger. It will be soon, and that’s one of the reasons why Bud Black keeps reminding reporters that he doesn’t think we’ve seen the best of Murphy in a Rockies uniform yet.

What if the Rockies had had Murphy in the lineup all season? That’s a question that probably won’t be answered until 2020’s campaign.