So are the Rockies done yet? 2-2 against the Pittsburgh Pirates, including a heart breaking home run walk off on Saturday night seemed to be the gut punch rip your heart out end of the season.
However, the Rox bounced back on Sunday with a win and split the road series at 2-2.
This Monday morning we find the Rockies in 3rd place in the NL West 6.5 games behind the San Diego Padres, and in 4th place in the NL Wild Card race at 4.5 games behind the San Francisco Giants. The first thing to notice here is both teams the Rockies are chasing for a playoff spot are both divisional rivals.
With the Phillies and the Cardinals ahead of the Rockies in the Wild Card race right now, the road to the playoffs might be easier going through the NL West. Mostly this is due to the multiplier affect of having teams between the Rockies and the Wild Card leader the Giants.
But it also has to do with the match ups. The Rockies have one game to play against the Phillies on a one game make up in Coors Field on Thursday September 2nd. The Rockies close the season out with a 4 game road series in St. Louis.
The key to a play-off spot for the Rockies is they have to win more games than the Padres and Giants. The Rox have to catch them and pass them. And playing .500 crappy baseball like the Rockies have been lately won’t get that done…
Or will it?
Over the last 10 games the Colorado Rockies are 7-3. The Padres are 4-6 and the Giants are 5-5. So during this “down” period of this last couple of weeks, the Rockies have gained back 3 games on the Padres and 2 on the Giants.
That’s right, the Rockies are gaining ground on the teams they need to gain ground on. Sometimes perception isn’t reality in baseball.
If the Rockies can keep up this pace…they would pass the Giants and the Padres about the same time sometime the first week in September.
The Rockies still play the Giants 6 times this year and the Padres 6 times as well. The Rockies don’t have to sweep those 12 games, just win the series.
Right now, the Rockies are not out of anything. They still have all their goals still in front of them for the taking. As frustrating as this team has been this season, with all of its ups and downs, for the Rockies to make the playoffs, all they have to do is play like they did these past 2 weeks.
Yeah, getting their hearts ripped out by the Pirates….still is good enough. Struggling on the road, is still good enough. What we as fans struggle though and feel some times isn’t the full reality. If the Rockies do just what they have the last couple of weeks, they have a legitimate shot to make the playoffs.
As many times as I want to bury this team. They shouldn’t be buried or dismissed. They are still near the top in the NL in runs scored, and several hitting categories. The real weakness hasn’t been hitting, it’s been pitching. The Rockies need more consistent starting pitching, and they need more consistent relief pitching. Those are big issues to overcome, but the Rockies are far, from done.
What Rockies fans used to beg for was meaningful games after the all-star break. And that’s what we’ve got. The Rockies are in the middle of the playoff race and we have meaningful baseball games here in Denver in August. With just a small improvement on consistency and focus, the Rockies will be playing meaningful games in September, and maybe October.
What more do you want from the Rockies than that?
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