Could Rockies win the West?
| August 12, 2009 | 9:19 AM
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For the time being, we’ll consider the Rockies’ sloppy 7-3 loss to the Pirates a blip and a fluke — nine walks and three errors, the sort of baseball we would expect from the Pirates and the sort of baseball we saw from the Chicago Cubs over the weekend.
But back to the original question: could the Rockies win the National League West? Ken Rosenthal at FoxSports.com writes that at least one NL general manager thinks it will happen:
The Rockies, the GM said, were not great in any one area, but very good in virtually every one. The Dodgers, meanwhile, are short on starting pitching and unlikely to make a significant addition to their rotation.
The Rockies, of course, have to contend with the San Francisco Giants as well. But there’s truth behind this assessment, especially about the Dodgers rotation. Their best starter, Chad Billingsley, is sidelined with a hamstring strain. Randy Wolf and Clayton Kershaw are left anchoring the rotation. Wolf is a solid starter, but he’s more of a back-of-the-rotation guy at this point and, despite solid numbers this season, he has won only six games. Kershaw, meanwhile, is just 21 years old and in his first full season as a major league starter — he’s likely to wear down over the next month and a half. The Dodgers would be crazy to overwork his arm. The Dodgers needed help in the rotation, but instead added a reliever, George Sherrill, at the deadline.
The Giants, like the Rockies, added what they needed at the deadline. But the Giants, too, have a significant weakness in their starting rotation. After Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain, their starting rotation has been inconsistent.
The Rockies’ rotation — Jhoulys Chacin‘s shaky debut as a starter notwithstanding — has been solid for about two months. Other than a couple blips from Jason Hammel and one from Jorge De La Rosa, their rotation one through five is giving the team a chance to win in every game. Their defense — again, Tuesday night notwithstanding — has been superb. Now the team is starting to hit as well. So while the Rockies don’t have a Lincecum or a Cain in their rotation or a Manny Ramirez in the middle of the lineup, the team’s depth stacks up well against both the Giants and the Dodgers come down the stretch.
So here’s a bold prediction: the Dodgers don’t make the playoffs. The Giants and Rockies do.
Journals, Sports, Steve Foster
colorado rockies, los angeles dodgers, san francisco giants
