(Ken Blaze — USA Today Sports)
We haven’t completed the first week of June, and June swoon already started for the Rockies. Fresh from finishing a 2-7 road trip, the Rockies are not off to a great start in their 10-game homestand after taking a 4-2 loss last night to a terrible Diamondbacks team that has become a lost cause this season. With the way it’s going for the Rockies, it won’t be long until they join their last night’s opponent in playing out the season.
Everything has gone wrong for the Rockies lately. They are not hitting, and they are not pitching well. That adds up to a fifth straight loss, not to mention losing nine of 11 games. That puts them at 28-29. With the way it’s going, one has to wonder if things are going to get better.
Rockies fans are already saying here we go again with the losing in June after a great start. One has to wonder if the Rockies feel that way. This is what happens when a team knows how to lose often.
It’s clear there is a leadership void on this team. The Rockies need someone who can lead the way through performance. They need Troy Tulowitzki to play like a MVP as he did in the first two months of the season. It’s not only just him, but other hitters on the team. There has to be a guy that knows how to get it done. That has been a problem for quite some time with this team.
The pitching has been a problem, and it couldn’t be surprising since there has been question marks on the pitching staff during the start of the season.
Problem with the Rockies is their two reliable starters are on the disabled list in Tyler Chatwood and Brett Anderson. They were banking on those two to give them quality starts every fifth day. They hope those two would complement Jorge De La Rosa and Jhoulys Chacin in forming a good starting rotation. That hasn’t gone according to plan, but when do things go according to plan for the Rockies.
The Rockies were able to find Chatwood’s replacement in Jordan Lyles, who is having a good year by going 5-1 with a 3.46 ERA. But they couldn’t find someone to replace Anderson.
They have basically admitted to losing every fifth day by throwing an ineffective Franklin Morales out there on the mound. It’s about time the Rockies got around to taking him off the rotation by inserting him in the bullpen and calling up Eddie Butler, who will make his Major League debut on the mound against the Dodgers Friday night.
Chacin has been a disappointment since coming off the disabled list. Who knows why that’s the case? Either he is pitching through an injury or he is feeling his way back on the mound. It’s been a month now. There comes a time where he has to step up. He has to start figuring out his struggles on the mound soon if the Rockies want to avoid June swoon. Demoting him seems simple, but the Rockies have so much invested him as a starter to put him in the bullpen. They want to build around him for years to come.
The bullpen is a concern. That has to be straightened out. Rex Brothers and Latroy Hawkins have been ineffective. This was something the Rockies thought they didn’t have to worry about when they built this bullpen in the offseason. The last thing they need is their setup guy and their closer blowing leads, but that’s the case right now. That takes the life of the team. The Rockies can only hope it’s just one of those funks that their best relievers are going through.
Losing Nolan Arenado hurts, and it won’t get better with Carlos Gonzalez on the disabled list. Still, the Rockies should have enough offensively to win games. They still have Tulowitzki and Morneau. Those two need to shoulder the burden of stepping up. They are too good to not to.
With the way it’s going, this looks like another lost season in the way. It’s up to the Rockies to change that perception by winning. There comes a time the Rockies have to step up and get out of this malaise. They are not this bad to continue to lose. Divisional games in June will reveal how much character they have. During the course of a long season, we find out how team responds to adversity. This is where the Rockies are now.
The Rockies have always had the talent, but they never found a way to step up when the going gets tough. We are going to find out what they are during this homestand and this month. They have to show this won’t be a typical June swoon that their fans have grown accustomed to in the team’s history. It’s about time guys play with a sense of urgency rather than say it’s a long season and we will get em tomorrow. There comes a time where guys have to be fed up.
They have been resilient during tough losses for the first two months of the season. Now, they face an ultimate test.
This is a month we find out if the Rockies are tough enough to handle a long season. It’s up to them.
Still, the Rockies’ history makes it hard for anyone to be optimistic. The culture of losing is not easy to change. Not when the front office and coaching staff are the same. Not when ownership seems to think winning is hard. Not when the guys are used to losing.
It’s more of the same every year with these guys.
No wonder why Rockies fans are already giving up now.
Contact or follow Leslie Monteiro at @LightRodWriter
Leslie Monteiro
Leslie is a contributor for Lightning Rod Sports. He covered high school sports in Bergen County out in North Jersey, and has written op-ed columns on sports such as Bleacher Report and NY Sports Digest.
