Sunday Rockpile: Are the Rockies bats bad, or is some columnist just batty?

Ah, this is the Woody Paige we all know and.., well,  the Woody Paige we all know. Getting on his high horse but not realizing everybody's laughing at him because he doesn't know the head from the tail. Anyway, contrast quotes from his Rockies need hitting column with Troy E. Renck's recap from yesterday's game:

Woody:

The Rockies must get hitting. More cowbell, please.

The Rox have passed the 100-game mark and have only August and September to improve at the plate. Hitting coach Don Baylor can't be blamed. He has helped first baseman Todd Helton, first, and shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, second, get back on track, and worked with Dexter Fowler to be a civilized leadoff hitter.

But, at some point, other guys have to come through consistently, or the Rockies will be totally dependent on 2-1 victories, or, again, victims after 27 scoreless innings.

Renck:

It seems like a scene from "Braveheart." It takes a brave heart to face the Rockies' hitters on nights like Saturday.

Not one guy weighed less than 205 pounds. None was shorter than 6-foot-1. They held a lumber party for starter Ubaldo Jimenez, bullying their way to a 6-2 victory at Great American Ball Park.

So which is it? Do the Rockies have a bungling offense incapable of scoring three runs, or do they have a lineup that's as scary as Renck paints?  Well look at the NL's top five teams in batting average, the stat Paige is falling in love with:

1. Los Angeles Dodgers .276
2. Houston Astros  .268
3. New York Mets .264
4. Washington Nationals .264
5. Atlanta Braves .264

Okay, now let's look at the NL's top five teams by runs scored:

1. Philadelphia 544
2. Colorado 514
3. Los Angeles Dodgers 507
4. Milwaukee Brewers 484
5. Florida Marlins 474

Really, which list would you rather this team be on? The one with the Mets and Nationals, or the one that actually matters? Yeah, it would be nice if our team could make some more contact and continue to walk and hit homers and score like they have been at the same time, but if an increased batting average means a sacrifice in runs, I think I'll pass, thank you. 

Renck: Give stars the poster test - The Denver Post

Renck's weekly column touches on the latest steroids scandals and then gets into some Rockies related tidbits.

The Cubs might pull through and win the division in any case, but I am also sanguine about capturing the wild card (if need be.) I reason that the Giants’ offense is too woeful and the Rockies are too flaky (emotional.)

This was from a comment I found amusing in a Viva El Birdos FanPost. Honestly it's a good day when the best that your rivals can come up with to talk down your playoff chances is "too flaky (emotional)." 

BP's current playoff odds say the Rockies have nearly a 60% chance of making the postseason, and with each passing day this simulation becomes more accurate. So what do we do to improve those odds? The short answer is to win where we're not expected to, namely at Philly after the team wraps up the series with the Reds this afternoon.

The Rockies have four games left on this road trip and are currently at 3-3. That puts some pressure on these last four games, as long trips in the second half of the season are a pretty good proxy evaluator of how strong a team really is. The Cardinals rolled through their trip just before the All-Star break, going 6-4. They passed that contention test, meanwhile the Giants first run at this type of challenge ended in failure, as San Francisco went 3-7 out of the break. They'll get another shot in August. The Cubs right now are starting their trip that ends at Coors Field next week to mixed results. For the Rockies, two more wins in these last four is crucial, but three could put a serious dent in other teams playoff aspirations, even if they might not realize it yet.