Okay, this is where the Rockies have to make a move. Between now and the All-Star Break, the D-backs have 25 games, 15 of which are on the road with their opponents putting up a combined winning percentage of .516. They have three series against other division leaders (Boston, Oakland and Philly) and they've been stumbling against a softer schedule leading up to this point. The Rockies, meanwhile, will only have one series against a team that's currently over .500 (Florida) in their 27 games leading into the break, and they get a home friendly schedule to boot. It's entirely conceivable with their schedule and current rate of production that the D-backs go into the All-Star break just a game or two over .500, a 10-15 record (they've been 9-16 over their last 25) actually leaves them a game under .500 at the break.
I think we've got to target at least a 16-11 run to that point, and we should be right back in the thick of things. That's not really a credit to our team so much as it's an indictment of how terrible the whole division is this season, but we may as well take advantage of it. What I'd really like to see is us pull off a 18-9 type of stretch to be within five games of .500 and looking up for the last half of the season. In order for that to happen, we need U-ball to pitch consistently like he did the last time out so we finally have a second starter worthy of our confidence. Let's finish off this four game sweep we started a couple of months ago.
Go Rockies!