Thursday Rockpile: Time for things to heat up in Colorado

After a 2-4 road trip, its time for the bats to heat up as key divisional rivals, San Francisco and Arizona, arrive over the next week. For the first time all year, the weather should cooperate with the Rockies home schedule as temperatures should be in the 70s and 80s at least until Sunday. While a couple of batters have already begun warming up, a lot of the team has stalled, or even fallen off the cliff offensively.

Josh Rutledge and Carlos Gonzalez have been hot at the plate over the last few games while Tulo and Helton have stayed consistent. The section of the batting order that has really taken a beating of late thought is the first two spots. Dexter Fowler, after getting Monday off, was starting to look like he was turning things around until he went 0 for 4 last night. After going 0 for five games, he had gotten a hit in three games in a row before last night. One of those hits was his first extra base hit of the month, but it was erased when Dex reminded us of the age-old adage, 'don't be the first or last out at third.'

While Nolan Arenado's bat has been up and down since he joined the team, its his defense that has a lot of people excited. Once ranked below average, the kid worked hard at the hot corner and now seems to make a Sports Center highlight every game. With young talent at nearly every position and quality starts from the pitching staff, this team seems primed for a big run. Whether or not they pull it off over the next ten games may determine how this month and season turn out.

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In a side note, William Porter discusses the food to be had at Coors Field.

Dante Bichette isn't worried about the team's hitting approach. In unrelated news, the cruise line that owned the Titanic is still claiming the ship was unsinkable.

Thursday off-topic.