Halfway through the season, Colorado has had plenty of pain and no gain - The Denver Post
The Rockies have no idea at this point about whether they'll be buyers or sellers at the trade deadline. As much as I want to say this is a sign of a team without a plan (after all, that's sort of what we've come to expect from the Rockies), I think it has a lot more to do with injuries and timetables for the returns of those players.
Nolan Arenado will be back this week, while Brett Anderson and Eddie Butler aren't far behind (though my hope is that Butler spends the rest of the season in Triple-A). Carlos Gonzalez should return right around the same time as the latter two, as well. But by then, it will likely be too late for the Rockies to mount any sort of surge that will get them into a realistic contention situation.
For a few more weeks, the team will be riding a rotation solely consisting of left-handers, most of them inexperienced. Meanwhile, the offensive depth has shriveled up, leaving the team with few backup outfield (how about that irony?) and corner infield options. It'll be a while before the Rockies can climb out of this hole.
Unfortunately, there isn't much the Rockies can do even if they decide to be deadline sellers. Jorge De La Rosa is likely the only player of value who makes sense to trade, but it's hard not to get the feeling that the Rockies would be selling low on him after an awful June. Michael Cuddyer has put up great numbers for the second consecutive year, but he likely won't return to the field until August, robbing the Rockies of any sort of value they'd otherwise get for him in a trade.
This is a bummer to say, but it appears the Rockies will largely have to take a wait-and-see approach for the remainder of this season. They can't even trade De La Rosa right now without dipping into the Brett Tomko/Pedro Hernandez/Brian Burres pool to fill his rotation spot anyway, so it's shaping up to be a very stagnant trade season for Colorado -- and one that probably isn't going to coincide with any sort of winning baseball.
In short, July is probably going to be miserable, with the exception of the All-Star festivities, during which the purple pinstripers should be well represented.
Might be a good period of time to go outside and enjoy the Rocky Mountain weather.
Rockies fall to Nationals, finish June with 8-20 record - The Denver Post
The Rockies just finished up their worst June in franchise history, writes Nick Groke, with some quotes from a downtrodden Walt Weiss and others.
Colorado Rockies at Washington Nationals - July 1, 2014 | MLB.com Preview
SB Nation alum Cody Ulm has the preview for the Rockies' second game in Washington. Christian Friedrich is making his first big league start of the season against a team not named the Brewers. This game likely represents Colorado's best chance of avoiding a sweep. Strasburg has been pretty hittable while Friedrich hasn't been as bad as his line suggests. Plus, Doug Fister is scheduled to pitch in the finale, and I have a feeling he's going to feast upon the Rockies' aggressiveness at the plate.
Blogpile
Rockies Review - A Colorado Rockies Blog: Starting over might be the best option for Colorado Rockies, but isn't the only option
David Martin thinks Dan O'Dowd needs to go, but he also acknowledges that bringing in a strong presence to work alongside the Rockies' GM might help if the team refuses to part ways with the man who is head and shoulders above his MLB counterparts.
Simply Enjoying Sabermetrics | Rockies Zingers Colorado Rockies Baseball
Richard Bergstrom wants to you take in the pleasant scent of sabermetrics.
Here's Why I'm Still Holding Out Hope For The Rockies -- Mile High Maniac
Andrew Dill believes the return of Arenado can turn things around for the Rockies.
Nolan Arenado Looks Ready to Return - Rox Pile
Speaking of Arenado, Michelle Stalnaker wrote about his first rehab appearance for the Sky Sox and concluces the budding star appears healthy and ready to return to the Rockies.
Around the league
6 things we learned from the hacked Astros database - SBNation.com
If you missed it, 10 months of the Astros' trade discussions were leaked. The Rockies are pretty heavily involved in the data, so make sure you check it out.
Cubs' Jake Arrieta loses no-hitter in 8th inning against Red Sox - SBNation.com
Jake Arrieta is kind of the new Dave Stieb (also Yu Darvish).