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The Rockies don't really seem to be capable of fielding a competent baseball team at this point - last night's game never was in doubt for me - and now I don't even have the USMNT to distract me from bad baseball. Colorado is 8-24 in its last 32 games and has slipped below the Padres into 4th place in the NL West, 1.5 games ahead of Arizona for worst record in the majors The All-Star break can't come fast enough for this team or its fans.
Jhoulys Chacin's trip to the DL means that the Rockies have six starters on the disabled list at once (ten players overall). That, friends, is how you get to your 12th starter before the All-Star Break.
Still, David Martin has a very good point when he writes about Colorado's seeming lack of effort and how a fan base can accept losing due to injuries - just not the absence of effort that we (and Ryan Spilborghs) saw last night. It's hard to root for a team that doesn't put forth the effort to win baseball games, and unfortunately that's what appears to be happening for this team.
This team has the 3rd worst record in the major leagues and, while it will improve as the walking wounded return to duty, there's some serious doubt that this team will play like they did in April again this year. That will mean playing all out despite having little more than pride to play for. At this rate, it's going to be a long summer for Rockies fans.
Stubbs' self-awareness at plate leading to success | Rockies.com: News
At least Drew Stubbs (excuse me - Clean-up hitter Drew Stubbs) hasn't let us down this year - after a slow start in April, Stubbs has punched well above his hitting weight class while providing solid defense. That makes him a decent trade chip a few weeks from now, given that the Rockies don't seem to be going anywhere of consequence this year and that they won't be trading Michael Cuddyer.
Trade deadline preview: NL West - SweetSpot Blog - ESPN
Speaking of the trade deadline, it's less than a month away. ESPN's SweetSpot (including Rockies Zingers) breaks down the deadline outlook of every NL West team. I would quibble with certain trade candidates contained therein, particularly the one playing shortstop at a MVP level for this team.
Troy Tulowitzki has nearly 4 million All-Star votes and is a shoo-in to start the July 15th game in Minnesota, but he wants to bring some friends. Other than Tulo, Charlie Blackmon has the closest chance of being voted in (he's 6th in the OF), but Chuck is more than a million votes out of a starting position. I think that Justin Morneau has the best chance of getting on the roster (though Corey Dickerson is worth consideration, he doesn't have the name recognition yet), but otherwise it might be a one man show for the Rockies. Here's the voting breakdown.
The Most Improved Players Thus Far by Projected WAR | FanGraphs Baseball
Blackmon might have come back to Earth after a torrid April, but he's still outperforming his projections this year by a wide margin.
Pitching Philosophy Part 2: Ground Balls | Rockies Zingers Colorado Rockies Baseball
Scott Fults of Rockies Zingers writes about ground ball pitching and how the Rockies have still struggled despite adhering to that philosophy.
Nolan Arenado looking healthy but rusty in Colorado Springs
Ending on a positive note - Nolan Arenado should be back in action by Thursday. Alex Lantz has the full scouting report on how Arenado has looked in his rehab stint with the AAA Sky Sox.