Rockies quest for .500 would be a non-trivial accomplishment

Rockies shooting for .500 record; they say it’s a big step | Denver Post

Considering the most intriguing race in September for the Rockies over the past five years was whether they could avoid 100 losses (which they did every time—still one of only two franchises to do that, and the Angels might leave that list this year), the fact that .500 is even remotely within reach is fantastic. With a win tonight the Rockies would tie their win total from 2015, with enough time to potentially blow their previous total out of the water. Like the 2014 Astros (+19 games), a significant change in win totals could precipitate bigger things to come.

Motte returns to 'pen after lengthy layoff | MLB.com

Buried in this report about Jason Motte’s return to the active roster is a discussion with manager Walt Weiss about DJ LeMahieu’s chances at winning the National League batting title. You, like many intrepid and maybe sabermetricly-oriented readers, might react with a big “Who cares?”

Over the last 10-15 years of the so-called Sabermetric Revolution, certain traditional statistics have lost their luster. For certain stats, like RBI and pitcher wins, this is because they tell us less about the player himself and more about the team around him. Others have been replaced by statistics that tend to correlate more closely with player value, like on-base percentage replacing batting average. One of the casualties of this shift in thinking (and the fragmentation of popular culture in general) is that fewer fans care about things like the chase for the batting title, something that would capture the imaginations of fans coast to coast years ago. Did you know, for example, that Rockies players have won the batting title three of the past six years? Can you name the winners?

DJ LeMahieu winning the batting title would be a great accomplishment, a crowning achievement on an already fantastic season. Unfortunately I’m not sure very many people outside Rockies Country will care.

Let's see if Gerardo Parra can start a fire in the Rockies dugout with a broken bat | Cut4

Might as well try to start one with a broken bat, since he can’t seem to start anything with an intact one.