Desmond not concerned by slow start | Rockies.com
Well, that makes one of us. Thomas Harding spoke to Ian Desmond about his early season struggles at the plate. Desmond kept referring back to “feel,” partly about where his hands are in his batting stance. Before the season, Desmond modified his approach and lowered his hands. Now, he’s raising them back up. Harding also talked about Desmond’s fairly typical early season struggles.
Those things may be a reason for Desmond’s troubles, but I’m a little more pessimistic. It’s not just that his on-base percentage is even below the Mendoza line; it’s the way he’s getting there. Desmond has struck out in 27% of his plate appearances and has hit a groundball in 73% of them. Just like Desmond’s tendency to start slow, striking out and killing worms aren’t new issues, but they are ones that seem to be getting worse. I hope I’m wrong and Desmond does find that elusive feel.
Saunders: To win NL West, Rockies will have to beat out D-Backs, Dodgers | Denver Post ($)
Patrick Saunders takes a look at the National League West in light of the apparent belief in the Rockies clubhouse that they can finally snag a division title in 2018. As Saunders notes, it would be an extremely difficult task, as the Dodgers and Diamondbacks have really strong teams and fewer question marks than the Rockies. I hate to be such a negative nellie in this Rockpile but I don't see this happening in 2018 either.
Bud Black wasn't too concerned with the Rockies big loss on Friday night. He's right, these kinds of games do take place a few times a year for most teams. But it may be especially tough for Rockies fans to watch because it exposed just how wide the gap is between the Cubs and Rockies, at least right now.
Around the NL West
The humidor at Chase Field: 10 games in | AZ Snake Pit
The Diamondbacks' humidor has only been around for 10 games. It's too soon to draw conclusions, but it's not too soon to look at what's been going on so far. Jim McLennan takes a look at several different metrics compared to the D-backs' first 10 games in 2017. This will be interesting to follow this season.
All-time Padres 420 team | Gaslamp Ball
It's a couple days late but here you go. It's a pretty solid list, although they had to lean on three guys with "Jay" in their name, as well as a "Green" and a "Greene." The only one I don't get is Jose Mota.