In an Expanded Postseason, Rockies Set Sights on October | Sports Illustrated
With the expanded postseason, the Rockies have a chance of “Rocktober” again. Despite the poor performance over the past bit, there is still a real chance the Rockies could see some October baseball.
Nolan Arenado wants to win. It’s in his nature. He gets frustrated when he isn’t finding success and when the team is losing. He wants to win again. Generally speaking, there has been some success for starting pitching. Kyle Freeland has really dazzled so far this season. And Charlie Blackmon is really outdoing himself at the plate. If the Rockies can really find a groove (read: offense and consistent bullpen arms) there might a real shot at success and postseason baseball for guys in purple.
I highly recommend giving this SI article a read. It gives really great insight into the differences between Charlie Blackmon and Nolan Arenado. One is all emotion and one is all intellect, and I’m sure you can figure out who those descriptors belong to. Here is one of my favorite quotes for the whole article.
When Blackmon feels himself dragging, he can rely on Arenado to bring energy. And when Arenado struggles to keep perspective, Blackmon can help keep him grounded.
What do you do when everything goes wrong? | RoxPile
A lot can go wrong in one week. Even more can go wrong in a week and half. And with the Rockies right now, we’ve seen a lot of “wrong.” We saw Jon Gray struggle in two of his last three outings. We’ve seen Daniel Murphy make poor fielding and base running decisions. We’ve seen Nolan Arenado really get in his own head and struggle with runners in scoring position. There have been implosions from the bullpen. The list feels long and sometimes like it’s going to be impossible for the Rockies to overcome.
But that’s just it, they absolutely need to overcome if they want to see postseason baseball at all. This season is too short to continue to make errors. It’s time for the Rockies to figure out their offensive struggles and clean up some of the costly fielding mistakes. Luke Mullins really puts the bow on it with this article and the below quote.
We’ve watched everything go right. Now, we’re seeing everything go wrong. But all it takes is one game — a turning point — and this rough week-plus can become a distant memory. Time is running out though, and this club needs to turn it around as soon as possible.
Makeshift studios, basement BBQs: How Rockies broadcasts are rethinking summer | The Athletic ($)
The broadcast teams are truly having to think outside of the box this season. The crews normally travel right along with the players and broadcast from the road, but this season that isn’t happening. AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain and all of the faces of the Rockies broadcast really have the opportunity to be creative — and they’re taking advantage.
It may not be everyone’s cup of tea (even I have some criticisms,) but it is nice to have some normalcy like watching a baseball game on TV. And if you’re really into BBQ and seeing Ryan Spilborghs in his natural habitat, A.K.A. his basement, you might really enjoy some of the new elements to the TV broadcast.
As for the radio crew with KOA, they converted an unused studio in the headquarters to broadcast road games. And those changes don’t come without hiccups. I can’t imagine how difficult it is to do play-by-play with video that potentially has a delay or technical glitches when you’re on a hot mic when you’re used to watching things live and in person.
Despite some of the challenges the broadcast crews are facing every day with every new ballpark and camera angle, I am thankful to watch and listen to baseball. Yes, even when the Rockies are struggling.