The weekend is a great time to kick back and reflect. This Week in Purple is the place to catch up on the news from our team at Purple Row. You’ll find links to Rockpiles and other content below as well as a platform for community discussion in the comments.
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The Rockies had a rough week this week, losing five in a row to the Chicago White Sox, Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles. They did take 2-of-3 from the Sox, but then got swept by the Rays and lost the first game to the O’s. Since scoring double-runs in back-to-back games, they’ve been outscored 38-21. However, they have been holding their own later and later into games. In last night’s contest, they were up 4-3 before Brent Suter gave up a two-run homer to Gunnar Henderson in the eighth inning. They were up 3-2 on the Rays through five (via a Nolan Jones three-run homer in that inning) but Josh Lowe’s two-run homer in the eighth off Matt Koch sealed the deal there. And the night before against the Rays, they lost 6-5 in extras.
They’ve been losing, but they’ve been playing close games. This might be a sign of progress as the young players work through things.
But here’s what our writers have been up to this week!
To Read (Rockpiles)
- For the Monday Rockpile, Evan Lang paid homage to the Colorado Rockies first-ever center fielder, Alex Cole, who passed away on Saturday at the age of 58. Cole was brought to the Rockies in the 1992 MLB Expansion Draft from the Pittsburgh Pirates. He played 126 games for the 1993 Rockies before becoming a free agent at the end of the season. Even though his time was brief, he will forever live in Rockies’ history. We here at Purple Row send our condolences to the family and friends of the first Rockies center fielder.
- For the Tuesday Rockpile, Renee Dechert wrote about two current Rockies’ outfielders — Brenton Doyle and Nolan Jones. She investigated their defensive prowess in the vast wilderness that is the Coors Field outfield, and asked them about how they’ve learned to man it by leaning on both veterans and each other.
- For the Wednesday Rockpile, Skyler Timmins wrote about Skyler Messinger — the first MLB player to ever be named Skyler, who happens to play for the Low-A Fresno Grizzlies. Skyler also spoke with the voice of the Grizzlies, Stephen Rice, about Skyler and how he has been shining in the minors. There is also a full A/V interview with Rice linked at the bottom of the article, where they also discuss Jordan Beck, Sterlin Thompson, Michael Prosecky, and Cole Carrigg.
- For the Thursday Rockpile, Evan Lang wrote about Jurickson Profar’s continuing role on this team. When he was signed in the offseason, it made sense for the Rox at the time. It also made sense for him to play leading up to the trade deadline, but he wasn’t traded. But the surprising breakouts of Nolan Jones, Brenton Doyle and Michael Toglia in the outfield plus the return of Charlie Blackmon in the DH spot have made Profar’s role more and more obsolete. That said, he’s still in the lineup daily. Do the Rockies still have room for him?
- For the Friday Rockpile, Joelle Milholm wrote about Ryan McMahon’s “race towards record Ks.” McMahon signed a six-year, $70 million contract early last season and has held up his end defensively. However, offensively, he’s hit a brick wall. He’s on pace to break the Rockies’ record for most strikeouts in a season, currently held by Trevor Story (191 in 2017). As of her writing, McMahon had 157 strikeouts in 127 games. His career-high is 160, set back in 2019, but he also leads the Rox in homers (21) and RBI (65). He’s not the first slugger to hit homers or strikeout the majority of the time, but maybe it’s time for Rockies fans to appreciate McMahon for who he is rather than the player they keep thinking he might become.
To Read (PuRPs voting)
PuRPs season is upon us! Jeff Aberle has been tabulating votes and the results are in! Here are the players we revealed this week:
To Read (other)
- Mac Wilcox wrote a piece about the Rockies and the White Sox being “two sides of the same coin.” Both are teams who have underwhelmed this year (though the White Sox have, arguably, performed worse to their pre-season expectations) and have had some middling success since the mid-2000’s, but they both have promising farm systems. Does one have an edge? Perhaps not, but they are much more similar that folks probably have thought.
To Listen
- Affected by Altitude: The Return of the Beard — This week, Evan and Skyler celebrate the return of Charlie Blackmon and discuss the effect it has on the team. Meanwhile, rookie outfield defense has been outstanding while Jurickson Profar is struggling. Plus: July players of the month!
Weekend Discussion Topic
Which PuRP are you most excited to see on the Rockies roster? Sound off below!
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