The Rockies 2017 Opening Day is here!

Posted on April 3, 2017 by John Kevin Hickey

      The grass in the outfield is a perfect shade of green, the beer is cold, the hot dogs are, well, hot and fans for every team believe that this is the year that their team is going all the way.  Yup, the Boys of Summer are back.  It’s the Rockies Opening Day!

      So, what can we expect from our Boys in their lighter shade of purple this year?  I am cautiously optimistic that the Rockies will have a winning season and may even contend for a wild card spot.  Obviously a lot of things must go right for such a scenario to happen, and all the injuries that have occurred this spring training are the dark clouds in front of the silver lining.

     Still, the Rockies have Nolan Arenado, Charlie Blackmon, DJ LeMahieu and Carlos Gonzales to strike terror in opposing pitchers.  Jon Gray is turning into a legitimate pitching ace.  There are several young players who are starting to make their mark.  So there are reasons for hope.

     It’s the first day of the season and for a few hours all is right with the world. 

 The 5 Keys to a successful Colorado Rockies season

1.    New manager Bud Black gets the most out of his pitchers.

      The knock on Bud Black is that he only had a .477 winning percentage during his 8 years as manager with the San Diego Padres.  The Rockies are hoping that his experience of pitching for 15 years in the Majors, and the fact he was the pitching coach for the S.F. Giants in 2002 when they won the World Series, will translate into better and more reliable pitching at Coors Field.

       Unfortunately, both Chad Bettis and the Rockies pitching staff got thrown a major curveball with the spread of Chad Bettis’s testicular cancer. The Rockies are now forced to find someone to fill his spot in the rotation. Hopefully Chad Bettis can beat his cancer and someday resume his career in the MLB.

     But it’s not just the pitching staff that Bud Black needs to improve. He needs to get better play out of the position players.  They need to make fewer errors, play more consistent defense and stop leaving so many men stranded on base.  It’s a tall order.  Let’s hope Mr. Black is up to the task.

 2.    Greg Holland returns to the form he had in Kansas City:

      Greg Holland was a dominating closer for Kansas City for five seasons.  He missed all of last season after having Tommy John surgery in late 2015.  The Royals let him go and the Rockies picked him up for one season.  Now the big questions facing him this year are how long will it take for him to get back into his old groove and can he hold up for an entire season at Coors Field?

 3.    Trevor Story avoids a sophomore slump:

      Trevor Story was one of the major bright spots for the Rockies last season.  With excellent defense and setting the League on fire with all of his homers, he was in serious contention for Rookie of the Year until he tore a ligament in his thumb and was lost for the season. Now he needs to pick up where he left off.  His biggest weakness last year was that he had too many strikeouts.  He has said he is focused on being more patient at the plate.  From what little I have been able to see of him this spring training, he has made some strides in this area.  He also seems more relaxed and at ease in his second season in the Majors.

 4.     The battle between Dahl and Parra for starting position in left field gets settled:

      One of the biggest surprises last season was David Dahl.  After Gerado Parra was injured Dahl stepped up big time, both as an outfielder and at the plate.  He entered spring training this year favored to win the starting job at left field when he was sidelined with a “stress reaction” to his sixth rib. The current estimate for his return to the starting lineup is late April. 

     I hope he is ready to play by then, because the less I have to see of Parra the better.  Parra is still a very good defenseman, but he swings at everything that comes over the plate and all too often an easy out.   I will admit that so far this spring he has been playing like man trying to keep his job.

 5.    The bullpen doesn’t stink:

      There is no other way to say it.  If the bullpen sucks like it did last year, it will be the Freddy Krueger of the Rockies dreams of a winning season.  One of the most frustrating things for Rockies fans is to watch a winnable ball game be given away by a crappy bullpen.  If Bud Black can’t help the bullpen, then it’s “wait until next year” time again.

 

 

So there you go, my 5 things to keep an eye on as the Rockies season progresses.  I’ll grade the Rockies at mid-season to see how they are performing and revisit things to watch.  But in the meantime, let’s play ball!

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