When your local teams are out of the playoffs and kick-off is still months away, the mind starts to wander.  Mine wandered to a routine afternoon game between the Colorado Rockies and the Chicago Cubs in which Nolan Arenado had his 15-game hitting streak snapped, despite the 3-1 Colorado victory. Arenado is having another sensational year hitting .332 with 16 HRs and 54 RBIs.  With six straight Gold Gloves and over 200 career homers, I thought to myself, is Nolan Arenado the greatest Rockie of all- time? To find out the answer I put it to my research department, meaning my laptop and the Starbucks... Read More

The formula has been working for the Colorado Rockies over the past few years.  Hit a few homers, drink some microbrews, sprinkle in some pitching, and make the playoffs.  With Nolan Arenado sporting a bigtime contract, Kyle Freeland pitching gems, and the usual cast of characters mostly returning, 2019 should be a good one. But like Ian Desmond at the plate, I’m still not comfortable. DJ LeMahieu and Adam Ottavino are now New York Yankees, Wade Davis and Mark Reynolds are practically eligible for AARP, and our issues at first base . . . still have issues. Here are eight major factors that... Read More

When the San Diego Padres signed Manny Machado to a 10-year/$300 million contract last week, Joel Wolfe, the agent of Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado, must have been smiling.  The contract was the most lucrative in major league baseball history as the Padres set the price it takes to secure a young, talented, gold-gloved superstar. The only problem is that Colorado has one that is even better.  And now it’s time to pay. In the last four years, Nolan Arenado has averaged 40 HRs, 40 2Bs, 125 RBIs, grabbed 4 gold gloves (6 total), and played in 4 all-star games, all while leading... Read More

One of the difficulties of trying to write a weekly Colorado sports article is focusing on the biggest story of the week, and timing it within the deadline provided.  Follow that up with the challenge of informing and entertaining the reader in 600 words or less, and the problem becomes compounded.  Within the last ten days the Colorado Rockies had a playoff series, the Denver Broncos played twice, the CU Buffs traveled to USC, the Colorado Avalanche were five games into the start of the hockey season, while the Denver Nuggets were just hours from their NBA opener. And that’s just Colorado! ... Read More

What a difference a week makes.  Well, ten games to be exact.  After getting swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Colorado Rockies were sitting at 82-70 and 2 ½ games out of first place.  Trevor Story had injured his arm, Nolan Arenado was in a major slump, the Rockies were fading from playoff contention, and I was writing their obituary. But the Rockies ended up winning nine out of their last ten games in what could only be described as the perfect storm, and for the first time in Rockies history, Colorado has made the playoffs in back-to-back seasons.  I tried to find the one single catalyst... Read More

With the MLB trade deadline approaching and the Colorado Rockies soundly in the playoff hunt, the question remains whether Colorado will be aggressive in acquiring talent before the July 31 deadline.  Currently positioned in third place, just behind the Los Angeles Dodgers, and in a basic dead heat with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Milwaukee Brewers, and Atlanta Braves, the Rockies have a tough decision to make.  Go add some talent to keep up with the other teams, or hope their current roster is good enough.  Here are four players the Rockies should go after, and a fifth they probably will. Cole... Read More

In the game of baseball, a batter can often be bothered by the shadows that lie between the mound and home plate, but it’s the foreshadowing that concerns the Colorado Rockies.  Baseball purists will say not to worry, just stay around .500 until the All-Star break, and then make your move.  After all, there are 162 games to be played.  But the next six games may shape the landscape of the Rockies for years to come. Currently in fourth place with a record of 46-44, Colorado trails the Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Dodgers, and the San Francisco Giants in the race for the NL West.  To further... Read More

With the Colorado Rockies off to a 20-15 record behind solid pitching and the bats of Charlie Blackmon and Nolan Arenado, we should be relatively satisfied.  After all, the Rockies have already played more road games (23) than any other team in the league, and the assumption is that the slumping bats will come alive once the thin air and short fences do their thing.  But after a team batting average of just .228 and some early struggles that may not correct themselves, here are four moves that Colorado may want to look at…sooner than later.   Find a veteran hitter to plug at first base.... Read More

Like sipping a cold microbrew in the cheap seats at Coors Field, I can still taste the success of last year’s Colorado Rockies.  With a 87-75 record and our first playoff game in almost ten years, Spring couldn’t come soon enough.  I doubted the Monfort family, I didn’t want to “trust the process”, but the organization proved me wrong.  The 2018 Rockies brought almost everyone back and even opened up their wallet to sign the top reliever in baseball, Wade Davis, to a huge contract. Blake Street is booming, roof top bars are stocking up, kids are dusting off their gloves, but there’s... Read More

As the Colorado Rockies prepared for last Saturday night’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, all eyes were on the clubhouse television. The screen showed the Milwaukee Brewers with a comfortable 6-0 lead over the St. Louis Cardinals, which would most likely mean that the Rockies would have to win one more game to clinch their first playoff appearance since 2009. Clayton Kershaw was scheduled to pitch for the Dodgers, and the odds were not looking good. But in an improbable season came an improbable ending as the St. Louis Cardinals rallied to score three runs in the eighth to defeat the... Read More