May is only month two of the six-month regular season. For some, it can be a make or break month going into the dog days of summer. April is the beginning, where slow starts are forgivable and fast starts should be looked at with skepticism. May is when teams should be hitting their stride, now that the majority of rosters have had two months to get back into playing the game again. For the Colorado Rockies, the first two weeks of May have been unforgivable and very forgettable.
At the beginning of May, the Rockies had a 17-8 record, and though I am not a big believer in Power Rankings, they held a position within the top five on ESPN for five weeks. That top-five position will be gone before the weekend is over if they continue to bat the way they have (not) been. Going into Saturday’s game they are now 20-16 having gone 3-8 since the first of May. They are batting .237, which is ranked 23rd in MLB. It’s a really good thing that San Diego (15-23) is in Denver this weekend, baseball Gods willing, to give the Rockies a much needed confidence booster
The bats of this team have been in a coma for two weeks, seriously. I don’t know if any of the guys from the Caribbean countries are like Pedro Cerrano (Major League), but if they are, they need to bring Jobu his rum and cigars. In the last two weeks, the Rockies have a .240 batting average (20th in the league) and only 88 hits (16 added on Friday alone). The last two weeks, the LA Angels (of Anaheim) have a league-best 126 hits. The Rockies haven’t been able to hit, and the bullpen has been failing when it is needed most.
I am personally volunteering to be chairman of the “Bus Felipe Paulino to anywhere but here” campaign. Colorado Springs or bust! Paulino has a 6.94 ERA in 15 appearances, with 18 hits against him and nine earned runs. This guy kills me because he comes in during clutch game-on-the-line moments, yet Manager Jim Tracy continues to put him on the mound when he shouldn’t be there. The starting rotation has been solid except for the supposed “ace,” Ubaldo Jimenez.
I’d like to mention his last two weeks, but the entire last month and a half has been forgettable for him. He has had one quality start (as far as I’m concerned) that was wasted by a weak offense. Jimenez has had six starts with a 0-3 record, and I honestly think there is something wrong with the guy. His mechanics are shot, his fastball last season was in the mid-high 90s, sometimes topping out at 100. That fastball is now only in the low 90s and barely managing mid 90s. This team needs to turn around fast because the dog days of summer are coming. This team gave itself breathing room with a fast start, but has been squandering it at the same pace.
