Walt Weiss and his team may be on to something, much to the chagrin of Colorado Rockies skeptics. Breathing life into the Colorado Rockies — and GM Dan O’Dowd’s job security — the boys on Blake Street have won five straight, sweeping the San Diego Padres again and taking two games of a very cold double-header with the New York Mets on Tuesday: 8-4 and then 9-8 in 10 bone-chilling innings.
Who would’ve thought the Colorado Rockies would sprint out of the gate and, better yet, turn in only one bad game out of their first 14? The Rockies drubbing at the hands of the San Francisco Giants in their third game had disaster written all over it. After losing two tough games at AT&T Park, the Rockies laid an egg in the final game of the series, losing 10-0. They quit that day, no doubt, and were hit early. I worry about efforts like that, where the fight disappears and it turns into focusing on tomorrow.
Other than that, the effort has been exactly what is needed. Everyone has contributed to pushing the Colorado Rockies to their second-best start after 14 games. A 10-4 record feels good, even if six wins are thanks to San Diego, two from a weakened Milwaukee club and two — so far — over the redheaded stepchildren of New York. It feels right because the Colorado Rockies actually beat opponents they have to beat.
They have to beat the Padres. The Padres are a perennial losing team that’s never predicted for greatness. They should beat the Brewers. They should beat the Mets. And it would be really nice if they could beat the Giants.
Beating the rest of the division and remaining competitive with the better NL teams is how they have to keep pace with the pack. The Colorado Rockies must be right in the thick of the race all season for first or second place to have a shot at the playoffs.
The Rockies upcoming schedule will be a good test of the team’s competiveness. The Arizona Diamondbacks are coming to town, followed by the dominating Atlanta Braves. If the Colorado Rockies can come out of those six games with three of four wins, I’ll be happy, especially if they can simply win the series over Arizona.
Dethroning the Diamondbacks and Giants must be Weiss’ primary goal. Beating the Braves would be a complimentary achievement at the same time.
The Colorado Rockies have battled through 14 games so far and are off to their second-best start in franchise history, but it is far too early to really know exactly what they are made of. Adversity will increase when bigger and better teams are encountered. If they carry this attitude forward, they’ll be in almost every game, and then they’ll have a chance to control their destiny.