ROCKIES  //  BRONCOS

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THE Rockies 70/86 record posted today has the team at 11th place in the National League, faring better within the NL-West, 32/42, a 10 point instead of the 16 point NL/inter-league differential. Even so, the Rockies have failed to achieve a significant winning record versus any of the NL-W teams, as of Tuesday 5/13 against Arizona, 4/11 against San Francisco, 9/7 vs. the Dodgers and today 9/10 vs. San Diego. The NL-W fourth place Rockies are currently 20 games behind first place Arizona. If the Rockies were a NL-Central team, they’d still be in fourth place, if an NL-East team, last place.

It’s been a tough year for the Rockies since early May, but actor Tom Hanks told America in a flick, “There’s no crying in baseball.” It’s time to rub the tears away, time to let go of the blame game, time to move on and find the flaws, do the fixes.

Important is seeing the good as well as the bad and ugly, for example, the top two teams in the NL today are the Phillies and the Brewers. In the 2011 series of games between the Rockies and the Brewers, the Rockies accrued 44 runs and the Phillies and Brewers combined for 31. Were total number of runs a measure of which team is best among the three, we could argue that the Rockies can prevail over the NL’s top two franchises. Add total number of runs for the year as a measure and the Rockies become one of the NL’s top five teams. Obvious from this is that on base percentage and circling the bases are NOT among the team’s major issues, while OBP and base running failing to convert to "game-winning" runs is a major issue.

Why, then, have the Rockies failed to produce enough runs to win games and rise above .500? As I see it, among super spoilers are (a) Marginal pitching, (b) Inability of the infield and outfield to always make up for pitching that has allowed doubles, triples and home-runs, (c) Failure to match expectations with insurance, in effect, no Rockies pitcher offsetting the early loss of Jorge De La Rosa or of Ubaldo Jimenez going flat, while the only batter making up for Gonzalez and Tulowitzki being off to a slow start was Todd Helton, (d) Not enough power bats in the middle and back end of the line-up, (e) Unexpected injuries forcing the Rockies to stay a work in progress, never a fully coordinated team, too often a new lead-off man, most series starting without the same batting order. . .  Other reasons for the Rockies losing record probably go deep, are identifiable and can be eliminated. One thing is certain: the Rockies bad season has not been the fault of any one individual, not GM Dan O’Dowd, not manager Jim Tracy, not a particular coach or trainer, not an individual position player---all have shared in the crash and burn season.

So, will the Rockies manager and front office attempt to solve problems via effective leadership principles, along with solutions for the long term that have been thought through carefully, with all possible consequences analyzed? Or, will the team’s leadership take shortcuts too soon and at shallow points across the pile-up of issues?  

BRONCOS & THE TITANS ---  The 190 rushing yards gained by the Oakland Raiders against the Denver Broncos included 150 executed by only one Raider, a running back. Also, the Broncos lost to the Raiders by only three points. These differentials have failed to demonstrate that the Broncos are already an out of the race team. Contrary to media comments about the Broncos performance in game one of the season, the Broncos haven’t shown signs of wimping far back instead of forward. Last week, the Broncos matched the Tennessee Titans 1-1 season record by whipping the Cincinnati Bengals, though the Titans takedown of the Baltimore Ravens in the same week was from a 13 point lead, more commendable than the Denver 24-22 win.

Not good for the Broncos is that the Titans knockdown had a lot to do with the Titans offense exploiting Baltimore’s defense weaknesses close to and in Baltimore's red zone, which is where a segment of the Broncos defense can be vulnerable. And, if statistics play out as prologue, Titans quarterback Matt Hasselbeck has an advantage over Broncos starting QB Kyle Orton in greater number of yards accrued to date, and from just two sacks compared with Orton being sacked seven times, which signals the importance of pass protection for Orton and underscores the upgraded sack execution that the Broncos need to complete against Hasselbeck.

But if the Broncos starting and reserve receivers can do what they’ve done in place of already injured players while receiving protection on the run, the Titans defense could experience meltdown before the third quarter. And, if the Broncos secondary can play to the hilt and interfere effectively, the Broncos defense won’t be giving back points gained by Orton and his receivers. My take is this: if the Broncos lose, it won’t be by much, worst case seven points. Then again, it’s an NFL season---a wider point spread could occur if an injury pattern that the Broncos began experiencing last week turns out to be viral.

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