Okay I’ve heard the narrative, you’ve read the narrative and that narrative which is just ubiquitous is the Colorado Rockies lineup is good and will mash. Honestly, they’ll probably lead the league in every major offensive category like the Rockies almost always do, but that doesn’t mean they’re good, it means they play at Coors Field.

Hear me out.

It’s the same reason for Larry Walker not getting in the Hall of Fame or Todd Helton not winning an MVP, you, the Rockies fan, just aren’t seeing the downsides. It’s 100 per-cent true that Coors Field boosts stats. It’s also true that those first two guys should’ve accomplished the things aforementioned.

Anyhow, for just an example Mark Reynolds finished the year batting .282 with 14 homers and 53 RBI in 118 games played. Okay, that seems solid. But it’s not. He was the definition of a replacement-level first baseman in 2016. While he has assets valuable to the Rockies his 99 wRC+ (100 is league average, lower numbers are worse) attached to his stick is not one. And just a reminder Reynolds spent a large portion of the season as the Rockies fifth or sixth hitter. Couple that with him being relied upon for right-handed power and does it sound like the Rockies lineup is striking fear into opponents?

Look, 2017 will be different. The addition of Ian Desmond cannot be understated, — both in ability and in his power from the right-side — David Dahl having a full season is a massive addition and having the bat of Tom Murphy to work with is a tool most managers don’t get to utilize from a backstop. Here’s the issue, none of these players are healthy at the moment.

On Monday when the Rockies take their first swings in Milwaukee, Reynolds will likely be hitting sixth or seventh with the other spot being occupied by Gerardo Parra. If you remember correctly Parra was a pretty big detriment to the team last season at the plate, in fact he had a 56 wRC+ which tied Adeiny Hechavarria for the title of worst offensive player in baseball.

The player rounding out the bottom of the Rockies lineup is Tony Wolters. Another player who struggles offensively. Wolters is great, he’s a great catcher and he’s one of those guys that is so good behind the dish that you don’t really care what he does at the dish. Unfortunately we’re looking at what he can do at the plate right now and Wolters, while very much improved over the course of last season, is still not a positive in the Rockies lineup at the moment.

Charlie Blackmon followed by DJ LeMahieu with Nolan Arenado, Carlos Gonzalez and Trevor Story at three-four-five is nasty. Nobody will deny you there. But as we embark on 2017, six-seven-eight is not good. And that’s not even looking at the Rockies bench which currently houses a player two years removed from unaffiliated baseball as the main source of power.

Let me ask you this, are Alexi Amarista and Cristhian Adames, career .215 and .230 hitters, really making you say, ‘dang, look at that lineup!’?

It’s okay for the Rockies lineup to be meh, at least for the time being, they’ll rely upon their starters and bullpen which is a place where the club is actually good. It’s just about time we stop beating the narrative about Colorado being superior at offense, when it’s clearly not true. Maybe it will be true when Dahl and Desmond are back, but for now, the Rockies lineup just isn’t that good.