Bud Black remains steadfast, confident in Rockies offense

DENVER – The Colorado Rockies scored a grand total of six runs in their 2-1 series loss to the Atlanta Braves.

There were concerns about the offense from many in the media and plenty of fans before the season, and the first games at Coors Field in 2018 did nothing to assuage those concerns.

But this is the time of year where we must all be reminded about the marathon nature of the game of baseball. Teams that react based on the results of a 10-game sample size rarely end up putting together successful campaigns. With his club at an even 5-5 record, manager Bud Black made it simple and clear that he has no intention of falling into such a trap.

After being shutout for the first time this season in a masterful performance by young lefty Sean Newcomb, Black said he has “no concerns” about the offensive output thus far.

Newcomb put together only the third performance in Coors Field history to go at least six innings with at least nine strikeouts and no walks. The other two were Jon Gray and Randy Johnson.

When a guy has it going like Newcomb did, it’s gonna be tough for any offense.

“I was impressed by the change-up especially. He was impressive,” said Black. “It’s tough to solve and we just didn’t do it today.”

They certainly didn’t. But a few games do not make a trend.

The club was without their most consistent, and arguably best, hitter on Sunday in Charlie Blackmon and Nolan Arenado really hasn’t gotten the power stroke going yet. This is part of why the slight improvements from Carlos Gonzalez and Ian Desmond feel less significant.

But it is simply too early for declarations. Chris Iannetta will not lead this team in batting average, as he currently does. The trio of young players—Mike Tauchman, Pat Valaika, and Ryan McMahon—will come out of their 1-for-32 slump that began the year.

And even if not, Colorado has better and more experienced potential reinforcements than they did a year ago. David Dahl and Raimel Tapia are waiting in the wings, just a call away. Though, there are reasons why both are currently in reserves.

The fact remains, and was driven home by second baseman DJ LeMahieu, that this team has plenty of talent and cannot get too carried away with overanalyzing results at a time when the process is far more important.

“We didn’t swing it great today,” said LeMahieu after the Sunday loss. “Hitting is contagious, a little bit. We’ll get back to it. It’s not the best we’ve played, for sure. If we can just keep getting some wins here and there, I think we’re about to get hot. We’ll get on a roll, I’m not worried about it.”

The Colorado Rockies offense currently trails the pack after one percent of a marathon has been run. There’s no need to panic.