More of the same for the Colorado Rockies against the Padres

Nothing changes for the Colorado Rockies when they come home from a long road trip.

It used to be that the Rockies would struggle on the road, but then look like a completely different team when they arrived back at Coors Field. The team that was unfortunate enough to get scheduled against the Rockies when they returned from a long road trip usually resulted in a beating from the home team.

That used to be the case. However, the 2015 season hasn’t been like many for the Rockies. That is the case with the home schedule as well. Instead of the struggles on the road, followed by domination at home, the Rockies are struggling on the road, then experiencing the hangover when they get back to their own back yard. It hasn’t been fun to watch.

With the focus officially off of the Rockies as the Denver Broncos opened their preseason schedule in Seattle, the Rockies were back at work at Coors Field. It was a common story for the Rockies, who watched their starting pitcher give up four runs in six innings, a serviceable outing for Coors Field, then the bullpen proceeded to make sure that the Rockies had no chance of winning the game.

Ken Roberts, newly recalled from Triple-A, gave up a single to Will Venable, then a sacrifice bunt to Yangervis Solarte. Rafael Betancourt took over and continued the misery that has been his return to the big leagues. After recording an out, the 40-year-old gave up a double to Matt Kemp, which scored the Padres first run of the inning. The Rockies then decided to walk Justin Upton intentionally to get to Jed Gyorko, who showed that he doesn’t appreciate being disrespected. He drilled a 2-2 fastball to center field to give the Padres a commanding four run lead.

In the 9th inning, the Padres added another run with a triple from Kemp. The hit completed the cycle for the Padres slugger. Strangely enough, it was the first cycle in the history of the Padres, who have been playing Major League Baseball since the late 60’s.

The Rockies can’t win if they don’t have a single dependable member of their bullpen. As bad as their starting pitching has been, the Rockies bullpen has been absolutely atrocious. The small moves that the Rockies made to help their rotation have mostly paid off. The addition of Chris Rusin has been a positive for the rotation, yet the bullpen’s additions have nearly been a complete disaster. Despite a very strong early season from John Axford, his struggles starting in late-June has proven to sabotage his entire season.

At some point in the offseason, the bullpen must be addressed in a serious way. If there is an aspect of a team that can be turned around very quickly, it is a relief corp. Back in 2009, when the Rockies found their way to the playoffs, the team actually turned over all but one member of their bullpen mid-season. The only pitcher from the opening day roster that remained on the team the entire season was Huston Street, the team’s closer.

The Rockies must take that same approach when they look to build the bullpen. They need to go out and find the next Matt Belisle, a guy who can fill a multitude of roles, including pitching on a daily basis. The Rockies must find pitchers similar to Joel Peralta, who possesses a strong fastball, but can also pull the string on a change up that keeps a batter on his heels.

Pitchers are in the bullpen for a reason. Very few pitchers ever wanted to be in the bullpen. That has changed slightly in recent years where guys are closers by design, but for the most part, there isn’t a pitcher whose dream was to be a middle reliever. However, the type of guy who has accepted who he is in the big leagues and focuses enough to get his three outs is exactly what this club needs.

The reality is, the Rockies need far more than just a good bullpen. They need help in many aspects of the game. However, improving just that area of their team would help them win a significant amount of games that they wound up on the losing side of in 2015.

For now, the Rockies must continue to try and win games with a completely inept bullpen. It will certainly take it’s toll as the season winds down, but those types of games should remind the front office and anyone else making decisions in the offseason why things must be completely different by the time the team heads to spring training in 2016.