Ringolsby: Why the sky is not falling for the Colorado Rockies

This just in, the sky is not falling.

The Rockies are in an offensive funk, but they have not fallen into oblivion.

For all the teeth gnashing on public discussion forums, they did wake up on Wednesday morning, fresh off being one-hit by Jordan Lyles of all people, glanced at the NL West standings and lo and behold they sit just a few games out of first place.

And, just as importantly, for all the offensive woes of the Rockies, they aren’t the only team in the NL West in a funk.

Now, Rockies fans aren’t used to seeing the team scuffling along with a .229 average, which makes it natural for some panic.

But chew on this…

The only NL West team with an average of .240 or better? San Francisco, third in the NL with a .256 average. The Giants went into their Wednesday afternoon game against the Reds in third place in the NL West, a half-game back of the Rockies, who were off Wednesday.

Hey, the NLW-leading Diamondbacks are 15^th in the 15-team NL with a .222 average. The Dodgers, highest payroll in baseball and all, are 10^th at .237, sitting in fourth place in the NL West with a rotation that is unraveling.

Now, that’s not saying there is reason to celebrate down on Blake Street.

But there also is no reason to pout and shout.

It is a 162-game grind, and there are high points and low points.

There’s nothing to celebrate about a team 43 games into the season hitting .229, but there’s also nothing to mourn about a team that was 2 ½ games back of the division-leading Diamondbacks pending the outcome of the Diamondbacks Thursday against the Brewers.

Now, Ian Desmond certainly isn’t celebrating his .171 average, nor can Chris Iannetta get too excited about hitting .229 or Carlos Gonzalez .216.

But then who thought Paul Goldschmidt, the face of the Diamondbacks, would go into Thursday hitting .213, catcher Alex Avila would be at .127, shortstop Nick Ahmed at .212 and right fielder Chris Owings .204.

And the Giants three off-season additions to revive the offense? Evan Longoria is hitting .244, Austin Jackson .228 and Andrew McCutchen .252.

Yes, second baseman DJ LeMahieu, a key component to the top of the Rockies lineup and superb defensive infielder, is on the disabled list for the second time this year (and second time in his career), this time with a left thumb injury, the seriousness of which hasn’t been made public.

But injuries are a part of the routine in the course of a season.

Injuries?

The Diamondbacks are waiting for the 2018 debut of third baseman Jake Lamb. They have lost right-handed starter Taijuan Walker to Tommy John surgery, just learned center fielder A.J. Pollock will be out four to eight weeks with a left thumb fracture, and starting pitcher Shelby Miller is sidelined while he recovers from Tommy John as well.

The Dodgers disabled list current includes left-handers Clayton Kershaw (left bicep tendinitis) and Hyun-Jin Ryu (left groin strain), shortstop Corey Seager (Tommy John surgery on May 4), and on Tuesday night had third baseman Justin Turner in the lineup for the first time this season.

The Giants’ disabled list includes the No. 1 and 2 starters, Madison Bumgarner (fractured in left hand) and Johnny Cueto (sprained right elbow), closer Mark Melancon (recovery from surgery last September), second baseman Joe Panik (left thumb surgery), and outfielder Hunter Pence (right thumb surgery). And there was talk on Wednesday about concussion concerns with catcher Buster Posey.

And here’s the kicker: The Rockies haven’t even settled in at Coors Field.

It is one of the game’s most profound home field advantages, even if the Rockies convenience store efforts at home (7-11) have been softened by the fact that are a surprising 16-9 on the road.

They have played fewer home games than any NL team except the braves (6-6). That, however, is going to change once the Rockies get through the remaining seven games on their current nine-game trip–their second three-city trip in the first eight weeks of the season.

Sixty-three of their final 113 games are at home, and if there is a post-season berth at stake the Rockies play 17 of 28 September games at Coors, including the final seven.

None of that guarantees success.

But the offensive inconsistency of the first 42 games doesn’t mean there is no hope, either.

It’s the beauty of a 162-game schedule.