DENVER – There is no mistaking the fact that the Colorado Rockies offense has been stuck in the mud since they left Colorado for Los Angeles after a 12-0 win over the Washington Nationals on the final day of the (scheduled) regular season.
Scoring two runs against the Dodgers, then two against the Cubs, then two one more time against the Brewers, and finally zero in the second game against Milwaukee, the hits have been few and far between allowing those who believe the Rockies’ hitters to be products of Coors Field to add plenty of ammunition to their narrative.
But regardless of the fact that the 2018 Colorado Rockies have been much better out on the road than any version of the club before them, and has evened out their play to a great extent, they won’t mind for the moment if that old concept of their home ballpark can reemerge for a weekend.
But more than playing at altitude, or with a bigger outfield, being at home means sleeping in your own bed, getting back to your normal teams, and getting strength from a raucous crowd that has your back.
“I think it’s going to be packed,” said Charlie Blackmon before the first postseason game at Coors Field since 2009. “I think the numbers are really going to turn out. I think it’s going to be very loud. I think it’ll help the Rockies for sure. Everywhere we’ve played, it’s been super loud, and everybody hates us. So now it’ll be super loud and everybody loves us, I hope.”
It isn’t just a mental boost that the Rockies’ are looking for down 2-0 in the series but a physical one as well.
“Baseball is a game where you do it every day, and being in your comfort zone can be important to your performance on the field,” says Blackmon. “And sometimes when you have crazy travel and weird circumstances and a lot of times playing in the playoffs or a Wild Card game just changes the dynamic of the amount of stress that players feel. So I think just being here back at home, staying in your bed and being around people that you’re more comfortable with, I think that can only help us.”
With everything feeling different, as Blackmon point out, it can be difficult to treat these games like you would any other. The media presence increases exponentially, the schedule can be irregular, and the strategies can change, especially when there might not be a tomorrow to play for if you don’t win today.
But, according to professor Blackmon, pushing all of that to the back of you mind is the key to success.
“I think the more important thing is to control your emotions and your anxiety and that kind of thing. Letting those things go way up high just because it’s a playoff game is not going to make me a better baseball player. I’m going to try and do the exact same thing, going to have a clear mind, and I think it’ll be easier being here in Denver with the home crowd than it would be on the road where you’re maybe not as comfortable.”
If the Rockies can win the mental and physical battles with themselves, they have all the confidence in the world that they can win the baseball battle, and maybe even the war, with the Milwaukee Brewers. After all, this team has played their best baseball with their backs against the wall all season.
“Sure. We’ve lost some big games before. We’ve lost a few big games before, and it seems like every time we do that, we bounce back well. We lost the series in LA, and it kind of looked like we weren’t going to make it to the playoffs, and then we came out and put a bit of a streak together to get here.”
There are literally dozens of examples like this.
“So I don’t think there’s any panic in our clubhouse. Guys have the confidence that we can bounce back, that we know we’re a good team. We’ve won a lot of games. We’ve been in this position before. So I think guys really have a lot of confidence in the spot that we’re at right now.”
