Baseball is a cruel game. Colorado Rockies fans know that very well.
Wednesday night’s 8-4 loss to the Houston Astros, their third in a row and seventh in their last eight game, was accentuated by something that is quickly becoming a problem. Their starting pitching couldn’t keep them in the game. After a really good run of good pitching, the Rockies poor starting pitching has returned.
On Wednesday night it was Kyle Kendrick’s turn. Frankly, Kendrick has epitomized the Rockies failures on the mound. Great on Opening Day in Milwaukee, Kendrick then struggled mightily for the rest of April. He had a very good May before struggling again of late. His season has represented the Rockies season extremely well.
On Wednesday, Kendrick was only able to get through five innings. He gave up four runs on seven hits. He walked three and struck out one. He never had good command and was clearly searching for his mechanics all night. One has to wonder if Kendrick is falling victim to something that has plagued many pitchers before him. When he pitches at Coors Field, he seems to be nibbling at the strike zone, afraid of contact. He then gets behind in the count and is forced to throw pitches over the heart of the plate. Coors Field can quickly get into a pitcher’s head if he isn’t careful.
While Kendrick was bad on Wednesday, the theme is a true issue for the Rockies. This team is only as good as their starting pitching. Beyond Jorge De La Rosa, the Rockies don’t have a single pitcher who is dependable on a regular basis. Each pitcher has had good games, but the consistency simply isn’t there.
For Rockies fans, the patience is wearing thin. For several years they have been told to remain patient. They have been promised that the future is near, only to watch prospects flame out and never reach their potential. Fans are tired of waiting, and there is no reason that they shouldn’t be. A once promising franchise has become a consistent loser, despite strong fan support.
The problem is, unlike the NFL or other professional sports leagues, turning things around in Major League Baseball is a long process. It seems even longer when fans are forced to endure 162 games every season in a year where the team is simply starting the growing process.
The subtle changes that the Rockies made in the offseason made some fans happy, and others more frustrated because, in their mind, it wasn’t enough. However, the changes that were made require the average fan to reset the frustration clock and give the new regime, whether or not they agree with the changes, some time to show whether or not they truly might be the right person for the job or not.
While the changes that new general manager Jeff Bridich made in the offseason all seem like good ones, there simply was no way that he was going to turn a team in despair into a contender over one winter. It isn’t that simple.
What that means is that Rockies fans are going to have to sit back and find a way to be even more patient than they have already been. They are going to be forced to endure games like Wednesday, where a better team, one that has potentially finished enduring their suffering, comes in and destroys them thoroughly.
It isn’t fun. There is no way around that fact. Watching the Rockies lost to teams that are better than they are on a consistent basis isn’t fun for anyone. However, it is going to have to happen as Bridich assembles his roster over the course of the next few seasons.
Rockies fans have the right to be mad, but regardless of who is running this team, they aren’t going to be contenders in 2015. They have to weed out the losing attitude and a few of the players who aren’t good enough to contribute on a winning team. That won’t happen in one season.
The cruelty of baseball is taunting Rockies fans right now, testing their ability to hang on.
