Posts Tagged Brad Hawpe
MLB Playoff Analysis: Colorado Rockies
Are the Rockies a serious postseason threat?
Before the 2009 season, the Colorado Rockies traded their best player, Matt Holliday, to Oakland for Carlos Gonzalez, Greg Smith and Huston Street. Each of the four baseball writers for CBSSports.com picked the Rockies to finish 4th this season. They weren’t the only ones to think that. It is safe to say the Rockies are the biggest positive surprise this season in baseball.
The Rockies fought with the Giants, Braves and Marlins for the NL Wild Card. Also, with the Dodgers’ recent ineptness, the Rockies had a shot to win NL West. Colorado plays in a hitter-friendly Coors Field, park factor of 105 this year, and the Rockies know how to play there. They are 51-30 at home, the second best home record in the NL, and they boast the best home record among NL playoff teams. Finally, they have a +91 run differential entering the final game of the year.
Season Recap: Colorado got off to a rocky start. They finished May at 20-29. As a frame of reference, the Dodgers were 35-17 at the end of May. On May 29th, the Rockies fired then-manager Clint Hurdle and promoted bench coach Jim Tracy to take over the reigns. Six days later, the Rockies went on an 11-game winning streak. Under Jim Tracy this year, the Rockies are 74-41, compared to 18-28 under Clint Hurdle. Jim Tracy can’t be the lone reason for the Rockies success. Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki’s re-emergence has significantly improved the Rockies. Tulo leads Rockies hitters with a 5.5 WAR, followed by Todd Helton and Seth Smith! Seth Smith? All I remember about him was that he made the final out in the 2007 World Series. Also, the emergence of Ubaldo Jimenez has anchored a rotation that has surprised and impressed the rest of baseball. Colorado is finishing the season strong, going 20-10 since the start of September.
No Holliday, No Atkins, No Problem!
The Colorado Rockies at 65-53 lead the NL Wild Card by 1 ½ games over division rival San Francisco. What has been more impressive; the fact that the pitching staff has an ERA of 4.19, good for 11th in all of MLB, in the worst pitchers park in baseball? Or that the top two run producers over the past four years for the Rockies have made nearly zero impact on this year’s team? While their ERA at Coors is nearly a run worse than it is on the road, the change in the offensive guard, in my opinion, is a better storyline for the Rockies season.
From the 2005-2008 seasons, Matt Holliday and Garrett Atkins led the Rockies in RBI by a significant margin over the next closest player, Brad Hawpe. Holliday and Atkins hit 426 and 419 RBI respectively, Brad Hawpe slugged 332 RBI. During that time, Holliday and Atkins were in the top 3 for Rockies hitters in BA, Hits and HR.
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