Will the Rockies regret decision to not add a starting pitcher at the trade deadline?
Kiz: Tried to warn y’all that a playoff race is sweet agony. Sometimes heavy on the agony. If the Rockies fail to make the postseason, we’ll have nightmares about the eighth inning Monday night in Anaheim. DJ LeMahieu’s grand slam trumped by Adam Ottavino’s meltdown. That was a full E-ticket ride with a bummer ending. As good as Colorado’s pitching has been, do the Rockies have enough? Should they have traded for a starter at the deadline?
Saunders: I said the Rockies needed to add a relief pitcher at the deadline, preferably a left-hander. I didn’t think they needed to trade for another starter because Tyler Anderson had a 2.89 ERA across June and July, and I thought he would only get better. But he has gone the other direction. Between Antonio Senzatela and Chad Bettis, I thought they had a competitive fifth starter. Hindsight tells me I was wrong.
Kiz: I second-guess almost as well as I eat cheeseburgers. But it’s not second-guessing if you say it in advance. And I said it repeatedly. The Rockies could’ve really used Kevin Gausman, a starting pitcher with Colorado roots. Smarter baseball analysts than me insisted I was nuts. Well, the Braves traded for Gausman, and he is 4-1 with a 1.69 earned run average and 0.875 WHIP for Atlanta. That’s pretty good.
Saunders: Actually, it’s very good, and much better than I would have predicted. Remember, in 21 starts with Baltimore before the trade, Gausman was 5-8 with a 4.43 ERA. Not great, but then, he’s also averaged more than 180 innings over the past two seasons, with almost a strikeout per inning. So there is talent in his right arm. The Braves’ gain was the Rockies’ loss.
Kiz: There’s no crying in baseball, and catcher Chris Iannetta stoically utters a version of Tom Hanks’ line after nearly every tough defeat. Manager Bud Black is a pitching magician. But can he pull a reliable fifth starter out of his hat? It’s too late for Gausman to be the answer. So tell me, my wise friend, how does Black piece together the back end of his starting rotation for the stretch run?
Saunders: Anderson’s meltdown on Sunday vs. the Cardinals was a bad omen, but the plan is to bump Anderson back one start and try to fix what’s broken. Black continues to express faith in the left-hander, though I don’t know whether that’s true belief or expediency. I do think that Jeff Hoffman, coming off two strong starts at Triple-A, despite a so-so season, will figure prominently in the final month of the season. We might see a starters-by-committee approach at the back end of the Rockies’ rotation.