Team’s best-laid plan for relief has gone up in smoke
ARLINGTON, TEXAS» Raise your hand if you saw the Rockies’ bullpen collapse coming. Be honest.
When general manager Jeff Bridich and his front office spent $106 million during the offseason to bring in closer Wade Davis (three years, $52 million) and bridgemen Bryan Shaw (three years, $27 million) and Jake McGee (three years, $27 million) to finish off games, many of you Rockies fans thought it was a good idea.
I know that I was all in when the moves were announced.
The blueprint was black and white: Get six or seven solid innings out of the relatively inexperienced starting rotation, and then hand the ball to the relievers. But those best-laid plans have disintegrated because of a mass of first-batter walks, poor execution and lagging confidence. Only right-hander Adam Ottavino, who deserves all-star consideration, has matched expectations; he has exceeded them, actually.
Obviously, if the Rockies don’t fix this mess quickly, their postseason hopes will be toast by the all-star break. The offense, which banged out 15 hits Sunday, has come to life, but Colorado has lost 12 of its last 16 games and is three games under .500 for the first time this season.
“Having our team come back so many times and having (the bullpen) let us down has really gotten old. So something has to
change,” said Davis, who walked four, gave up the game-losing hit and blew his fourth save in 24 chances. His ERA soared to 4.55.
Sunday’s eyesore, in which Rockies relievers gave up seven on runs on six walks and two hit batters — but just two hits — over four innings, ranks as one of the great meltdowns in recent memory. The last time the Rockies blew a three-run lead in the ninth inning and lost was on Aug. 31, 2016, in a 10-8 loss to the Dodgers.
Colorado’s bullpen ERA is 5.48, the worst in the National League and the club’s worst since 2004 (5.53). Shaw’s ERA? 7.08. McGee’s ERA? 5.26? Lefty Chris Rusin, so good last year? 7.45 ERA.
Those numbers are sure to go down as the season goes along — they have to, right? But the Rockies’ season depends on a turnaround, now, starting Monday when they begin a sevengame homestand vs. the Mets and Marlins.
Manager Bud Black certainly understands the urgency.
“We will address a number of things,” he said after Sunday’s debacle. “We have had a couple of discussions already, as a group and individually. We have to keep fighting through it.”
Asked if the bullpen woes are about mechanics or a lack of confidence, Black replied: “It’s a a combination of everything. It’s confidence, it’s mental, it mechanics, it’s trying to do too much with the ball. There are a lot of things that go into this.”
As for Davis’ uncharacteristic four-walk meltdown, Black said: “It looks as those his release point was way off. We can’t underestimate what happened today. We’ll address that.”
The Rockies have some possible solutions already in house. Right-handers Jeff Hoffman, Antonio Senzatela and Carlos Estevez might be able to help, though Senzatela and Estevez are still injured and remain a ways from returning.
The bottom line: Colorado’s season is on the brink if it doesn’t fix its biggest issue.