Trevor Phipps and Rick Langenberg
For many Rockies’ fans the 2021 season started off on a bad note when fan favorite Nolan Arenado headed out the door as part of a major trade deal. He now wears the uniform of a hated bird (member of the St. Louis Cardinals).
Regardless, Nolan stole the show at the Major League All-Star game, hosted at Coors Field, with many Rocky fans giving him a huge ovation and wishing he never left the team.
And for many Rock fans, it has gotten even worse now with the pending exit news as there are several rumors saying that shortstop Trevor Story, another big crowd favorite, will be traded soon.
According to multiple news reports, more than a half dozen teams have engaged in talks with the Rockies about trading Story ever since the All-Star break. The most pressing possibility is a deal with the New York Yankees, according to television reports aired Friday evening.
At press time there were no solid updates regarding the Story situation, and the team has until this Friday to make a final decision. Players Jon Gray, Mychal Givens, and Daniel Bard are also on the market.
However, the good news for Rockies’ fans is that even though their record is bad, they have been doing great at home. The Rockies (at the time of this writing) were below .500 record by approximately 12 games. But it is clear where their struggles exist, as they were boasting a 33-20 home record and they recording only 9-34 on the road as of last weekend.
Although playoffs are not completely off the table, the Rockies are currently in fourth place in the NL West and they would have to come up with quite a run during the second half of 2021 to see the post season. They are currently nearly 20 games behind the first place San Francisco Giants, the surprise team of 2021.
The Rockies have been hit or miss since they returned from the All-Star break on July 16, as they have only picked up a few wins. But the team got hit with an unfortunate COVID assault, which even grounded Manager Buddy Black. Their first return from the break occurred with three games at home against the Dodgers during which they only picked up one win. However, they did it in style with a Charlie Blackmon walk-off homer late in the game. They then won one and lost one in a two game stint at Coors Field against the Seattle Mariners.
Currently Rockies third baseman Ryan McMahon is leading the team in homeruns with 16 and has earned a batting average nearing the .260 mark. Leftfielder Raimel Tapia touts the team’s best batting average, exceeding the .280 mark, prior to last weekend. He also has racked up 96 hits, and five homeruns.
On the pitching side, German Marquez has been extremely impressive, with nearly 10 wins this year and coming within two outs of pitching a no-hitter at Coors Field. He is earning the team’s best ERA at 3.50 (as of last weekend) for the starting rotation. In addition, he emerged as the sole Rocky to appear in the All-Star game, and received quite a reception from the home fans. He yielded no hits during his stint during the fourth-inning of the All-Star game.
For relievers, Mychal Givens has a 3-2 record and a 2.93 ERA, but he may be leaving the team soon.
On Monday, the Rockies travel to California to play a three game road stand against the Los Angeles Angels
Then on Thursday, the Rockies play four in San Diego against the Padres. The Rockies then return home next Tuesday to face the Chicago Cubs This is a game at Coors that traditionally features more Cub fans than those of the Rockies. Nothing quite like Cub mania. But the Cubs have faced their own problems in 2021, including a lengthy losing streak, prior to the All-Star break.
