Reviewing the Rockies’ 2021 Season: How Do They Solve the NL West Conundrum?
The history books confirm the worst fears of Colorado Rockies supporters – getting out of the NL West is rather difficult.
They have reached the post-season just five times since 1993, and are still yet to win the divisional title – not a huge surprise really, given that their section includes the outstanding Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants, as well as the reasonably progressive San Diego Padres.
How on earth do the Rockies compete on a level playing field with that trio?
A Giant shutout. pic.twitter.com/2Wsa7vzIJl
— MLB (@MLB) October 12, 2021
Improvements have to be made on and off the diamond, and clearly hanging on to key players is a must… which brings us to Trevor Story.
Story Time
A quality operator, there will be no shortage of interest in Story in this free agency window, given that he is an excellent shortstop who could bolster many rosters in the MLB.
It’s always a sign of extreme negativity when franchises are unable to hang on to their best players, and the loss of Nolan Arenado – a good friend of Story’s – was indicative of a Rockies team perceived to be on a downward spiral.
There are only two ways to change such an attitude – hang on to your best players, and start winning more games.
Often, players can be quite cryptic and mysterious when outlining their intentions as their contract runs out, but not Story – his signs are tell-tale. “Winning is at the top of the list, and that’s something that has always meant the most to me,” he has said. “I think this is a chance for me to kind of see where that’s at.”
Could such comments spell the end of his time at Coors Field? If Story does leave, the Rockies take yet another step backwards.
Gray Days
Story might not be the only player heading for the exit door.
Jon Gray is now second in the all-time Rockies list for strikeouts, and his 4.59 ERA and 157 strikeouts in the 2021 season reveal a player who could easily find new employment in the MLB.
Likewise, C.J. Cron, whose 28 home runs saw him lead the way in the Colorado batting ranks. He, like Gray, can also enjoy the perks of free agency this off-season, and it’s imperative that Bill Schmidt finds a way to keep them.
Reasons to be Optimistic
Let’s face it, the Rockies are never going to be amongst the favorites in the MLB betting odds from the likes of Space Casino. They simply don’t have the players or the resources to compete with their rivals in NL West, let alone the rest of the competition.
But if they could somehow keep Story, Gray and Cron, and make incremental gains in other areas, then there’s at least some room for positivity.
They have guys like Brendan Rodgers on their books, who seems to be a young talent with plenty of upsides, Ryan McMahon is a first-class operator, Antonio Senzatala is the real deal and German Marquez is elite.
There is a desire to see how Bill Schmidt does as general manager too, but the glass-half-full mindset is that there are positives for the Rockies heading into 2022… as long as they can hang on to those star performers.
