Despite a 19-15 record, the Rockies are not currently inspiring optimism. The team's .231 batting average, good for 14th in the National League ahead of only Washington and San Diego, has a lot to do with that.
Players say they are not concerned about the early power outage. But with Ubaldo Jimenez not pitching like Ubaldo Jimenez and the bullpen starting to show leaks, the Rocks need all the offense they can get.
What they've gotten so far is a lack of clutch hits and little ability to put together the big inning. In a 4-3 loss to the New York Mets yesterday the Rockies managed only three solo home runs. Carlos Gonzalez's shot was his first at Coors Field this season after smashing 26 at home last season.
April 20 against the Giants was the last time the Rockies scored more than six runs in a game. The Rockies' lineup is littered with troubling and telling statistics. Dexter Fowler leads the league in strikeouts from the lead-off position, perhaps the spot in the lineup that can least afford huge strikeout totals. Gonzalez has an on-base percentage of .295, which would be slightly disappointing if it was his batting average.
Todd Helton is the only regular player with a batting average over .300, at .311. Ian Stewart, who the organization hoped would take hold of the third-base position this year, is hitting .064. He was trending on Twitter during Monday's game because so many people were rushing to make the joke that he must wake up in an 0-2 count.
The Rockies are treading water right now, looking over their shoulder and being thankful the World Series champion Giants are hitting as poorly as they are. Colorado has played a majority of its games on the road so far and have not had ideal weather while here. But the Rockies managed just six hits last night off Mike Pelfrey, he of the 5.47 ERA.
This week, the Rockies started a stretch of fifteen out of the next twenty games at home and need to take advantage. After a hot start, Troy Tulowitzki's batting average has sunk to .250. This could just be a bad stretch for the Rockies, or another sign that the Rockies and expectations don't mix.
For all the money shelled out during the off season, only Jorge De La Rosa is showing positive returns. In fact, he has more RBIs and hits than Stewart in about a third of the at-bats. The only problem is the Rockies pay him to pitch.
More from our Sports archive: "Katy Perry tried to blow up Troy Tulowitzki's season with her shmucky fireworks."