This story was excerpted from Thomas Harding’s Rockies Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
DENVER — First-year hitting coach Brett Pill believes taking care of small snapshots of offense will help the Rockies make the big picture prettier in the future.
And, before looking at the big picture — the 54-87 record after Friday night’s 7-6 loss to the Cardinals at Coors Field — offensive progress points to a better future. In several offensive categories in which the Rockies finished near the bottom of MLB last year, they’re either top 10 or in the middle of the pack.
The Rockies went 43-119 last year, and Pill and everyone else with the club went into the year knowing a masterpiece was unlikely. In the context of the history of the game, there’s a somewhat morbid goal — to avoid the 13 losses it would take for the team to drop 100 for a fourth straight year.
Expressing a sentiment that permeates the club these days, Pill is too busy pushing for gains to concern himself with the past.
“It’s harder for me, because I don’t have a reference for what it was like in here last year, so that’s good,” Pill said. “There are times that I’m like, ‘Man, we should be doing better.’ But we take it pitch-by-pitch. ‘Hey, we’re going up against this pitcher, and this is what we’re going to try to accomplish.’ And if we don’t, what can we learn from that?
“Then it’s repeat. The losses and wins should reflect a bit of that process, so if we’re constantly losing or getting close to 100, whatever that is, we’ve got to figure out a better way. But we focus more on the micro part of it.”
The micro part of it has seen gains. For example, here are some final stats from last season and where the Rockies ranked among MLB teams:
Batting average: .237, 23rd
On-base percentage: .293, 30th
On-base plus slugging (OPS): .679, 29th
Runners in scoring position OPS: .678, 27th
Runners in scoring position with two outs: .648, 27th
Here are those same categories after Friday’s game:
BA: .253, tied for 4th
OBP: .324, 8th
OPS: .741, 4th
RISP OPS: .754, 11th
RISP with two outs OPS: .710, tied for 16th
Also, the Rockies went into Friday leading MLB in runs scored in the eighth inning or later with 169, two more than the contending Cubs.
The philosophy of trusting the gains as part of the process can be tested during rough times. The improvement with runners in scoring position is real. But just as real was a recent 15-game stretch (Aug. 17-Sept. 1) that saw the Rockies with RISP slash .162/.285/.246 (all 29th-ranked figures over that period) and post a .531 OPS (29th).
“Yesterday on the off-day, I was doing some reflection and was very curious to see how many games we’ve lost by one or two runs — that number is 43,” outfielder Mickey Moniak said. “That’s not counting the three-run, four-run, even five-run games we felt we were in. But if you look back to last year, we lost 119 games, and I’d be very curious to see how many of those were by two or fewer runs, and I would venture to say not a lot of them.
“But look at the White Sox. They lost 121 games two years ago, and now they’re knocking on the door of the playoffs. I’m sure last year, if you ask them, it wasn’t the season they wanted to have. Now they’re at the top of the AL Central.”
Sometimes, improved offense in one area highlights a deficit in another. The Rockies are proficient at scoring late, but often are forced to do so because of missed opportunities earlier.
“We do a good job climbing back into games when we need to, but we’ve got to be the team that is ahead on those games,” rookie Cole Carrigg said. “Sometimes I think we get a little lax in the middle innings — I could be wrong, or I could be right. For whatever reason, we are able to lock in for the seventh, eighth or ninth innings.”
Could the lack of early production come from inexperience?
Against the Cardinals on Friday, the Rockies’ batting order featured three rookies and three others who haven’t had a year in which they weren’t optioned to the Minors.
A deep theory — maybe even a tumble into a rabbit hole — is this: Starters tend to have diverse pitch mixes that can be effective against hitters without a huge catalog of plate appearances. Brett Sullivan, who delivered the two-run, 11th-inning single for a 6-5 victory over the Orioles, said the theory is at least worth thought.
“That could be true in a lot of ways,” Sullivan said. “Does it make it easier to hit?
“The approach could be easier: ‘If I’m in this spot right here, I’m going to pull the trigger and swing.’ So in that sense, yes. But if it’s the other pitch, you might be out of luck.
“But in those situations, I think everyone throws 100 [mph].”
With a squad that is building, there will be time to test theories and hone approaches. With success, the focus on the little steps should be seen in the record.