Can the Rockies Succeed on Offense Alone?

As the 2007 Baseball season begins Rockies General Manager Dan O'Dowd has put his vaunted offense on display as well as the promise of a great season. Unfortunately the fans in Denver have become skeptical of this sort of talk. Last year O'Dowd pointed to his pitching rotation and the addition of Brian Fuentes as closer. In 2006 this group was supposed to take the Rockies to the playoffs, but runs came rationed. Now the General Manager feels he has solved the questions on offense, but he has let pitching tumble by the wayside. Can this team outscore enough opponents to make up for a shaky rotation? Sadly for Denver the saying rings true, as in, "Offense wins games, defense wins championships."

What O'Dowd seems not to realize is that the NL west has gone from the division of bottom feeders and has beens to one of strength, especially in the pitching department. So while the General Manager might be able to claim one of the best Closers in the division, the rotation is quite possibly the worst. This might not have been the case had last years ace Jason Jennings not been traded to Houston. Apparently there was a rift between the management and Jennings, the higher-ups commenting that he hadn't won enough games. What they failed to realize was that Jennings had worse run support then almost any other pitcher in the league, regularly giving up only one or two runs in a loss. Even more significant in regards to the management's mistake is that Houston, with one of the best rotations, has put Jennings in the second spot.

With Jennings out of the picture the apparent leader of the rotation is Aaron Cook, who grinded his way to a 4.23 ERA while winning nine games and losing fifteen. He is certainly a fan favorite with his exciting demeanor, but he doesn't seem to be staff ace material. Jeff Francis then, in the second position, might have to become the savior if the Rockies are to make the playoffs. He is young but battle hardened, he pitched well in the second spot behind Jennings last year, with 13 wins, only 11 losses, and a 4.17 ERA. Many people feel that he will soon be the staff ace, it might just take a few good results.

After Cook and Francis the rotation kind off tapers off, good names only emerging again at the setup and closer roles. La-Troy Hawkins and Brian Fuentes, respectively, should be able to handle and close out games that have come down to the wire. The question is, with only two pitchers that might have reasonable success, how many games will still be so close. In a weaker division this might be enough pitching to carry the team through, but the Dodgers, Padres, Giants and Cardinals have strengthened both their line ups and pitching. The Dodgers, Padres and Cardinals especially have great rotations, and the specter of Randy Johnson back in the desert will tame any offense.

General Manager O'Dowd has promised the Rockies faithful the moon, but opposing hitters might have the best chance of hitting it. Maybe with Jennings they would be more of a threat, but the bullpen is decidedly hopeless behind Closer and Set up. So unless Jennings and Cook can manage to play every other game, and each time into the seventh inning, a lack of pitching presence will doom the Rockies to once again be watching from home when October comes.