Paint it, Blackmon

(Screw it, a new Music Pun streak starts now, with some Stones)

For a third-place team, the Rockies are surprisingly tight. Compact. Small bench, small bullpen, solid rotation. Pretty much every big decision has been penciled in, and everything seems to be efficient for them. Which is...nice, I guess.

The thing about the Rockies as that nothing they're doing...isn't working, per se. It's just, some things aren't working as well as they are in Phoenix or LA. How's the bullpen? Definitely improved, after Seung-Hwan Oh landed, and Scott Oberg's ERA improved, but Arizona's is still the better of the three. How's the bench? Minimal, and with good stuff from David Dahl and (finally) Ryan McMahon, but compared to the more high-scale bench in LA, it's nothing. How's the rotation? So much better; Jon Gray's finally making things work, Marquez is doing better, and Tyler Anderson and Kyle Freeland have been untouchable lately. Of course, the Anderson-Freeland combo may lack the punch of the Greinke-Corbin combo, or even the Kershaw-Stripling.

How's the lineup? Well, they're hitting, at least. Blackmon, Parra, Story and Desmond are all hitting pretty damned well, especially for power. Yes, Nolan Arenado just landed on the DL, but the team doesn't seem to be in panic mode yet. However, Arenado's does hinder them defensively, as several starters have negative WAR due to poor defensive work (looking at you, Blackmon). Defense may be an afterthought in a hitter's park like Coors Field, but it still matters if you're chasing a Wild Card spot.

And yes, the Rox are 3.5 games away from the WC spot. But, then again, so are the (gulp) Cardinals...and the Pirates are a game and a half behind them. So they may need to be better than 'compact' in order to stand out in this crowded race.

Coming Tomorrow- A very streaky first baseman that's one of the few people who's stuck around in Toronto.