The Colorado Rockies Rally, But Can’t Finish
The Colorado Rockies were dead in the water for much of the game, but they caught fire in a big way in the ninth inning, batting in three runs. They were just one run behind the Seattle
Mariners, with two outs left to go. The fans were on their feet, the rally caps turned upside-down.
And then it fell apart. First, a strikeout. Then a hit, a fly ball that was easily handled. And the firestorm of a rally sputtered and died.
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The rally was a terrific effort, really. The Rockies had to go up against Felix Hernandez, and they got way down early—by a mark of 7-1. It was a hole few teams could get out of, let alone while going up against a pitcher of that caliber. The fact that they battled back was cause for praise, cutting it to a single run when the could have given up hope.
In fact, Walt Weiss, the team’s manager, said just that after the game. He was proud of what the club had been able to do. He acknowledged that the slow start and the deep hole were what did them in.
It’s fine for him to say that, because he’s not wrong. How you lose often says as much about you as how you win. It shows if you have spine and guts. It shows if you have talent and just need to step up slightly to get over the hump. It shows that the players want to win.
At the same time, look what we’re talking about. Whether or not guys want to win. Being proud about a loss. Winning a moral victory in a game that was actually a loss.
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These aren’t the types of things fans want to hear about. They want to see victories. The Rockies can’t get complacent and start thinking that it’s good enough just to hang around. The team has a lot of work to do, it needs to improve, and moral victories are not enough. They’re still losses.
Again, there are things that can be learned in a loss. Players can improve and they can even gain confidence. No doubt they feel better about having rallied than they would have felt if they’d just whimpered away to a 7-1 loss. There are things they can take from that.
But it’s still not enough, and they need to know that as well. This has to be a stepping stone toward stacking up more wins.
It starts tonight. The Rockies have a chance to get revenge, playing the Seattle Mariners for the second night in a row at Coors Field, and this one needs to be a W.