@MarkKnudson41
Call it a missed opportunity. No, not the fact that the Rockies were swept at home by the San Francisco Giants – the only team left on their schedule that isn’t in a playoff race (game results matter very little at this point) and no, they didn’t miss a chance to get badly needed playing time for several young rookies who could be counted on heavily next season (they played five rookies in the final game against SF. In that regard, they’ve been doing the right thing.)
What the Rockies missed a chance to do over the past week – three games in Chicago against the Cubs and the four game set against the Giants – is play the game the way rules changes will force them to play it next season.
Manager Bud Black is very big – as he should be – on the “integrity of the game” stuff. He would be loath to do anything that would go against the grain that could impact a playoff race in any way. So when the Rockies are playing the San Diego Padres this weekend and the Los Angeles Dodgers starting late next week (both teams need wins for playoff seeding) the Rockies will do anything and everything they can – within the rules – to win. Again, that’s how it should be.
But the past seven games? Those were played against teams that are not in the postseason hunt. In fact, the Cubs have a record that is almost identical to the Rockies. So doing things a little bit, well, differently in those seven games would not have impacted the playoff picture. But alas, the Rockies played like ‘em they always do (insert snide comment here.)
What they could have done, considering that the game on the field will look a bit different next season due to three rule changes, is gotten a jump on some things they’ll need to get used to in 2023.
They could start with not going into any defensive shifts (the shift is outlawed starting next season) and positioning their defensive players where they’ll be playing next April. They could have had their pitchers focus on adherence to the new pitch clocks that they’ll have to get accustomed to in 2023 – meaning taking less time between pitches – and finally, even though the distance between the bases hasn’t changed yet (next season the bases will be larger and thereby 4½ inches closer to each other) they could try a little more base stealing, which is what the larger bases are supposed to promote.
Why not? There’s absolutely nothing to lose when the scoreboard doesn’t really matter to either team.
Young infield prospects like Michael Toglia and Ezequiel Tovar (who was just called up and didn’t play in the past seven games) Alan Trejo and Elehuris Montero won’t be doing any shifting next season. Why have them do it now? How is that helping them for the future?
Certainly, when the Rockies play the Padres and Dodgers they should continue to employ their shifts and stay with their station-to-station offensive approach as they’ve done all year. The pitchers should continue to compete in the same way they have each time they’ve taken the mound this season.
However…the Rockies do play the Giants in a three-game series in San Francisco next week. Why not take the opportunity to play those three games like they’re going to play them the next time they’re out by the Bay? Why not have next year really start now?