Garrett Atkins

As it stands right now, the Colorado Rockies are 4.5 games ahead of the San Francisco Giants in the National League Wild Card race. The Rockies have been a bit of a surprise team this season, after an unimpressive '08 campaign and the loss of Matt Holliday during the offseason. They've thrived after the firing of Clint Hurdle, as Jim Tracy has pushed the right buttons, rarely ever taking a misstep.

Continue reading "Have the Rockies locked up the NL Wild Card?"

d the second most runs in the National League last season returns with MVP candidate Matt Holliday, Garrett Atkins, Brad Hawpe and Troy Tulowitzki. While anyone would expect a team in Colorado to score plenty of runs, it is always pitching that becomes the question. The Rockies’ pitching staff posted a very respectable 4.32 ERA last season, but what may be surprising to many, is that their road ERA was better than that of the vaunted San Diego pitching staff (4.29 to 4.42). With young fireballer Ubaldo Jiminez joining the rotation full time, a solid staff led by Jeff Francis becomes even better. Colorado may miss the playoffs this year due to a competitive division, but they will be one of the teams right there at the end battling for a berth.

Continue reading "MLB 2008 Preview Part One: National League West"