Here I am almost, a year later writing my 2nd post. What a difference a year makes. Matt Holliday is gone, which I am still saddened by, yet the Rockies are still leading the Wild-Card race with less than a week to go. How are they doing it? Pitching, probably. I am not really concerned about that right now, WhaI'd rather look at the hitters? The offense has improved significantly over the past year. In 2008, the Rockies scored 747 runs. In 2009, they have scored 771 as of Sept 27. That's an increase of about a third of a run per game, which puts them on pace for 801 runs. They've done so after losing one of the best hitters in the NL, in Holliday. What's different? Simple. A vastly improved top of the order.
This year's core group of Dexter Fowler, Carlos Gonzales, and Seth Smith have put up a .266/.354/.429 line while leading off and .263/.324/.465 while batting 2nd. Those numbers for 2nd hitters is weighed down by Clint Barmes getting most of those ab's the first half of the season. Regardless, those lines are much better than the .251/.311/.349 and .260/.311/.376 lines from a year ago.
So the Rockies may not have the power in the middle of the order like they used to. However if the table setters keep getting on, they will be a very dangerous lineup in the postseason.
