Baseball with an Altitude

Oh where, oh where has my offense gone? A complete inability to hit the baseball just resulted in one of the most embarrassing sweeps in recent memory. The Rox managed a whopping five runs over the three game set against the Marlins, giving them 22 runs over their last dozen games.  That's a putrid average of 1.8 runs per game!  It's not like they're facing Oswalt, Smoltz, or Webb either.  They're getting dominated by Ricky Nolasco and Scott Olsen, among others.  Honestly, who saw this coming? I sure didn't.  I figured the team might be playing a little over their heads in April, but I didn't think that anyone was far exceeding their expectations. Well, what a difference a month makes.  Check out the difference in OPS between April and May for the Rockies regulars (I'll ignore catcher since it has been a revolving door):

Helton: 1.162 (April) vs .706 (May)
Carroll: .833 vs .733
Barmes: .673 vs .319
Atkins: .973 vs .798
Holliday: .772 vs 1.216
Sullivan: .918 vs .496
Hawpe: 1.109 vs .884

If it weren't for Holliday, the King of May and the lone exception to the rule, this team would have sunk below .500 long ago. With the way they're hitting the ball, it's a miracle they made it into June above .500 (you can thank the great starting pitching for that.) Helton has been a non-factor since his return from the DL.  Carroll has been more or less the same, but not quite as effective.  Barmes went from a bad MLB regular to a guy destined to spend time at AAA.  Atkins has killed some rallies by grounding into untimely double plays.  Hawpe has still been good but just not to the extent that he was in April.

Despite all that, the main culprit responsible for this offensive collapse has been Cory Sullivan.  His inability to make good contact (.179, 22 K in May) out of the leadoff spot has sent this offense into a tailspin.  If he's not setting the table, Helton is hitting with the bases empty.  Todd is at his best with runners on base. If the top of the order isn't producing, that puts a lot of pressure on the less talented bottom of the order to try and make something happen.  And as we've seen lately, these hitters don't perform well when they're pressing.  Hopefully Ryan Spilborghs (9 for 30, 2 HR) can step in and do what Sullivan has failed so miserably to do.

Still, to be fair, everyone is at fault for this collapse.  The ship needs to be righted quickly or this could turn into a season-ending June swoon.  With the Pirates coming into town tomorrow, the Rox badly need to avoid losing their fifth straight series.  Aaron Cook is on the hill in the first game against the Buccos' Ian Snell. Cook needs to show once again that he is the ace and the stopper in this rotation.