DETROIT -- When each tiresome loss stacks atop previous losses, the sanity-preserving option is to look to the future. But Rockies general manager Josh Byrnes knows that sanity isn’t the goal.
“I mean, you can’t be so future-focused that you’re not trying to win every day,” Byrnes said on Sunday morning. “This last month has been very frustrating, because we certainly could have and should have won more games. And in terms of progress, 100 losses is a sightline. It means something, but the White Sox [who entered Sunday leading the American League Central] lost 100 last year.
“I don’t ever think it’s good -- in the Minor Leaguers, in the Major Leagues -- to rationalize losing, ever. We’re trying to win. Yeah, in terms of how young our team is and some of the players we brought in, there’s talent and there is progress. But it’s about winning, and we’re not there yet.”
Byrnes spoke the day after a game spun out of the Rockies’ control in the Tigers’ final at-bat. Sunday’s 8-1 loss to the Tigers -- which completed a three-game sweep and an 0-6 road trip, extended the losing streak to seven and ran the loss total to 94 with 13 games left -- was cemented when rookie Gabriel Hughes needed 70 pitches to go two innings and yield five runs.
In dropping 20 of the last 25 games, the Rockies have illustrated enduring woes and revisited old ones. Here’s a look at the issues from Byrnes -- who feels the misery of losing but is part of a front office that promises clear-eyed remedies.
Here are three shortcomings, plus one strength:
1. OFFENSE
The Rockies’ cumulative offensive wins above replacement (WAR) of 8.2 heading into Sunday, according to FanGraphs, is much better than last year’s mark of -3.0. That should make this year’s record better than it is, but offense is a reason the Rockies fall short so often.
Improvements in many categories have been documented, and the struggles behind the numbers have been contextualized. But missed opportunities abound. After having the fifth-highest OPS with runners in scoring position (.790) before the All-Star break, the Rockies now have the fifth-lowest mark (.693) since the break. The trend helps explain some games in which the Rockies have fallen short.
“Most of the year, until the last month, we did well with men on base -- we cashed in runners from third and were opportunistic,” Byrnes said. “We produce offense against righties and lefties. But lately we’ve just left a lot of runs on the board.”
2. DEFENSE
On Friday, Riley Greene blew open the game with a triple to center that would have required a standout play from rookie Cole Carrigg.
Saturday, the two-run deficit became four when right fielder Jordan Beck got tangled up while trying to make a play on Hao-Yu Lee’s triple in the eighth.
Carrigg and Beck are part of a young group that makes plays -- Beck has had two outstanding throws recently -- but needs to show a more consistent knack for game-turning plays. There is range when Jake McCarthy and Zac Veen are considered, and Mickey Moniak has been steady.
Still, balls thrown to wrong bases and other mistakes are costly. Byrnes said a combination of growth from current personnel and talent infusions are needed.
“Some teams, their defense kind of carries their pitching,” Byrnes said. “The Cubs this year, their defense is more their run prevention than their actual pitching. Tampa [Bay] has really good outfield defense -- the value they provide is at a premium. There are more plays and more bases that are in play in Colorado.”
3. PITCHING (OF COURSE)
Adael Amador, excelling in his trial at second base, gave the Rockies the lead with a homer as the second batter of the game on Sunday. But after recording two outs in the bottom of the inning, Hughes yielded a Colt Keith double and a Greene homer, never found his secondary pitches, and lasted just one more inning.
“Part of being a Major League pitcher is recognizing what you have that day and what you don’t, and working to fight through it to get to where you find whatever it is that you are consistently missing -- and getting there quicker,” said Hughes, who fell to 0-8 in his first 12 Major League starts and exemplified one of the problems on Sunday.
Like Tanner Gordon, who lasted four innings on Saturday, Hughes couldn’t put away hitters with two strikes because of the lack of sharpness early in games.
“We’ve gotten bitten most in the first and second innings -- we give up way too many runs,” said Byrnes, whose team actually leads the Majors in runs yielded in each of the first four innings. “And the third time through the order, we give up way too many runs [6.13 ERA, ahead of only the Athletics’ 6.25]. So that is in our face.”
Byrnes said improvement could come from a combination of growth from pitchers new to the rotation (Hughes, Mason Adams, Gordon) and figuring out what experienced pitchers can be brought in as difference-makers. Byrnes said they are also looking at relief staff models that can help starters.
PLUS 1:
Asked how the Rockies go forward, manager Warren Schaeffer went positive, saying the effort is there, but “sometimes it’s just a bad stretch.”
Byrnes said Schaeffer has been adaptable, whether it’s maximizing matchups (which worked during good stretches) or tweaking his bullpen strategies (the addition of Jordan Romano brought on a less matchup-based late bullpen). Schaeffer backs his players in public and presents positivity, but that doesn’t mean he backs off on the ultimate goal.
“He sets a great tone, demands a lot of the players – we’re trying to build winning habits and standards of winning,” Byrnes said. “Even though we’re not winning enough.”