Colorado Rockies limping to the finish line

Who isn’t injured for the Colorado Rockies.

In Todd Helton’s final week in the big leagues, the Rockies look like they are trying to give him a reminder of what he dealt with the majority of his career. Saturday night was a flashback to the 2005 team dubbed “Todd and the Toddlers.”

Jorge De La Rosa was bumped off of the mound because of his bruised thumb and finger issues, Wilin Rosario has a bad calf, Dexter Fowler’s bruised knee continues to be an issue, Carlos Gonzalez has a finger issue that might require surgery.

The list goes on and on for the Rockies. However, the question begs to be asked, if these games meant anything for the Rockies, if they were in contention and needed wins, would these injuries be debilitating, or would they be something that these guys decided to play through?

On Saturday night, the Rockies had one of those nights that made the 36,005 fans that came through the gates at Coors Field wish they had decided to spend their money somewhere else. Collin McHugh barely got through five innings, giving up six runs, all earned on 11 hits. It was a night to forget for the 5th starter candidate heading into spring training.

The lone benefit for Rockies fans at the park was the opportunity to see Todd Helton play, some for their final time before he hangs up his No.17 jersey and calls it a career. The lefty first baseman recorded a hit, the 2,511th of his career, but the game was lopsided and not much of a contest either way.

There isn’t much opinion left to put on this 2013 season. The words have been written over and over. The issue isn’t the talent on the field, the issue is the way that it is handled. The Rockies have candidates to fill the holes, but they aren’t developing them properly, or getting the right guys into place to fill those gaps.

As much fun as it was to watch a career like Helton’s unfold, there has to be a certain level of disappointment that the Rockies were only contenders twice in his 17-year career. The Rockies searched for answers, but never came to the conclusion that the answer to the problem might be finding new people to search for answers.

This Rockies team has eight days left to play, with six games to go. The end is a week away, when the Rockies players will hit the offseason. This is the offseason where the Rockies front office needs to look at each other and start to question if they have been making the right decisions this whole time. They need to reevaluate everything that they are doing, from the pitch count to the farm system, to the clubhouse culture that seems to smell worse every year.

Enough has been said about the issues that this Rockies franchise has. If the words are idle, and don’t cause change, they are a waste of time. For the Rockies ownership, it is time for them to decide if the fans complaints, and cries for change are meaningful, or if they will simply be ignored.

Follow me on Twitter @RockiesReview. Like me on Facebook, search “Rockies Review”