Rockies Confident They Will Improve Home Record
PHOENIX (The Sports Xchange) - The Colorado Rockies did not exactly bomb Blake Street last season while winning only 36 games at Coors Field. Only three teams had fewer home victories, and they were one of only 11 that finished under .500.
Manager Walt Weiss believes that will change with his new group this season, a lineup that added left fielder Gerardo Parra and shortstop Trevor Story as regulars.
"Offensively, we have to get back to really overwhelming people in our place," Weiss said. "I think we have the lineup to do that.
"You know that pitchers come in there vulnerable from the get-go, and then when you put a tough lineup in the mix in that park and making (opposing pitchers) grind like we have the first couple of games, that's what we have to get back to. On the pitching side of things, it's all about attacking. That's all we've talked about. Attacking hitters."
Colorado raised its outfield fence 8 feet, 9 inches between right field and right-center, matching the height of the right field scoreboard at 16-feet, 6 inches. The height of the fence down the left field line was increased 5 feet to 13 feet.
"I don't think it is going to have a major effect, but I do think it helps," Weiss said. "I've always been in favor of raising the fences there since I played there (1994-97). Maybe on the psyche it helps a little bit."
The Rockies are more adaptable offensively than in recent years, Weiss said.
"I think we have the personnel this year where we're more multidimensional," Weiss said. "At times last year we were very one-dimensional. We could slug. That was just our skill set, our personnel. We were kind of heavy-footed. We went station to station a lot.
"It's tough to slug in the NL West with some of the pitchers you will be facing. We're a little more athletic. We have a little more team speed, so we can put some pressure on pitchers. The lineup is a little bit longer. We have the ability to grind out at-bats."
Colorado showed its power capacity while winning two games in a three-game, season-opening series in Arizona, hitting nine home runs. Rookie shortstop Trevor Story went deep four times, becoming the first player in major league history to homer in each of his first three games.
