Western Front

Different Ballparks, Same Problem

by Geoff Young

Two of the most extreme ballparks in baseball are home to National League West teams. Coors Field inflates offense, while Petco Park destroys it. Neither the Rockies nor the Padres are expected to contend in 2013, and a lack of quality starting pitching is a large part of the reason in both cases. Despite their different environments, these two teams face the same problem.

Who are the candidates for each rotation? What do they have to offer?

Rockies
Last year's staff was a mess. Injuries played a role, as did the four-man rotation with 75-pitch limits on starters that forced the club to rely more heavily on middle relievers. Well, definitely the former and maybe the latter. Whatever the cause, it resulted in Jeff Francis breaking a seemingly unbreakable record and the Rockies stumbling through their worst season ever.

As a group, the Colorado rotation sported a 5.81 ERA, last in MLB by plenty. Even by Coors Field standards, last year was bad. Only once in the club's 20-year existence had Rockies starters posted a higher ERA, and that came when more runs were being scored in baseball. Here are the bottom five:

Year

ERA

Col

MLB

1999

935.1

6.19

4.71

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