Hello Francis, Goodbye CF Factor

One of the concerns early on for the Rox was the spring struggles of Jeff Francis. Things certainly didn't look right with Francis. Being a finesse pitcher as opposed to a power pitcher, Francis relies a great deal on control. That control has been lacking at times this season so far. Francis seems to have turned it around, however. After his first three starts of the season, his ERA was 6.75 and a WHIP of 1.69. In his last three starts, his ERA is .95 with a WHIP of 1.00. When you are limiting the opponent to an average of one baserunner per inning, you are probably going to be pretty successful at keeping them from scoring. As I was looking at the stats, Francis is 20th in the NL in ERA and Cook 21st. If Francis and Cook continue pitching like this and Kim pitches anywhere close to he did in his first game, then the Rox rotation will be good enough to keep this thing going. Fogg will most likely be both good and bad at times and Jennings, IMHO, may be the biggest concern of the rotation. Nevertheless, I think the Rox rotation may end up becoming the brightest element of the season. The bullpen was supposed to be better. The hitters had another year under their belt and were expected to be better. Noone really knew for sure how the rotation would perform. For the first time in quite awhile, Rox fans actually have something to look forward to. With a future looking like this, you'd better find your shades.

Before all the Reds fans start coming out of the woodwork and declare the World Series is theirs to lose, let me point out that they may be afflicted with the CF Factor. The CF Factor, of course, being the effect an offense oriented ballpark has on a team's road performance. For years the Rox were tormented by the CF Factor, routinely struggling to hit outside of Coors Field. True, the Reds lead the NL in hitting and runs. So have the Rox for most of their existence, but even the casual baseball fan could explain that it was because they play half their games at CF. The CF Factor has apparently left Colorado and found a new home in Ohio. The Reds are batting .311 at home but only .223 on the road. Conversely, the Rox are tied for first in the NL with a .295 road average. Hopefully the CF Factor has left for good.

Until next time, Go Rockies!