The Rockies are already a game behind the Dodgers in the NL West

While the Rockies have been getting news about the new food options at Coors Field and their top prospect’s wrist injury, the Dodgers have been over in Tokyo playing regular season baseball games, and winning them, jumping out to a one game lead in the division.

The Rockies still have six games left in the Cactus League as they try and finalize who will be on the team’s Opening Day roster. The team announced that the left-hander Kyle Freeland will get the start to kick off the season in Tampa Bay next week to open the season.

While this is obviously a scheduling ordeal and not of the fault of the Rockies, it is still a sight that fans have seen way too often over the previous years. Last season, the Rockies spent one day (March 20) not in last place when the San Diego Padres lost the season opener to the Dodgers in Tokyo before winning the next game. From there on out, the Rockies were in last place in the division for the entire season.

In 2023, the club spent three days tied for first place with one day in sole possession of the division lead, but those were the first four days of the MLB season. After that, they were at the bottom for a long time.

It has been nearly seven years since the Rockies have held sole possession of first place in the NL West in the second half of the season. Fittingly enough, that was 2018, which was also the last time the Rockies made the postseason. That year, the team was in first place for 16 days in the month of September, a reality that seems all too far-fetched these days.

With how loaded the Dodgers are in today’s era of baseball where they spend more money than any other team in the league while the Rockies’ owner complains about the same thing, it’s likely that it’s going to be awhile before the Rockies are in first place in the NL West anytime after April, much less in the second half of the season or September.