NEWS » The Rockies are still looking for some offense in the early going.

"WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Scaling the RocksPebble ReportRockpileRockies Game ThreadsRockies Fan ExperienceRays 7 Lucas Giolito Jersey , Rockies 1: Rays dominate series opener in Tampa BayNew,52commentsThe Rockies are still looking for some offense in the early going. Rays 7, Rockies 1: Rays dominate series opener in Tampa BayThe Colorado Rockies continued to struggle to find their bats on Monday night against the Tampa Bay Rays. Combine that with some sub-par pitching and you’ve got a 7-1 loss to open this three-game series.Missed opportunities earlyThe Rockies had their chances in this game before the game got lopsided. Leadoff runners would reach and nothing would come of it. It was the kind of game where the offense felt hapless to the point that any deficit would feel insurmountable. It felt like the pitchers had no margin of error before they ever got roughed up in a blowout loss.The difference between this year and last year is that the lineups look great. The kids are playing. Before he got hurt, Daniel Murphy was there as an upgrade. Now we just need those guys to get the job done so the results don’t feel like they did last year, especially on the road.The offense didn’t get any better from there, as Nolan Arenado and David Dahl almost literally provided the only Colorado offense all game.Chad Bettis gets knocked aroundEarly on it looked like Colorado’s fifth starter was going to give his team a chance in this game. He pitched into the sixth inning but eventually ended up with an ugly line. Bettis surrendered six runs on seven hits, including a couple home runs. He looked sharp and struck out some hitters early on, but he eventually was just too hittable and the Rays took advantage.The Rockies got bullpenned That’s a word, right? Ryne Stanek technically started the game, but he handed things over to Ryan Yarbrough after just one inning of work. And while it was technically a bullpen game from the Rays, it was Yarbrough who truly had the Rockies baffled. He went 4.1 innings with three strikeouts as he constantly kept the Colorado hitters off balance.From there it was a few other talented guys you haven’t heard of, as is typical of a game against the Rays.Looking aheadThe Rockies will try to get the bats on track on Tuesday. Unfortunately they will have to do so against defending AL Cy Young winner Blake Snell in a great pitching match-up that has Kyle Freeland on the mound for Colorado. It’s probably what I’m most interested in seeing once the season begins."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Red Sox StoriesScheduleRosterStatsYahoo Red Sox NewsYahoo Red Sox Team PageYahoo Red Sox ReportYahoo Red Sox Depth ChartYahoo Red Sox TransactionsYahoo Red Sox PhotosOdds About Masthead Community Guidelines StubHub 鉁昍ed Sox AnalysisHow much leeway will the Red Sox give their relievers?New,9commentsIt’s probably what I’m most interested in seeing once the season begins.EDTShareTweetShareShareHow much leeway will the Red Sox give their relievers?Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY SportsWell, would you look at that. Against all odds, we have yet another post about the Red Sox bullpen. You are probably more tired of reading about this unit than I am of talking about it, but well http://www.whitesoxfanproshop.com/authentic-paul-konerko-jersey , it’s the most interesting part of the roster right now. We all know there are legitimate potential issues with this group. Granted, there are certainly some around the Red Sox who have a tendency to overplay any issue with the organization, and maybe some of the concern with the group is overblown. Plus, this front office has earned the benefit of the doubt with roster building after last year’s unprecedented success. All of that said, it’s hard to make an argument that things are perfectly fine. It’s certainly not impossible for things to go well, but a lot needs to go right if they are to reach that point.If you are looking for optimism here, the best source might be the simple fact that the Red Sox have a plenty of options through which they can churn as they try to find the best seven-man group in relief. It’s almost certainly not an ideal way to build a bullpen, but we’ve seen enough out-of-nowhere success stories around the league that it’s not without merit to try this approach. Essentially, the Red Sox are hoping that if they throw enough at the wall, something has to stick. With that strategy, though, comes a very important question that I’m fascinated to watch play out. How long do you give the guys on the active roster before you pull the plug and move on to the next option? And, after that, in what order do you try to the other arms?Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY SportsFor as many questions as the Red Sox have, barring injury I think we have a good idea of who is going to be in the Opening Day bullpen. Matt Barnes and Ryan Brasier (again, assuming health) are givens. Then Reynaldo Lopez Jersey , there is the group of Tyler Thornburg, Heath Hembree, Brandon Workman and Brian Johnson, all of whom are without minor-league options. The Red Sox have always favored hoarding depth in any roster crunch situation, which means they have the inside track at an Opening Day spot. At this point, I’d be surprised if they don’t make it. So, assuming that really is the case, how long will they get if they don’t start the season on the right foot? And in what order will they run out chances?Obviously, these questions are nearly impossible to answer definitively at this point. There isn’t and shouldn’t be any sort of set-in-stone plan on March 13. The extent of any possible struggles from these guys will alter the timeline, as will the performance of the team as a whole. If the team is struggling, they will be more likely to make aggressive chances, whereas if they are rolling they will be more likely to give a longer leash. All of that said, looking at things in as neutral a context as possible, I would say that by the end of April they will have to be seriously evaluating what they have and in the case of poor performance start to seriously considering the next man up.More interesting to me than that aspect is the order of any possible changes. Again, context will obviously be important here and if one guy is struggling significantly worse than the others he will certainly be first on the chopping block regardless of how things were planned out in March. That said, a more broad way of looking at things is what kind of leash each player will be given. Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY SportsFor me Bruce Rondon Jersey , I think Thornburg would and should get the shortest leash from the out-of-options crew. It’s true that he probably has the highest upside and he definitely has the best season by far of anyone here under his belt. That said, it’s been three years since he’s shown anything, and his spring isn’t showing anything close to encouraging results. It’s always hard to admit to a mistake with a trade like the one that brought Thornburg to Boston, but that shouldn’t hold them back from making a tough call in 2019. After him, I’d go with Workman before Hembree, though that is very close. The latter has held down more important roles more recently than the former, but he also has a lower floor. Brian Johnson is last year mostly because the team’s rotation depth isn’t as crowded as the depth in the bullpen. With Wright suspended — and he wasn’t going to start even before that — Johnson will probably need to be a complete disaster to lose his roster spot.Obviously, all of this is just preliminary speculation and it’s a topic that will surely be revisited numerous times before any real decisions are made. A lot is going to change before any cuts are made from this group, but the overarching principal is one that should be remembered all year. The Red Sox opted to go with a quantity-over-quality approach with the bullpen for 2019. To make the most of that, they need to be willing to get the depth options like Colten Brewer, Travis Lakins, Bobby Poyner and later Darwinzon Hern谩ndez and Durbin Feltman, their chances. That means being aggressive and making tough decisions earlier than they’ve been accustomed to in the past.