First, a set off warning: We’re about to heap reward on a member of the Colorado Rockies.
If you can not deal with good issues being stated about somebody affiliated with a rudderless baseball group, the Grading the Week workers will perceive should you determine to skip forward to the remainder of the column.
As for these of you in search of a ray of hope {that a} night time at Coors Field might be extra than simply stunning sunsets and overpriced beer, let the Grading the Week workers current you with Brendan Rodgers.
Brendan Rodgers — A
It wasn’t all that way back that some dummy on this house loudly advocated for the second baseman’s demotion to Triple-A Albuquerque.
It was the tip of April, Rodgers was 20,000 leagues beneath the Mendoza Line with a .078 batting common, and it appeared honest to marvel if the third total decide of the 2015 MLB draft would ever notice his massive league potential.
Then the subsequent 15 weeks occurred.
His numbers from May 1 to the primary pitch of Friday night time’s residence sport vs. Arizona: .318/.362/.490 with 11 residence runs, 23 doubles, 55 RBIs and 55 runs scored in 87 video games. That features a four-game stretch this week that noticed him go 10 for 19 with 5 runs, 5 RBIs and one residence run.
That, pricey associates, is All-Star stage manufacturing for a second baseman.
In reality, even after factoring in that terrible April, Rodgers is fifth amongst MLB second basemen this season in WAR (3.3) — a cumulative statistic that determines a participant’s worth relative to a league-average substitute.
The two second baseman only a hair above him in that stat? Houston’s Jose Altuve (3.4) and San Diego’s Jake Cronenworth (3.5). Not unhealthy firm to be in. Not unhealthy in any respect.
Of course, we’d be remiss if we failed to say that former Rockies second baseman DJ LeMahieu — the man former GM Jeff Bridich let stroll to the Yankees for Daniel Murphy cash — is presently seventh in MLB at 4.6.
Because even good news have to be accompanied by a dose of dread in Rockies Land.
Jay Norvell’s lunch order — A+
In one of many nice honors of the Grading the Week workers’s tumultuous tenure at The Post, we received a chance to dine with new CSU Rams soccer coach Jay Norvell as he made the rounds with Denver media Thursday morning.
The location: Pete’s Kitchen on East Colfax in Denver.
The coach’s order: steak and eggs, with the steak medium uncommon and the eggs over straightforward.
The takeaway: This man is a frontrunner.
Hologram Harry Caray — F
Generally talking, it’s by no means a good suggestion to aim to boost the lifeless.
Case in level: FOX conjuring up Hologram Harry Caray for a from-the-grave rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” throughout the seventh inning stretch of Thursday night time’s Cubs-Reds sport in Dyersville, Iowa.
The Grading the Week workers absolutely understands the pondering behind the thought.
“Field of Dreams” is the story of long-since-passed gamers, coaches and umpires rising from cornfields to reside out their baseball goals on a heavenly ballpark in pastoral Iowa. So why not attempt to resurrect a baseball broadcasting legend for outdated time’s sake?
The apparent reply: Because it was completely horrifying.
