Colorado Rockies: Are They in Desperation Mode?

No need to panic.

That's been the general feeling surrounding the Colorado Rockies since opening day. Every close loss thus far has been chalked up to, "It's only April...it's only May."

In other words, it's still early. There is no need to panic.

But what will be the feeling come June and the Rockies are still in fourth place or, worse, in the cellar of the NL West?

What can get frustrating for Colorado fans is that, when you look at the Rockies offensive production, they are fifth in the National League in batting average and third in the majors in runs scored. Most of the teams that rank around Colorado in offensive production are sitting at or near the top of their respective divisions.

It's no secret what the issues are with this team: The 25 errors the Rockies defense have racked up would make any pitching staff's life extremely hard.

But the pitching staff has had its hand in its own struggles. Regardless of how bad the defense performs, the starting rotation has a responsibility to cover for themselves. There is no excuse for a team ERA of 5.02.

The bullpen is overworked because the starting pitching can't seem to consistently pitch deep into games.

The Rockies sit at 12-17 on the season, which is only two games ahead of the Padres. No one thought this team was a sure shot for an NL West title, but after the major overhaul of the roster, fans expected an improvement from last season.

At the rate the Rockies are now going, this could turn into a longer season than last year.  

On Monday, the Rockies looked to re-boost the starting rotation by calling up Alex White and Christian Friedrich from AAA. Both White and Friedrich have shown much improvement with the Sky Sox, so the move makes sense, but is it an act of desperation to make the call-ups in May?

If both White and Friedrich fail to help, then the Rockies could be in big trouble before Jorge De La Rosa returns to the starting rotation.

Jim Tracy is known for overthinking situations—both during games and when tweaking the lineups—and bringing up both White and Friedrich might indicate how desperate he is for things to change right away.