The Rockies are 49-39 on the season which has them tied for second place in the N.L. West with the Dodgers, 2 games behind the Padres. The Rockies have had some surprises and disappointments and here’s a closer look at them:

Pleasant Surprises: 31-year old righty swinging catcher Miguel Olivo was supposed to share P.T. with Chris Iannetta behind the plate but he played so well that the Rockies sent Iannetta to AAA. Olivo has played in 63 games for the Rockies this year and he is 74 of 228 (.325 avg, .925 OPS) with 42 runs scored, 11 homers, 42 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. 25-year old switch hitting 2B Jonathan Herrera has really stepped up when getting the chance to play due to Troy Tulowitzki’s injury. Herrera has played in 32 games for the Rockies this year and he is 36 of 113 (.319 avg, .701 OPS) with 14 runs scored and 10 RBIs. 30-year old righty reliever Matt Belisle is pitching the best baseball of his major league career for the Rockies in 2010. Belisle has pitched in 42 games (0 starts) for the Rockies this year and he is 4-4 with 1 save, a 2.63 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. 33-year old lefty reliever Joe Beimel has also been outstanding out of the pen for the Rockies this year. He has pitched in 39 games (0 starts) for the Rockies this year and he is 1-0 with a 2.28 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP.

Disappointments: 36-year old lefty swinging 1B Todd Helton appears to be getting near to the end of the line. He has played in 69 games for the Rockies this year and he is 61 of 248 (.246 avg, .646 OPS) with 29 runs scored, 2 homers and 16 RBIs. 24-year old switch hitting Dexter Fowler started the season as the starting CF for the Rockies but he got sent to the minors after a slow start. Fowler has played in 59 games for the Rockies this year and he is 44 of 189 (.233 avg, .734 OPS) with 32 runs scored, 2 homers, 10 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. 27-year old righty swinging Chris Iannetta is back in the majors but he has been a big disappointment for the Rockies this year. Iannetta has played in 26 games for the Rockies this year and he is 18 of 87 (.207 avg, .772 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 6 homers and 13 RBIs. 24-year old lefty reliever Franklin Morales has been awful this year for the Rockies. He has pitched in 23 games (0 starts) for the Rockies this year and he is 0-3 with 3 saves, a 6.75 ERA and a 1.88 WHIP. Morales has walked a stunningly bad 18 batters in only 21 1/3 innings this season for the Rockies.

The Rockies are stuck at .500 on the year as they are 6-6. They are tied with the Rockies and Padres, 2 games behind the Giants in the N.L. West. The Rockies have outscored their opponents 58-48 this season so it’s time they start winning more games. This could be the week for that as the Rockies play 4 games in Washington before returning home this coming weekend to deal with the Marlins for 3 games.

The Rockies made it out of the first week of the season with a 3-3 record despite outscoring the opposition 29-22. The Rockies need to be more consistent offensively if they are going to make the pitching stand up. The Rockies will host the New York Mets starting tomorrow for 3 games then they will travel to Atlanta this weekend to play the Braves. The Rockies need to go at least 4-2 this week.

The Rockies are 2-2 on the season so far even though they have outscored the competition 21-15. The Rockies really need to get more consistent outings out of the starting pitchers. Jorge De La Rosa and Ubaldo Jimenez were outstanding the first time around but Greg Smith and Aaron Cook were not. The Rockies are scoring enough runs to be winning games (5.5 avg) so if they start getting consistent starting pitching, watch out!

The Colorado Rockies won 9 of their last 10 games of the season to force a one game playoff tonight against the Padres.  The pitching matchup does not appear to favor the Rockies in this game as they are pitching Josh Fogg against Jake Peavy.  Fogg was 10-9 with a 4.79 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP in 29 games (28 starts) this season for the Rockies.  In 3 starts against the Padres this season, Fogg is 1-1 with a 6.28 ERA and a 2.16 WHIP.  Peavy has started 2 games this season against the Rockies and he is 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA.  Peavy won pitching’s triple crown as he led the league in ERA (2.36), wins (19) and strikeouts (234).

It will be fun to watch Matt Holliday try to lock up the batting title today as he is sitting at .340.  Chipper Jones is behind him at .337 and Holliday will win the batting title as long as he doesn’t go 0 for 5 or worse tonight.  He also is only one RBI behind Ryan Howard (136-135) going into tonight’s ballgame.