The All-Star break affords the opportunity to look back at the first half to see what went right and wrong for the thirty MLB teams. The Colorado Rockies are up next, and here is the pre-season post on the NL West.

What Went Right

Firing Clint Hurdle and replacing him with Jim Tracy made a real difference in the team. Hurdle left with an 18-28 record. Since Tracy took over, the team is 29-13. That’s the best record in the majors over that time. The main reason lay with starting pitching. They’ve posted a 23-10 record with a 3.68 ERA under the new manager. They’re also going deep in games, averaging 6 1/3 innings per start. That takes pressure off the bullpen.

The return of Todd Helton’s power helps, too. He’s played about the same number of games as all of last season, and knocked out 14 more extra base hits. Tulowitzki’s power came back, but not his on-base average. Seth Smith is working out quite well in rightfield.

Dexter Fowler turned into a decent leadoff man with a .358 OBA. He took over Matt Holliday’s spot in the outfield, and Huston Street pitched very well as the new closer.

What Went Wrong

Garrett Atkins hasn’t hit a lick. He came back a bit in June, but fell off again in July. I hear the Rockies are trying to get other teams interested in him, but they hurt themselves offensively with Atkins in the lineup.

Note the disconnect in the four pitching stats. This staff is very dependent on a good strike out rate. Imagine how poor they would be with lots of walks and home runs allowed. The big home park means balls fall in easily. It doesn’t help matters much that they’ve allowed an 82% stolen base success rate, the worst in the NL.

Other teams in this series:

• Oakland Athletics
• Seattle Mariners
• Texas Rangers
• Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
• Pittsburgh Pirates
• Cincinnati Reds
• Houston Astros
• Chicago Cubs
• Milwaukee Brewers
• St. Louis Cardinals
• Baltimore Orioles
• Toronto Blue Jays
• Tampa Bay Rays
• New York Yankees
• Boston Red Sox
• San Diego Padres
• Arizona Diamondbacks