You know, 7-9 isn't the end of the world

In wins and losses, our starting rotation is just 3-3.  That's ten no decisions for the starting staff in sixteen games, and it tells you just how much you can figure out from a pitcher's wins and losses.

In terms of team wins and losses, the Rockies are 0-4 when Aaron Cook starts.  That's not what you expect from your staff ace, but he's been sabotaged by poor run support (three runs per game) and shoddy bullpen work.  Twice Cook was in line to get a win and had it blown by the bullpen; a third time, he went nine innings and gave up one run but got no support from the offense.

On the flipside, the Rockies are 2-1 when Jason Hirsh starts, and he's also only gotten three runs to work with per game.  They're also 2-1 when Francis and Lopez start, and 1-1 when Fogg starts.  Mixed in there is BK Kim's awful start, but that won't be happening again any time soon.

Lopez is also on the DL, his roster spot claimed by Matt Herges.  This leads me to believe that Taylor Buchholz will be taking Lopez's spot in the rotation for the time being.  Buchholz has quietly been effective despite his 5.68 ERA.  Small sample sizes can lead to some strange things, and opponents are hitting .393 against him -- .423 on balls in play.  Taylor's probably not going to hold opponents to a .250 BABIP like he did last season, but they're also probably not going to hit .423 against him for an entire season, either.  He seems like one of those guys who just is more suited to being a starter than a reliever.  Considering that Lopez, Hirsh, and Fogg have turned out better than expected on the young season, I don't see how we could work him in on a regular basis, but he should be fine as a fill-in until Rodrigo is back.

As for Cook -- something's off here, as his groundball rate is down from the last three seasons.  Since he's not going to strike out a ton of batters, he needs to keep hitters from elevating the ball, and he hasn't been doing that.

This weekend the Padres come to town, and tonight it'll be Josh Fogg against Chris Young.  Fogg's already faced the Padres once this season, and he pitched well, giving up two runs over six and a third.  Career he's 2-1 with a 4.74 ERA in seven starts.  Young's coming off a horrible start in which he didn't make it out of the third inning, but he's 3-0 with a 2.97 ERA against the Rockies in his career.  The Padres have a pretty punchless offense, though, so this will probably be a pitcher's duel.