First-week panic is too easy. The offense hasn't shown up at all for Colorado, even after a much-needed 2-1 victory tonight. The Rockies have scored 12 runs in 7 games, which wasn't exactly the plan. Even when they've gotten good pitching -- and they've gotten their share -- they've lost with the offense sputtering along like that. A fine start from Aaron Cook tonight was saved by a timely Matt Holliday blast, but the Rockies have hardly seen a big hit besides all week. I hope that this is the low point of the season and a team that doesn't have much of a history of anything besides slow starts shakes it off and starts providing the league-leading scoring we've been conditioned to expect.

The Rockies could have easier opponents against whom to get back on track than Atlanta. The Braves are division-title good, once again. The National League is improving in places but it's still a down league. The Rockies need a warm stretch to counter their flat start. Crowds at Coors after Opening Day have been encouraging, but that's partly due to the organization spreading out the celebration of the World Series season over all three games of the opening series. It remains to be seen how crowds will be for coming home series against the Giants and Twins.