Colorado woes

It's difficult to find the right way of addressing the injuries to Troy Tulowitzki, Carlos Gonzalez and Dexter Fowler in Colorado's 5-4 loss to Washington Thursday, primarily because there is a far greater tragedy being played out with the wildfires raging through the state.

However, these injuries are worth noting because the Rockies are currently vying for first place in the National League West, and Tulowitzki's latest injury -- a broken rib, according to the Denver Post -- could scuttle any chances they have of staying in the hunt.

If Tulowitzki is sidelined for a month or more, the Rockies lose a key component to their offense and defense for the fourth time in six years. In the years where Tulowitzki missed at least 40 games due to injury, Colorado finished with records of 74-88 (2008), 83-79 (2010) and 64-98 (2012). The Rockies' 2013 record currently stands at 35-32, with Tulowitzki batting .347 with 16 home runs and 51 RBI.

Gonzalez and Fowler were each hit by errant baseballs during Thursday's game. Gonzalez took a foul ball off his ankle while waiting in the batter's box, and Fowler was hit on the hand by a pitch. Not sure if either of them will miss significant playing time, but they are definitely dinged up.

The Rockies seemed poised to put last year's disaster behind them with a strong 2013 campaign. Now, they must find a way to overcome the loss of one superstar and the potential losses of two other key players and stay within striking distance of division-leading Arizona and defending World Series champion San Francisco.

But if the Rockies do fall off the table due to these injuries, it's still not as horrendous as the loss of life and property going on within Colorado's borders due to the wildfires. That's a far graver issue than wins and losses.