The last time the Colorado Rockies made an appearance in the playoffs was as the 1995 NL wildcard.  The likes of Walker, Bichette, Galarraga, and Castilla gave the three-year-old franchise life that season.  The team was selling out virtually every game and building a huge fan base, only to have their season cut short in the NLDS by eventual World Series champion Atlanta Braves.  More than ten years later, I pose the question: oh, where have you gone Blake Street Bombers?

With all the recent turnover and managerial changes throughout the NL West, the idle Rockies still find themselves in the cellar of an always competitive division.  Manager Clint Hurdle is entering his seventh season and hasn’t once finished with an above .500 record.  He is on the last year of his contract and barring any unforeseen miracles; you can expect a change in ’08. 

The GM of the team, Dan O’Dowd, with one year remaining on his deal as well, remains under scrutiny.  The Todd Helton saga, will likely determine his fate after the 2007 season. Throughout the winter, the trade talks on Helton ran hot and cold.  One minute there were newspaper reports saying Helton would welcome a trade to the AL, the next Helton and the Rockies deny any such thing.  Helton is on the downside of his career, with declining production and injuries being major concerns, and he turns 34 this summer. If the team has a slow start this spring as most of the baseball writers are predicting, he will get dealt, which would be best for him and the Rockies. The Yankees and Red Sox are always buyers and both have strong farm systems at this point. With Colorado being a wasteland for free-agent pitchers (see: Denny Neagle, Mike Hampton), the team has to try and build through trades if O’Dowd expects to be around much longer.

During the winter meetings, O’Dowd did make one strong move when he was able to trade ace Jason Jennings to the Houston Astros.  Jennings won Rookie of the Year honors for club in 2002, but wasn’t able to reproduce those numbers.  The chances of re-signing him after the 2007 were slim, so O’Dowd did well to acquire a package including top prospect Jason Hirsh, young pitcher Taylor Buchholz, and outfielder Willy Taveras.

Speedy centerfielder Taveras, notable for his 30-game hitting streak last season, will most likely bat leadoff.  Following him, watch out for Troy Tulowitzki playing shortstop.  An easy name to remember, the Rockies’ 2005 first rounder (seventh overall), is a great prospect with speed and power.  Behind Tulowitzki, Helton, Matt Holiday, Garrett Atkins and Brad Hawpe provide thump in the middle of the order.  Of course, we all know what Helton can do if he’s healthy, but after several injury-plagued seasons his production is no guarantee.  The Rockies clean-up hitter, Matt Holliday, is coming off his best year as a major leaguer. The left-fielder finished with over 30 home runs and an impressive .326 batting average last season.  In Holliday’s three years as a pro, he’s already compiled over 250 RBI’s and was named to the NL All-Star team in 2006.  Behind Holliday is another young star in third baseman Garrett Atkins. In just his second full big-league season in 2006, Atkins put up astounding numbers (.329, 29, 120). Rightfielder Brad Hawpe also had a great ’06, batting .293 with 22 dingers and 84 RBI. Some or all of these stats may be affected by the Coors Field factor, but they remain impressive. Rounding out the order is the enigma that is Kaz Matsui. The red haired second baseman is a switch hitter and plays solid infield defense at times, but never panned out in New York. Rockies fans hope Matsui can turn into the star he was in Japan when he compiled over 30 homers and 30 stolen bases in 2002. Catcher is a crapshoot, as the club will start the season with some combination of Javy Lopez, Yorvit Torrealba and Chris Iannetta playing, with the hopes that one will emerge as at least a semi-reliable backstop.
 

With the departure of Jason Jennings, the Colorado ace for four seasons, the number one spot belongs to lefty Jeff Francis.  He received a big raise in the offseason when he signed a four-year contract worth over $13 million.  Even with the lower expectations that result from pitching at Coors Field, Francis must be solid and lead the rotation for the Rockies to contend.  Following Francis, the rotation’s lone southpaw, are Aaron Cook, who hopes he can forget his 2006 campaign, former Pirate Josh Fogg, ex-closer Byung-Hyun Kim, and Buchholz.  Hirsh and former Oriole Rodrigo Lopez will also compete for a spot in spring training.

The club’s bullpen is thrown together with an equal mix of young pitchers fighting for a spot and well-traveled veterans (LaTroy Hawkins, Tom Martin, Jeremy Affeldt, Lopez). Closer Brian Fuentes was able to save 30 games last year while striking out over 70 batters in 65 innings.  However, getting him save opportunities continues to be a problem for the team as it’s hard to hold a lead in such a hitter’s park.  (Hitter’s park is more like an understatement; heck it’s more like a hitter’s dream.  As you can see, the Rockies pitching staff isn’t very promising.  It never has been.  Pitchers are at such a disadvantage in that park, why would a top-tier pitcher ever want to sign there?

As far as predictions go, anything more than a last place finish will be a welcome surprise.  The Rockies have had six straight losing seasons, but last year’s 76 wins were the club’s most since 2000.  Rockies fans can at least expect the team to hover around the .500 mark for most of the year, and some thunder from the lineup as Holliday, Atkins, and Hawpe should all have great numbers. Unfortunately, with Randy Johnson’s return to the Diamondbacks and the circus that surrounds San Francisco (Bonds, Zito, etc.), the Rockies will be kept out of the spotlight as usual. In 1995, the Blake Street Bombers energized a city that had been missing out on baseball.  They left such an impression on the city of Denver that it makes it difficult for the current team to get the support of fans that just want the year 1995 again. Unfortunately, 2007 won’t be the year the Rockies get back to the promised land. Come April, the Nuggets playoff fate will be bigger news than how the Rockies are doing.

2006: 76-86 (Tied for 4th in NL West)