A Few Rockies Predictions For 2013

Well folks, it seems I've been busier than even I anticipated I'd be since the beginning of the year so I didn't even have a chance to weigh in on spring training. I don't think there was much to talk about anyway aside from maybe Tyler Colvin getting shipped to minors after a rough, rough March. I probably wouldn't have reacted that way, but after seeing how lost he became in 2011, I guess I see the Rockies reasoning. I just hope he gets it together quick. 

Yorvit Torrealba beat out Ramon Hernandez. No surprise there.

They inked Jon Garland. Big fan of that move.

Aaron Cook is back on a minor league deal. That's fine.

The rest of the starting pitching has been all over the map. Duh.

Todd Helton looked like his old self over the past week. That's always nice to see.

But that's all behind us now. It's time to look forward, which is what I intend to do here with a few predictions. Just remember... these predictions won't matter a week from now and will likely be forgotten six months from now. Unless they're correct, of course.

Wins: 73

Some people think they can get to .500 this season. ESPN's Keith Law says 53 wins. I'm going in between with a learn towards optimism. They're going to struggle to pitch again, and they probably won't succeed within the division, but a healthier season should eliminate some of the misery.

All-Stars: If Dexter Fowler isn’t an all-star, we’ll all be complaining that he should have been. I think he finally breaks out. Meanwhile, Troy Tulowitzki is a given and Carlos Gonzalez should be, too.

Team leader in wins: Jon Garland... even if he’s traded in July or August. I'm thinking 11-12.

Team leader in saves: Rafael Betancourt... again, even if he's traded in July or August.

Aaron Cook starts: Too many. Guessing 8-10. The Rockies will go through starters quickly I'm afraid.

Todd Helton's numbers: .280, 10 home runs, 55 RBI in 92 games. Wouldn't be a bad way to go out.

Wilin Rosario home runs: 27

Wilin Rosario: passed balls: 11

Date Nolan Arenado arrives: No sooner than June 15 and no later than July 15. He’ll be a breath of fresh air.

Walt Weiss status: He'll earn a second year. I assume he'll get it, too, but I'm more certain he'll earn it than receive it.  

Public Enemy No 1 (AKA the Frankin Morales/Felipe Paulino/Esmil Rogers/Jeremy Guthrie on the team): Hands down this will be Chris Volstad. Rockies fans tend to sour on new guys quickly and I'm afraid Volstad will make himself an easy target.

Rock Solid Recap: Road To 100 Detours Through San Diego

Rockies 10, Padres 2 (boxscore) 

If there's a reason or two to believe the Colorado Rockies will avoid triple digit losses for the first time in franchise history, it's that they still have 11 games remaining with the San Diego Padres (not to mention another 6 with the Chicago Cubs). My God are they awful.

Winning Player: Jeff Francis - 6 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 1 BB, 1 K, 82 pitches (49 strikes)

Beautiful performance by Francis. And no, I do not care who it came against, it was beautiful and should be recognized as such.

It's also the first win by a Rockies starting pitcher since Christian Friedrich on June 4.

Honorable Mention: The offense was again very productive, backing up an 11-run outburst on Thursday with 10 more against Jason Marquis and others. Marco Scutaro, Michael Cuddyer and Wilin Rosario led the way with two hits each, with Cuddyer and Rosario both hitting their 12th home run.

Highlight of the Night: Rosario's home run was an absolute BOMB. You should definitely watch it again.

Watch Wilin Rosario's two-run BOMB

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Thank you Aaron Cook

I really wanted to write a really long, positive piece today to wrap up the Rockies home schedule. But then the team goes ahead and gets themselves shutout by Anthony Bass and five San Diego Padres relievers. That doesn't exactly inspire me to be positive, but I'll try to say nice things anyway.

Padres 4, Rockies 0 (boxscore)

Thank you Aaron Cook.

I wouldn't say you necessarily went out on a high note, but you went out on an appropriate note. Much like most of your Rockies career, you weren't dominant or overpowering, but you found a way to collect yourself and did a good job keeping the team in the game. You really did. And that's always impressed me about you.

Now done addressing Aaron Cook personally.

Say what you will about Cook's performance this season, I promise you he has more guts than anyone on this team save for Juan Nicasio. To come back from the blood clots in the lungs to become the Rockies all-time winniest pitcher. To come back from the broken leg, the broken finger, it's all very impressive. Because of that, I will never say negatively about Aaron Cook the person.

Yes, it's time to part ways with Aaron Cook the pitcher, but I'm sure there will come times when I miss both the person and the pitcher. The Rockies will miss both too. We need more guys with makeup and toughness. There's no question about that.

And I even admire Aaron Cook enough to not label this a Recrap.

-- I found it interesting that Jim Tracy unleashed the following diatribe on his offense before today's game.

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Lackluster Recrap: Extended spring training continues

I don't even know how to evaluate this one. Alex White's finger probably isn't 100% healthy. Aaron Cook is dunzo. The top three hitters might be shut down for the season. The rest of the lineup is basically the lesser half of a spring training split squad just hoping to impress someone in the front office.

This is really sh*tty baseball.

This is Colorado Rockies baseball. 2011 style.

Giants 9, Rockies 1 (boxscore)

If forced to point out one thing I enjoyed about this game, it would probably be the fact that Greg Reynolds finally got a haircut.

Seriously. Nothing annoys me more than a guy out there who's done nothing substantial in his career, stroking his hair and trying to be pretty for the cameras. Hell, it even bothers me when Tim Lincecum does it, and he's got two Cy Young's to his name.

And hey, wouldn't you know Reynolds actually tossed a scoreless inning. Maybe letting his brain breathe and getting the bangs out of his eyes helped a little bit.

I also enjoyed watching Jordan Pacheco collect three more basehits.

That's about it.

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Lackluster Recrap: What's the point?

Diamondbacks 9, Rockies 4 (boxscore)

What would you like me to write after this one?

Another paragraph or two on how Aaron Cook doesn't have it anymore?

No thanks. Been there and done that enough.

How about a blurb on how useless Ty Wigginton has been? I could mention his .160 batting average with RISP and then I could question...

1. Why the hell does Jim Tracy want his bat in the lineup so bad?

and

2. Why at the expense of Seth Smith?

I don't care how much he struggles about left-handers. Smith is the best option this team has right now to play everyday, and is a better bet against a lefty than Wigginton is against a little leaguer on most nights.

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Rock Solid Recap: Business is taken care of

It wasn't always pretty, but the Colorado Rockies completed a sweep of the lowly Houston Astros Wednesday afternoon and finished their cupcake homestand with the 7-2 record they needed to not completely fall off the map. That's all you can really ask of them at this point. Regardless of how (walk-off wild pitch), just beat the teams you're supposed to beat.

Inch towards .500.

And then pray for miracles.

Rockies 7, Astros 6 in 10 (boxscore)

Talk about a fast start. Colorado's first four batters reached and scored - capped by Troy Tulowitzki's two-run home run - putting Wandy Rodriguez (their recent waiver claim), on the ropes early. But Wandy quickly battled off those ropes, allowing only a Carlos Gonzalez two-run homer in the 4th in his next five innings.

It actually reminded me a lot of a typical Esmil Rogers start (whose spot he would have likely taken in the rotation had the deal materialized), but Rodriguez is better than that nine times out ten.

Aaron Cook was very 2010-2011 Aaron Cookish today. Slow start. Rockies come right back and give him the lead. Then he gives it right back. It is what it is with Cook. Some days it's there. Most days it isn't.

And then Jason Hammel took the hill in his first relief appearance of the season. You could hear the groans from Colorado all the way here in Illinois; but guess what, Jason Hammel worked two very good innings and kept the score even at six. I can almost guarantee you Hammel is not liking this current arrangement, but I can also definitely guarantee you he's going to handle it professionally and I wouldn't be a bit surprised if it were a success.

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Rock Solid Recap: Caught us a fish: Hook, line drives, and Cook's sinker

Alright, so we know the Rockies are maddeningly incompetent against some very pedestrian pitchers. They've also proven to be dominant at times this season against some of the lower-tier front of the rotation starters -- like a Jaime Garcia, whom they've pounded twice, and now tonight against Ricky Nolasco, whom they had never defeated before in six decisions.

That's why I don't bet on baseball.

Actually, I don't bet on anything, but if I did, baseball wouldn't be it.

Rockies 12, Marlins 5 (boxscore)

The Rockies pounded Nolasco for 11 hits and 11 earned runs in three innings. That's one of the uglier lines in the game this season. But the Rockies did benefit from a couple Marlin defensive lapses early. With two outs and the bases loaded in the first, Chris Nelson hit a dribbler that Nolcaso couldn't glove and Emilio Bonifacio couldn't charge fast enough.

Prrrroooobably should have been an out. Wasn't for them.

The next batter definitely should have been out, but the line drive flyball off the bat of Chris Iannetta was misjudged in center by Mike Cameron. Three runs scored there, and the Rockies were in the driver's seat.

Watch Cameron's misjudgment

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Lackluster Recrap: I seriously need help

Despite being blacked out from the original broadcast and knowing the result ahead of time, I still went back and watched the Rockies loss on Friday night. Are those the actions of a sane person?

Don't answer that.

Cardinals 6, Rockies 1 (boxscore)

It was the typically lifeless offensive effort that we've come to expect from the Rockies. I mean seriously, you didn't expect that 10-run outburst to carry over to Tuesday, let alone Friday, did you?

Of course not. But my God this was a terrible offensive performance. Pathetic even.

Do these guys not have any pride?

I'm sorry, they did in the fourth inning when Carlos Gonzalez homered and they actually strung together something resembling quality at-bats. So there's one inning... out of nine. Monday they battled for nine out of nine, against a pitcher in Homer Bailey who may not have the numbers of Kyle Lohse, but certainly isn't more or less intimidating . No reason it couldn't have played out similarly here.

Anyway, ramble more about the offense, rip Aaron Cook, or actually give Aaron Cook a little credit?

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Sunday Recrap: Chapter 16

The Colorado Rockies have now gone one entire NFL regular season of Sunday's without a victory. The only other people who know what this feels like is the Detroit Lions. That's bad, because anytime you're compared to the Detroit Lions in terms of futility, you've arguably reached the lowest point in your franchise's history.

This probably isn't really the lowest point in franchise history, but with everything that's happened this season, it's pretty close. Granted, a decent amount of the bad has unfortunately been out of the Rockies control. That stuff you can live with. But a larger amount has been within the Rockies control, and the bottom line is they just haven't been good enough at baseball.

Such was the case again on this Sunday.

Nationals 3, Rockies 2 (boxscore)

This is when you know things are bad. The Rockies went 2-for-11 with RISP. That was actually better than Washington's 1-for-11 with RISP, and you still lose.

As has been the case so often, especially on Sunday, one more clutch hit likely gets the job done.

Nine hits, all singles. That's also problematic.

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Rock Solid Recap: Aaron Cook is alive... and the Dodgers stink

That would be the simplest way to recap Wednesday's win, but I'll go a little further.

Rockies 3, Dodgers 1 (boxscore)

I'll never argue with a win under any circumstances,.and I'll give credit to Aaron Cook where it's due. He threw ball well, got about a dozen groundouts and didn't kill himself with the base on balls. That's how the gameplan has always been drawn up for Aaron. When executed (especially against punch less offense) he succeeds and sometimes even dominates like this one.

Breaking: The Rockies have extended pitcher Aaron Cook's contract through the year 2018.

Only kidding. Dan O'Dowd hasn't gone that far off the deep end yet. And if he was really smart, I think about the sixth inning he should have sent out a mass email to every other GM letting them know what was going on and emphasizing his asking price for Aaron was still pay for his airfare and we'll call it even.

Three more positives

1. Troy Tulowitzki: A three hit night for Troy. Two of those with two outs and RISP. Productive at-bats to be sure, but more so encouraging to me because he wasn't afraid to work a count and was actually seemed focused on going back up the middle. Good to see.

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Rock Solid Recap: Back and forth we go

The resilient version of the Colorado Rockies showed up on Friday night, coming from behind twice to defeat the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Rockies 8, D-Backs 4 (boxscore)

Aaron Cook was the beneficiary on the mound, picking up his first win since 1975 or so. But credit goes to him as well. Despite struggling early and seeming destined for another short and disappointing outing, Cook steadied himself on the mound and even contributed a pair of hits, a run and an RBI at the plate.

Good for him.

He's still pretty close to finished, but it's a feel good moment for a pitcher and person I respect a lot.

Offense

Guess who was the driving force of the offense again... Yes, Dexter Fowler. He is absolutely swinging the bat the best he has in his career. This just weeks after bottoming out, getting sent to AAA, and somehow bottoming out even more there. Seriously, the numbers he put up there the first three weeks were scary, but the Rockies showed faith, and Fowler's confidence is soaring since his return.

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Sunday Recrap #13: Enough is enough... no?

I realize it's just one day out of the week. I understand it's a little fluky that it's played out the way it has, but thirteen straight Sunday losses? Are you serious, bro?

That's embarrassing. There's no reason this team can't come out and finish a series stronger than this. They can't finish a sweep. They can't win a rubber match. They can't steal three out of four. More often than not, they just come out flat on Sundays.

Today was no exception to that. Three errors. 1-for-11 with RISP. Aaron Cook loading the bases every inning it seemed. So much sloppiness, so little reason to believe in this team. It's maddening.

Brewers 4, Rockies 3 (boxscore)

Aaron Cook: Still done. Unfortunately, still no realistic option to replace him. So expect to see him on the mound again Friday in Arizona.

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Rock Solid Recrap: Cooked

Braves 9, Rockies 1 (boxscore)

Aaron Cook 

Terrible first inning. Bounce back second inning. Relapse third inning. Settles down in the fourth and fifth. Runs into trouble and exits immediately in the sixth. That's how you sum up Aaron Cook's start tonight, which feels pretty close to the pattern he's used since his return from the DL.

Maybe I should compliment his consistency. Or maybe I should add my name to the list of folks who are ready to cut ties with Cookie. It feels like the right thing to do, but the Rockies are in a tough predicament. I don't just mean from a loyalty standpoint. In fact, that's never seemed like an issue for them.

Financially and logistically it's tough to just let him go. I mean yes, chances are Cook won't be able to rehab his value to the point they can move him without taking a big hit, but it's not like the Rockies have another pitcher or two beating down the door to the Majors. They don't. They have Clayton Mortensen, Greg Reynolds and maybe Esmil Rogers. If there's no real clear upgrade to make, sticking with Cook might not be their worst option.

That said, it's possible he's gone tomorrow. It's possible he's gone during the AS break. It's possible he's here all season. I don't know what they're going to do, but I can see why they have and possibly could continue to give him chances. It might not help them, but it might be a "risk" worth taking if he figures something (anything) out.

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Rock Solid Recrap: Rockies lose series to AL version of themselves

If the Rockies fired Jim Tracy tonight, it wouldn't fix everything - and very likely wouldn't fix anything - but I sure wouldn't be upset or angry. 

It's easy to say he's not the Rockies only problem or their biggest problem. That's the truth. But he certainly is a big problem. A problem that needs to be eliminated eventually. 

He was awful today. Completely overmanaged a very winnable game, helping turn it into a disaster. He used three pitches to get through the seventh, which I guess was necessary after Rafael Betancourt allowed the lead-off home run to Gordon Beckham? Or something.

He did allow Betancourt to face one more hitter, whom he retied, but then got the hook in favor of Rex Brothers. Personally, I would try to have a little more faith in Raffy. You know? You've demoted him to the 7th, which I can't argue with. But with a three-run, how can he regain his confidence getting yanked after one mistake?

Brothers came in and struggled again, which is totally on him. He needs to lock that down, but he didn't, so then we go to Matt Belisle. Belisle needs only one pitch to get the Rockies out of the jam.

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Rock Solid Recrap: We both mailed it in

By we I mean me and Jim Tracy.

Rather than get up at a decent hour to post this morning's Lineup Card, I slept in. Hey, I was up until six this morning writing up my Saturday morning recaps for Big League Stew, so I give myself a pass this time. But I kind of wish I had dragged my ass out of bed anyway, because it would have been fun commenting on that lineup Jim Tracy filled out.

Geez.

So here's the deal on that. Wednesday I defended Tracy for sitting three starters in the series finale in Cleveland. I'll still defend that. It was obvious Todd Helton, Charlie Blackmon and Chris Iannetta needed that day off. With the off day Thursday, I was completely in favor of how Jim planned that to buy Todd and Chris especially 48 hours of rest.

Today: I wasn't too surprised to see Seth Smith and Blackmon benched. That's the norm for Smith against any lefty, especially one of CC Sabathia's caliber. But when that leaves you with Eric Young in the outfield, are you really gaining anything? Are you really doing your players right when you're not only putting one out of position, but pretty much telling the rest I'm waving the white flag today. Here's my 25th man in right. My 24th man behind the plate. And my 23rd man in left field to support my 5th starting pitcher.

How else can you take it?

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Rock Solid Recrap: No sweep for us

That's okay. Justin Verlander vs. Aaron Cook? Nine times out of ten that's not going to go your way. The important thing is they took care of business in the first two games, took the series, and should leave town feeling pretty good about themselves.

Tigers 9, Rockies 1 (boxscore)

Aaron Cook: Pretty standard Cook day when you think about it. Which I'll actually take against Detroit. 6 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K. It may not look pretty, but it matches up well with Ubaldo's line and better than Jason Hammel's. The difference was his margin for error was zero. We knew that going in, so that made every hit and run allowed a little more frustrating than the one before or any hits allowed by Ubaldo or Hammel.

7th inning: Ouch. Rough day for Rex Brothers' ERA. Rough day for Rex Brothers period. Spiked on the arm covering home plate? I've been spiked on the ankle a time or two. But **** that would hurt to take one on the forearm. Thankfully it was his non-throwing arm, but he was still forced to leave due to bleeding. The wound took four stitches to close up. Did I mention ouch?

Watch in the injury if you dare

Also, Seth Smith... Well, that was embarrassing. Jim Tracy should consider benching him for three weeks. Oh... he was already considering that.

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Rock Solid Recrap: Home woes continue

Another day.... another disheartening loss... against a beatable opponent... with a pitcher making his big league debut... at Coors Field.

So many reasons to win. So much frustration.

Padres 3, Rockies 1 (boxscore)

This time it was the offense's turn to not hold up their end of the bargain. As I said, Anthony Bass was making his big league debut for San Diego. He could very well go on to have an amazing career, but geez, you'd think an offense with Carlos Gonzalez, Troy Tulowitzki and Todd Helton could give the kid a proper welcomes to the bigs. Especially at home, where baseballs were flying all weekend long.

It just didn't happen. I don't know what the answer is. They seemed to be over the hump, but they couldn't sustain any threats or come up with the big knock.

By the way, of the Rockies five total hits, two each belonged to Chris Nelson and Charlie Blackmon. So yes, I think most of us knew these guys couldn't fix the offense, but they have certainly added to it. It's just not enough when the money players have a bad day.

Aaron Cook: Slow start, allowing basehits to the first three batters of the game. He only allowed two hits after that before leaving after the long rain delay in the 6h. I can't remember how long the rain delay was, but I think it was a little over...

Ah yes. Thanks guys. (Alanna, check your watch.)

Unfortunately Cook took the loss despite only allowing two runs. Jason Hammel feels your pain.

Matt Belisle: Having another brilliant season, although much quieter than last year. Definitely the player of the game after throwing 2 1/3 scoreless innings. Very good and very efficient.

Overall: It's getting to be put up or shut up time. This homestand has to finish strong. Having the mentality that a 10-game winning streak in August or September will make everything better is a bad way to live. No guarantee this team has a five-game winning streak in them, let alone eight, ten, eleven, whatever. The turnaround has to start now, and they have to sustain it.

Rock Solid Recap: Rockies 3-4 finally provides some punch

An ideal lineup features your most productive hitters batting third and fourth. On this Wednesday afternoon, the Rockies had the right two guys holding down those positions.

Rockies 5, Padres 3 (boxscore)

Todd Helton and Troy Tulowitzki combined to go 7-for-8 with a home run (Todd), three doubles (2 Todd), four RBI (3 Troy) and four runs scored (3 Todd).

Watch Todd Helton's home run

The biggest of the seven hits was Tulo's two-run double in the ninth that broke the tie and served as the game-winner. A big, big moment for Tulo, especially considering Heath Bell intentionally passed on Helton to get to him.

Watch Tulo's double

Sometimes a good slap in the face in the best kind of wakeup call.

Once Carlos Gonzalez gets his act together, I would strongly suggest to Jim Tracy that he hit fifth and Helton stays third. I really would. Helton gives you your best at-bats on a nightly basis, and Tulowitzki desperately needs someone dynamic like Gonzalez behind him for protection. That's just me though. Gonzalez still has a ways to go before we can think about that.

Charlie Blackmon: Congratulations on the first ML hit! it was a Todd Helton special on a hard groundball through the right side. And then he barely missed on a three-run homer his second at-bat that probably would have been out in Denver. I'm very much looking forward to seeing what he can do on this ten-game homestand.

Watch Blackmon's first hit... and his diving grab

Aaron Cook: I'm sure there was some rust involved, but this looked a lot like most of Cook's outings last season. Didn't get real deep. A lot of traffic. Was always one hit away from disaster. I won't judge him too harshly, but I'll hope for better when Cook faces the same Padres next week in Denver.

Huston Street: Wow. That's all. Wow.

Now let's watch Eric Patterson get picked off... and caught stealing. Thanks for the help!

That concludes a 4-5 road trip through California that could have absolutely buried the Rockies if things went poorly. I feel like they kept their heads safely above water. Granted things could have gone a lot better with a couple hits here and there, and it's nine games off the schedule with no forward progress, but the important thing with how poorly they've been playing is to survive as long as you can and hope things turn around.

Hopefully that starts tomorrow as they host the Dodgers and Clayton Kershaw. Yeah, that doesn't look too promising on paper. Now let's see them finally come out, rip up the paper and make an ace look like a #5 for a change.

Friday Rundown: Rosenthal offers more Rockies trade speculation

-- With the Michael Young trade rumors all but dead and buried, Fox Sports writer/sideline reporter/chief speculator, Ken Rosenthal, is now turning his attention to a possible Rockies deal with the St. Louis Cardinals. Fox Sports


Just this week, the Cardinals lost right-hander Adam Wainwright, who will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the entire season, and infielder Nick Punto, who has a sports hernia and will be out two to three months.


The Rockies currently have seven starting pitchers –right-handers Ubaldo Jimenez, left-hander Jorge De La Rosa and righties, Aaron Cook, Jason Hammel, Jhoulys Chacin, Esmil Rogers and Felipe Paulino. Cook already is experiencing shoulder soreness. Paulino is out of options, and cannot be sent to the minors without clearing waivers.


The Rockies’ extra infielders – Chris Nelson, Eric Young Jr., Jonathan Herrera and Jose Lopez – also could appeal to the Cardinals. Herrera, a switch-hitter who can play shortstop, probably is the most valuable member of the group.

Rosenthal also added the teams have not had any discussions. It's always important to note that after so many false reports of the Rockies talking to the Rangers during that six week period when they didn't speak.

One of these days Rosenthal will get one right. It's not something I would my breath in anticipation of, but maybe if Aaron Cook gets back on track in the next 10-14 days something will come of this. Or maybe if the Cardinals gets so desperate and confused that they make Colby Rasmus available. Or fill-in-the-blank with some other unlikely event.

Also, I just want everyone to know where this speculation started before Troy Renck gets lambasted for responding to speculation on his Twitter feed and blog. I'm sure he'll be asked a lot of questions about this once it gets out there a little more, and it'll be his job to address it.

-- David Martin at Rockies Review had an interesting theory or two on why the Rockies have become notorious slow starters.

He believes the move north to Scottsdale will help the Rockies become better prepared for early season baseball since it will significantly shorten their bus rides and allow them to face major league pitching with a little more frequency during these all important weeks of preparation.

At first glance the basis of his piece seems like it would be easy to dismiss, but give Martin a chance to go a little further into detail. I think you'll find there is a degree of validity to each of his points. Just how much impact these changes make will be difficult to measure accurately, but I expect their April play to improve enough that we'll know the impact does indeed exist.

-- Check back tomorrow for some words on the Rockies and D-Backs christening Salt River Field at Talking Stick with a little Saturday afternoon of baseball!

Wouldn't it be nice if these 11 things happened in '11

Wouldn't it be nice...

... if the Rockies could get through spring training relatively healthy? 

After Sunday's Aaron Cook news, I think we're already down to ten.

... if we could count on Aaron Cook for 25 starts? 

Make that nine.

... if one of the Gregs (Reynolds or Smith) got their act together, stayed healthy for a full season, and contributed at a level higher than Double A?

Not ready to give up on this one... but don't hold your breath.

... if Ian Stewart led the league in RBI in April? 

Not because the stat means everything -- we've had it beaten into our brains that it doesn't -- but because that would very likely indicate the Rockies are scoring a lot of runs and #3 and #4 in the order will get pitched to a lot more.

... if Jim Tracy never used Huston Street four days in a row?

Heck, I'd be happy if he never had to go three days in a row. Mariano Rivera never does. I'm just guessing that's part of the reason he's remained so damn good for so damn long.

... if Todd Helton has one of those seasons that tipped the Hall of Fame scales back in his favor?


... if the Rockies patience (and mine) with Franklin Morales is rewarded?


... if the Rockies hired an old school organist to play walk-up music so we didn't have to hear silly debates over which walk-up song each Rockie selects?

 I means sure, it's all a part of the entertainment package that draws in the casual fan, but most of the guys pick awful songs or don't take it seriously.

And besides that, nothing will ever top Dante Bichette walking up to Sledgehammer. Talk about palpable electricity each time he was due up in a clutch situation late in a ballgame. That was special.

... if the Rockies named someone their regular second baseman, and that someone was Eric Young? 

He has to prove that's what he belongs, but having that speed into the #2 spot is something I'd really like to see. It would also help keep Jim Tracy from going overboard on the tinkering, while giving him his most versatile bench.

... if Dexter Fowler bunted a lot more? 

Just be on base, please. Those bunt singles are almost as good as doubles in most cases. Also, when you're on base, the Rockies have a really, really good chance of scoring run(s) in that particularly inning. That's logistics.

... if the Rockies finally win the NL West?

Please. I want to see one of those neat banners. There's one I want more than that, but just to finally see that a division championship banner would be fantastic. It's a nice to hurdle to get over en route to the biggest hurdle.