Editor’s Note:

The evolution of Denver, Colorado as a baseball town completed another stage on Thursday, October 1st, 2009.

On a beautiful fall day at Coors Field, Franklin Morales struck out Alcides Escobar for the final out of the Rockies’ 9-2 win against the Milwaukee Brewers, and the Rockies clinched the 2009 National League Wildcard Championship.

It was their third postseason birth in franchise history, and their second in three years. The game ended a spectacular journey that saw the Rockies climb back from 12 games under .500 to finish the season 22 games over the break-even mark. The Rocks even challenged the Los Angeles Dodgers, a team they once trailed by 15.5 games, for the National League West Divisional crown.

For the casual fan, the Rockies’ postseason berth meant the thrill of Rocktober once again coming to Denver, conjuring up memories of the team’s magical 2007 World Series run. Over a span of less than three weeks, the Rockies conquered all comers in the NL before eventually being swept by the Boston Red Sox.

Remembering that thrill, the bandwagoners dusted off their “CR” hats and pink “Tulowitkzi” shirts, filled a chilly and wintry LoDo area (and their shot glasses), and watched the 2009 postseason unfold. Many of them were blissfully unaware of what transpired to get the Rockies back into the postseason, despite all of the changes since that 2007 run.

Among the differences…

All-Stars such as Matt Holliday and Brian “Tito” Fuentes played for a combined three different teams this season, and 2007 staff ace Jeff Francis sat on the disabled list for the entire season. Ex-manager Clint Hurdle watched his former team from a broadcast booth on the newly created MLB Network.

Yet, as the national media finally started to turn their heads to Colorado for the playoffs, tales of 2007 were repeated, ad-nauseum. Long-time Rockies fans know the truth: 2007 was lightning in a bottle.

Back then, it took less than a calendar month for the Rockies to go from a moderately talented afterthought to a team surging through the playoffs to the World Series. Absent in their historic sprint to their first NL pennant (in both the play of the team and the fans that follow it) were the qualities that define baseball: endurance and patience. It is these two qualities which can be found in every aspect of the Rockies ’09 run– qualities the fan base is learning as Denver becomes a better baseball town.

Two years ago, the sports world witnessed a phenomenon, complete with its own trademark-able name: Rocktober. Winning 21 out of 22 games en route to their first World Series, the Rockies’ run was the stuff of storybooks and legend. There are those who insist the play-in game with the San Diego Padres goes down as the best regular season baseball game in 25 years. A football town used to the instant gratification of big hits, the long pass, and last-second victories was gifted with the baseball equivalent in 2007.

In 2009, a different tale has been told. After starting the first two months of the season 20-29, the Rockies posted a 21-7 record in the month of June and found they had won…absolutely nothing. They had merely returned themselves to respectability. During the final 85 games of the season, the Rockies battled and went 51-34, winning a franchise-record 92 games.

Though brief, the Phillies series was memorable, and not just for the poor calls by the umpires. The gritty Game 2 start by right-hander Aaron Cook tamed the Phils potent left-handed lineup, and catcher Yorvit Torrealba improved upon his 2007 postseason success by launching a 3-run home-run, only his third of the entire ’09 season. An early October chill in Denver provided the backdrop for Games 3 and 4 in Colorado, both nail-biting heart breakers. And yet, at the end, fans were left not with the hollow emptiness that followed the 2007 Red Sox sweep, but a glimmer of a team that is transforming from lightning in a bottle to a perennial National League contender. If the last three years of Rockies baseball has shown fans anything, it is how thin the line between success and failure truly is.

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Rocktober 2007 was a breeze, but the Phillies will not be the same easy out in 2009

photo by Mikespille

The Rockies did what they needed to do – bring home one victory from Philadelphia. One could argue they needed to win both, but we all know that isn’t true. They simply needed to steal the home field advantage, because with it they quite possibly might have stolen the Phillies’ confidence. Had the Rocks taken game one, then been hammered in game 2, the trip back to Colorado would be much less jovial, not nearly as loose, and the Phillies would be looking at Game 3 as an opportunity to put their foots on the throats of the boys in purple. As it stands, the Rockies have the World Champs back on their heels, and can look at Game 3 as a chance to put this series to the edge. The Phillies have to be worried.

Saturday’s game looks to be really. Really. Cold. I can’t really say the cold benefits either team… baseball is a summer game, and no one likes inclement weather. But the fact is, this is the potential of playoff baseball in Colorado. And the Rockies have to get psyched up to take full advantage of it. The crowd will still be there, bundled up, yes, but there. And loud.

It’s great to see hometown baseball in October. Let’s hope the pitching holds steady and the Rocks can continue their march to Rock-vember. Besides, against my better judgment I took the plunge and purchased NLCS tickets. I’d really hate for them to go to waste.

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The Rockies wrap up the 2009 NL Wild Card

Out of the doghouse and into the dogpile, Chris Iannetta made a thunderous contribution on Tuesday night, starting the Rockies on what would be a three-game sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers.

The game should have been over in nine innings.  Usually unflappable Colorado closer Huston Street gave up a three-run home run in the top of the 9^th to give Milwaukee hope of a comeback win.  Chris Iannetta, pinch hitting in the bottom of the 11^th, took one back for the Rockies.

Iannetta has been in Jim Tracy’s doghouse since his bat went cold in late August, and Yorvit Torrealba has been a stud both at and behind the plate in his absence.  But pinch-hitting with six undecided games left in the regular season, Chris would take a full-count fastball over the right field fence for the win.

Iannetta did not so much cross the plate as leap into the pile of Rockies surrounding it.  His walk-off heroics may not return him to a predominant starting job as catcher, but these Rockies don’t play for ego.  These Rockies, just as with the 2007 version, play for each other member of their clubhouse.

And so it came to be that Wednesday night brought a more familiar hero to the plate.  Todd Helton came to the plate in what looked to be a back-and-forth slugfest.  His two-run home run to right field turned a tie game into an eventual blowout for the streaking Rockies.

But this game was less about Helton’s home run and more about consistent production throughout the lineup.  Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki also connected for two-run shots that took the wind out of each attempt by the Brewers to stay in the game.

Catcher Yorvit Torrealba responded to Iannetta’s game-winning heroics by logging three hits and an RBI, and scored a run himself on a wild pitch that tied the game at two apiece in the second.  As a team, the Rockies would register six extra-base hits in the game.

Which brings us to Thursday night, and the 90-win Rockies looking for one more to sew up the National League Wild Card with a win or an Atlanta loss.  , the Rockies would not disappoint.

Garrett Atkins knocked in a third of the Rockies nine runs, playing Hero on the two-year anniversary of The Tiebreaker that capped Colorado’s amazing 2007 run to the playoffs.  This after a disappointing season where Garrett went from starting third baseman to bench jockey thanks to the strong offensive and defensive play of Ian Stewart.  With Atkins’ timely reemergence, the Rockies look to be the deepest team heading into the playoffs.

Consider that the Rockies backup 1^st baseman is the deadly Jason Giambi.  Like Giambi, the speedy Eric Young Jr. is a pinch-hitting threat, and also backs up Clint Barmes at 2^nd.  Carlos Gonzalez and Dexter Fowler split time in Center Field, but Cargo can also play Left when Seth “Doombringer” Smith doesn’t get the start.  (Smith is probably the most dangerous pinch-hitter in the league when he doesn’t start the game.)  Throw in utility outfielder and occasional Rockies Hero Ryan Spillborghs, and there is no outfield more crowded with talent than Colorado’s.  The aforementioned time-share at catcher offers two quality players that can match up with any pitcher on the team.

And the return of Aaron Cook to ace form (4-hitting the Brewers in eight solid innings yesterday) means that the Rockies have five reliable starters going into the playoffs.  In fact, All-Star pitcher Jason Marquis may find himself at the bottom of that rotation fighting Jason Hammel for the honor of starting a playoff game.

Having locked up the Wild Card spot once coveted by a half-dozen realistic competitors, the Rocks will try to keep on rolling.  With three games left, all in LA, and trailing the Dodgers by two games, Colorado has a chance to win their first ever NL West Pennant.

The Rockies once again control their own destiny.  The rest of the league ought to be shaking in their cleats.

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photo by rfiallo

With the magic number at ONE – today’s game looms large. Not just because a win today propels the Rockies into the NLDS for the second time in three years without having to watch the scoreboard from Atlanta tonight, but because it keeps alive a mathematical possibility that the Rockies could win the division. Imagine going into Sunday with the NL West on the line!

If the Dodgers win just one of the first 2 games, they have nothing left to play for, since their place is wrapped up. But as of today, the LA lead on the division is a mere 2.5 games. A Rockies win not only puts them in the big dance, but opens the door to 3 must-win games, which would give the Rocks the division. The flag would be nice, but this would set the Rockies in position for a possible home field advantage series.

So let’s not get ahead of ourselves, and simply pull for the clincher today, on a chilly October afternoon in the Mile High City. After that, anything can happen.

Viva ROCKTOBER!

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