What's Next?

Greg Henry

A wild September finish is followed by seven playoff victories before getting swept in the World Series.

The question is: What can the Rockies do for an encore?

You can sum up the Colorado Rockies' 2008 Major League Baseball season in two words: What now?

A September and postseason run with 22 victories in 23 games en route to the Rockies' first National League championship can alter the landscape for a club that has had its logo next to the word moribund in the dictionary for several years.

Not even a World Series sweep by the Boston Red Sox has dimmed the hopes of the team that plays at 20th and Blake streets.

Those expectations are not unwarranted. The Rockies' only major loss from last season was starting second baseman Kazuo Matsui, who signed with the Houston Astros as a free agent. Don't diminish Matsui's departure. Matsui hit .417 in the divisional series against Philadelphia, including a grand slam homer, and was the team's playoff catalyst.

But the Rockies are high on rookie Jayson Nix, the Rockies' top pick, 44th overall, in 2001 and MVP of the World Cup last November for Team USA. With two weeks remaining spring training, Nix, 25, still appeared the frontrunner despite a slow start at the plate in Arizona.

Jeff Baker's Cactus League play was sparking thoughts of platooning the two at second base, though both are right-handed hitters. Baker had the game-winning in Game 3 of the divisional series against Philadelphia to advance the Rockies to the National League Championship Series, but his deft fielding ability at second base has surprised many. Baker has been a utility player, used in and left and right field and to fill in at first and third base occasionally. But the 26-year-old dropped 18 pounds and his diligent off-season work has paid off this spring.

One former Rockies second baseman, Eric Young, is impressed with Baker.

"Baker, offensively, is probably the best of all of them," Young, an ESPN analyst, told Rocky Mountain News columnist Dave Krieger in mid-March. "Baker's got some pop. I don't know how his footwork is around there. If he gets somebody on top of him, can he turn that double play?"

Ian Stewart, a third baseman with a heralded bat, took turns at second base in the spring, but appears stuck as a back-up at third to Garrett Atkins and as pinch-hitter if he isn't send down to Triple-A Colorado Springs. Two veterans, onetime starting shortstop Clint Barmes, and Marcus Giles, a minor-league contract pick-up, also were vying for the second-base job.

The good news is the Rockies are set at almost every position. Four of the five starting pitchers (Opening Day starter Jeff Francis, Aaron Cook, Ubaldo Jimenez and Franklin Morales), barring injury, were set as spring training began in February in Tucson; the defense which set a major-league record for fielding percentage (only 68 errors all year, a major-league low in 2007); an offense powered by MVP runner-up Matt Holliday (.340 batting average, 36 home runs, 120 runs and 136 RBIs) is all but intact and the bullpen returns its three key pitchers "“ closer Manny Corpas and set-up men Brian Fuentes and Matt Herges.

The fifth starting pitching spot remained a race between Jason Hirsh, Josh Towers, Kip Wells and Mark Redman.

Hirsh was nursing a sore shoulder in spring training, so his position in the race for the fifth starter is tenuous. Those four also would be in the running for Morales' spot if the 22-year-old left-hander falters. In the long run, some of Colorado's youngest pitching talents "“ Brandon Hynick, Greg Reynolds and Casey Weathers "“ may be seen later this season if there's a lot of injuries or ineffectiveness by the present starting candidates.

All that said, the Rockies still have to deal with four National League West opponents who improved over last season. San Diego has a bad taste after losing in the wildcard game to the Rockies. Arizona added Oakland Athletics ace Dan Haren to a staff that includes two former Cy Young winners, Brandon Webb and Randy Johnson. Los Angeles spent $35 million on Japanese pitching star Hiroki Kuroda. San Francisco, coming off a horrible 71-91 season, may have the best group of young pitchers to go with veteran lefty Barry Zito.

So, what do the Rockies have for an encore in 2008?

"I think you play the game the way we played it last year," Manager Clint Hurdle said in a recent TV interview. "We've given Denver a team it can be proud of for all the right reasons. They're unselfish, they play smart, they play hard, they play with energy, they play with emotion. We can hit a home run, we can put down a bunt, we can steal a base, we can go first to third, we can pitch, we can play defense. That's probably been the biggest change.

"For years so many people helping me with my job continued to tell me the how to win games here was to outslug the other team. I always disagreed. Offensively, we put together these juggernauts, we'll send a lot of guys to the All-Star Game but we're not going to win anything. You win championships with pitching and defense. Our fans have embraced that."

The fans no doubt will be back at Coors Field this season. The landmark six-year, $31 million signing of Rookie of the Year runner-up Troy Tulowitzki certainly will assure many sellouts even when the Chicago Cubs or St. Louis Cardinals are not in town.

The Rockies opened the season March 31 in St. Louis and on April 4, in a 2:05 p.m. game against Arizona, the club unfurls its National League championship pennant at Coors Field. For Hurdle, after his team's incredible finish, he cannot wait for the 2008 season to begin.

"What we did was remarkable. We put a foundation in place that will have longstanding value to our ballclub," Hurdle says. "We've rekindled the fan base and we have given a generation of young fans and some of the older fans an experience of a lifetime ... It has been very humbling to have been able to be a part of a team bringing so much joy to so many people for so many reasons."

Heading into its 16th major-league season, there finally is joy in Denver.

TIMELINE

April 2:

Rockies lose season opener, 8-6 to Arizona at Coors Field

May 21:

Rockies drop to season-worst nine games under .500 (8-27) with a 6-5 loss to Arizona at Chase Field in Phoenix. Loss follows Colorado losing six in a 10-game homestand.

May 29:

8-3 home victory over St. Louis completes seven-game winning streak, improving Colorado's record to 25-27. Catcher Yorvit Torrealba hits a grand slam, his first home run of the season.

June 14:

Colorado beats the Boston Red Sox 7-1 to win the series at Fenway Park. Jeff Francis shuts out Boston over five innings and five relievers hold off the Red Sox. Garrett Atkins' grand slam homer hands Boston starter Josh Beckett his first loss.

June 21:

Rodrigo Lopez outduels Roger Clemens as Colorado beat the New York Yankees 4-3 to complete the series sweep at Coors Field. Garrett Atkins and Troy Tulowitzki homer off Clemens in the second inning as the Rockies win five of six in the homestand to improve to 38-34.

June 30:

Jeff Francis throws seven shutout innings, allowing just three hits to beat the Astros 5-0. Colorado had lost eight straight on the road trip. The Rockies lose the road-trip finale the next night 12-0, but Francis (8-5) stops the bleeding in beating former Rockies ace Jason Jennings. Brian Fuentes loses his closer role on this roadstand to Manny Corpas, getting two consecutive losses against the Astros after losing the road-trip opener to the Cubs.

July 15:

The 4-3 loss in Milwaukee proves to be the last time Colorado falls below .500 (45-46).

Aug. 8:

Garrett Atkins continues his hitting ascent with a 4-for-4 day with six RBI while raising his average to .283 in Colorado's 19-4 Coors Field demolition of Milwaukee. The Rockies third baseman was hitting just .223 on June 1. Jeff Francis (13-5) wins his eighth straight game.

Aug. 23:

In perhaps one its worst home series of the season, Colorado loses 3 of 4 to woeful Pittsburgh, scoring just five runs in the three losses. The final 5-1 loss drops the Rockies to 64-63. Perhaps reliever LaTroy Hawkins can be a fortune teller. After the loss Hawkins said: "I don't get the notion, or suspect anybody's panicking right now." The Rockies finish the homestand with a three-game sweep of Washington.

Sept. 15:

Ubaldo Jimenez lasts just three innings while giving up five runs in a 10-2 loss to Florida. The third straight defeat drops the Rockies 4 Â½ games behind San Diego in the wild-card chase. First baseman Todd Helton said: "(We need to) get a little bit lucky, but we're going to have to start winning some ballgames."

Sept. 18:

In a moment that seemed to crystallize the Rockies' late-season run, Todd Helton mashed a two-run, two-out homer in the ninth inning off Dodgers closer Takashi Saito to give Colorado a 9-8 victory and a day-night doubleheader sweep. Jeff Francis had 10 strikeouts in the first-game 3-1 victory, but the climax comes as Helton leaps into the arms of his Rockies teammates as he crosses home plate for the winning run.

Sept. 21:

There were many highlights of the Rockies' 11-game winning streak last September, but none more important than a 2-1, 14-inning victory in the opening game of a roadstand at San Diego. Starter Franklin Morales allows just one hit in six innings, but a Brad Hawpe home run in the 14th and Matt Herges' two innings of shutout relief secure Colorado's sixth consecutive win.

Sept. 27:

Franklin Morales proves even more crucial as he ties a club record with 20 consecutive scoreless innings by a starter. Colorado's 10-4 victory effectively eliminates the Dodgers in the final game of the road trip. Three relievers rescue Morales in the sixth and Troy Tulowitzki and Brad Hawpe each double in a four-run eighth to put the game out of reach.

Sept. 28:

Colorado return home for its final three-game series against N.L. West leader Arizona. Diamondbacks ace Brandon Webb outduels his Rockies counterpart Jeff Francis, holding Colorado to two runs in seven innings in the 4-2 victory. The Rockies now needed a miracle "“ two victories over Arizona and hope San Diego loses both of its games in Milwaukee.

Sept. 29:

One game at a time is not just a cliché; it's a reality. Colorado earns an 11-1 victory just a night after Arizona had celebrated its N.L. West-clinching victory at Coors Field. Left-hander Mark Redman pitches five stellar innings, allowing one unearned run. The bullpen does the rest and Troy Tulowitzki hits a grand slam for one of 13 Rockies hits. In Milwaukee, the baseball gods were kind: Tony Gwynn Jr. helps beat his dad's old team with a game-tying, two-out triple in the ninth as the Brewers beat the Padres 4-3 in 11 innings. Vinny Rottino's single in the 11th keeps Colorado's hopes alive.

Sept. 30:

Ubaldo Jimenez, one of two Rockies rookie starters who played big roles down the stretch, throws a no-hitter going into the sixth inning of the 4-3 victory. Tied 1-1 in the eighth, news of the Padres' 11-6 loss in Milwaukee was flashed on the scoreboard. The Rockies score three runs, two on Brad Hawpe's double and survive a scary ninth inning as closer Manny Corpas allows two Arizona runs before he nabs a dribbler by Stephen Drew and his low throw is scooped by Todd Helton for the final out.

Oct. 1:

It took 163 games for the Rockies to reach the playoffs for only the second time in their 15-year history. So it was no surprise it would take 13 innings to beat San Diego for the wild-card berth in the National League. Down 8-6 and facing Padres closer Trevor Hoffman, even the most fervent Rockies fan had to have doubts. But Kazuo Matsui and Troy Tulowitzki open with doubles and Matt Holliday triples. After an intentional walk to Todd Helton, Jamey Carroll's fly ball to right field scores Holliday, who belly-flops and smashes his chin on his slide home, though it's been debated "“ mostly by San Diego fans "“ that he never touched the plate.