No, it wasn't six years ago when the World Series made that unfathomable, eyebrow-raising, out-of-the-clear-blue-sky appearance at Coors Field. It just seems that way.

After their stunning, albeit short-lived, appearance in the 2007 Fall Classic, the Colorado Rockies returned to their frustrating familiar mediocrity last summer. The Boys of Summer turned back into the Boys of Bummer. The ballpark returned to being a nice place to see and be seen as long as you didn't expect too much when you root, root, rooted for the home team.

But what that stunning 2007 run did was convince the Rockies and their bleary-eyed fans that all things are possible, that grit and teamwork and a nice, young, confident nucleus can catapult a sports team to extraordinary heights.

The Rockies want and need to prove '07 was not an aberration. They want to prove they're still on track toward consistent contention in a National League West Division that's there for the taking.

It's 2009, and our purple-pinstriped hopefuls are working out in Tucson with renewed faith. Are their hopes realistic? A glass-half-full fan would answer yes. Mr. Glass-Half-Empty says not a chance. Too many things have to fall into place. Too many gears and widgets must interconnect flawlessly. Too many players unproven at the big-league level must catch fire all at once. Too many things have to go just right.

Todd Helton must reinvent himself as a reasonable facsimile of the Helton of old.
Remember when Colorado's first baseman was one of the most feared and devastating hitters in the game? A succession of ailments and injuries have pilfered that elite status, the latest setback rearing its pockmarked head in the form of a balky back. True, Helton is 35, which qualifies as senior citizenship in baseball, especially the way Helton's body has betrayed him recently. But the major-league landscape is dotted with guys in their mid-30s or older who still can slap the ball around. If Helton can stay healthy, and that's a mammoth "if," his steady bat, respected leadership, and nifty footwork could be huge. While he's never again going to be a consistently effective home-run hitter, he can produce a nice batting average, knock in runs, and drive pitchers crazy. Helton clearly must be more than a dugout cheerleader for the Rockies to contend. Can that happen? The baseball gods will soon answer. There's nothing more sad than a gifted player robbed of his edge by a body that won't cooperate, particularly if the guy is a class act like Helton.

Someone besides Aaron Cook and Jason Marquis must step forward in the starting pitching rotation.
It didn't help the rotation's cause when it was determined early in spring training that hard-luck left-hander Jeff Francis required surgery on his pitching shoulder. Francis could miss the whole season. The Rockies know what they have in Cook. The smooth, tough, reliable right-hander figures to be a perennial All-Star. And they know what they have in Marquis: a knowledgeable, dependable grinder who will chew up innings and keep them in ballgames, albeit without setting the planet ablaze. Problem is everyone else who figures to crack the rotation is cloaked in mystery. There's potential, but there's a whole boatload of uncertainty. Young arms like those belonging to Ubaldo Jimenez and Franklin Morales must get people out when Cook and Marquis are between starts. Jason Hirsh, all 6'8" and 250 pounds of him, could be a sleeper. Know this: Good teams have more than one or two starters who can provide consistent performance and pitch late into games. Bad and mediocre teams don't.

Youth must be served.
Helton notwithstanding, baseball at its highest levels is a game for the young. The Rockies carefully have tweaked and cajoled players in their fertile minor-league system, yet it's a stretch to say all these guys are ready to contribute at the big-league level. Can Chris Iannetta take the next step and become one of the National League's best catchers, a truly complete all-around player who can make a two-way impact every game? Can shortstop Troy Tulowitzki repeat his sensational 2007 rookie year, or will he look lost at the plate as he did the first few months of last summer? How about Seth Smith and Ryan Spilborghs, penciled in as starting outfielders; are they ready for prime time? Questions, questions, questions. The Rockies hope their promising cadre of young players grows up in a real hurry.

Somebody must close out games.
A team in the majors can have pretty much every other element congeal and still fail if it doesn't have a reliable closer who comes into the ninth inning and brings it home. He must be fearless, he must be tough, he must be talented, and he must have a short memory when it comes to his inevitable failings. Colorado likely will start 2007 phenom Manny Corpas in that role. If he falters, as he did last year when he lost his job to Fuentes, next in line is Huston Street, acquired from Oakland in the salary-slashing trade of Holliday. Of Corpas and Street, the one who fails to win the closer job probably will serve as an eighth-inning setup man, and that role is nearly as crucial.

Somebody must come out of nowhere to achieve instant stardom.
Our preferred candidate is outfielder Carlos Gonzalez, acquired in the Holliday trade. Gonzalez is a surpassingly gifted prospect, but he hasn't proven himself on the big-league level. Gonzalez has, as baseball folks like to say, all the tools. He can fly to balls in center field, a must in the spacious pasture of Coors Field. He can hit for power, throw, run, the works. But this isn't Triple-A; these are the bigs. And baseball is rife with guys who get the job done in the minors but prove ordinary once the level of play is ratcheted up to the marquee level. Gonzalez, a left-handed batter and impressive all-around athlete who's only 23, is still a work in progress.

They must get their swagger back.
The 2007 team convinced itself it could win no matter who it was playing or where. It feared no one. It had excellent chemistry, just the right amount of cocksure swagger, a budding superstar in Holliday, a revered veteran in Helton, a turn-out-the-lights closer in Corpas, and young bucks who exceeded expectations. For whatever reason, that swagger evaporated last summer, and it's manager Clint Hurdle's job to retrieve it. Otherwise, he may be out of a job only two years after shepherding the Rockies to the greatest moments in their two-decade history. That's baseball.