Tucson – A date with the world champions is a groovy way to begin exhibition play when you have the tatty history and lofty hopes that the Rockies possess. And if you get consecutive playing dates with the champs, well, that is like dancing with the stars.
The Rockies on Wednesday opened their spring training schedule at the Chicago White Sox. Today the White Sox travel across town to the Rockies’ park for a rematch.
This is a twist on the old baseball aphorism, “Let’s play two.”
It is an easy setup since both teams, along with the Arizona Diamondbacks, make this city their spring training homes.
The first segment of Rockies/White Sox looked like a role reversal. The Rockies led 6-0 before winning 6-1. For the Rockies, the pitching was good, the outfield defense was smart and the two-out hitting was timely. It was the kind of zippy start the Rockies needed.
Spring training does, indeed, emphasize training. But the habits of winning and displaying sound fundamentals and learning how to complement each other are never too early to find. Last season the White Sox displayed those traits in spring training and kept rolling.
“But nobody saw where they would finish,” Rockies outfielder Jorge Piedra said. “That is the thing about baseball, the beauty.”
Another thing about baseball is that champions draw a crowd. Arizona won it all in 2001. The White Sox are the 2005 kings.
Thus, the Rockies in this area are surrounded by a fresh champ and a recent one and are sometimes considered a third wheel. Sound familiar? Even at home, they are sometimes forgotten when not flat-out ignored. They have been everywhere the White Sox have been, losers and ridiculed in their home city, offered up for dead without a peek of sunshine evident.
And then came the breakthrough for the White Sox.
The Rockies believe their breakthrough is closer than you think.
Some of it is pure hope and prayer. Some of it is rooted in young talent that was whacked last season and is a year sturdier. Some of it comes from a pitching staff reconfigured.
“When I have watched this team from the other side, it was young with talent, and now there are more veterans here,” said Jose Mesa, who joined the Rockies from Pittsburgh and is pitching for the seventh team in his 16th full major-league season. “The young guys will improve, and the veterans, including myself, must give them a little more in finishing off games and wins.”
When the Rockies entered spring training last year, it was the beginning of their plan to allow youth to take hold, to let it burn and blossom. Young mistakes would be swallowed. The future depended on it.
A year later, is that youth on the verge of performance?
As the Rockies analyze their team, they know they are looking at a few homegrown players whom they have already seen on the major-league level. That is a big difference from evaluating first-time big-leaguers. The Rockies see young players who are displaying confidence. They believe they have the right mix of veterans to prevent early-season, late-game collapses from the bullpen and beyond that ruined last season.
“This is my sixth year in the big leagues, my fourth team,” Rockies pitcher Bret Prinz said. “There is all kind of young talent all over the place here. It’s a group that gets along and knows when it is time to play.”
The Rockies seek stability at catcher. They want Todd Helton to become dominant again. They are looking for a huge year from Matt Holliday and surprising, career years from others.
Championship baseball, though, is all about pitching.
If the Rockies throw the ball this spring training and beyond like they did Wednesday against the White Sox, their breakthrough is closer than you think.
Manager Clint Hurdle is telling his team that they have to believe they are good to be good. In other words, first comes the confidence, then the results. Hurdle believes this is easily his best team as Rockies manager, and it shows in the renewed pep in his step.
The Rockies hope to go about their work cultivating an atmosphere that insists the least can be beasts.
Down so long, that in part requires a leap of faith.
And another lingering look across the field today at a team and franchise that are tangible proof.
Staff writer Thomas George can be reached at 303-820-1994 or tgeorge@denverpost.com.
