San Francisco -Matt Holliday walked onto the red carpet at AT&T Park, flashbulbs shimmering, reporters crowded 10-deep around the dugout. There was an electricity, an energy for an All-Star Game normally associated with the playoffs.
This is what the Rockies crave – this scene, this attention, meaningful baseball in September, if not the team’s first postseason berth since 1995.
In the first half, they gave fans a reason to watch. As they open the second half tonight in Milwaukee on the first leg of a 10-game trip, it’s clear they haven’t earned the fans’ trust. This season has been equal parts amazing and Dramamine.
If the roller coaster goes down again – see 1-9 trip through Toronto, Chicago and Houston – will it come back up?
“There’s no way around it. This is a big trip. We obviously need to play well,” Holliday said. “We need to win quite a few of these games, six, seven, something like that.”
The reason is obvious, even as it remains unspoken. As it stands, the Rockies plan to be buyers at the July 31 non-waiver trading deadline. But if they nose dive through Milwaukee, where they have been swept the past two seasons; in Pittsburgh, where they have gone 8-16 since 2001; and Washington, where they ruled with a four-game sweep a year ago, all bets are off.
They could be listening to offers for Brian Fuentes and Aaron Cook instead of trying to add a complementary arm like Hector Carrasco or Octavio Dotel. Last season, an ill-timed slump out of the break on a 10-game trip helped wreck the Rockies’ playoff aspirations.
So what’s different?
As manager Clint Hurdle likes to point out, the cast hasn’t changed much, meaning this group should benefit from the experience of failing to deal with expectations. Listen to pitcher Josh Fogg, and he insists that only the names are similar this season.
To him and others, the Rockies’ 20-7 stretch in late May and early June had real roots. It was not just an average team getting hot.
“Everybody here knows that run we put together is something we can do again. We are good enough,” Fogg said. “Last year we didn’t have that confidence. This year we do.
“You can tell by our hitters. When we struggled, they were raking, there was no quit in them. This team just has a lot more confidence.”
Added outfielder Brad Hawpe, who nearly made the all-star team: “We are just better. We have more talent and not as many holes as in the past.”
A caffeinated lineup creates optimism. The Rockies lead the National League in hitting after an abysmal April. Garrett Atkins and Hawpe regained their footing and since the return of Kazuo Matsui on May 22, the team is nine games over .500.
General manager Dan O’Dowd believes the offense has established its identity and has become more dangerous with Willy Taveras and Matsui’s speed.
Yet the challenge is vexing. At 5 1/2 games back in the division race and 4 1/2 behind for the wild card, the Rockies have to realistically go 43-31 over their final 74 games to remain in the postseason hunt. And they must erase their past – the franchise sits 72 games under .500 for the months of July, August and September – to change their future.
“We need to play up to our ability, look forward and not behind,” O’Dowd said through a team spokesman. “We need to play the game, night in and night out, the way we’re capable of playing.”
