They are the boys of bummer, desperately trying to get back their Rocktober groove. Nobody expected the defending National League champs to fall so hard, so fast and face such a long, slow climb back to playoff contention.
“I think the problem with our club, as I have painfully learned, is that expectation is really the worst thing you can put on a club,” Rockies general manager Dan O’Dowd said Thursday, on a warm summer evening when Colorado would beat Cleveland 6-3.
How did the Rockies get in this fine mess, working overtime just to keep hope alive despite their 31-42 record? The way I figure it, the trouble began in the Denver mayor’s office.
Of course, it’s totally unfair to blame mayor John Hickenlooper for lousy hitting in the clutch, blown saves or the price of a beer at Coors Field.
But the mayor takes the fall for all manner of civic disasters beyond his control, from blizzards to potholes. The Rockies crumbling must be his fault.
After Colorado had rocked October before getting swept away by Boston in the Fall Classic, Hickenlooper stood with Rockies manager Clint Hurdle as his witness and told thousands of purple-clad fans at a downtown rally what they wanted to hear.
“Next year, we are going to have the parade,” Hickenlooper declared, “because next year we are winning the World Series!!”
The Rockies responded by starting the most anticipated baseball season in Colorado history by stumbling on the dugout steps and tumbling into last place.
What tripped them?
Expectations. After playing out of their heads to win 21 of 22 to suspend disbelief and make a magical run to the World Series, the Rockies could not handle the weight of defying gravity, and logic, again in 2008.
“Expectations set players and organizations up for failure,” O’Dowd said.
Now, the general manager believes it’s essential to hold yourself to high standards. But standards, O’Dowd explained, involve “how you try to play the game.” It’s advancing a runner. Hitting the catcher’s mitt with a smart pitch. Acting like a pro on and off the field.
Expectations, however, result in a “very statistically, numbers-driven formula,” O’Dowd said. Jeff Francis tries too hard to become a 20-game winner rather than concentrating on locating his fastball. Troy Tulowitzki overswings until he spins himself into a sophomore slump. Clenched teeth grind natural ability into frustration.
“It’s set up to fail,” O’Dowd said.
The Rockies were taken prisoner by the enormity of their dreams.
“Sometimes, it’s very hard for a player to grasp, because this is a numbers-driven business. Players early (in) their careers feel like they’ve got to perform to stay in the majors, in the middle of their careers it’s because of arbitration, and in the end of their careers it’s because they’re close to free agency,” O’Dowd said.
Baseball can become a game of lonely failure when a slumping team breaks down into 25 individuals looking to be the solitary answer to every problem. “We have players still going through that. They may not admit to it, but you can tell by the violence of their swing or their approaches to hit or their forcing of issues that they have an expectation that they feel they’re not meeting,” O’Dowd said.
Ever so slowly, however, you get the sense Colorado has again started to play baseball for the pure fun of it, with an 11-6 record in June.
The Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Giants and Padres made the mistake of not burying Colorado when they had the chance.
The NL West is a division with serious issues. Maybe a playoff berth could be claimed with as few as 85 victories. But to get there, the Rockies would have to win 60 percent of the remaining 89 games on their schedule.
Impossible? Hopeless? Crazy?
Now you’re talking the Rockies’ language.
“They’ve put themselves in a position many would feel is impossible,” O’Dowd said. “And they like that position.”
Mark Kiszla: 303-954-1053 or mkiszla@denverpost.com
