Chuck and Moreen Williams sit 16 rows behind the Rockies’ dugout at Coors Field. They have been season-ticket holders since the team’s inception in 1993 and attend close to 50 games a year.
They also own season tickets to the Broncos but passed up Sunday’s Broncos-Saints thriller so they could see the Diamondbacks drub the Rockies 13-4 in the Rockies’ home finale.
It was an afternoon that illustrated many of the things that went haywire for the Rockies in this most disappointing of seasons.
There was a deer-in-the-headlights performance by a young pitcher, in this case rookie right-hander Greg Reynolds, who was plastered for six runs on seven hits in just 1 1/3 innings. There were three errors committed by a team that last season set a major- league record for fielding percentage. And there was another loss to the Diamondbacks, who beat the Rockies for the 12th time in 15 games.
The Williamses are not casual fans, so the Rockies’ 71-85 record heading into the season’s final road trip does not rest easy with them. They are highly critical of owners Charlie and Dick Monfort, general manager Dan O’Dowd and manager Clint Hurdle. They do, however, love the players and rave about the way they are treated at Coors Field.
Yet oddly enough, the Williamses are not stunned by the Rockies’ long, hard tumble from National League champions in 2007 to also-rans in 2008.
“I really thought last year was an aberration,” Chuck Williams said. “It was fantastic and so exciting, but I think they played way above where we should have.”
While Rockies players express disappointment in a season that includes a middling 43-38 home record, the idea that the magic run known as “Rocktober” was some sort of fluke does not go over well in the clubhouse.
“A baseball season is a long season, so for a team to get to the playoffs, I don’t see how anybody can say that was a fluke,” second baseman Clint Barmes said. “This year, we definitely didn’t play to our potential, but I believe the pieces are here to make another run. I think we have the talent to get back to the playoffs and the World Series.”
Explaining what went wrong in this season, ace Aaron Cook parrots what many of his teammates have said throughout a season in which the Rockies never climbed above .500 after April 19.
“We still have the same group of guys that we had going to the World Series; we just didn’t come out and execute the way we should have,” Cook said. “Going into next year we know we have a lot to work on, but also a lot to build on.”
Cook noted that the Rockies failed with pitching, defense and timely hitting. All aspects of the team, he said, rarely performed in concert.
“There is not one thing you can put your finger on. It was something different all the time,” Cook said.
Before Sunday’s finale, in which the Diamondbacks pounded Rockies pitching for a season-high 19 hits, manager Clint Hurdle acknowledged the team has a lot of work in front of it.
“We’ve got to play better across the board with a recommitment to execution,” he said.
An announced crowd of 32,915 fans showed up for Sunday’s home finale, giving the Rockies a total gate of 2,650,218 fans — their best home attendance since 2002. But compared to last season, fans didn’t get as much bang for their buck. The Rockies scored just 411 runs, their fewest since moving into Coors Field in 1995.
Last year, Coors Field defined home-field advantage. The Rockies were 15-6-5 in home series, including going 14-2-2 in their last 18 series at Coors. This year, the Rockies finished 13-11-2 in home series, losing three of their last four.
No one is sure what lineup the Rockies will post on April 10, 2009, for the home opener. Will sluggers Matt Holliday and Garrett Atkins be back? Will Todd Helton’s back be healed? Will the Rockies obtain another quality starting pitcher?
“I don’t know what the plans are for the offseason,” Barmes said. “All of that stuff is for (management) to figure out. So I can’t answer who’s going to be here and who’s not, but I definitely believe this team can put it together again and make it to the playoffs.”
Patrick Saunders: 303-954-1428 or psaunders@denverpost.com
LoDo Letdown
The Rockies have been disappointing, especially in the wake of their 2007 National League championship season. Magic was in the air at Coors Field last season but vanished in 2008. A comparison:
2007 2008
Home record 51-31 43-38
Home batting avg. .298 .278
Runs scored 478 411*
Runs against 396 420
Home runs 103 92
Home ERA 4.34 4.83
Home errors 40 46
Avg. attendance 28,979 32,719**
*Fewest runs in Coors Field history
** Best since 2002
Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post
Upcoming pitching matchups
Today:
Off day
Tuesday:
Rockies’ Ubaldo Jimenez (11-12, 4.12) vs. Giants’ Tim Lincecum (17-4, 2.46), 8:15 p.m., FSN
Wednesday:
Livan Hernandez (12-11, 6.03) vs. Giants’ Jonathan Sanchez (9-11, 4.71), 8:15 p.m., FSN
Thursday:
Rockies’ Jorge De La Rosa (9-8, 5.20) vs. Giants’ Barry Zito (10-16, 5.28), 8:15 p.m., FSN
