As I write this on the flight home from watching the Rockies in Los Angeles, there is a man in a Rockies cap in the seat behind me.
Turns out, he is Charlie Monfort, one of several toasts of the town today. To him, I am an ex-friend and a current, constant irritant. Late one night 15 years ago, in a LoDo restaurant, he declared that being a majority owner of the Rockies was not all that it might seem to be.
I offered to buy his $15 million share of the Rockies, even though I was worth about $15 at the time. He thought about the offer for roughly a second, then said no. I told him he made the right decision, that he would be happy he was involved in the ownership.
He is happy to own the Rockies. They have reached the postseason for the second time in three seasons, the third season since he and brother Dick bought into the franchise.
He now chooses to talk to me about twice a season, once in spring training and once if we run into each other.
I told him Sunday evening I was writing about the key players the Rockies would need to beat Philadelphia.
Eleven to three.
Eleven Rockies must get Colorado to three victories over the Filadelphia Filets.
Not just any 11 players picked out of a hat. Not 11 accidental voyagers.
Of the 25 men on the postseason roster, 11 will make the difference.
The Rockies have a couple of days to contemplate the last series against the Dodgers, with the 5-3 defeat on Sunday, and a season of ultimate triumph over early trauma and the 2007 season when they dispatched the Phillies in three games in the same divisional round.
It is believed throughout the land that the ballpark in Denver is a bandbox. If so, the ballpark in Philadelphia is an orchestra pit.
So the Rockies must hit big, pitch larger, catch when catch commands and play small ball when they can.
The Rox will depend on 11.
Troy Tulowitzki. The shortstop has picked up the Rockies and carried them on his back. When Matt Holliday was banished last offseason, there was the belief that young Tulowitzki wasn’t old enough to take on the leadership role lost in the trade. Tulowitzki struggled a year ago with an injury, anger and self-doubt. In April this season, Tulo was too low again, and Clint Hurdle made an example of him, benched him and embarrassed him.
Tulowitzki showed him. With Hurdle gone, Tulo became the leader in home runs, RBIs, defense and, yes, leadership. You should have seen him in the clubhouse after the Rockies clinched the wild card. He was yelling: “See. We didn’t (stink). We didn’t.”
They didn’t, and he was a major reason. The Rox need Tulowitzki.
Ulbaldo Jimenez. We all know, the Rockies all know, Jimenez knows, he is the ace. He must win one, maybe even two, in this series. Jimenez has to shut down the Phils, if not shut them out.
Carlos Gonzalez.
Gonzalez told me in spring training that if the Rockies would give him a chance, he would make them proud. The confident young man said: “I know I can play at the major- league level. I am going to have a good year.” He did. With him in the lineup, the Rockies are good enough to beat Philadelphia.
Huston Street. The other part of The Trade with Gonzalez. Holliday ended up OK in St. Louis, and, yes, the Rockies ended up even more OK with a guy who didn’t find himself at the outset, was given a second chance to be a closer, and was sensational. Huston, we have no problem. “I didn’t quite know when I got here what this team was, and what I could do for it, but this has been a ride,” Street told me after the playoff clincher. “And we could be a winner for years.
Jorge De La Rosa. He is the “Magnificent Rose.” But he must get healthy, and be available for Game 3.
The others are: Todd Helton, as dependable as the blanket you got as a baby and you never want to be without. The Rockies almost traded him to Boston once. Charlie Monfort ultimately said no way.
Yorvit Torrealba. He had the toughest of personal years, the brightest of professional years. Aaron Cook. He is the Comeback Cookie. Seth Smith. Mr. Late Night. Jason Giambi. The wild card. Jason Marquis. The unknown factor.
Those are the 11. Charlie wouldn’t say if he agreed with my choices. He would choose 25. Congratulations, I told Charlie. I would still buy the team for $15.
Woody Paige: 303-954-1095 or wpaige@denverpost.com
