Like the rest of the organization, manager Jim Tracy was back at work a few days after the Rockies were eliminated in the playoffs. He went over lineups in his head, pitching combinations, ways to improve. In weight rooms scattered across the country, everyone from Todd Helton, Troy Tulowitzki and Clint Barmes were working out.
To soften the pain of an abrupt ending, the Rockies are determined to get better, not bitter. They enter spring training on a narrowly defined mission: A first-ever National League West crown; a first-ever World Series title.
Denver Post baseball writer Troy E. Renck examines nine things that must go right for the Rockies to fulfill expectations.
Deal with the hype
Expectations are so high that anything less than a playoff berth will be considered a failure. Coping with the hype is critical, especially for young players such as Carlos Gonzalez and Dexter Fowler. In contrast to 2008, the Rockies have already taken a huge step forward by embracing the pressure.
Ace of Cakes
The Rockies’ fortunes, in part, rest on the broad shoulders of Ubaldo Jimenez. He gets the keys to the rotation, and needs to respond with 18 wins, a single-season club record, and an ERA under 3.30.
Short story
Troy Tulowitzki needs only to duplicate last season’s fifth-place finish in the MVP voting with one caveat: no more mulligans in April, where he owns a .194 career average.
No one left out
The Rockies were 27-26 against left-handed starters last season, and just 8-16 on the road. They need to improve their showing against lefties to provide more margin for error. It will be hard to win 41 games on the road again with a .235 road batting average.
Ian the Great
A left-handed boost starts with slugger Ian Stewart. He hit just .178 against lefties last season, the first time he’s ever struggled against them. He can’t reach 30 home runs and 90 RBIs if he’s sharing at-bats with utilityman Melvin Mora.
Second thoughts
From July 1 to August 31 , Clint Barmes hit .192. He needs to reach base more consistently while maintaining his power or he’s in danger of losing his job. Gold glove defense, however, can’t be ignored when making out the lineup.
Easy Street
No one expects Huston Street to be perfect — except him. The Rockies can’t afford for Street to backslide after last year’s playoff meltdown because he makes all the pieces of the bullpen fit together (see Rafael Betancourt, Franklin Morales, Matt Daley).
Francis revival
Jeff Francis missed all of last season following shoulder surgery. He looms large in the rotation — 12 wins, 180 innings would suffice — and if he falters, the Rockies will either need to acquire a starter or have a youngster such as Jhoulys Chacin, Esmil Rogers or Samuel Deduno step up.
Health, happiness
The Rockies dealt with few catastrophes last season, and a major injury to Tulowitzki, Jimenez, Jorge De La Rosa or Todd Helton would be difficult to overcome.
