It won’t require a Rocktober miracle this year for Colorado to play in the World Series. Handicapping the pennant race in a National League devoid of a dominant team, it’s fair to ask: Why not the Rockies?
Now we find out how much it’s worth to team owners Dick and Charlie Monfort to help make a championship dream come true.
Do they care about winning it all as much as the rest of us do?
Ubaldo Jimenez has done his job, throwing heat that has again made pitching the coolest thing in the game.
Jim Tracy has done his job, managing through nagging injuries and early-season batting funks.
Colorado fans have done their job, buying nearly 400,000 tickets during the recent 10-game homestand that saw eight stirring victories by the Rockies.
From general manager Dan O’Dowd to a bleacher bum in the Rockpile, all anybody really wants is one bat and one arm to improve the team.
Nobody is asking the Monforts to break the bank.
But how about blowing the cobwebs out of the wallet to offer a little somethin’, somethin’ for the cause?
One bat. One arm. That’s all we ask.
Baltimore infielder Ty Wigginton, whose 14 home runs and 45 RBIs made him an all-star for the Orioles, has a salary of $3.5 million.
Seattle pitcher David Aardsma, a Cherry Creek High School product who owns 16 saves for the Mariners, has a salary of $2.75 million.
The fine people of metro Denver have a vested interest in how our boys of summer perform, because taxpayers footed the bill for the majority of the cost to build a ballpark in LoDo. Who are we to tell the Rockies how to run their business? We paid for the right.
In any great sports town, regardless of size, there should be a covenant between loyal customers and team ownership. If the peeps fill the seats, then the Monforts owe us the best possible product on the field.
OK, we understand that just about all the Rockies have in common with the Yankees is pinstripes. At Coors Field, money does not grow on those pine trees beyond the outfield fence.
Franchise ownership, however, should dig a little deeper during the heat of a pennant race when Colorado runs near the front of the pack. Is that demanding too much?
If the Rockies made a trade for Houston starting pitcher Roy Oswalt, who boasts 143 career victories and seems to have plenty more where those came from at age 32, then Colorado would immediately become the prohibitive favorite to open the World Series at home. But we get it. Dream on. With a team payroll of $85 million, the Monforts aren’t going to add a pitcher with a $15 million salary.
Nevertheless, whether you’re a Rockies pitcher with a 15-1 record or a Rockies fan overpaying for a ballpark beer, you should not be punished for the fact ownership made a major blunder with its money in regards to Todd Helton.
It’s not our fault Helton was given a contract extension for sentimental reasons prior to a season in which he is batting a punchless .246. It’s more than a coincidence the Colorado offense finally lit up the scoreboard, averaging seven runs per game, during a 10-date homestand during which a gimpy Helton could bat only eight times.
While the return to full health of pitcher Jorge De La Rosa and shortstop Troy Tulowitzki should give the Rockies a major boost as the season heads down the stretch, it is folly at this point to think Helton can be a major contributor.
That’s why Colorado could use a bat from an infielder who knows how to blast a baseball over the fence and scoop a throw from the dirt. If you don’t like Wigginton, then kindly forward a better idea to the Monforts.
A franchise of limited resources should feel compelled to spend more during those rare years when opportunity is especially high.
In a year when no major- league rival has a better option than Jimenez to start Game 1 of the World Series, Rockies ownership needs to reinvest in a team with a shot at turning championship dreams into reality.
That’s what happens in baseball towns where tradition and trust are built on winning.
Mark Kiszla: 303-954-1053 or mkiszla@denverpost.com
