On July 10, the Rockies woke up living the dream. On July 25, the Rockies couldn’t awaken from the nightmare.
Three weeks ago, the Rockies had won six straight games and eight of nine, had elevated to 11 games over .500, were in position to tie for first place in their division and possessed the best record for a wild-card berth in the National League.
Today, the Rox are in a hard place after their fifth consecutive defeat, in Philadelphia on Sunday. They have dropped eight of their past 10 since the all-star interlude and fallen 7 1/2 games behind the Padres, to fourth place in the West and 4 1/2 out in the wild-card race.
Down by a run Sunday, with the bases loaded and two outs, the Rockies were caught staring and wondering.
Their heads have gone, with July, from beaming in the clouds to being buried in the sand.
That’s trouble a Jim Tracy double-secret, closed-clubhouse, players-only meeting Sunday didn’t resolve.
What’s the chance that the Rockies will trade this week for Prince Fielder?
Fat. (No insult intended.)
More than likely, the Rockies will trade for a pauper rather than a Prince.
The highest-profile, predeadline deal the Rockies ever agreed to — in July 2004 — was Larry Walker for Ian Kinsler. Walker had been the National League MVP with the Rox, and Kinsler was a minor-league second baseman who has become a major-league all-star with the Rangers.
But Walker vetoed the trade.
The next month, the Rockies sent Walker, with his sanction, to the Cardinals for three minor-leaguers — pitcher Jason Burch and two others to be named later (Luis Martinez and Chris Narveson). Only Narveson has turned into something — 8-6 as a Brewers starter this year. Walker helped the Cardinals reach the World Series. The Rockies won 68.
The Rockies were sellers then, should be buyers now.
Nevertheless, on deadline day — which is Saturday — the Rockies are sitters and watchers — because of the owners- imposed midlevel budget, pride in organizational players and faith in the team down the stretch. Twice, in 2007 and 2009, the Rockies were right. The other years, honestly, late July deals for Willie, Mickey and/or The Duke wouldn’t have mattered.
In 2010, will the Rox take a chance on a big-name, big-salary player, or two; are the two chances for a big deal (A) slim and (B) none; or do the Rockies chance that the current team, with Troy Tulowitzki back on Tuesday and with Todd Helton’s back, can repeat the feat and go big down the stretch?
Despite all the rumored possibilities — from Lee to Haren, from Wiggington to Werth, from Prince to Hart — we all suspect that those players and Cantu are no-can-do. For example, Dan Haren was traded to the Angels on Sunday.
The Rockies need a booming bat, a first baseman, a starting pitcher and a quality reliever.
They’ll probably get Kevin Gregg, who fills the last, and the least, need.
As we have discovered previously, it does no good for a few writers at The Post to encourage, or challenge, the Rockies to make deadline deals, and the organization doesn’t listen to the pleas — pretty, please — of the ticket purchasers.
But Ubaldo Jimenez can’t tote this team any more. It should be mentioned finally that the last American League and National League pitchers to start the All-Star Game with 15 victories — David Wells and Greg Maddux — struggled mightily in the second half. Wells ended with just five additional victories; Maddux had only three more.
The Rockies’ overall inconsistent pitching, the leaky defense, the injuries and the abysmal hitting on the road (under .200 this month) have been problems the entire season, but a superb manager, resilient role players and another excellent home record (31-16) have kept the Rockies from disappearing.
The Rox have been inspired by the late Keli McMcGregor, but they deserve some help from above — in the executive offices and the owners’ suites.
It’s time to let go of a couple of prospects considered so prized and a couple of veterans deemed so precious. The Rockies have to reach outside the system occasionally.
In fact, despite the Rox “Colorado homegrown” claim, nine pitchers (one on the DL) and five of the position players arrived in trades or as free agents. The interlopers include two starting pitchers, the closer, the setup man, the left-handed specialist, the starting catcher, the current three rotating first basemen and the club’s everyday MVP.
And the Rockies have to be held accountable for what happens on and off the field when the team returns Tuesday. Losses to Pittsburgh and the Cubs won’t be acceptable, and a transaction similar to the one in 1999 that brought Brian McRae from the Mets before he was sent away seven days afterward would be a trans- gression.
Daydreams and delusions aside, the Rockies must wake up to reality. Deal with it — before the deadline this week.
Woody Paige: 303-954-1095 or wpaige@denverpost.com
