Rockies ready for big finish
Still in NL West, wild-card playoff hunt
PHOENIX — The last boys of Rocktober, the most magical period in the Rockies’ history, are working on a sequel.
Baseball’s last remaining division race could be one for the ages, bringing back a whole lot of memories.
The Rockies, whose season nearly ended last week after they were swept by the Dodgers, trail them by 11⁄2 games entering Monday. Colorado needs the Dodgers to lose once this final week to control their fate.
The Rockies are looking for another incredible finishing kick, just like 2007 when they won 13 of their last 14 games to earn a play-in game against the Padres and ran the table in the National League playoffs before losing to the Red Sox in the World Series.
Fresh off a sweep of the Diamondbacks, giving them the finest record in the NL (47-28) since June 28, the Rockies are believers again.
“I believe, for sure,” veteran outfielder Gerardo Parra said. “I believe we are going to make the playoffs. You never know for sure what’s going to happen, but we believe. We have a great opportunity here, and we know it.”
Carlos Gonzalez, one of the remaining players from Rocktober, said: “We need to keep winning and have those other mothers ... to lose. We’re ready to make history.”
The Rockies have been around for 25 years and reached the postseason four times, but they have never won a division title.
It would seem the Rockies have the edge. Their final seven games are at Coors Field, against two teams that already have been eliminated (the Phillies and Nationals). They won’t have to face Cy Young candidates Aaron Nola or Max Scherzer. Meanwhile, the Dodgers play their remaining six games on the road against two teams (the Diamondbacks and Giants) that would throw a champagne party if they could ruin their season.
“All we wanted was a chance,” outfielder Matt Holliday says. “Now, we got it.”
It was Holliday, drafted and signed 20 years ago by the Rockies, who slid across home plate in the 13th inning of Game 163 against the Padres, leading the Rockies into the playoffs. Rockies manager Bud Black, who was in his inaugural year as manager of the Padres then, still believes Holliday never touched the plate.
“That one hurt,” Black said, “but that’s OK, he’s on my side now.”
Holliday, 38, never imagined he’d have another chance. He sat home all summer, unsigned, until Rockies general manager Jeff Bridich called in July to offer him a chance to come home. Holliday signed a minor league contract July 29 and three weeks later was back in the big leagues.
“This team, in a lot of ways, is similar to 2007,” Holliday said. “There’s a lot of young guys who came up together and are coming together at the same time. You see all of that energy.
“Now, we’re kind of in the same situation as ’07. We need to keep winning, get a little help, and do this all over again.”
Who knows, it might take another Game 163, with the tiebreaker at Dodger Stadium. The Rockies also sit 11⁄2 games behind the Cardinals for the second NL wild-card spot.
“It’s going to be tough,” says catcher Chris Ianetta, who also was on the 2007 team, “but we have a chance here. And we’ve got the experience because these guys went through the same thing last year when they (got) the wild card.”
The Rockies, perhaps just in the nick of time, also are expected to have their MVP candidate back in the lineup. Trevor Story, who has been out for a week after suffering an inflamed elbow, was in the lineup Monday night.
“The timing couldn’t be worse,” Story said. “It’s really tough to stay patient. I know we have to be smart about this, and I don’t want to hurt it further, but I need to get back out there.
“I want to be part of this.” Story, hitting .288 with 33 homers and 102 RBI, was just a sophomore in Irving, Texas, when Rocktober swept the country but remembers the drama. Cy Young candidate Kyle Freeland, who grew up 13 miles from Coors Field, was glued to the TV like every other Rockies fan.
“I was following the Rockies like everyone else in Colorado, and going nuts,” said Freeland, 16-7 with a 2.84 ERA, including a stunning 2.36 ERA at Coors Field. “It was fun being a fan back then, but I’d sure love to experience what those guys went through now.”
Now, they have a chance to live it for themselves.
“We’ve got a chance to do something special ourselves now,” says center fielder Charlie Blackmon, hitting a league-leading .363 in September. “It would be nice to make our own memories.”