The 2017 season was a big step in the right direction for the Colorado Rockies. The club managed to build a winning culture last season by returning to the postseason for the first time in nearly a decade. Their success has sparked optimism about the 2018 season with the fan base and the Denver media, but that positive outlook doesn’t extend much beyond the Rocky Mountain region. For all the excitement there is in Colorado about the Rockies, outsiders are equally skeptical that last season was a fluke.
Getting back to the postseason was a process years in the making by general manager Jeff Bridich. After seasons of uncertainty and miscues, mostly by his predecessors, Bridich constructed a roster capable of competing in the National League. All that was needed were some finishing touches. After adding manager Bud Black to the mix, the Rockies compiled an 87-75 record and reached the Wild Card where they fell to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Bridich and the Rockies opened up the checkbook this offseason in an attempt to bolster the bullpen and help fine tune the Rockies for the grind of a 162-game season in the ultra-competitive National League. Colorado re-signed Jake McGee and added Bryan Shaw and Wade Davis. The Rockies currently have over $100-million tied up in their bullpen, which is on pace be the most expensive relief corps in baseball history.
With a revamped bullpen and a roster with two NL MVP candidates in Nolan Arenado and Charlie Blackmon paired with All-Star DJ LeMahieu, the Rockies are shaping up to have an impressive season in front of them. Throw their young budding rotation into the mix joined with the expected reemergence of Trevor Story and Ian Desmond and the Rockies have the intangibles to compete with the best-of-the-best in the sport.
For the first time in a while, fans and the state of Colorado are excited for what the Rockies can accomplish in the coming season as they were the only major professional sports team in the state in 2017 to make the postseason.
However, while the Rockies and their fans remain confident that the club can soar above and beyond expectations in the coming season, there continues to be a sense of doubt around the team in the wider baseball world.
The National League West is shaping up to be the best division in baseball with the Rockies, Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers all making the postseason last year. Throw the San Franciso Giants into the equation after their offseason upgrades, which included All-Stars Andrew McCutchen and Evan Longoria, and the San Diego Padres, who recently added Eric Hosmer to their club, and the West is littered with stars capable of making a run to the postseason.
In their preseason Power Rankings, CBS Sports have the Rockies penciled in as the 14th-best team in baseball, behind the Giants, Dodgers, Diamondbacks, Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals to name a few.
This is somewhat head-scratching, as the Giants were a complete trainwreck last season and added two veteran stars that are well past their primes. Last season also showed how weak their starting rotation was past ace Madison Bumgarner. The Giants have many flaws and they seem to be getting the benefit of the doubt based on track record alone. The Diamondbacks made no significant offseason moves and lost slugger J.D. Martinez in the process. Outside of adding Marcell Ozuna, the Cardinals did not make drastic additions that will push them over-the-top. The Brewers definitely improved by adding Christian Yelich and Lorenzo Cain but have yet to prove they are capable of taking the necessary steps to make the postseason.
The Rockies always seem to be slighted one way or another by the national scene, whether it be Arenado and Blackmon not getting proper MVP consideration for playing at Coors Field, Larry Walker not making the cut for the Hall of Fame for slugging at altitude, or now this team not getting the credit they deserve for their efforts last year.
Even the odds tend to downplay the Rockies. TopBet.eu has their odds to win National League at +1,500 (15-to-1), which is tied with the Giants. The Cardinals and New York Mets have better odds at this point, despite the fact that both teams missed the playoffs last season. The Rockies’ odds to win the World Series are +3,000 (30-to-1). Both the Los Angeles Angels and Toronto Blue Jays have higher odds; again, both those teams missed the postseason last year.
The Rockies are consistently thrown into the middle of the pack with teams that have yet to establish themselves as power players in the league. Although the Rockies have plenty of work to do before they become a household name in the sport, their success last year, mixed with their promising outlook for the future, should warrant more credit than they’re given.
Nevertheless, the Rockies will look to prove doubters wrong once again in a season that has as much optimism as any in the history of the franchise.