Purple's reign in NL over as Rox finish below .500

[September 30, 2008]  DENVER (AP) -- Rocktober won't get an encore.

From darlings to disappointments, the Colorado Rockies never found their footing in 2008, whimpering back to 74-88.

A year after the stars aligned for them, they exposed weaknesses in every area they excelled in on the way to their first World Series a year ago, a wild ride fueled by an incredible 21-1 run that had this football-crazed town bathed in purple.

This version of the Rockies spent just two days above .500, begging the question: Was last year just a once-in-a-lifetime aberration?

"I don't see how anybody can say that," infielder Clint Barmes protested. "If you look back at a lot of World Series, the team that got hot at the right time was the team that won. But was that a fluke? I don't know -- you tell me? It's the game of baseball."

New to the role of defending a pennant, the Rockies fizzled, finishing 10 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the mediocre NL West.

"We didn't keep the bar set where it was last year," manager Clint Hurdle said. "We didn't field as well. We didn't hit as well. The game demands execution -- you don't execute, you don't win."

Hurdle, who has one year remaining on his contract, was scheduled to meet with general manager Dan O'Dowd this week to talk about what went wrong and his plans to fix it.

The most pressing issue may be deciding what to do with All-Star outfielder Matt Holliday -- either lock him up to a long-term deal or possibly explore trading him for a top-tier starting pitcher.

The 28-year-old slugger, who's entering the final year of his contract, turned in another stellar season, hitting .321 with 25 homers and a career-high 28 stolen bases.

Garrett Atkins could be used as possible trade bait to land another starter as well, especially with the emergence of Ian Stewart at third.

After all, the Rockies definitely need help with pitching. They relied on youth in their rotation, only to have it backfire. Ubaldo Jimenez swayed between sensational and shaky all season, while Franklin Morales, who gave the team a needed boost down the stretch in 2007, was sent down early after fighting with his control.

The Rockies do have two mainstays in their rotation -- Aaron Cook and Jeff Francis.

However, Cook faded over the last month and finished with 16 wins, one shy of tying the team record.

Francis, who emerged as the staff's ace in 2007 by going 17-9, didn't win his first game until May 18, and was bothered by shoulder inflammation, the team eventually shutting him down as a precautionary move. He finished the season with just four wins and a 5.01 ERA.

Colorado also has concerns with its bullpen. Namely, what to do next season if Brian Fuentes leaves through free agency. The team locked up Manuel Corpas to a deal last offseason, hoping he'd be as dominant as he was in 2007.

It didn't pan out as Corpas faltered in the role early, opening the door for Fuentes, who finished with 30 saves.

But pitching wasn't the team's only flaw.

The Rockies hit just .263, 17 points lower than their NL-leading average of a year ago. They scored only 411 runs at home, their lowest total ever at Coors Field.

Colorado also struggled in the field, an area so trustworthy during its march to the World Series. They set a major league record for highest fielding percentage in 2007, only to come down with a case of the bobbles and boots this season.

So, what happened?

"It's not like last year was the perfect season, and we played perfect every game," outfielder Ryan Spilborghs said. "We obviously made mistakes throughout last season, too."

The Rockies were riddled with injuries, losing players like Yorvit Torrealba (knee), Luis Vizcaino (shoulder), Troy Tulowitzki (thigh, hand), Spilborghs (stomach), Barmes (knee), Francis (shoulder), and Todd Helton (back) for extended periods. Brad Hawpe and Holliday also made brief stops on the disabled list with hamstring injuries.

The loss of Helton necessitated the move of Atkins over to first and Stewart to third, a switch that ignited the team's offense.

Given Helton's balky back, his time as an every day player is probably over.

This wasn't exactly the season Tulowitzki envisioned after signing a six-year, $31 million deal last January. He was coming off a season in which he hit .291 with 24 homers and 99 RBIs, finishing runner-up to Ryan Braun in the NL Rookie of the Year race.

The slick-fielding shortstop landed on the disabled list twice, tearing a quadriceps tendon while making an awkward throw in late April, and then needing 16 stitches after hammering his maple bat into the ground in frustration, sending shards of wood into his left palm.

While Tulowitzki's final numbers weren't impressive -- .263 with eight homers and 46 RBIs -- he did show signs of returning to his breakout rookie form, hitting .327 after the All-Star Break.

"I think this was a year for him that you definitely don't raise your hand and say, 'Hey, give me one of those,'" Hurdle said. "But I have no doubt that this guy will come back and be the player we saw in '07."

The bigger question is whether the Rockies can recapture that magic, too.

[Associated Press; By PAT GRAHAM]

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