| Dennis Hobein. 25th August, 2005 - 6:06 pm
 The weather in Denver can change on a dime. The old saying here goes, “If you don’t like the weather, just wait ten minutes.” The same can be said about prognosticators’ forecasts for the Rockies. After an especially impressive outing from Jeff Francis, you may hear certain voices on talk radio discussing the possibility of the Rockies competing for the N.L West next year. The next day, the Rockies may get drilled by the Brewers and you’ll hear those same voices lamenting about 5 more years of rebuilding.
Everybody remembers the explosive and exciting “Blake Street Bombers”, back when some guys named Bichette, Burks, Galarraga, Castilla, and Walker gave opposing pitchers nightmares. The best home field advantage in baseball belonged to the Rockies.
Droves of fans made their way to the spectacular new downtown ballpark to watch baseballs fly through the thin Coors Field air. The 1995 Rockies went 77-67 to make their first and only post-season appearance, winning the National League Wild Card. From 1993 to 1997, the Rockies were one of the best drawing teams in baseball, averaging over 3.7 million fans per season.
Many fans, writers, and talk show hosts like to bash the management of the Rockies for dismantling that team. The most popular answer to bringing excitement back to Coors Field is to fill the line-up with homerun hitters, and win games 9-8 like they did in the mid 90’s. This is a reasonable strategy, if you want to hover around the .500 mark.
After several years of out-slugging opponents at home, and being out-pitched on the road, Rockies management decided that they could give up some power-hitting to start creating a pitching staff that would not only get the Rockies in the playoffs, but perhaps create some havoc in the playoffs. The salaries that were going to Dante Bichette, Ellis Burks, Andres Galarraga and Vinny Castilla went to Mike Hampton, Denny Neagle, and Darryl Kile. Team speed was to make up for the drop in power, with players such as Tom Goodwin and Juan Pierre.
Well, we all know how this played out. The pitching crumbled and millions were sunk into long-term contracts that would handicap the Rockies to this day. Mike Hampton no longer wanted to stay in Denver because they had a great “school system” for his kids. Denny Neagle found other “hobbies” to get into. The late Darryl Kile, who had an outstanding curve ball for the Houston Astros, found it much more difficult in the altitude to throw that pitch effectively.
The end result left the team with no money, a dry farm system, and dwindling numbers at the gates. The only option was to tear down, and rebuild…and rebuild…and rebuild. Rockies fans are finally starting to see some glimpse of light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. Clint Barmes, Jeff Francis, Matt Holiday, Garrett Atkins, Jason Jennings, and Jorge Piedra could be a successful foundation for the Rockies in coming years. The enormous weight of the Hampton and Neagle contracts will finally be off their backs, giving them more financial freedom in the coming years. The farm system is starting to churn out some big league talent. The club is moving in a positive direction finally. Now just sit back, relax, and wait 5 more years for the talent to mature. |
