The 133rd season of Major League Baseball is upon us. Over the next month and half, we will be taking a look at each ball club, leading up to the Expert Predictions of the esteemed staff at Sparty & Friends. We will be previewing each team, from worst to first. We head out to the Mile High State, and check in with the Colorado Rockies.

It’s hard to believe the Rockies were playing for a world series title just 17 months ago. It’s also hard to believe they didn’t lose 100 games last year with all the injuries they suffered. Of course, playing in the doormat division that is the NL West, they only finished 10 games back despite losing 14 more games than they won. I have no rooting interest in this team at all; I do like Clint Hurdle though, he was a back up utility guy for my beloved Mets in the early 80’s. He must’ve kind of sucked because those Mets teams were atrocious and he didn’t play much. Hurdle does get more respect than he probably deserves as a manger as well as the Rocks have basically sucked since he took over in 2002, finishing only 2007 within 10 games of .500. Yet somehow, he is now the 3rd longest tenured manager in the NL after only Cox and LaRussa.

Last Season:74-88 (3rd  in NL West)

Who’s Gone: Matt Holiday (trade), Willy Taveras (free agent), Brian Fuentes (free agent)

Who’s New: Huston Street (trade),  Greg Smith (trade) Carlos Gonzalez (trade), Matt Murton (free agent), Jason Marquis (trade)

Projected Lineup:

1. Ryan Spilborghs CF
2. Troy Tulowitzki SS
3. Todd Helton 1B
4. Garrett Atkins 3B
5. Brad Hawpe RF
6. Clint Barmes 2B
7. Chris Iannetta C
8. Seth Smith/Carlos Gonzalez LF
9. Pitcher de Jour

SP Aaron Cook
SP Ubaldo Jiminez
SP Jorge de la Rosa
SP Greg Smith
SP Jason Marquis

CL Huston Street/Manny Corpas

Key Bench Players:

Scott Posednick
Omar Quintana
Matt Murton
Jeff Bake
Ian Stewart

Manager: Clint Hurdle

Line-up: As usual, the Rockies will rake and score some runs. They lost some power with Holiday’s departure, but the team is loaded with gap hitters. Spilborghs is an upgrade at the top of the line-up…no one runs like Taveras, but he too often was running back to the dugout. This kid gets on base and will score over 100 runs.

Troy Tulowitzki looks to be fully recovered from the catastrophic leg injury he suffered.  He should help provide the spark the team was missing while he was out the first half last year.

Clint Barmes is an enigma: .220, minors, and .290 are his last 3 years. He has some pop and plays solid D, but it’s a crap shoot predicting what he’ll do.

Seth Smith is an intriguing player; he was a quarterback at Ole Miss and has sweet stroke. By July, I think Hurdle will be forced to pencil him in every day.

Atkins and Hawpe are both consistent run producers, although both had down years last season. Neither plays very good defense but Hawpe does have a cannon arm, which he is often forced to use after line drives go sailing by him.

Ian Stewart is the best athlete on the team, he plays solid D at 3rd and can also play the corner outfield spots.

For you fantasy geeks, I present catcher Chris Iannetta. He smacked 18 homers in only 333 ab last season as a rookie. He can’t throw for shit, but he is young and should improve.

Carlos Gonzales was the key to the Holiday trade, the kid is loaded with talent and could be a superstar very quickly. He has all 5 tools, and could force himself into the lineup if he can cut down on the K’s.

Todd Helton is the X-factor for the purple haze this year. His rehab from a destroyed back is going well, but we all know what can happen to 35 year old infielders with back problems…at least I do. I was forced into retirement do to the same injury suffered at age 33. If he can stay healthy and play 130 games, the Rocks would be ecstatic. He is still a gold glover and if he can swing, he will hit.

Starting Chuckers: The news that Jeff Francis is gone for the year is not a huge surprise. Team management was not counting on him, they were just waiting for him to accept the fact his shoulder is shredded. He only won 4 games last season and was horrible all year.

Aaron Cook was an all-star and won 16 games. He gives up tons of hits and couldn’t strike me out, yet he finished with a sub 4.00 ERA, Cy Young numbers at Coors.

Ubaldo Jiminez has nasty stuff, by far the best on the team; and he had a great second half. He looks ready to be the ace the Rockies have NEVER had.

De La Rosa came around late last year, but the jury is out. The rest of the staff is comprised of a lot of scrap heap guys (Marquis, Glendon Rusch) and young unproven (Smith, Franklin Morales) kids. The rotation is decent at the top, but Colorado will have its usual share of 11-10 games.

Late Chuckers: The bullpen is pretty good - even with the loss of Fuentes, it is probably better than last year. Street and Corpas will compete for the closers role, with the loser taking over eighth inning duties. Taylor Buchholz was awesome last year and Alan Embree is an inning eating machine. Ryan Speier throws underhand sidearm and is very effective. They also have underrated Jason Grilli and Rusch can provide long relief in some of the 5 hour marathons the team plays.

Prediction: 79-84 wins. There is a lot to like about the Rockies this year: the top of the rotation is good, the infield defense is above average, and the team has a nice mix of veterans and young-uns. They can hit and run pretty well, too. And, their division is horrible. Even with all that being said, the team will need almost everything to go right and not suffer key injuries like last year. I don’t think it’ll happen though. If they are slow out of the gate like usual, Hurdle may get canned pretty quick.

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