Colorado Rockies - The Bush Years (2000-2009)

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2000

Decade

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Titles:

Top Rockies Players of the Oughts

2007 - WC, Won LDS (Phillies), Won NLCS (Arizona), Lost WS (Boston)

2009 - WC - Lost LDS (Phillies)

Pitchers:

Jeff Francis (9.13) - 32

BallPark:

Aaron Cook (17.35) - 27

Coors Field

Jason Jennings (10.43) - 27

Brian Fuentes (9.77) - 25

Team Name:

Jose Jimenez (4.75) - 21

Rockies

Ubaldo Jimenez (10.22) - 18

Pedro Astacio (4.22) - 17

Owner:

Shawn Chacon (3.21) - 12

Consortium led by Larry McMorris (2000 - 2004)

Jorge De La Rosa (3.65) - 12

Consortium led by Dick and Charlie Monfort (2005 - 2009)

Josh Fogg (1.7) - 12

Huston Street (1.78) - 8

General Managers:

Jamey Wright (1.49) - 5

Dan O'Dowd

Manny Corpas (4.26) - 5

Gabe white (4.21) - 4

Managers:

Buddy Bell (200 - 2002)

Catchers:

Clint Hurdle (2003 - 2009)

Chris Iannetta (5.21) - 17

Charles Johnson (2.08) - 15

No Hitters:

Brent Mayne (0.66) - 10

None

Yorvit Torrealba (1.42) - 10

Hall of Famers:

First Basemen:

Larry Walker

Todd Helton (53.11) - 126

Todd Helton

Second Basemen:

Rookie of the Year:

Jamey Carroll (3.47) - 10

Jason Jennings (2002)

Luis Gonzalez (0.34) - 10

Cy Young Award:

ShortStop:

None

Troy Tulowitzki (13.72) - 30

Clint Barmes (8.22) - 23

MVP:

Neifi Perez (2.49) - 14

None

Juan Uribe (2.63) - 14

Notable Events:

Third Base:

Garrett Atkins (5.3) - 24

2000 - Coming into the decade, Colorado had only contended once in the

Jeff Cirillo (7.9) - 17

Nineties (in a strike shortened season) and was a below .500 club again in '99.

Altho' they squeak over .500 in 2000 at 82-80, it won't be until 2007 before

Outfield:

they're over .500 again. 1B Todd Helton, 26, and OF Larry Walker, 33, are

Matt Holliday (18.49) - 47

the team's two big stars. They are top of the line hitters, but playing at Coors

Larry Walker (21.75) - 44

half the time certainly doesn't hurt their stats. Helton will still be around as a

Brad Hawpe (5.42) - 30

starter on the 2007 squad.

Juan Pierre (4.06) - 23

Willy Taveras (1.12) - 20

2000 - Dan O'Dowd takes over as GM from Bob Gebhard.

Jay Payton (4.47) - 13

No improvement in the club's performance as a result.

Preston Wilson (0.74) - 12

Tom Goodwin (1.22) - 10

2001 - A sign of insanity is doing the exact same thing over again thinking

Seth Smith (2.21) - 9

that things will turn out differently the next time. In the case of the Rockies

and free agent pitching, they did and things didn't. Three years earlier,

Notable Events:

on the heels of two slightly winning seasons, the Rockies signed ace

righthander Darryl Kile to a big contract with the thought that he would

A change of ownership. Things can't get much worse

get them to the next level. It didn't. Now, in 2001, coming off a slightly

ownership-wise for the Rockies. And they don't get worse.

winning season, the Rockies, once again, feel that free agent pitching will

However, things don't get a whole lot better with the Monforts

get them over the hump. Only now, they overspend on two guys, ace lefty

at the helm either, altho', early on in their tenure, they

Mike Hampton, 28, and righty Denny Neagle, 32. Hampton gets a huge

do make the post season twice

eight year deal. He's a sinkerballer whose sinkerball doesn't sink so good in

Denver. He goes 14-13 5.71 and 7-15 6.15 before being mercifully sent

2006 - RHP Ubaldo Jimenez, 22, debuts. He was an IFA in 2001.

away, ultimately to Atlanta, where he resumes his career pitching well.

Meanwhile, Neagle goes 17-19 5.32 in 2001-2002 combined, thus ending his

2007 / 2009 - Colorado begins the most successful period of it's history,

career. Neagle was a control fastball, changeup guy. This repertoire should

topping 90 wins twice (in '07 and '09), and making it to the wild card

have served him well at Coors, but, at this stage of his career, Neagle's

both of those times. The Rockies had never topped the 90 win mark

fastball wasn't so fast no more and slight mistakes in control were next

before so these were heady times for them. In 2007, Colorado

found in the seats.

swept the Phillies in the NLDS and the Dbacks in the NLCS only to

be swept in the World Series by Boston. In '09, they lost to the

2002 - Righty reliever Brian Fuentes, 26, is picked up in a deal with Seattle.

Phillies in the NLDS.

He will get 'over a hundred saves with the Rockies before 'moving on as a

Colorado did it in the old fashioned way, they bludgeoned the opposition:

Free Agent in 2009.

(stats for '07 / '09)

□ 1B Todd Helton 17-91-.320; 15-86-.325

2002 - Because they're a bad team, the Rockies have a lot of top ten picks

□ Clint Barmes 23-78-.245 in '09

in the amateur draft during the Twenty Oughts. A couple of them pan out:

□ SS Troy Tulowitzki 24 99-.291 (as a rookie); 32-92-.297

□ 2002 - Lefty Jeff Francis, 21, 9th overall pick, debuted in 2004

□ 3B Garrett Atkins 25-111-.301 in '07

□ 2005 - SS Troy Tulowitzki, 20, 7th overall pick,debuted in 2006

□ 3B Ian Stewart 25-70-.228 in '09

□ OF Matt holliday 36-137-.340 in '07

2003 - 3B Garrett Atkins, 23, debuts. In an odd career arc, Atkins is a big

□ Of Brad Hawpe 29-116-.291; 23-86-.285

time slugger in the middle of Colorado's lineup thru 2008 and then drops off

the face of the earth at age 29 and is out of baseball the next season. A

2007 - On the mound, Jeff Francis leads the way with 17 wins

real puzzler, no one is precisely sure what triggered the sudden massive decline.

There were a couple of possible things, however. He had started declining a bit

2009 - The Rockies get the best starting pitching in their history:

in both 2007 and 2008 after a career year at age 26 in 2006 of 29-120.329.

□ RHP - Ubaldo Jimenez, 25, 15-12 3.47

A normal arc would have seen him improving. Also, he started pulling the ball

He was an IFA in '01, debuted in '06

in 2007 and did it more and more after that. 'The feeling is, that despite his

□ RHP - Jason Marquis, 30, his only season in Colorado, 15-13 4.04

young age, the bat speed was declining and he was starting to over compensate

□ LHP - Jorge De La Rosa, 28, obtained in a trade with KC in '08, 16-9 4.38

by striding earlier. He also was having some major contract negotiation issues

□ RHP - Jason Hamel, 26, obtained in a trade with TB in '09, 10-8 4.33

and was either losing his concentration or trying to jack up his numbers, or both,

□ RHP - Aaron Cook, 30, 11-6, 4.16

as a result. Anyway, the Rockies dealt him away in 2009 which sealed his doom

□ Righty Reliever Huston Street, 25, 35 saves

as Garrett was definitely a Coors field baby.

2009 - There's also several younger hitters, not mentioned

2004 - OF Brad Hawpe, 25, debuts. He's a stud in the middle of the Rockies

above, in 2009 who have good years offensively:

lineup thru 2009 when he suddenly loses it in 2010 at age thirty one.

C-Chris Ianetta, 26; ; OF Seth Smith, 26;

The career arc is not quite as pronounced as for Atkins, but is very similar.

OF Dexter Fowler, 23; and OF Carlos Gonzalez, 23.

He was a 7th round pick in 2000.

2009 - Gonzalez was obtained from the A's along with ace righty closer

2004 - OF Dexter Fowler, 20, is a fourteenth round pick, he debuts in 2008

Huston Street, 25, in exchange for slugger Matt Holliday before the

season. Holliday was in his walk year and the A's were going for

it in 2009. Turned out to be a great trade for the Rockies