Colorado Rockies finish off home schedule with a sweep of the Diamondbacks

Coors Field closed it’s doors for the season on Sunday.

Believe it or not, the Colorado Rockies played a game on Sunday.

It might seem hard to believe, as the entire focus of the Denver sports scene was on the Denver Broncos trip to Seattle to avenge their Super Bowl blowout loss.

Strangely, the Rockies had more success over the weekend than the Broncos did. The Rockies got a good pitching performance from Christian Bergman, who went 5-2/3 innings, giving up two runs on six hits. He only threw 67 pitches before giving way to Franklin Morales after giving up a two run bomb to Mark Trumbo.

Michael Cuddyer continued his tear, launching another home run on Sunday. It was his 10th blast in an injury-riddled season. The Rockies seem intent on bringing Cuddyer back. He should only return if he takes a large discount from his $10 million annual deal he is currently on. If the Rockies want to bring him back, they need to expand the payroll to fit him in. Otherwise, the focus should be on the future.

The reality, with one week to go, is that it is hard to care anymore. The wins and losses still mean something, but not much. They still go down in history, but the difference between a few wins or a few losses doesn’t mean a whole bunch. The Rockies won’t lose 100, but they will lose in the mid-90’s, which puts them in the 90-loss range for the third consecutive year.

The Rockies have played better of late, and there is plenty to be excited about in the future, but Rockies fans have just endured a very long, hard season in which baseball became a chore. Watching this club struggle for the majority of the summer was something that takes a toll on fans. Watching this team’s front office and ownership blither their way through the worst parts of the summer made many fans turn their passions elsewhere.

The players on the Rockies roster made their final lap around Coors Field on Sunday after the game. It has become a tradition for the club to not play any games in Denver after that final trip around the ballpark. For a couple of seasons, the Rockies played more games after that final lap to thank the fans. Those seasons, the continued play was far more appreciated by the fans than the thank you gestures.

Here is the reality, there probably is no team in baseball that could have sustained success with the number of injuries that the Rockies endured in 2014. The problem is, the front office and Rockies ownership has lost so much of the fans faith that using the injuries as an excuse once again fell on deaf ears. This is a franchise that has absolutely lost the trust of their fan base, and they don’t seem to either understand that fact, or worse, care.

For whatever reason, the final week of the season when the Rockies have played the way that they have in 2014, particularly when the final games come away from Coors Field, are extremely hard to pay attention to. It is almost like the conclusion of the home schedule gives the players just one more reason to cash it in and play for next year. The games are usually boring and unenthusiastic. Yet, the club still has to play them, so they go through the motions and get them done.

Baseball will be missed in Denver throughout the winter. It always is. Something about cold days when the sun goes down at 5 pm for three months that makes the green grass and sunshine, combined with 75 degree nights that makes baseball so appealing. It also holds the ability to make fans forget just how disappointing things were the previous season. That usually happens with the Rockies, but the anger and venom that came from Rockies fans in 2014 was unmatched from years past.

With the end of the season now in sight, it gives a light at the end of the tunnel for the Rockies. It makes the miserable end a reality and puts down the sick dog that is the 2014 Rockies campaign.

The Rockies finish their final six games in California before calling it a season and hoping for better in 2015. The club could immediately win back fans if they are quick to announce that there will be changes in the offseason, and not small ones. However, Rockies fans holding out hope for that to happen shouldn’t hold their breath.

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