Rookies, Vets, and MVPs: Colorado will need them all to get to the dance

The Colorado Rockies have not seen the postseason since 2009 but that is not the last time they were contenders to make it to the dance. They spent much of the 2010 campaign in a prime position only to falter and stumble at the end, falling out of the picture, as it would turn out, for the next six years.

As play begins on September 1, 2017, the Rockies stand three-and-a-half games back of the top spot in the National League Wild Card and two-and-a-half games up on the second spot. For the first time since 2010, Colorado will be playing games with playoff implications in the final month of the regular season.

In order to avoid a massive disappointment a la 2010, the Rockies will need contributions from every single member of their now-expanded roster. From the only man on the squad who has seen the postseason in purple, veteran Carlos Gonzalez, to the youngest rookies on the team (take your pick) Colorado will have to count on players with vastly different experience levels and skill sets to finish the job they started in April.

“We’re playing meaningful games,” says Gonzalez. “This is what we were hoping for since the beginning.” When asked about the level of focus for the team, he replies: “I can speak for myself, I’ve been through this before. At this point, it’s all about us. It’s not about what the other teams are doing. It doesn’t matter if it’s the Diamondbacks of the last place team.”

CarGo makes it clear that the team just has to play its best baseball starting right now. But he also adds that there is an element of these late-season games that absolutely can help the team do just that. “It’s easier to play when you have a lot of energy in the stands,” he says.

Taking care of the business in front of you is the primary concern, he says, but everyone is human. “Once in a while, you look to the scoreboard in right field,” says Gonzalez. “You gotta win games first, then you can look up.”

On the other end of the experience spectrum from CarGo is right-handed rookie pitcher Jeff Hoffman who was called up for September roster expansion along with relievers Carlos Estevez and Zac Rosscup as well as outfielder Mike Tauchman, catcher Tom Murphy, and infielder Ryan McMahon.

“I think it’s great for the guys that are here, maybe they need a little be more rest,” says Hoffman on the arrival of these six players. “We have a little more flexibility for the active roster, and we’re here to help however we can.”

It’s unclear, at this time, how Hoffman will be used after he looked incredibly good as a starter early in the year but struggled his last few times out before being optioned back to Triple-A. The numbers game may keep him out of the rotation, he hasn’t been told of any specific plans just yet. “I’m just waiting for my number to be called and I’ll be ready for whatever it is,” he says.

And in that way, he speaks for all the young players on the team. “We know what it means this late in the season. We know what we need to be doing and how we need to be locked in. The [MLB] game is on the TV all the time down [in Triple-A]. We’re always staying locked in. We need to be ready.”

There might still be a few more names called upon to join the team including former NL MVP Ryan Howard who manager Bud Black says the team is considering adding in the coming days. They, too, will need to be ready. But it isn’t an MVP from over a decade ago or any of the rookies outside of the starting rotation who will ultimately carry this team… or let them fall.

It will be up to this season’s MVP candidates, Charlie Blackmon and Nolan Arenado, who must be the driving force. If those two players finish strong, the Rockies almost certainly will as well. But they can’t do it alone. No baseball team works that way. The will need Gonzalez and fellow veterans with postseason experience like Greg Holland, Pat Neshek, and Jonathan Lucroy. The will need Hoffman and fellow call-ups McMahon, and Estevez. The young rotation, especially Kyle Freeland, German Marquez, and Jon Gray will only have their already supreme importance magnified.

And the Colorado Rockies two best players, in their first ever postseason race, need to play some of the best baseball of their careers. It’s going to take all 31 guys and maybe a few more but if they are, as Hoffman put it, “locked in” this will be the best month of baseball in Denver in nearly a decade.