If the Rockies keep hitting the ball directly at Barry Bonds, good things are bound to happen.

April is such a deceiving month. One day your team is 12-2, 5 months later they're in the can. I can't say im a huge follower of the Rockies or anything but if theres a team I'm pulling for in this division aside from the Dodgers it's probably the Rockies. Whether their April is a sign of things to come or just a fluke is somewhat yet to be seen (If 9-7 is considered "successful"). And it's yet to be seen if a club that plays .500 ball will be a contender in this division. All & all the, the "Triple H's" seem to be hitting (Helton, Hawpe, and Holliday), and if Jennings, Francis, and Fuentes can do their thing...maybe theres some sunshine in Colorado. Or maybe thats the glare coming off Jose Mesa's greasy face.

Oh and PS

I pray for you're soul, I've just noticed Tom Martin is on the Rockies...My god...

He's not just on the team, he leads it in appearances. Clint Hurdle inexplicably loves the guy.

I'm not the sort to place undue weight on a single April game, but tonight's victory does seem like one of those games We Wouldn't Have Won Last Year. (In the sense that in April of 2005 we didn't win any games.) I feel like more impartial fans should be getting behind the Rockies' cause, because they've gotten to the point where in season previews prognosticators didn't even bother looking at what they had. How anyone could pick the Tigers for a huge improvement this year while ignoring Colorado is beyond me. The Rockies were ridiculously carved up by injuries last year given their extreme youth, every major contributor on the team besides Helton is still in the upswing phase of their careers, and when they get everyone healthy they'll have both the best rotation and best bullpen in franchise history. There's absolutely no reason that in this division they couldn't win 85 games and finish in first.

That said, I have them pegged from 75 wins and third place, but even that would be progress given their payroll and recent futility. Their chances of reaching contending status sooner rather than later depends on the Dodgers and Diamondbacks mismanaging their superior talent base and greater financial resources over the next few years, but I feel pretty comfortable with that. The Rockies definitely don't deserve to be completely written off the way they have been -- they're a vastly more complete team than Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Florida, or Tampa Bay, the group they usually get lumped in with.

On further reflection, I should have titled this "Our Long Ex-National Nightmare."

I couldn't agree more. Often people say "The Rockies play at Coors Field, therefore they will never win." Which essentially means whoever is saying that is a complete moron. Anyone with insight would give the Rockies their due...and I can't believe Jose Mesa is doing well so far.

As for the Rockies chances this year...I'm willing to say they pull out 85 wins too. 3rd (even 2nd) place sounds reasonable to me---as long as the Dodgers are the ones in 1st.

PS
My fantasy team salivates for a Todd Helton resurgence...I'm this close to dropping him for Nick Johnson, which is looking very appealing as of now.

Any word on Helton, is he out of the hospital?