Major League Baseball

Determined Rockies lay groundwork for big season

Published Feb. 17, 2011 1:02 a.m. ET

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Spring came early for the Colorado Rockies.

The first full-squad practice isn't scheduled until next Tuesday, yet nearly every position player was on hand Wednesday as pitchers and catchers went through their second day of workouts.

For sure, they wanted to see their gorgeous new spring home. Spacious Salt River Fields at Talking Stick is a far cry from their crowded ancient digs in Tucson.

But for a team rich and deep in talent, there also is a strong desire to get on with it, to begin laying the necessary groundwork for a season that, these players firmly believe, should stretch deep into autumn.

''I would say probably the big word is `determined,''' third baseman Ian Stewart said. ''We've had the taste of winning the wild card, getting to the playoffs, getting to the World Series. But unless you win the World Series, you haven't really won anything.''

Manager Jim Tracy said his players seem to understand how important attention to detail is in the sometimes tedious early days of spring training.

''You realize with all the familiar faces that we have out there there's a complete understanding as to what it is that we do and the results that we've gotten from it,'' he said. ''There's still so much for us out there to attain and the focus seems to be that we all realize that.''

Despite being wracked by injuries, the Rockies were in the NL West race a year ago before fading badly at the finish, losing 13 of their last 14. Yet they still wound up 83-79, their third winning season in four years.

Then the Rockies went home and watched NL West foe San Francisco use brilliant pitching to win the World Series, a goal that has eluded Colorado in the franchise's 27-year history.

''To see them be able to and do that, something that we were trying to do, makes us mad that we couldn't do it,'' Stewart said. ''It just makes us more determined, makes us more motivated to get where they were last year and experience the joys and thrills of winning the World Series that you could tell they had.''

Knowing these Rockies could be poised to do just that helped lure the players back to spring training earlier than was required.

''You continually go back and knock on that door and you get a real good taste of what meaningful baseball late in the year is all about, it develops an attitude in you as a player,'' Tracy said, ''and it also helps to develop the determination that you see when you feel like you've been thwarted or frustrated because you didn't quite reach the goal that you were striving for - so you can't wait to get back and get back after it again.''

The Rockies' ownership understands how close the team could be.

Never considered one of the spendthrifts of baseball, Colorado nonetheless committed $273 million to contracts in the offseason, including deals that locked up young stars Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez. The team's powerhouse bullpen was made even stronger by the addition of right-hander Matt Lindstrom.

''Even before they spent all that money, we felt we were a contending team,'' ace Ubaldo Jimenez said. ''Last year we didn't have a very good finish, but we competed the whole season. We went through a lot of things, especially injuries.''

It is no stretch to consider Colorado the favorite in the NL West, even though the division includes reigning World Series champion San Francisco.

Jimenez, Jorge De La Rosa and Jhoulys Chacin head a rotation that could be among the best in baseball. The bullpen is a strong-armed empire.

Tulowitzki and Gonzalez are MVP-caliber players. There are questions, particularly at second base, where Clint Barmes' defensive ability might be sorely missed following his trade to Houston. Certainly, the Rockies need to be a better road team. They were 52-29 at Coors Field, 31-50 everywhere else.

But Stewart, who avoided arbitration by signing a $2.3 million deal for the coming season, doesn't see any serious weaknesses anywhere.

''I think we have strengths everywhere,'' he said. ''We've got a great pitching staff that's going to keep us in the game all the time - starting pitching, bullpen. ... And then hitting, we've got so many good hitters here, guys that can drive the ball all over the park, drive in runs, score runs.''

All of which, Tracy will point out - at some length, as is his habit - means nothing if the proper attention is not given to the ''little things'' of spring.

''We have a process that we follow here and if you follow the process, the outcomes that you're looking for more times than not start to come your way,'' he said. ''and if you continue to do it right on a day in, day out basis, I guarantee you by the time we get to the months of August and September, we will have a very good baseball team.''

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AP baseball writer Janie McCauley and AP sports writer Arnie Stapleton contributed to this report.

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