KRIEGER: It's Rocktember or, well, nothing

By Dave Krieger, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published September 1, 2008 at 9:56 p.m.

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Matt Holliday was traded to the Oakland A's on Monday for three players. The deal is pending each player passing a physical.

Clint Hurdle now suggests "Rocktember."

"He didn't say that," Brian Fuentes said.

Oh, but he did.

After some consideration, the Rockies closer declined comment on Hurdle's latest linguistic innovation after reducing his ERA to 2.63 by finishing up a Jorge De La Rosa gem on the first day of . . . well . . . you know, the month that changed everything for the Rockies a year ago.

"Rocktember sounds better than Septerock," Hurdle explained.

"I don't know about that one," Matt Holliday said.

I must have had a similar reaction because Hurdle immediately countered, "You laughed at Rocktober last year and look how that turned out."

Well, sure, fine, but things are not quite the same as last year, even if the standings make them look that way.

One year ago, after 139 games, the Rocks stood fourth in the National League West. They trailed the division-leading Diamondbacks by five games.

That part is pretty similar. Had the Cardinals held on to an early 5-1 lead over Arizona on Monday, the Rocks, who now stand third in the division, would have trailed the Snakes by exactly the same margin after 139 games a year later.

As it happened, the Cards' bullpen blew the lead and the Snakes now lead the Rocks by six games with 23 to play.

Not much else will remind you of last year. Then, the Rocks trailed the Padres for the wild card by four games.

You'll recall that in the end, it was the wild card they won, not the division.

This year, they trail the Brewers for the wild card by 16. In other words, that ain't happening.

Which brings us to the record.

A year ago, two weeks before embarking on their historic 21-of-22 spurt, the Rocks were 72-67. This year, they are 65-74.

"We've definitely underachieved, and I'm sure a lot of other teams in this division would say the same thing," Fuentes said.

"To have a chance this late in the season, I feel fortunate to still be in the hunt. But six games is still a lot of games. That's six games they have to lose and we have to win. We've seen how tough that was on this last road trip. When we played well, we didn't gain. And we'd lose and then they'd lose. It's tough."

In retrospect, the Rocks might have lost their chance at Rocktember early in August when, coming off a 6-4 road trip and building momentum, they kicked a 10-game homestand, losing three of four to the lowly Nationals, two of three to the Padres and two of three to the Snakes. Their best starting pitchers - Aaron Cook, Jeff Francis and Ubaldo Jimenez - went 0-5 on that homestand.

Since then, the Rocks have won 11 of 16 and gotten relatively healthy. Ryan Spilborghs returned to action Monday after missing 47 games, leaving only Todd Helton and Matt Herges among the major contributors on the disabled list.

Nevertheless, with six games still to play against the Snakes, the Rocks cling to an improbable chance at the postseason, even more improbable than last year's, but a chance, all the same. So, guys, what about this Rocktember idea?

"If we're going to win games, that's fine with me," said shortstop Troy Tulowitzki. "Hopefully, we start something here, and winning games this month is going to do us a lot of good."

"That's been thrown around a couple times; I've heard that," said second baseman Clint Barmes. "I like it. Hey, if it gets us to Rocktober, then it definitely is working for me."

Much as I appreciate any manager with enough linguistic command to play with the language on purpose - Phillies manager Charlie Manuel plays with it all the time, for example, but none of it is intentional - I admit I find it impossible to take seriously the postseason chances of any team still under .500 in September.

That doesn't mean there aren't positives to take out of a disappointing season. Ian Stewart, for one. Jimenez's rebound from a 1-7 start, for another. The arrival of frontline studs for both the lineup and pitching staff doesn't happen every year.

But as long as the standings give them a shot, the Rocks cling to the hope of another miracle, believing they can stack one on top of another, like waffles.

"We like our team here and feel like we can go on a run," Tulowitzki said. "I know there's been a lot of people that have doubted us, but we in this locker room still believe."

"We just need to play good baseball - extremely good baseball," Hurdle said. "September was a good month for us last year. Maybe that'll have some good vibes for us as we head into the month."

Hey, stranger things have happened. The '64 Phillies blew a 61/2-game lead with 12 to play.

This much you know: If the Rocks somehow pull off back-to-back miracles, Rocktember will slip off the tongue as easily as Rocktober, and just as many people will take credit for it.

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