Resurgent Rockies reliving 2007 glory under new leadership

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Remember that once-in-a-lifetime roll the Colorado Rockies unspooled in 2007?

A generation sure passed quickly, didn't it? Why, it seems like only two years ago the Rockies reeled off 21 wins in 22 games, authored "Rocktober" and made forever memories.

Wonder what it was like way back then? Did the kids cram in their schoolwork in the evenings following a hard day's work on the farm? Did ma and pa lie awake at night worrying over the impending expense of a new wheel for the family buggy?

Moving Clint Barmes to second in the lineup has meant instant offense for the Rockies. (AP)

It must have been a lifetime ago, because here the sleek, new, modern Rockies are, winners of 17 of their past 18 games heading into Tuesday night's contest in Anaheim, putting together the kind of streak this crazy organization told everyone back in '07 that you had to enjoy it while it lasted because it probably would never come again.

"It's definitely bizarre, to be in a similar situation to what we were in '07," shortstop Troy Tulowitzki says. "Not too many teams can say they've been on a run like this once in their lifetime, let alone twice.

"It's mind-boggling."

What's especially mind-boggling is what one little old managerial change can do.

It was out with the old, Clint Hurdle, on May 27.

It was in with the new, Jim Tracy, the former Los Angeles Dodgers and Pittsburgh Pirates manager who had been installed as Hurdle's bench coach this season.

At the time of the change, the Rockies were 19-28.

Since? They've gone 18-5, including their current 17-of-18 streak.

Rarely does a change at the top produce such instant-gratification results.

"It's been different," Tulowitzki says. "The only manager I've played under in the big leagues is Mr. Hurdle, and I only have good things to say about him. But at the same time, we needed something different."

Overall, Hurdle's boisterous, in-your-face style had finally worn threadbare with a team that couldn't find its trigger. In charge in Colorado since 2002, Hurdle, who will always have a special place in organizational memory because of the '07 run, had reached a point where the same message no longer connected in the clubhouse.

Tracy's quieter, calmer approach appears to be tonic to a team that spent most of April and May at wit's end. Hurdle had become so frustrated, he was managing as if his pants were on fire. Too many moves smacked of desperation.

In early May, he quipped that he was the only manager in the game to change closers twice even though neither had blown a save. A couple of weeks later, he benched Tulowitzki in Atlanta after the shortstop hacked at the first pitch during an at-bat. It was one of four or five times a struggling Tulowitzki was benched.

"It was tough to take at the time," Tulowitzki says. "Because it's not like he told me, 'Don't swing at the first pitch.' I guess he expected me to know that."

Pressing badly early in the year -- Tulowitzki went 0 for 27 with runners in scoring position between April 12 and May 21 -- the shortstop was batting .226 through the end of May with five homers and 16 RBI.

Since June 1, he's batting .357 with a .449 on-base percentage, five homers and 11 RBI.

"The biggest thing for me is knowing when I come to the field, there's a good chance I'll be playing," he says. "For awhile, I was wondering if I would be in the lineup. I'd be thinking, 'I'd better have a good game, or I might not be in there.'"

Tracy has made a couple of other key changes:

• Clint Barmes was made the everyday second baseman and was bumped from eighth to second in the lineup.

• Ian Stewart, who had been platooning at second base, was installed as the everyday third baseman, pushing the underperforming Garrett Atkins to the bench.

The results have been spectacular. Barmes led the majors with 29 hits in the month of June entering this week, and his 18 RBI were tied for fourth-most in the National League. Barmes has been up and down more than a Rocky Mountain hiker since his breakout season in 2005 was interrupted by a broken collarbone suffered while carrying deer meat upstairs at his apartment.

"It seems like every year they try to take his job away," Colorado first baseman Todd Helton says. "And every year he keeps proving them wrong."

Entering the week, Stewart was tied for seventh in the NL with 18 RBI in June. Together, the 36 RBI he and Barmes compiled ranked second in the majors for a duo in June, trailing only Milwaukee's Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun (37).

The seeds of Tracy's commitment to Barmes can be traced back to his rookie season in '05, when Tracy became an admirer from across the field while managing the Dodgers.

"You could tell he played the game for the name on the front of his shirt," Tracy says. "You could tell that's what mattered to him."

As far as moving Barmes to second in the batting order, Tracy ticks off several attributes.

"Blinding speed, he can hit the fastball, he can handle the bat, he can get the bunt down, hit behind runners," Tracy says. "And he's got the presence of mind to know he has one of the best hitters in the game [Helton] hitting behind him."

The move with Stewart was more sensitive. Atkins (.207, five homers and 21 RBI) played a key role in Colorado's 2007 World Series run, and it was going to be very difficult to pull the plug. Hurdle's loyalty with Atkins had reached the point of diminishing returns.

So, too, certainly, has any trade value for a player who has become more pricey via arbitration and essentially now has become an expensive ($7.05 million salary in '09) castoff.

Tracy raves about Atkins' professionalism through the disappointment, adding, "We're still trying to keep the pilot light on. I'm looking for every opportunity to use him. He has not been discarded."

As for Stewart, a lefty-swinging pure hitter whose .370 mark against left-handed pitching last year led the majors in "lefty-on-lefty" batting average, Tracy says, "The sky's the limit for this kid. He has as much raw power as any hitter you can mention. ... Unbelievable power. And what's really impressed me has been his defensive capability at third base. He can really do some special things there."

Together, they're all doing some special things. Though the Rockies still trail first-place Los Angeles in the NL West by nine games, they're currently running third in the NL wild-card chase, just a half-game back of co-leaders Milwaukee and San Francisco.

The surge already has turned what was shaping up as a meaningless baseball summer into one that could become as intriguing as any season this side of 2007.

Will it last? Can it last? Well, here's one more key to what's been going on in the mountains: Tracy also has been the beneficiary of some excellent pitching. Led by sinkerball artist Aaron Cook and a better-than-expected Jason Marquis, the Rockies' rotation has found its footing. And a bullpen overhauled by general manager Dan O'Dowd -- not counting injured closer Manny Corpas, only two Rockies relievers remain from the opening day roster, Huston Street and Alan Embree -- is producing.

As a staff, the Rockies are surrendering nearly 1½ fewer runs per game under Tracy (3.58 team ERA) than when Hurdle (4.93 ERA) was at the helm. The pitching coach, Bob Apodaca, remains the same. If the most recent results do, the Rockies could play big in the NL down the stretch, and Tracy may have found a permanent spot.

"He knows what he's doing," Helton says. "Not that Clint didn't. But with Tracy, it's very apparent. As soon as he stepped in, it was like he had been here before and was ready for the opportunity again."