Opening Day Greetings from The Beard

Greetings Readers, and welcome! It is I, The Beard, with a brief word on the 2009 Colorado Rockies. As was the case last year, my goal is to work -- both through my padawan Ryan Spilborghs and directly with the other Rockies players -- to create the optimal situation for Rockies baseball success! I will do my best to make sure the Rockies achieve the levels of greatness that only a great and powerful beard can bring. And as the season begins, Rockies fans have much to be excited about!

I have spent a lot of time this spring in Arizona, reviewing the Rockies as they put their roster together. And I must say, even as a wise and eternal Beard who has roamed space and time searching for greatness, I am fairly impressed with the Rockies' offensive potential this season. Their projected starting lineup is as follows:

CF Ryan Spilborghs (rh)
LF Seth Smith (lh)
1B Todd Helton (lh)
3B Garrett Atkins (rh)
RF Brad Hawpe (lh)
SS Troy Tulowitzki (rh)
C Chris Iannetta (rh)
2B Clint Barmes (rh)

I am quite pleased with the potential these young men have displayed this spring. Naturally, I am very proud that Ryan has finally won a spot as a starting outfielder in the Major Leagues. He has proven himself Beard-Worthy once again. Despite the loss of Matt Holliday, the Rockies lineup one-through-eight could be the strongest in the National League. With the departure of Tavares, they lack speed at the top that made the 2007 NL Champions so dangerous, but there is a good enough combination of speed and hitting to make this a very high-scoring team.

Perhaps no single Spring Training development has me more encouraged than Todd Helton's resurgence. If memory serves, the last Rockies regular to tear through Spring Training in this fashion was Larry Walker in 1997. Will Helton return to his former greatness? It is too early to tell, but The Beard will be with him. If Todd Helton can get back to where he was three or four years ago, this team may not miss Holliday nearly as much as many fear. A healthy Todd Helton could remind people of why he was once considered one of the top five hitters in all of baseball.

Defensively, this group figures to be strong as well. They could go from "strong" to "excellent" when Dexter Fowler becomes the full-time starting Center Fielder. Depending on his hitting, this could happen as early as mid-May, meaning that Ryan will likely be moved to LF and Smith will be the 4th outfielder. This is their optimal OF lineup, but it remains to be seen if Fowler will thrive in his first full season facing Major League pitching. Mark my words, readers... I have travelled this universe to and fro, and I know an All-Star center fielder when I see one.

The Rockies' bench is quite encouraging as well. I believe it is in the best interests of both parties if the Rockies can trade Jeff Baker, but his versatility will help him find some playing time. Actually, versatility is the key word for his bunch, as Spilborghs, Barmes, Baker, Atkins, Quintanilla, and Stewart can all play multiple positions. But Baker must go in order to give Stewart some more at-bats. Frankly, with Stewart, Atkins, and Helton at the corners, and plenty of utility-level talent that can play at second, Baker deserves a better chance than the Rockies are able to give him, so a trade would be a good move for him as well.

Now, on to pitching. As usual, the Rockies pitching staff has many more question marks than exclamation points. Cook and Jimenez are a top-notch 1-2 punch (and by mid-season, that order could be reversed), but the rotation must get at least .500 results from the 3-4-5 starters for the Rockies to compete. Is this possible? Yes, Disciples of Beardly Greatness, it is possible. Marqius, De La Rosa, and Morales each have the capacity to be very good pitchers, even at Coors Field. The question is, will they be successful this season? I believe it hinges on De La Rosa... he has shown he can be very effective in the Major Leagues. He has also shown that he can be very erratic.

Finally, the bullpen. My years of exploring the limits of space and time have taught me one thing about bullpens: they are nearly impossible to predict. So I, The Beard, will not even try. Needless to say, with the uncertainty surrounding the starting rotation, the bullpen had better be pretty darn good. Late inning leads must hold up if these Rockies are to contend. With Corpas setting up Street, they are in at least as good a position as they were last season, despite the loss of the very good (but always short of lights-out) Fuentes.

Rockies fans, enjoy the season! I will be unable to check in every day with my observations, but fear not! Even as I explore the boundaries of space and time in search of beard-Worthy Greatness, I will be thinking about the Rockies and about Ryan Spilborghs, and I pledge to leave no Beardly avenue unexplored in my efforts to urge them on to the greatness we know they have within them!