Three months ago, a respected and experienced member of the Colorado Rockies coaching staff displayed an impressive measure of confidence when he told this newspaper that his team was going places this year.
“There’s no disputing our position players and how they match up with players across professional baseball,” Jerry Weinstein said about the Rockies for an article that was actually about Team Israel, which he managed with considerable success at the World Baseball Classic in March.
We confess that our initial reaction was this: Yeah, right.
After all, what else did we expect Weinstein to say about the team he works for? That they were bound for a promising start only to wilt like a delicate flower once the hot weather sets in? That they were destined, once again, to watch their opponents move on to bigger and better things while the Rockies emptied their lockers and headed home?
We’re not proud of it, but that was our cynical and skeptical reaction, after repeated seasons of underperforming Rockies.
Now, we’re eating those words. Gladly.
It’s just over a month away from the All Star break, and the Rockies have the best record in the National League — at .635, nipping closely at the heels of the overall Major League leader Houston.
The Rockies are hitting like nobody’s business, pitching in such a way as to give hitters nightmares, playing the field like the Blue Angels fly fighter jets. They’re sweeping, or nearly sweeping, all kinds of teams on the road and on Blake Street alike.
But are they for real?
Can Denver’s boys of summer maintain such momentum into the autumn when the pennant races separate the men from the boys?
Can they at last fulfill their ardent fans’ most cherished dreams, after watching them aspire to glory during the amazing Rocktober of 2007, only to disintegrate after finally reaching the World Series?
We can’t answer those questions, but Jerry Weinstein can.
As the team was just getting started with this year’s spring training, he said the club was “very optimistic” about the Rockies’ chances.
“The expectations are high,” he said, “and they should be.”
OK, then, on the merits of that prophecy, coupled with a record that keeps getting better by the day, we’ll give in and leave our skepticism by the side of the road.
We’re gonna cheer, we’re gonna hope, we’re gonna believe and we’re gonna have high expectations.
Some of us might even pray.
Copyright © 2017 by the Intermountain Jewish News
