On Aug. 21, things looked bleak for the Colorado Rockies. The team had a mediocre 62-60 record, trailed the National League West division-leading San Diego Padres by 11 games and was essentially left for dead.
But there are three things you can count on during the month of September: Leaves changing colors, the NFL season beginning and the Rockies morphing into an unstoppable force.
Three years ago, the Rockies went 20-8 in September and rolled into "Rocktober" and eventually all the way to the World Series. Last year, the Rockies posted an 18-9 mark over the final month of the season, earning the NL Wild Card berth. Now the Rockies have surged to within two-and-a-half games of the NL West-leading Giants by going 20-8 since Aug. 22.
It has been a historic season for the Rockies. Right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez pitched the franchise's first-ever no-hitter on April 17 and outfielder Carlos Gonzalez is closing in on the National League's batting title with a .339 batting average. The offense also shattered records with 11 straight hits on July 30.
Not to be outdone, shortstop Troy Tulowitzki has put the team on his back and led the charge this month. Tulowitzki entered the final month of the season with just 12 home runs after slugging 32 a year ago. He has since crushed 14 of them in his last 19 games. The MLB record for homers in a month is held by Sammy Sosa — who slugged 20 in June of 1998 — but Tulowitzki is nipping at Sosa's heels.
To show just how incredible his pace is, consider the 1995 Rockies squad that made a playoff run in its inaugural season at Coors Field, in part thanks to the heart of the order — comprised of Larry Walker, Andres Galarraga, Vinny Castilla and Dante Bichette — which became known as the "Blake Street Bombers." Those four combined to hit 21 homers that September. If Tulowitzki maintains his torrid rate, he could match that total by himself.
Once considered a disappointment and one of the goats of the team's season, Tulowitzki is now hailed as a Most Valuable Player candidate. Just two weeks ago, opponents were pitching around Gonzalez and daring Tulowitzki to beat them, but that is no longer the case.
According to a stat known as Wins Above Replacement, a measure of how many extra wins a player earns his team over the course of a season compared to an average player at his position, only Ryan Zimmerman, Joey Votto, Matt Holliday and Albert Pujols have been more integral to their team than Tulowitzki in the NL.
To top it off, Tulowitzki is also a phenomenal defensive player at the diamond's toughest position. If there was any doubt coming into this season that Tulowitzki is the best overall shortstop in baseball, he has erased it. He now leads all shortstops in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and fielding percentage. Tulowitzki's 12 homers and .916 OPS on the road squelch any doubt that he simply benefits from playing at the silo that is Coors Field.
But the stats, records and awards will mean little unless a trip to the playoffs comes with them. As insane as the notion would have sounded just a month ago, the Rockies may now control their own destiny. This weekend, the Rockies will host the Giants at Coors Field, where they are a tremendous 51-24 in 2010.
If the Rockies sweep the Giants, they will likely head into the final week of the regular season with the National League West division lead and the inside track to the playoffs.
