Can the Colorado Rockies overcome "The Curse?"

The Curse of the Opening Day Starter.

 

This particular curse affects one key player on the Rockies each season – whichever pitcher gets handed the baseball on Opening Day. No matter the name, no matter the pedigree, this guy is jinxed from the get go.

 

If you look back at the fates of the designated ‘ace’ of the staff this decade, it’s not a pretty sight. It starts with Mike Hampton, and we all know how that ended up. After he departed, Jason Jennings took the mantle. A home-grown product who was supposed to anchor the rotation for years to come, Jennings was the 2002 Rookie of the Year…but was tattooed for eight runs on his Opening Day start in 2003. He got the ball again on Opening Day 2006, and while he pitched much better in a no-decision, he was gone after the year via trade. Injuries have curtailed his career ever since.

 

Journeyman Shawn Estes got the start in 2004, and he had a good start and a good season for the Rox. Alas, he was gone shortly thereafter as well. The late Joe Kennedy, who died tragically from a heart ailment in 2007, was roughed up for six runs in his lone Opening Day effort for the Rockies in 2005.

 

That brings us to Aaron Cook, who started Opening Day in the magical season of 2007. Only it wasn’t so magical for Cook, who was just 8-7 with an ERA over 4.00 when his season was ended by injury again.

 

Last season, Jeff Francis, who had been the Rox best pitcher during their amazing run to the World Series, started Opening Day in St. Louis and got rocked. He got a reprove that day when the game - and all the havoc that had occurred during it – was washed out by rain. However, Francis went on to have an injury-plagued 4-10, 5.01 season, spending much of the season on the disabled list. He ultimately had to undergo shoulder surgery this spring that will cost him the 2009 season

So Cook, coming off a stellar All-Star season when he won 16 games in 2008, got the Opening Day nod again this year and got hammered by the D-Backs. He’s now stumbled to a 0-1, 10.22 start after three games.

 

The common theme here is that each of these guys is an excellent pitcher who for whatever reason couldn’t overcome the albatross of being designated the staff ‘ace’ for the Colorado Rockies.

 

It’s getting scary.

 

All curing aside, the real issue here is that the Rockies never have had – and still don’t have that true number one starter, a guy you would have no doubts about calling your “Ace.” A guy like Brandon Webb, Jake Peavy and others who have established themselves as the ace of the staff. Having not been able to pull off a trade for such a player, the Rockies have been forced to continue to attempt to grow their own. Thus far, that’s not provided the answer.

 

The real answer is still in Toronto, still dominating the American League, still the missing piece to the Rockies puzzle. Much like Chauncey Billups has done for the Nuggets, if Roy Halladay could somehow, someway, be brought home, he would provide his hometown team with exactly what they’re lacking. Rockies General Manager Dan O’Dowd has tried to acquire Halladay before, with no luck. It may be even more difficult now, with the perennial Cy Young candidate off to another great start and seeing how the Blue Jays will likely look to move him around the trading deadline. There will be lots of bidders.

 

The asking price for Halladay – who has one more year on a $14 mil/year contract, will be steep…very steep. But there are indications that the Blue Jays will at least listen this time as the deadline approaches. It would likely take a package of prospects AND established players like Ian Stewart and maybe even Ubaldo Jimenez to get Halladay, but if the Rockies want to do away with The Curse, and take the step that’s needed to become more than just a good team, it’s a drastic move that needs to be made. Halladay’s value will far outweigh the cost, whatever it is. Imagine the streets of Arvada completely empty on the days he pitches at Coors Field.

 

It’s far too early to panic, and despite a slow start, it’s likely the Rockies will ultimately be in contention for the National League West title late into the season. That’s largely because the NL West is not a great division, and no one will run off and hide. That does not mean it’s too early for serious concern – or too early to start calling the Blue Jays again.