Fearless Colorado Rockies opening-day prediction: 72 wins in 2009

On opening day, hope is supposed to spring eternal for Colorado Rockies fans -- and that's certainly the case in some quarters. Among the predictions made by readers on an April 4 Inside the Rockies post are a couple that suggest the Rocks could actually win the National League West,...

By Michael Roberts

April 6, 2009

Audio By Carbonatix

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On opening day, hope is supposed to spring eternal for Colorado Rockies fans -- and that's certainly the case in some quarters. Among the predictions made by readers on an April 4 Inside the Rockies post are a couple that suggest the Rocks could actually win the National League West, and several more that have them contending for the division crown only to fall just short. I only wish I could be as optimistic. Just because Todd Helton had a great training camp doesn't mean he'll be able to maintain his torrid hitting for the next several months, and the lineup as a whole hardly looks superior to last year's squad, which starred a certain Matt Holliday. Hence, I have them racking up 72 wins -- two shy of their 2008 total -- on their way to another finish far out of the money.

I want to be wrong. I pray that I am. But when it comes to this particular Rockies booster, hope is a rare commodity.

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Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

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