Look Ahead: Rockies in need of another miracle finish

It's not too late to save a season, and if you don't believe it, look what happened last year.

The question isn't 'if' Matt Holliday leaves Colorado; the question is 'when.' (AP)

Three of the eight eventual playoff teams were still under .500 as of July 1, and another was just a game over break-even. It's not too late, not unless you've really gotten yourself buried in the first half.

Did anyone mention the Rockies?

They're 18 games under .500 but only nine games out of first place, because their National League West rivals have been so bad. They're a team you hate to give up on, but only because you gave up on them last year and then they won 21 out of 22.

If another 21-1 run is going to save the Rockies in 2008, they might want to think about starting it this week.

"Sooner or later," as manager Clint Hurdle said over the weekend, "you run out of sand."

He meant sand in the hourglass, not the sand the Rockies keep sinking in.

Spend some time around the Rockies, and you're bound to hear about 21-1. You're also going to hear how bad they've been this year.

"We haven't taken advantage of any mistakes the other team has made," first baseman Todd Helton said. "They've taken advantage of all the mistakes we've made."

Helton, 14th among National League first basemen with 28 RBI, willingly accepts his share of the blame.

"We've got to get breaks going our way, and we've got to make our own breaks," he said. "And we've got to get a first baseman who can drive in a run."

Even in the awful NL West, the Rockies have reached the point where they either turn it around immediately or they start thinking about next year.

"I told them 21 out of 22 is a large task, so why don't we do it in July?" Hurdle said. "July would be a good month for it."