This wasn't a ballgame. It was a psychology session.
There was much to work through. Processing would be a process.
Entering Coors Field on Monday, the Rockies faithful were handed free camouflage Colorado hats, fittingly, since it was now hard to recognize the Rockies.
Everything was happening at once. It was the first home game since Colorado traded Troy Tulowitzki. And it was the first night as a Rockie for Jon Gray, the prized prospect, who will make his major-league pitching debut Tuesday.
I asked manager Walt Weiss about the symmetry of this night, and the skipper said: "I think it's ironic that the face of the franchise has moved on, and we have one of our young kids we've been anticipating making his debut right afterward.