PHOENIX — Three weeks ago, the Rockies were in limbo and sliding toward irrelevance, at least in terms of postseason baseball.
Then they got hot. Before the all-star break, they won 13 of 16 games, including five straight before their midsummer vacation. There is a genuine feeling within the clubhouse that the National League West is winnable.
But the raw reality is that the Rockies have never won a division title, and they have never been to the playoffs in consecutive seasons. In the wake of the Dodgers acquiring shortstop Manny Machado, FanGraphs gives the Rockies only a 25.