Word has gotten out. Not everyone is buying in, but the Colorado Rockies have been named a potential dark horse candidate for 2017 by so many outlets both national and local that one has to wonder how apt the term actually is. Either way, there is a litany of reasons why there is a spirit of optimism around a team that has maxed out at 75 wins this decade.
There is the generally emerging young class of potentially world class players. There is the new, seemingly universally respected manager. There was an offseason that — whatever one may think of the odd aspects of the Ian Desmond deal — saw a club often accused of being cheap, shell out potentially well over 100 million dollars in new contracts.