Colorado Rockies are rockin'

When Steve Phillips of ESPN picked the Padres to win the NL West this week, it was no surprise.

But the Colorado Rockies to earn the NL wild card?

Maybe Phillips is on to something.

The Rockies, who begin a three-game series tonight in San Diego, are starting to resemble the Blake Street Bombers teams of the mid-1990s that put the franchise on the map.

Vinny Castilla and Larry Walker are long-gone from the Rockies, but the current talent they have is quite impressive (including 13 of 25 homegrown players.)

Colorado has a batting order that can stand up to just about anybody with the likes of Willy Taveras, Matt Holliday, Garrett Atkins, Brad Hawpe, Todd Helton and Troy Tulowitzki.

Add starting pitchers such as Jeff Francis and Aaron Cook to the mix, and then you can see why the Rockies are talking playoffs for the first time in more than a decade.

Colorado is just two games behind the Padres in the wild card race and five games in back of Arizona in the NL West.

The Rockies could go a long way in determining their fate during this three-game series in San Diego.