Todd Helton

Something was missing from the All-Star break this past week.

It wasn’t a lack of home runs. David Ortiz and others provided plenty of those in one of the more intriguing Home Run Derbys to date.

It wasn’t a lack of star power. Derek Jeter, Albert Pujols, Ubaldo Jiminez, Josh Hamilton and others were all on hand for the National League’s first win in the All-Star game since 1996.

One of the most interesting franchise histories in sports is that of the Colorado Rockies. Since 1993, when they joined the National League as an expansion franchise, Colorado has been known for its "Blake Street Bombers" attitude and for their horrifying home-road splits.

Playing in the thin air of Coors Field, good hitters such as Vinny Castilla were made to look like Hall of Famers. However, it may just be the thin air of Denver that keeps the black-and-purple out of Cooperstown.

The Case For

Trying to make accurate predictions in sports is nearly impossible. Nobody really knows how the season is going to play out no matter how well informed.

Injuries, slumps and surges are going to happen to every player on every team and even the most well educated fans and analysts won’t be able to predict more than a handful of outcomes.

This, after all, is why we love sports. We simply don’t know what’s going to happen and that’s where all the excitement comes from.

This marks the third edition in my new series in which I am attempting to name the top ten players in the history of each MLB franchise. This one will take a look at some of the Rockies greats.

With as prolific an offense as the Rockies have had through the years, it only makes sense that the top seven guys on this list would be hitters.

One question, hundreds of answers. Which member of the Colorado Rockies had the greatest offensive season at his position?

Is Larry Walker the greatest player to grace Coors Field? Has any shortstop had a more productive year than Neifi Perez? Just which pitcher swings a better bat than Mike Hampton? Does Matt Holliday deserve a spot in the all-time Rockies' outfield?

They say that sometimes you can predict the outcome of a baseball game strictly from the first batter to take his hacks.

Unfortunately for the Colorado Rockies, that saying rang true in their opening bout with the Philadelphia Phillies in Game One of the National League Division Series.

When Dexter Fowler swung at Cliff Lee's first pitch of the game, flying out weakly to right field, it was a sad portent of things to come for the red-hot Rox in their eventual 5-1 drubbing at the hands of the NL East Champions.

In a comment I read recently, someone attempted to explain the reason why Ichiro hits a lot of home runs. Basically, the premise of the argument was that Ichiro felt that if he tried to hit home runs, his batting average would suffer.

Well it's comparison time now because I found a player who has the same career high in average as Ichiro and did exactly what Ichiro said he could not do.

In 2004, Ichiro had his best season in the Major Leagues; it was the year he set the record for most hits in a season.

Here's a look at the numbers for Ichiro:

As the unending pageantry of the All-Star pregame show continues its free-fall from glitzy longing for past glories to sob story shlock, I think it's high time to take a look back at the first half of the season that was for yours, mine, and our Colorado Rockies.

On May 27, when the Rockies record stood at 18-28 and the team had just suffered through a, well, insufferable three-game sweep at the hands of the Dodgers, the outlook appeared a bit grim for the boys in the purple pinstripes.

Amid the myriad of problems the Colorado Rockies have encountered so far in this young season, the inconsistency of a supposedly strong bullpen has to grace the top spot on the list.

Coming into the season with the additions of former closer Huston Street and veteran lefty Alan Embree to fortify a bullpen already boasting Manny Corpas, Jason Grilli, and Taylor Buchholz, the bullpen was seen to be the least of the Rockies' worries.

But the problems began before the first pitch was even thrown.