Axios Denver

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March 31, 2024

It's Easter Sunday — play ball! The Colorado Rockies wrap up their four-game series against the Diamondbacks today.

The team's home opener is April 5 against the Tampa Bay Rays and we have what you need to get prepared.

🎧 Sounds like: "Colorado Rockies" by Ace Diamond

🎂 Happy birthday to our Axios Denver member Gwen Domenico!

Today's newsletter is 535 words — a 2.5-minute read.

1 big thing: The Rockies are back — but questions loom

A baseball player in a white pinstriped jersey with the word ROCKIES on the chest looks on after hitting a home run. He is wearing a black hat and white gloves. In the background, a huge crowd looks on. — Nolan Jones hits a home run in the fourth inning at Coors Field on Oct. 1, 2023, in Denver. Photo: Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post via Getty Images

The Colorado Rockies had a historic 2023 season. It just wasn't the kind you want to brag about.

The big picture: The ball club racked up 100 losses in a single season for the first time in franchise history, ending with a 59-103 record — and a hell of a way to commemorate their 30th anniversary.

Why it matters: The Rockies must decide whether they will continue sliding into irrelevance or lay the groundwork for a major turnaround.

Between the lines: Just like last season, preseason predictions for this year aren't kind. Most sports outlets are projecting just over 50 wins yet again.

It's so bad, the Denver Post's Patrick Saunders rightfully asked whether losing has simply become acceptable for a team that hasn't been to the playoffs since 2018.

What they're saying: "We were too OK with it. At times," pitcher Kyle Freeland recently told the Post. "Obviously, we want to win every night. We are going out there trying to win ballgames."

The intrigue: The Rockies should look at the Texas Rangers — the 2023 World Series winners — for a blueprint of how to turn things around.

The Rangers went from zeroes to heroes in just two years after spending more than half a billion dollars on hitters, betting on a young star, bringing back a celebrated manager and changing their front office, writes Axios Dallas Tasha Tsiaperas.

Reality check: That's a pretty lengthy to-do list for a ballclub whose owners, the Monforts, face perpetual calls to sell the team.

The bottom line: Hope springs eternal, as they say, so we will hope to avoid another long, dry, miserable season at Coors Field.

Tell us, what would a "successful" season look like in your eyes? Hit reply to share your thoughts!

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2. 📆 The best home games on the 2024 calendar

Illustration of a pair on binoculars with baseballs in place of the lenses — Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios

Regardless of the Rockies' record, Coors Field remains one of America's best places to watch baseball.

State of play: Here are the home games you'll want to put on your calendar.

April 5, Tampa Bay Rays: The first home game is filled with promise — and the Rockies deliver. In the last three years, the team won either the home opener (2023 and 2021) or the opening series (2022).

May 10-12, Texas Rangers: The defending World Series champions arrive in town with a high-power offense mostly intact from a year ago.

June 17-20, L.A. Dodgers: The first of two home series with the National League title contenders and the chance to see newly traded and two-time MVP Shohei Ohtani hit dingers in the mile-high air.

Aug. 9-11, Atlanta Braves: The team with the best odds to win the World Series this year, according to ESPN, added pitcher Chris Sale and still boasts slugger and reigning NL MVP Ronald Acuna Jr.

Aug. 30-Sept. 1, Baltimore Orioles: The American League title contenders land in Denver with the addition of former Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes this season and No. 1 prospect Jackson Holliday likely joining the team by then.

Sept. 13-15, Chicago Cubs: The Cubbies count as many hometown fans in Colorado as the Rockies — at least it seems that way. Show up to counter with a little Denver pride.

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