Rockies don't need big names to get it done in NLDS

OUTSIDE THE LOOP, it almost looked like one of those white-flag moves that out-of-contention teams make right before the trading deadline in July. Except that the Rockies sent star outfielder Matt Holliday to Oakland last November, shortly after the Phillies popped their corks at the end of the World Series.

A year before that, Holliday finished second in the National League MVP voting. So that left the team with first baseman Todd Helton and, and . . . well, and a bunch of guys few people who don't live in the metro Denver area had heard of.

That much, at least, hasn't really changed. With baseball's postseason beginning today, the Rockies remain the most anonymous of the NL contenders left standing even though they have a premium shortstop in Troy Tulowitzki and a cadre of rising young stars.

The Phillies are the defending world champions with All-Stars dotting the roster. And who ever turns away when Ryan Howard is at the plate?

The Dodgers have Manny Ramirez, always a headline waiting to be written. They have a manager, Joe Torre, making his 14th straight postseason appearance. They have Hollywood glitz.

The Cardinals have Albert Pujols and, coincidentally, Holliday, who came from the A's in a trade. They also have a high-profile manager, Tony La Russa. They, too, have a storied franchise history.

And the Rockies, who face the Phillies in Game 1 this afternoon at Citizens Bank Park, have the 36-year-old Helton, who despite an impressive list of career achievements, has spent his entire career obscured by Mountain Time Zone starts and usually lousy teams.

The reality is, though, that it's not about assembling the biggest names. Even in an individual game like baseball, winning demands teamwork and playing the game right. As a template, consider the Atlanta Braves during their unparalleled run of excellence from 1991 through 2005. They rarely had a player finish high in the MVP voting in those years. All they did was win.

Last weekend in Los Angeles, Rockies general manager Dan O'Dowd talked about the organization's "belief that if you're going to build something, it's got to be built [in such a way] that no one player is more important than the entire team."

He conceded he caught a lot of flak for trading Holliday.

"When Matt turned the contract down, we wished him a lot of luck," he said. "But there was no way we were going to allow that distraction to creep in. We really believe the way to win here, who we are as people, is as a team. And if anybody doesn't buy into the team, then they've gotta go.

"It's not just 25 guys. Heck, we've used 40 guys who have contributed to winning. We're a scouting and player development-based organization, so we're always going to give opportunities to our younger players and they've come through for us. And that's what we're going to continue doing."

Scan the NL offensive leaders and there's a conspicuous lack of Rockies representation.

In the Triple Crown categories, the only Colorado player in the top 10 is Helton. He's fourth in batting average (.325). On-base percentage? Again, only Helton. He's fourth at .416. On-base and slugging percentage? Just Tulowitzki, 10th at .930.

"I think that says a lot about our pitching. They keep us in every game," Tulowitzki said. "I think we have a couple of aces, guys you don't hear about in the Cy Young race, but we have guys who go out there and put us in a spot where our offense can win a game."

Fair enough. But Jorge De La Rosa led the staff with 16 wins. Ubaldo Jimenez ranked eighth with a .229 opponent's batting average. None made the cut in earned run average, although that's probably at least partly a function of pitching in Coors Field.

Said Rockies Game 2 starter Aaron Cook: "A team's not built around just one person individually. We come out here and we all contribute. And the big thing for us the last month or 2 is that it's somebody different every night helping us win baseball games. We don't care who gets the credit. We just want team wins. If you put the pressure on one person to come through every night, that's not going to be a good year for you. We rely on each other a lot and this is what happens when good baseball teams play good baseball."

It didn't hurt that the Holliday trade brought closer Huston Street. He had pitched his way out of that role with the Athletics but was 35-for-37 in save opportunities during the regular season. They also got a pair of outfielders, Seth Smith and Carlos Gonzalez. Smith has been one of the best hitters almost nobody has paid attention to this season. And Gonzalez is considered a rising star.

The Rockies had a remarkable turnaround this season, coming back to make the playoffs after being 15 1/2 games out on June 3. And Helton, who had played the third-most games of any major leaguer without appearing in the playoffs before Colorado swept the Phillies in the 2007 NLDS, is their most identifiable player.

He doesn't care to compare 2 years ago to this season, though. "Each season is different. We have a totally different personality on this team. To me, I don't care to lump those years together. Each year is special and this group of guys is very special," he said. *