2007 Colorado Rockies

The 2007 Rockies are well remembered for perhaps the most incredible stretch run in MLB history! Colorado memorably won 13 of their final 14 games to force a one game playoff with the Padres for the wild card spot. They won that too, sending them to the playoffs with the franchise's first 90 win season. They proceeded to sweep through the NL Playoffs, giving them a remarkable 21 wins in 22 games to take the pennant! Clearly, the team got REALLY hot with their rolling in that stretch! The team is built around their hitting (surprise, surprise at Coors Field). Troy Tulowitski wasn't putting up his peak numbers, but between him and a couple of elite seasons from Matt Holliday and Todd Helton, get ready for a really fun team that gave baseball fans everywhere a lot of joy!

Personally, the Rockies have always been my second favorite team because my cousin's from Colorado and I got a new Rockies shirt as a hand me down every other year growing up. Here's a special shout out to Dante Bichette for that boss jersey-shirt I wore into complete disrepair in backyard wiffleball games. Also, the purple and black backgrounds are my personal favorite double-combo of card backgrounds of any team I've made so far and I'm probably going to make more Rockies soon because I want to print them out! I feel like some prime year Tulo, '17 Blackmon, and '10 Ubaldo are must makes.

Anyway, the team isn't quite as strong as some other squads on paper, but if you roll fortunately, there's no reason they can't be a team with some great streaks in them!

Lineup: This is a really, really solid lineup. The batting order is the exact same as the Rockies used in Boston during the World Series, but I would make some changes if I were the manager (i.e. Matsui down, everyone else up). At the top, Tavares and Matsui provide tons of speed, although it's definitely old school baseball to have an OB 8 and 7 in the first two spots just for the speed. On the positive side, that move gives the lineup a TON of depth! The two big bats for the lineup are in the traditional 3-4 spots, with Matt Holliday giving a monster card. Honestly, I think he's a great value at 550 points with his double at 13. Honestly, I can't wait to plug him into a lineup with original 00 Larry Walker. Helton was still a total beast in 07, second in the majors in OBP to earn that OB 11. His chart is not super intimidating, but he'll get lots of opportunities off of it. Spots 5 thru 7 (and 9) are all really good OB 8 or 9 hitters who HR at 18 as a minimum. Basically they have four prototypical 5-hole hitters at the bottom of the lineup! Unfortunately, Torrealba just doesn't have a very good card, but the team as a whole is not easy to navigate for pitchers and has LOTS of potential for some huge innings.

Rotation: Unsurprisingly, the 2007 Rockies have perhaps the weakest rotation of our "superteams." Jeff Francis was the man at the top of this rotation and he brings a Tier 4 card to play. Not great control, but at least he's got a decent K range. He's supported by the slight Tier 4 upgrade in Ubaldo Jimenez. I'm pumped to swap him out for the 2010, Cy Young-contending, sub-3.00 ERA Ubaldo card eventually, but obviously I want the "real" 2007 squad represented here. Another Tier 4 pitcher brings up the number three slot, although Cook's slightly higher Control and 7 IP may take the #1 slot in the rotation for some managers (I'll be using this Ubaldo for mine). Rounding things out is Tier 5 Josh Fogg, who on the bright side is not a far way down from their #1 pitcher... but on the darker/more realistic side does not stack up to other classic teams rotations. Seriously, Rockies managers are going to have roll consistently in the middle numbers and put up offensive numbers!

Bullpen: The Rockies are going to have to lean heavily on their bullpen to support their weak starting staff. Fortunately, they have a very solid stable of arms to turn to! Three Tier 3s and a Tier 2 mean every option is an upgrade over whomever is starting. Fuentas is a good closer even as a Tier 3 thanks to the good K range and no doubles allowed. Corpas will be the one who's going to be repurposed for a Andrew Miller-type role, just going in for two innings against the heart of the enemy order in crucial situations. Rounding it out is the solid Hawkins and Affeldt, giving them an all around decent bullpen!

Overall: The 2007 Rockies have one of the best collection of hitters you'll find on this site. Matt Holliday is a fun and beastly card, they got an OB 11, and it's hard to argue with the collection of power/on-base in the bottom part of the order. I'd still put them behind the 2015 Blue Jays, but they're definitely in the same ballpark as the 2009 Yankees or 2016 Cubs for the #2 lineup. Unfortunately, the pitching definitely is weaker than average and they'll have to win some shootouts. If their bats go cold, it seems unlikely the staff can hold the fort or keep the game super close, but just like real life -- a manager who rolls well can rip off a bunch of Ws with this team!

Also, teams by request I've got cooking right now include the 1997 Mariners, 1998 Padres, and 1982 Brewers!

As always, here's the non-foil versions if you're not a fan of the (frankly, objectively amazing) black backgrounds!