Colorado Rockies Spring Training Tickets - Preseason Outlook

Colorado Rockies fans always make it out to the spring training games in Arizona in big numbers. Not only are the games relatively close to Denver (just a short road trip south to the desert), but the Rockies always seem to have a good outlook heading into the next season. The same is the case this year, as it's expected that Rockies fans will look for some Colorado Rockies spring training tickets available online so that they can get a glimpse at some of the new players. Of course, looking forward requires a little bit of perspective sometimes, so we're going to give you a short summary of the best and worst from the last season before delving into the kinds of things you should expect to see in Tucson in the spring and Denver in the summer.

2008 Highlights
The Rockies finished last season with a 74-88 overall record, good for third in the NL West. Because Colorado was just a year removed from their improbable run to the championship series, fans were understandably scratching their heads. However, some players truly lived up to their billing. Most of the team highlights came on offense. For instance, Colorado was above the National League average in team hits and batting average, thanks to guys like Matt Holliday, who had a team-high batting average of .321, and Garrett Atkins, who lead the team with 175 hits. Both Brad Hawpe and Holliday blasted 25 home runs. Aaron Cook was the star of the rotation, as he led the team with a 16-9 record and a 3.96 ERA.

2008 Lowlights
With the exception of Aaron Cook and Ubaldo Jimenez, the Colorado Rockies were merely pedestrian from the pitcher's mound. Teams regularly slapped in runs off the weak part of the pitching unit, as the Rockies tallied a team ERA of 4.77, the second worst in the NL. Despite the fact that they didn't give up many home runs, the Rockies let plenty of base runners round home plate. When Taylor Buchholz and Brian Fuentes were brought in to relieve, things got better, but other than those two highlights the bullpen couldn't help to keep opponents from plastering the field with singles.

The Future
The Colorado Rockies made some big time moves in the offseason. Despite obvious fan appreciation for All-Star Matt Holliday, the powerful hitter was dealt to Oakland for some instant pitching help in the form of Greg Smith and Huston Street. Carlos Gonzalez, another part of the deal, could fill the hole left in the outfield, but it will be difficult to replace Holliday's productivity on offense. But don't mind that for now, because the Rockies also added two more pitchers, Jason Marquis and Greg Smith, from the Cubs. If you get Colorado Rockies spring training tickets you can check out all the new pitchers making their first mound appearances in Rockies uniforms. As for the offense, Garrett Atkins was re-signed and he'll be the meat and potatoes of the batting order. The Rockies also re-signed one of their steady contributors, Clint Barnes. So while the Rockies dropped some serious power on offense, they gained a fielder with good potential, and added plenty of defense. There's little doubt that the Rockies will be more balanced this year than last. With any luck, the pitching improvement will keep the Rockies in contention in the NL West, and and perhaps a free agent outfielder will add some power to the lineup sometime during the regular season.

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