Colorado Rockies morning after: Disappointing end but progress made

The season is over for the Colorado Rockies. It’s a sobering thought, but a reality after the Arizona Diamondbacks eliminated the Rockies with an 11-8 victory in the National League Wild Card on Wednesday night at Chase Field.

Down 6-0 early, the Rockies rallied … and kept rallying. However, every time Colorado would creep close enough to make the raucous Arizona crowd nervous and seem to grab some momentum, the Diamondbacks would always find an answer.

The most shocking answer came from Arizona reliever Archie Bradley, who blasted a two-run, two-out triple in the bottom of the seventh inning that proved to be one of the biggest emotional catalysts on the way to Arizona’s win.

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You can read plenty of stories about the game and about the key moments from it. This morning, though, is a bit about reflection and appreciation in my mind.

Colorado’s 2017 season is done. However disappointing Wednesday night was, it doesn’t erase the great MVP-caliber seasons put together by Nolan Arenado and Charlie Blackmon. It doesn’t erase the free agent signing of Greg Holland, who proved himself to be arguably the greatest single-season reliever in Colorado history. It doesn’t overshadow the trade deadline acquisitions of Pat Neshek and Jonathan Lucroy that helped push the Rockies into the postseason.

Yes, the Wild Card loss stings and will for some time. However, a Rockies team that made the postseason is a site that doesn’t come around often. Let’s enjoy the progress made by this team year over year. It’s time to sit back and reflect on a year that was, to many, surprising. Colorado arrived a year before it was supposed to in many eyes. It also arrived in the postseason despite several obstacles that could’ve derailed its season.

David Dahl never took the field after a rib injury suffered in spring training. Jon Gray missed a chunk of the season with a foot injury. Ian Desmond didn’t live up to expectations in the first year of his big contract. Carlos Gonzalez endured the longest slump of his career. Trevor Story regressed before finding his footing late in the season.

There were many things that could have imploded Colorado’s season along the way … but didn’t. That is a testament to this team’s heart, will to win and brotherhood/faith in each other in the locker room. Those are things that a disappointing one-game showing can’t take away.

It will be a long time until players report in mid-February. There will be plenty of questions the team must deal with in terms of personnel before then. It’s very possible the 2018 Rockies could look very different than the 2017 Rockies, including some of the names mentioned above no longer being a part of the team.

Next: Charlie Blackmon's take on taking a knee

But those are thoughts for another day. Today is a day to look past Wednesday’s disappointment and reflect upon what was a magical season for the Rockies. Thank you, Colorado, for what a fun, incredible ride. We were honored to be able to be a part of it. We already can’t wait for 2018.