Rockies: We’ll be back, better and experienced

The Rockies contend their 21-1 run to win the NL pennant was no fluke.

DENVER (AP) — Not Done.

The message that LaTroy Hawkins scribbled on the grease board in the Colorado clubhouse after the Rockies roared into the playoffs was wiped clean Monday as the Rockies packed their belongings and scattered for a shorter off-season than they ever could have imagined.

It might be gone, but it remains their mantra.

Even though they were bounced by Boston in their first trip to the World Series, the Rockies insist their NL pennant, secured with a hard-to-fathom 21-1 run that captivated a city, was just a taste of things to come.

They’re a young, talented club and now one that has postseason experience.

“This isn’t a one-year flash,” Troy Tulowitzki insisted Monday. “Our playoff run was a display of how our team can play. The World Series strengthened our resolve to get back here.”

In addition to their core of big boppers including Matt Holliday, Todd Helton, Garrett Atkins and Brad Hawpe, the Rockies have power prospects Ian Stewart and Joe Koshansky ready to follow in the footsteps of the baby-faced Tulowitzki, who took the world by storm with his glove, bat and a leadership that belied his 23 years.

The Rockies, whose owner, Charlie Monfort, is already predicting a return trip to the World Series in 2008, can’t wait to see Ubaldo Jimenez and Franklin Morales pitch a full season or for Seth Smith and Jeff Baker to continue their climbs.

“We won’t hang our heads,” Jimenez said. “We hurt. We hurt because we got so far so fast. I didn’t think about the World Series when we were in Tucson. I was just hoping to make it up for the last month. I got to pitch in the World Series. I couldn’t have dreamed that would happen.”

The Rockies could lose Kaz Matsui to free agency but Stewart will get a crash course at second base in the fall league just in case, and closer Manny Corpas’ emergence will make the expected loss of three-time All-Star Brian Fuentes easier to swallow.

“As long as these guys are here, it’s going to be a really good team for a really long time,” backup catcher Chris Iannetta said. “These are some of the best players in all of baseball.”

The Rockies sat and watched in silence as the Red Sox celebrated their championship at Coors Field, letting the disappointment sink in to strengthen their resolve.

“There’s moments we’re going to look back on and be very proud of what we accomplished this year,” said Helton, who waited 1,578 games through a decade of disappointment in Denver to finally taste this success.

“No reason to hang our head. We accomplished a lot this season. They outplayed us. We have no reason to be upset. We made it to the World Series. We did a lot this year. We came a long way.”

The Rockies realize they were just in over their heads, and that’s why they’re not hanging them.

“The better team won,” Tulowitzki said. “But I felt we came a long way to get here. We have a young ballclub full of talent and hopefully we will be back.”

“It was tough for me to sleep last night,” he added. “I couldn’t get over that the season was over.”

The Rockies stumbled to a 17-25 start this year and spent most of the season looking up at the Diamondbacks, Padres and Dodgers in the NL West before going on a late surge that earned them a surprising playoff berth.

They won 14 of their final 15 regular-season games, all against division opponents — including a 9-8 victory over San Diego in a wild-card tiebreaker at Coors Field.

They continued that run in the postseason, sweeping Philadelphia and Arizona before falling short against Boston.

“We came a long ways and we have nothing to be ashamed about,” Hawkins said. “We’ll walk around and hold our heads up high. We played in the World Series much sooner than people thought we would.”