Could it be a ‘Rock-tember’ to remember?

DENVER – When the Colorado Rockies couldn’t lose last October, manager Clint Hurdle became something of a prairie philosopher – a sage of the sage. So when he coined the word “Rock-tember,” a couple days ago, he did so slyly, knowing his team had pumped the old chestnut “Rock-tober” full of fresh meaning a year ago.

The watchword would strike a cord with the local populace. Hurdle knew that. After all, his explanation why the Rockies couldn’t carry their momentum into 2008 – “Great is the enemy of good” – could serve as Denver’s slogan, set in stone to greet visitors at the city limits. From downtown high-rises to Rocky Mountain mining towns to the windswept plains, folks in these parts understand their baseball team because they know all about booms and busts, bubbles and bursts.

The Rockies’ winning 21 of 22 games to reach the World Series was akin to striking it rich during the oil boom of the 1970s, or in the silver mines a century earlier. And beginning this season 15-27 and languishing well under .500 all summer was all but shrugged off by a city that led the nation in office vacancies when oil dropped to $9 a barrel in the 1980s, that nearly became a ghost town 100 years before that when the value of silver plummeted because the federal government shifted to the gold standard.

Wild fluctuations in fortunes come with the mile-high altitude, heavenly views and hail storms that interrupt a 90-degree September day. People accept them with a spit and a shrug. Rockies fans aren’t going to give up on Troy Tulowitzki, or Jeff Francis, or Ubaldo Jimenez, or any other of their boom-and-bust ballplayers. Few are foolhardy enough to predict another miracle run, even though the Rockies began the day only five games back in the pitiable NL West, same as they were last Sept. 3.

But the thought is beginning to cross some minds.

“We need to play extremely good baseball,” Hurdle said.

For the most part, Hurdle and his team are exhibiting restraint, even in the face of a 12-6 run that pulled them within sight of the first-place Arizona Diamondbacks and second-place Los Angeles Dodgers. And for good reason. The Rockies are nine games under .500 after losing to the Giants on Wednesday; last year at this time they were six games over .500. A year ago they were four games off the pace in the wild-card race; this year they are 15 games behind the wild-card-leading Milwaukee Brewers.

“We might have a run in us, but it’s been a humbling season for the most part,” Tulowitzki said. “No predictions. Just show up and play.”

The fans, too, are slow to stir. Even keel is passed down in the Denver DNA like eye color and curly hair. Only 23,710 assembled at Coors Field on Tuesday night when the Rockies beat the Giants in 12 innings, about eight thousand fewer than usual. It’s too soon to get excited.

Overall, folks who hopped aboard the bandwagon last fall stayed on for the bumpy ride this summer. Attendance surpassed 2 million nearly a month ago and the Rockies are averaging about 4,000 more fans per game than last season. It’s not exactly the halcyon 1990s when they led the National League in attendance the first seven years of their existence, but it’s not bad for a team that was under .500 from 2001 to 2006.

“You are definitely treated differently in Denver,” said Tulowitzki, who last year batted .291 with 24 homers and finished second in Rookie of the Year voting. This year he’s had two stints on the disabled list and is batting .247 with six homers.

“The people just seem to understand that there are ups and downs, highs and lows that you have to go through sometimes. It’s something you appreciate during tough times like I’ve gone through this year.”

Roaming through the stands, seldom is heard a discouraging word.

“It’s easy to say, ‘same old Rockies,’ but we want to give them props for what they did last year and ride it out until they get hot again,” said Jay Graves, a season-ticket holder who lives two blocks from Coors Field. “I’m not saying it’s going to happen right now, but I’m not saying it won’t.”

That the Rockies could challenge in the NL West by summoning only a wisp of the magic that carried them through last September and October is money for nothing, like discovering black gold in the water well on the south forty. While the Rockies were dealing with a rash of injuries and the regression of several young pitchers who overachieved last season, just trying to avoid a complete meltdown, the Diamondbacks and Dodgers lost and lost and lost some more.

“We always knew we were a good team, confidence was never an issue,” outfielder Ryan Spilborghs said. “We blew a lot of leads and a lot of guys got hurt. We just wanted to hang in there and hope the Diamondbacks came back to us. Now that’s happening.”

The Rockies are glad they didn’t trade closer Brian Fuentes at the July 31 deadline or give him away in a waiver deal. They are ecstatic they didn’t trade left fielder Matt Holliday, who is again putting up MVP-worthy numbers. Brad Hawpe and Garrett Atkins have been steady. Aaron Cook has replaced the inexplicably ineffective Francis as staff ace.

The great boom of 2007? It’s more than a memory; it’s a permission slip to dream big again. Ever so cautiously.

“People forget the bust and remember the boom,” said Tom Noel, a professor and Denver historian. “They say, ‘Things will get better, just wait. Forces outside our control that caused the problems also can provide salvation.’ That’s the mentality in Denver. It’s that great Western optimism.”

Salvation, thy name is the NL West.

“It’s winnable,” Tulowitzki said. “After all we’ve gone through, it actually is.”