The Colorado Rockies did the unexpected all season long.

No one expected a playoff berth for this team when it sank to 20-32, 12 games under .500, on June 3. Not only were they in the cellar in the NL West, their record was second-worst to only the Washington Nationals in all of baseball.

Yet under manager Jim Tracy, who replaced Clint Hurdle on May 27, they swiftly improved and finished 92-70, a franchise record for wins, and the National League Wild Card.

Few expected the Rockies to win their opening round series with the Philadelphia Phillies, the defending World Series champions. Expectations dropped even lower when the Phillies opened the series with a dominating one-run, complete-game performance by Cliff Lee. But the Rockies clawed back to take Game 2 in Philadelphia by a single run, 5-4, and return to Denver with series tied 1-1.

No one expected a "coldout" for a baseball game, but we got just that for Saturday's scheduled Game 3. With record low temps that night, despite the fact that the snow had stopped much earlier in the day, the game was postponed until Sunday. The Rockies lost a chance to face veteran righthander Pedro Martinez with their potent lefthanded lineup.

I doubt many expected the Rockies, who were 51-30 at home during the regular season, to drop two home games at frigid Coors Field in the National League Division Series. Yet they did. Sunday night, Colorado closer Huston Street, who'd blown only two saves in 37 opportunities this year, came into a game tied 5-5 in the ninth and allowed the go-ahead run on Ryan Howard's sacrifice fly. Though Brad Lidge, a troubled closer this year if ever there's been one, walked two in the bottom of the ninth, he induced a popup from Troy Tulowitzki to preserve Philadelphia's 6-5 win.

Now facing elimination, expectations were lower than ever for the Rox as they faced Lee again in Game 4. And he was almost as dominating this time around, though Ubaldo Jimenez nearly matched him, allowing only two solo home runs over his seven innings. Trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the 8th, Colorado utilized a nifty baserunning play by Dexter Fowler, leapfrogging over Chase Utley in the basepath, to negate what would have been a rally-killing double play. Pinch-hitter Jason Giambi and clutch catcher Yorvit Torrealba delivered big hits to get the Rockies ahead 4-2 going to the 9th inning.

No one would have expected Huston Street to implode two nights in a row. Yet he did. Handed a two-run lead, and getting the Phillies down to their final out and even final strike, he then proceeded to allow three runs, and Phillies now took an one-run lead to the bottom of the 9th.

When the Rockies reached two outs, the face of their franchise, Todd Helton, came up to bat. No one would expect him to make the final out to eliminate the team he's represented since 1997. And he didn't. He singled, and with Carlos Gonzalez on second, he represented the winning run. Up stepped Tulowitzki again, and in came Lidge again, asked to get just one final out to advance his team to the NLCS.  Tulo would not gain revenge, as Lidge, the Denver native succeeded in striking him out to end the game and the series.

And just like that, a magical season was over. These Rockies would not be like the original "Rocktober" team that swept a somewhat inferior Phillies team and then swept the Diamondbacks in the NLCS as well before going cold in the World Series against the Red Sox in 2007. Actually, though their final destination was not so far advanced, the 2009 version is a much better team than the one of two years ago.

This team has a future so bright that, as Timbukthree once sang, you've got to wear shades. They have young stars in the making such as third baseman Ian Stewart and speedy outfielder Dexter Fowler. They have a now established young superstar in Tulowitzki, who may be the best combination of defensive skill and power at the plate from the shortstop position since A-Rod manned it. And they have an emerging phenomenon in Carlos Gonzalez, acquired from Oakland in the offseason as the centerpiece of the Matt Holliday trade. While Holliday slumped at the plate and made a defensive miscue of Buckneresque proportions in the Cardinals' NLDS loss to the Dodgers, all "CarGo" did was hit well over .600 as he racked up 10 hits in four games against the Phillies and also showcased his stellar speed, defensive skill, and throwing arm, all while batting mostly left-on-left against the Philadelphia starters. Meanwhile, the pitching-- yes, the pitching staff, in Colorado-- is rock-solid. The Rockies featured four starters with double-digit victories, and three-- Jimenez, Jorge De La Rosa, and Jason Marquis-- recorded at least 15 wins. The bullpen was almost always reliable and during some stretches remarkable, with Street, despite his letdown these past two nights, anchoring the 9th inning.

The Rockies do not reside in an easy division. The Dodgers are clearly the cream of the crop, and we will see next week whether they or the Phillies are the best team in the National League, at least for this year. The Giants have a fearsome pitching rotation and just need to upgrade some holes in the lineup. The Padres and Diamondbacks both have a ton of young talent and will get better. But anyone who picks the Rockies to finish lower than 2nd as we enter Spring Training 2010 obviously has not paid attention to this talented and immensely promising up-and-coming team. So long as the ownership shows a willingness to spend enough to improve the team and keep the key pieces in place, the Colorado Rockies, a mid-market team who have bucked the odds in going to the postseason two out of the last three years, will be a force to be reckoned with in the National League for many years to come.