COLORADO ROCKIES ----Paul Wysard

Last year's preview of this club was on the button: "A few more wins in a fourth place finish." Now the outlook is brighter.

After a major overhaul of the offense over the past year, management met the perennial pitching problem head on. Prime free agent southpaw Mike Hampton was signed , bringing a 3-year average of 16 wins and a 3.12 ERA to the scary spaces of Coors Field. Good numbers aside, the former Astro and Met is a tough competitor who has won 20 games and brings four consecutive post-seasons. He is quick and keeps pitches down. The style reduced his walks/hits-to-innings pitched ratio near the end of 2000. Look for Hampton to make a noticeable dent in the Coors Jinx.

Cautious optimism should accompany the other major mound recruit, Denny Neagle. Another lefty, his resume also includes a 20-win campaign, three other at 15+ and post-season action. But Neagle does not throw as hard, and his ERA has risen to more than 4.25 each of the past two years and is over 4 since 1997. Some trouble at home will be followed by wins away.

The two newcomers will be backed by Brian Bohanon, a 12-game winner in '99 and 2000, and Pedro Astacio, who has quietly notched 42 wins in three full terms with the team. Both men have posted plus-5 ERAs during their tenures, but Bohanon cut his way back in the second half last year, and Astacio contributes innings and survival.

The bullpen was a helpful surprise last summer. Jose Jimenez rang up 24 saves and middle man Gabe White (11-2, 2.17, 19 holds) were important. They must perform at or near those levels to promote a strong run.

Now less dependent upon home runs, the lineup was generally successful an is promising. Hitting .370 again will be difficult for awesome first baseman Todd Helton, but 40+ homers, 130+ RBI and 125+ runs will likely be on his ledger. Todd Walker, at second, could be a fix in a chicken coop at Coors. He hit .316 after escaping the Twins' doghouse and has some power and speed. SS Neifi Perez has improved as a hitters since coming up, but probably needs to run more and bat higher in the order, where he would see fewer breaking balls. Todd Hollandsworth hit well after coming over from LA and looks to edge out young Juan Pierre in CF. Pierre was exciting and popular during his September call-up, but 60 of his 62 hits were singles. Larry Walker missed virtually half of 2000 and has averaged only 115 appearances in RF since his 1997 MVP year. The Rockies cannot afford more than 15 absences by such an impact player. Veteran Ron Gant will contribute some long balls, but the only attractive new bat belongs to Phil Hiatt, with 36 AAA homers. In tandem with Helton, the other main spoke in the scoring wheel is 3B Jeff Cirillo. As predicted here last Spring, he was superb--.326, 1, 115, 111 runs scored. Expect more of the same.

Hampton will be outstanding and the rest of the pitching will be suitable./ The catching is OK, with Ben Petrick (hitting) and Brent Maybe (experience). The two Walkers should have longer, better seasons. Helton and Cirillo will do their thing in a challenge for the NLW title.