Opening Day has arrived, Colorado Rockies fans can put 2012 behind them

After a long winter, baseball is back.

Merry Christmas, Colorado Rockies fans. Opening Day has arrived.

In most homes in America, Christmas is December 25th. For baseball fans, Christmas is the day when winter ends and their team steps on the field after a long winter. Something about cold weather and snow giving way to warmth, green grass and sunshine brings hope back to even the most pessimistic fan.

Maybe it is the game. Maybe it is the excitement of beautiful summer nights watching the sun go down at 9:00 and enjoying a crisp Colorado summer nights. Whatever it is, when baseball season returns, it doesn't matter what last season was like, it is time for the excitement of baseball.

Of course, simple spring fever doesn't wash away the pains that Rockies fans endured throughout the 2012 season. There isn't an honest person who would say there was a reason to watch the Rockies play once July arrived.

Colorado Rockies fans are growing bitter

The Colorado Rockies are about to enter a season in which even the most optimistic fans think they won't be a .500 team.

Aaron Cook returned to Colorado on a minor league deal.

Since exiting the playoffs in heartbreaking fashion in 2009, the Rockies have fallen hard. A 2010 campaign saw them stay in the race until they packed it in around mid-September. From then on, it has simply been miserable for Rockies fans.

The continuous failures of the Rockies, both on the field and in the front office, have worn Rockies fans thin. After losing a franchise-record 98 games in 2012, the team did very little to improve during the offseason. They entered spring training with little improvement to a starting rotation that was historically bad.

Fans have every right to be upset. Baseball is an investment for fans. With roughly three off-days per month, a dedicated fan doesn't spend his or her summer hiking or fishing in the Rocky Mountains, they spend those beautiful summer nights huddled around their television, watching their team play...and in recent years, lose.

Colorado Rockies add Jon Garland to starting rotation

Jon Garland could provide some stability to the Rockies lineup.

Colorado Rockies fans went from disgruntled to flat out angry when the club did nothing to improve a pitching staff that was laughable in 2012.

Instead of upgrading in the offseason, the Rockies insisted that Jhoulys Chacin, Jorge De La Rosa and Juan Nicasio being healthy would change the fortunes of the embarrassing pitching staff. With all of the issues, most Rockies fans believed that the club should have done anything they had to do to improve the starting five.

On Sunday, the Rockies addressed the issue by signing newly released right-hander Jon Garland.

The veteran sinker-ball pitcher hasn't pitched in the big leagues since 2011 due to a shoulder injury the sidelined him for the past year-and-a-half. The Mariners signed him to a deal that allowed him to ask for his release if there was no spot for him on the big league roster.

Despite quiet offseason, 2013 Colorado Rockies should be fun to watch

Walt Weiss should bring energy to the Rockies.

Hope springs eternal.

For whatever reason, baseball has a way of making even the biggest pessimist a believer. Maybe when pitchers and catcher report to Arizona and Florida, there has been just enough cold and snow to make people a little crazy.

The Colorado Rockies, fresh off of their worst season in 20 years of playing baseball, didn't give their fans much to be excited about in the offseason. Despite losing 98 games, the Rockies did next to nothing over the winter.

There have been years in which Rockies fans haven't had much to root for, but in 2013, the optimists forgot to show up. The morale among Rockies faithful is at an all-time low, for good reason.

Maybe because it is spring, maybe because a long winter erases memories of horrible baseball, but there is reason for Rockies fans to be excited. This Rockies team has the potential to surprise people.

Colorado Rockies should allow Nolan Arenado to continue to develop

No need to rush Nolan Arenado to the big leagues.

One year later, the talk is very much the same.

Colorado Rockies prospect Nolan Arenado is turning heads at spring training in Scottsdale. On Monday, in a 16-6 loss to the Seattle Mariners, the third baseman launched his fourth home run of the spring, and the third in as many days.

After winning the Arizona Fall League MVP honors in 2011, beating out Bryce Harper, Arenado was talked about as the next big thing for the Rockies. In fact, some thought that he had made such a huge impression that he could be the starting third baseman for the Rockies, despite never playing above Single-A.

Arenado was quickly recognized by most publications as the Rockies top prospect, and was listed as one of the top 50 prospects in the game. The biggest question was not if, but when Arenado would make his debut with the Rockies in 2012.