....<br><br>"I can jump as high as ever and run
as fast as before. I have no limitations," said
Hollandsworth. "There are no more hot spots, no more swelling.
That was the big thing. I was able to participate in
physical activity again and not have negative results with
my leg. It seems like it was something new for a
long, long, long time. I just missed everything about
playing the game. But that's behind me now. I am focusing
on the future." <br><br>The Rockies, likewise, are
looking forward. Though they wouldn't mind acquiring a
right-handed slugger to sandwich between Larry Walker and Todd
Helton, the idea of Hollandsworth getting 500 at-bats is
a delicious proposition. Projections are dangerous,
but there are few who would argue that Hollandsworth
is capable of swatting 30 taters and plating 100
runs if he plays an entire season. <br><br>"He could
even surpass that," acknowledged Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd
of Hollandsworth, who has homered once every 14
at-bats since joining the Rockies at the trading deadline
two years ago. "I don't want to put too much pressure
on him. But who knows what could happen if
everything falls into place?" <br><br>Perhaps most
surprising about Hollandsworth's injury is how quickly the
team fell in the standings when he collapsed at the
plate. Following the 13-4 win on May 11, the Rockies sat
at 19-16, just a half game removed from first place.
They proceeded to go 54-73 over the remainder of the
season, in part because of the glaring miscues in left
field, particularly defensively. <br><br>"With Todd, you
have someone with a hard-nosed attitude, with power at
the plate and someone who can play all three outfield
positions very well," O'Dowd said. "When he was hurt, we
missed him a lot. A lot more than realized at the time.
We weren't deep enough or good enough to sustain
without him." <br><br>Holly bristles at the suggestion
that his exit doomed the season. A sleeves-rolled-up
player, he will never concede that a single player
defines a team. In fact, this type of thinking bubbles
his skin. If the Rockies are to succeed, he explains,
it will be because of the old standbys -- desire,
attitude and effort. <br><br>"We have talented players
here. We exist. So what does it come back to? We have
to find a way to win. No excuses," Hollandsworth
said. "Everything that goes on, like some of the
changing faces, that's not our call. We have to worry
about what we are responsible for as individuals. I owe
it to my teammates, the front office and the fans to
leave it all out on the field. It's not like we are
going to be playing this game forever. You never know
when it might be taken away." <br><br>Hollandsworth
then rubbed his knee. It remains a link to what was --
and everything that can still be.