DENVER -- Carlos Gonzalez and Rockies fans can identify. They've spent nine years striving and wishing to get back to where they'll be Sunday afternoon -- in a postseason game at Coors Field.
The 2009 National League Division Series was Gonzalez's introduction to an accomplished career. He went 10-for-17 with a home run and two doubles in the four-game series loss to the Phillies. In the two defeats at Coors Field, Gonzalez finished 5-for-8 with a double and a homer.
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Now 32 years old, Gonzalez -- whose Rockies enter Sunday afternoon's Game 3 of the NLDS needing to beat the Brewers to stay alive -- has been feeling young again.
"It seems like yesterday I was playing in the 2009 NLDS," Gonzalez said. "That's how baseball is. You always get that second chance."
Gonzalez made it back to the postseason last year, but that entailed just an 11-8 Wild Card loss on the road to the D-backs. After the season, Gonzalez endured a long and uncertain route to find a contract, with wild swings of fortune throughout the year before ending up a postseason regular for the Rockies this time.
It took until March 12 -- well into Spring Training -- for Gonzalez to reach a one-year contract with the Rockies. Gonzalez's batting average was down to .214 on May 26, and his playing time was sporadic. But he had months of .286 (June), .345 (July) and .292 (August), though he dropped to .200 in September and lost playing time as David Dahl and Matthew Holliday received regular work.
During the Rockies' final homestand, Gonzalez started six of the seven games and hit .364 with a .400 on-base percentage and a 1.082 OPS, not to mention four doubles and a home run. He went 1-for-2 off the bench in the 2-1, 13-inning NL Wild Card Game win over the Cubs. His triple was the Rockies' only hit in the first eight innings of Thursday's 3-2 loss to the Brewers.

Now Gonzalez is back in a postseason game at Coors Field. The Brewers will start lefty Wade Miley, who has pitched well against the Rockies (7-2, 3.89 ERA in 14 games, 13 starts) and in Colorado (3-1, 4.76 in five games, four starts). However, Gonzalez has a solid history against Wiley (.391/.417/.609 slash line, one homer, two doubles in 23 at-bats).
"You understand over the years that baseball is a difficult sport," Gonzalez said. "We play 162 games. We don't play 16 games like it's the NFL. Obviously there's going to be a lot of bad games, a lot of good games, and that's why baseball is so hard.
"You can be on top of the world in one game, and the next game you're up with four K's and you're back to the hole, but it's all about mental. You have to stay positive all the time and believe in yourself no matter what because numbers don't lie. You've done it before. You can do it again."
Handling the nerves
Center fielder Charlie Blackmon said he has been better at handling postseason excitement this year than last, when he went a stressed-out 0-for-4 in the Wild Card Game loss to the D-backs. It hasn't shown up in the stats, however: 2-for-11 with one walk, one RBI and no strikeouts.
"My main goal this year was to be in control of my thoughts and keep my heart rate from spiking, and all that kind of thing," Blackmon said. "And that was my main goal, and that's going to enable me to be a good baseball player."