Are Rockies’ beat writers trying to "manufacture" a Giant rivalry?

I know sensationalism sells and that the print media is doing everything it can to stay afloat, but this one takes the cake.

In an article that appears in Wednesday’s Denver Post, Colorado beat writers Troy Renck and Jim Armstrong spin comments from Rockies manager Jim Tracy into something that would have its readers believe that there’s a full-on rivalry going on between the Rockies and the San Francisco Giants.

I couldn’t disagree more.

In the article, Tracy is quoted as saying:

Yes, it’s become more of a rivalry. It’s safe to say we aren’t real friendly with one another because they have something we want (NL West division title). We know how we’ve played against them the last few years. They felt that we were the ones standing in their way. There’s a rivalry there, there’s no question about it. It’s good for baseball.”

It’s obvious to me that Armstrong and Renck prompted Tracy by asking him if he thought there was a rivalry between the two teams. What’s he supposed to say? They play in the same division, after all.

What makes me laugh is the way the two beat writers hyped it up by writing that the rivalry between the teams “has escalated to unprecedented heights.”

Sure, tensions have risen over the years. Particularly last September, after Giants GM Brian Sabean called the commissioner’s office to question the use of the Coors Field humidor on the eve of a three-game series between the two teams (a series that the Giants went on to take, two-games-to-one).

But Renck and Armstrong would have us believe that the Rockies are harboring some kind of vendetta against the World Champs, writing “having their integrity questioned was something the Rockies obviously haven’t forgotten.”

Really?

It’s pure hyperbole if you ask me.

The Rox were favored to win the division by most experts last year and they fell flat on their asses. What better way to turn the focus away from their disappointing 2010 season than to manufacture a rivalry that doesn’t really exist?

Sorry, Renck. Sorry, Armstrong. We’ve already got ourselves a rival and we hate them bums enough. Besides, “Ruck the Fockies” just doesn’t have the same ring to it.