Saunders: Spring training impressions have Rockies close to contending

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Some observations, opinions and predictions as I leaf through my spring training notebook before jetting off to Milwaukee for Monday’s season opener:
— If the Rockies can survive what’s shaping up to be a brutal April, they’ll be worth paying attention to all season.
But they enter the first month of the season without first baseman Ian Desmond, talented young outfielder David Dahl and catcher Tom Murphy, all of whom are injured but due back by e