There is only one element of the Rockies' blueprint for 2009 that I don't understand, but I seriously don't understand it.

When club brass put together the tentative everyday lineup, it did not include Ian Stewart, the one player in the organization with a chance to replace the departed Matt Holliday's power numbers.

The club's explanation has a certain logic, but it's a can't-see-the-forest-for- the-trees kind of logic.

Even with Holliday in the lineup last year, the Rocks were longer on batting average (sixth in the National League) than power (ninth in home runs). Subtract Holliday and the power deficit grows.

The obvious way to combat that deficit is to plug in the young slugger who dropped jaws at Coors Field in June with a moon shot into the third deck and won the National League rookie-of-the-month award in July. This could be accomplished in one of three ways.

The simplest would be to put him in left field as Holliday's replacement. Stewart is not a natural outfielder, but then, neither was Holliday. Left field might be the least challenging defensive assignment in baseball. Stewart could figure it out.

Instead, the Rocks have penciled in rookie Seth Smith.

"I think we're going to give Seth Smith . . . the opportunity to run out there first, see where he can take it," manager Clint Hurdle said.

"We're certainly committed to give (Smith) every opportunity to win the job, but we're just as committed to give Ian Stewart a very long look, too," general manager Dan O'Dowd said.

Another way to get Stewart into the everyday lineup would be to put him at third base, his natural position. That would require moving Garrett Atkins to first, the alignment the Rocks used last year when Todd Helton was out with a bad back.

Arguably, that is still their best lineup, but Helton's return from back surgery means he'll be in the lineup as long as his back holds up.

The third way would be to put Stewart at second base, which he learned to play last year. In an attempt to maintain his sanity, management decided to limit his spring training defensive assignments to third base and left field, behind an incumbent and a tentative starter, respectively.

Stewart continues to play the good soldier, insisting he's not frustrated by this interminable game of musical chairs. But as he enters his seventh pro season since the Rocks made him the 10th overall pick of the 2003 draft, he acknowledges he needs consistent big-league at-bats to take the next step in his development.

"It's tough to get locked in or feeling good if maybe you play once or twice a week or you're pinch hitting here and there," he said. "I think I showed at the end of the year when I was playing third regularly what a benefit it was to get regular at-bats and just be able to find my swing and kind of roll with it. I felt really good at the end of the year."

Stewart does have strikeout issues, having fanned 94 times in 266 at-bats last season, but he also hit .370 against left-handed pitching with a .704 slugging percentage, the seventh best left-on-left mark of all time. His ability to hit left-handed pitching would be especially welcome in a Rockies lineup likely to feature at least three left-handed bats on a daily basis.

"I think the quality of at-bats needs to improve," Hurdle said. "And I think it will. But that's the challenge in front of him - the volume of strikeouts per at-bats. That's hard. But there's top-end power, well documented. And we've seen him on a streak. We saw the second trip back (to the majors) the consistency improve."

Helton presents the Rockies with their most delicate issue. At 35, he is the face of the franchise and the highest-paid player at $16.6 million. His historic numbers are awesome; his recent numbers not so much.

"Todd is probably the best on our team understanding the strike zone and getting on base and we collectively feel there's still a well above-average hitter in there and an above-average run producer," O'Dowd said.

"There may not be somebody that produces a consistent number of home runs, but we think that if he's healthy he can still be a very productive hitter in the middle of our lineup. And if he is not and doesn't produce, we will cross that bridge when we get to it."

It is true that the Rockies give away too many at-bats and that Helton is their most discriminating batter by far. But it's also true that Stewart has a chance to be the next big power bat in their lineup at a moment when, with the loss of Holliday, they could really use one.

Helton's back might make the issue academic. If not, the tough question will be whether the Rocks are a better team with Helton and Atkins at the corners or Atkins and Stewart. Or, in the alternative, with Stewart in left and Smith sharing time with Ryan Spilborghs in center.

From here, it looks about time to see what Stewart can do with 500-plus at-bats, and for Rockies brass to figure out a way to make it happen.