"Todd Helton didn't enjoy the Rockies' new spring-training facility so much as he needed it.

"It makes it really nice playing in a packed stadium," Helton said as the Rockies packed their bags for Tulsa. "It feels like a big-league game. There's an electricity in the air. When that happens, it really helps you get ready."

For Helton, spring training 2011 wasn't just about getting ready for another season. It was about exorcising demons. It was about putting behind him, once and for all, the most difficult summer of his career.

Helton's description of his 2010 season, when chronic back problems landed him on the disabled list for almost a month?

"I was playing, but I wasn't really playing."

Or contributing. Helton hit .256 with eight home runs and 37 RBIs, numbers befitting a backup catcher, not a resident icon. That's why Helton was so happy to turn the page and report to Salt River Fields at Talking Stick in Scottsdale, Ariz., instead of Hi Corbett Field in Tucson.

Taking a few cuts against minor-leaguers on a back lot in Tucson is no way for a major-leaguer to launch the comeback of a lifetime, much less one of Helton's stature.

Literally and figuratively, he needed to get closer to the action.

He needed the state-of-the-art weight room and the row after row of batting cages. He needed to face major-league pitching day in and day out. But more than anything, he needed the new dateline and the outlook that came with it.

If Helton is going to resurrect his storied career, it's now, after spending the past six weeks in blissful contentment amid Salt River Fields' convenience and state-of-the-art technology. Only time will tell if Helton can pull it off, but he's passing the eyeball test."