The hoopla and the big crowds and the massive paychecks are 70 miles away at a ballpark in downtown Denver.

That’s where most of Colorado is focusing on the Rockies and their thrilling, confusing quest for the playoffs.

But the Colorado Springs Sky Sox are focused on their own drama. They want to win the Pacific Coast League Pacific North Division.

Yes, many of the stars who helped the team travel to the brink of the title — most notably Eric Young Jr. — are gone.

Sky Sox manager Stu Cole shrugged when he considered his fate. He doesn’t see the point in complaining.

“That’s what this game is all about,” he said. “You can’t just stop because some kids got called up.”

When Cole talks about “this game,” he means the Triple-A version of baseball, which marches to its own distinctive, irritating beat.

In Triple A, many of the teams’ better players disappear when the games matter the most. Just when the Sky Sox’s struggle for the playoffs heated up, stars started heading to the Rockies.

Left fielder Matt Miller is one of the better players left behind, and he wants — badly wants — a long playoff journey in the PCL.

It’s hard to explain, Miller said, how much a team bonds during baseball’s seemingly eternal season. Day after day, players play together and travel together.

“You want to see your team win — you know?” Miller said.

He took a brief look north, to Coors Field.

“Sure, everybody wants to be there,” he said, “but after going from airport to airport, from hotel to hotel and going through all the long days and the grind of the season, you really care about what your team does.”

The Sky Sox once seemed a lock for the playoffs. They led the Pacific North by 71/2 games.

Then they started fading. On Thursday night, the Sky Sox played their final regular-season home game at Security Service Field, and they provided plenty of drama.

They fell behind 3-0 and pulled ahead 5-4 before finding a way to lose 6-5 to the Portland Beavers. The Sky Sox have lost eight of their past 12. The playoffs remain probable, but remain a few wins away.

The Sky Sox travel today to Tacoma, home of the Pacific North’s second-place Rainiers. The attention of the baseball nation will not follow them there.

And that’s fine. This is the playoff race that matters most to them.

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