Strike Three!!

Verdict is in... Matt Holliday didn't win National League MVP...

Shouldn't be surprised, but I am disappointed... 3 times unlucky in the post-season awards.

It sure would have been nice to bring home some hardware after being swept in the series... Oh well, not too much longer before pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training!

Third Time's a Charm (I Hope)...

Tuesday, November 20th is the last chance that the MLB Writers have to make things right by having voted Matt Holliday the National League MVP.

Strike 1 - Not voting Troy Tulowitzki as NL Rookie of the Year
Strike 2 - Not voting Clint Hurdle as NL Manager of the Year

Hopefully the MLB Writers won't strike out...

Unfortunately, this is an 0-2 count and folks in Colorado are expecting a huge hook of a curve-ball for Strike 3. It's a shame that so many people I've talked to already figure the east coast writers have screwed Colorado again for something well deserved.

Stay tuned... Hopefully the third time's the charm!!

More BOOs for MLB Writers

Unfortunately, Rockies manager Clint Hurdle has been passed over as Manager of the Year.

Given the streak at the end of the year, the solid play of the team over the course of the year and the general lack of "drama" on the team during the season, it's truly a shame that he was overlooked - and even worse, came in third in the voting.

Maybe MLB should look at waiting until the playoffs start so that it's truly the Manager of the YEAR and not the Manager of the PARTIAL Year award.

Get it together folks - Hurdle deserved it.

Will the MLB writers get the "hat trick" and screw the Rockies 3 times over by denying Matt Holiday the NL MVP award?

Stay tuned...

MLB Writers - BOO HISS!!!

We've been robbed! That's the feeling I have right now because of the NL Rookie of the Year selection did not go in favor of Troy Tulowitzki of the Colorado Rockies.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071112&content_id=2298624&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

Granted that Ryan Braun had some of the better numbers at the plate, but it's a shame that the baseball writers did not take into consideration Tulo's stellar defense throughout the season.

No one had a better fielding percentage that Tulowitzki and that contributed to his credibility as a legitimate contender for the Rookie of the Year award.

Writers tend to gloss over anything coming out of the Rockies organization as well - that because of the past history at Coors Field... get over it folks!

The only consolation is that the voting was close... small consolation though because I don't believe the better man won in this case.

Thanks For a Great Season

This post is long overdue... but Thank You to the Rockies for a great season.

Ups, downs, frustrations and elations... in the end it would have been nice to have been on the winning end of the series, but there will be talk of "the streak" for years to come...

September 2007 will be a month that many will not forget.

In the face of defeat, the entire team - to a man - was gracious and showed great sportsmanship. An example for all.

Remember what it felt like watching that celebration and bring it on in 2008!

Thanks for a great season to the Colorado Rockies

What a Difference a Week Makes

Wow... what a difference a week makes.

Rockies get lit up for 13 runs in the first game of the World Series on Wednesday night and then lose a tough game 2 by the score of 2 - 1.

Down 0 - 2 coming back to Denver, the local papers have it correct - the bats have to wake up and the pitching staff has to stop offering free passes to first in the form of walks and hit batters.

The team is for real - believe me... no team wins 21 out of 22 at the end of the season and into the front edge of the playoffs without being real, but they boys gotta wake up a bit...

Honeymoon's over fellas... now kick some Red Sox ass!!!

GO ROCKIES

(ps to all those scalpers out there that scoffed up all the tix in the on-line debacle of a ticket sale - BITE ME you scum sucking greed-head freaks!!!)

Is Technology REALLY the Answer?

Unfortunately for the Colorado Rockies, the answer is a resounding NO!

Nothing but trouble all day long with the sale of World Series tickets. 8.5 million hits on the web site that was supposed to facilitate the sale of the high-priced, high-prized tickets. That's 4 times the number of people in the whole damn state! Only 500 out of 60,000 tickets were sold successfully.

So what gives?

My guess is that it was scalpers .. oh - I'm sorry - "Ticket Brokers"

You know - the scumbags that keep us working schmucks from picking up tickets for events at a fair price. The assholes use software to flood ticket web sites so that they can essentially "bump" their way into the line. Then they basically double and triple (legally?) the prices of the tickets. Hmmm.. they can do this legally but I can't sell a ticket for any more than face value? Can you say "racketeering"?

Ticketmaster was the first legal ticket racket. Unfortunately it has spread.

The Rockies should have just stuck to the lottery system for this - there were no compelling reasons to try to do this through the internet.

What a Ride for the Rockies!!

National League champs. Has a great ring, doesn't it?

The scene in lower downtown Denver was unbelievable last night before, during and especially after the Rockies sweep of Arizona. Outside Coors Field after the game there was a reported 30 minute gridlock of people celebrating in the intersection at 20th and Blake - and no one seemed to mind one bit.

The Rockies had just won their 21st of their last 22 games dating back to early September and swept the Diamondbacks back to the Arizona desert. Defense, key offensive timing and superb pitching by both starters and the bullpen gave the Rockies the upper hand on Philadelphia and Arizona.

Now let's keep up the mad pace and beat up on the winner of the Red Sox/Indians series and bring home the BIG ONE!!!

GO ROCKIES!

Cold Night for Baseball

Here in Colorado, more football-like weather than baseball-like weather...

Cold, drizzle... mid to upper 40's... is this really a good day for baseball?

You bet your ass it is! The Rockies are on a major roll, winning 19 of their last 20 games and hold a 2 games to zero lead in the NLCS over Arizona.

The team has a lot to play for - individually and as a team... but not one person on the team is showing up any other... true team effort on the field and off (when dealing with the media).

Baseball is back in Colorado... there's history here for those of you who think we're buried in snow 10 months out of they year. Actually I've played golf on 70 degree days in January and ridden my motorcycle at least one day each month. Granted, the weather is iffy in October (blizzard of 1997 that was followed by a week of mid-70s) but we're talking Rockies playoff baseball now.

Who cares about the weather! GO ROCKIES!!!

A Great Win ... And a Terrible Loss

So the Rockies swept the Phillies in the National League Divisional Series and will now take on the Arizona Diamondbacks in the League Championship Series. What a win! 2 - 1 in front of a packed house.

Contrast that with the Broncos UGLY loss today (41 - 3) at the hands of the San Diego Chargers. Ugly in all aspects of the game - offense that couldn't move the ball, defense that couldn't stop a slug moving across the sidewalk and special teams that gave up 7 points on a fumbled kick off return.

The sad thing is that the fans are no longer behind the Broncos. And they (the fans) got called out by members of the team after the game. Good for the players because fans in this city are nothing but a bunch of fair weather fans. They love you if you're good, hate you if you're bad.

For more than 1/2 the season, the Rockies hadn't seen more than 20,000 people at a game - then the Yankees come to town and the prices SKYROCKET! Hey - wait a minute... I thought $20 tickets were $20!?!? What do you mean you're raising the price by 200% just because the friggin' YANKEES are coming to town?

It's too bad there were so many people willing to pay the $$ for those games. I would have loved to see the team suffer a big loss (financially) with a lack of fan support for the practice of selectively setting prices. Gee - isn't that price fixing? Should the government get involved with that? Sounds like a racket to me...

Anyway - Still lots of baseball left in this town - now just hope the snow holds off :-)

GO ROCKIES!

Sports Weekend

This is going to be one hell of a weekend for Denver sports...

Rockies home on Saturday to try to sweep their NLDS against Philly
Sunday the Avalanche and the Broncos at home and if the Rockies need game 4, they'll be at it also...

The sports bars are loving this and so am I...

Go Rockies!!!

THEY'RE IN!!!

The Rockies have done it!

What an exciting game last night. And how fitting that Matt Holiday score the winning run after the problem he had with that fly ball in the 8th inning allowing the Padres to tie the game.

I wasn't at the game, but the excitement was still there in the family room. What a game.

Todd Helton and the whole team deserve this.

Can they make it to the World Series? I don't know, but if they keep playing the way they did over the last 2 weeks (winning 14 of the last 15 games) they have a damn good chance of doing just that.

Four Games and Still In It!!

The Colorado Rockies are down to their last 4 games of the season and still in the thick of this wildcard race in the National League...

Four weeks into the NFL season and we're still talking baseball in the Rocky Mountains - it's strange in some ways.

It's too bad the SF Giants couldn't hold on to their lead in the ninth inning 2 nights ago or else the Rox would be tied for that position with San Diego...

True, the Rockies need help from others, but they've done pretty good by themselves with this 10 game winning streak going into tonight's game with the Dodgers. Longest streak in franchise history - what a great time for them to string together a bunch of wins.

When all is said and done - with or without the playoffs - I think the Rockies have generated some interest for next season already. Now let's hope Dan O'Dowd doesn't go screwing with the roster too much and bring the whole house of cards tumbling down again...

We got a winning team in Denver now - DON'T SCREW WITH IT TOO MUCH!!!

GO ROCKIES!

The Things We Do for Fun...

Everyone has vices... I don't care who you are - everyone has them... booze, drugs, women, fast cars, motorcycles, all of the above... We all have them because it's what helps to define us as individuals and they help us get pleasure out of life...

One of my vices is sport... almost any kind, but in particular soccer.

Growing up on the east coast, I was introduced to soccer late in life (age 13 as a freshman in high school). This is because there were no youth leagues in my town until I was much older (almost 18).

I picked up the game because I wasn't fond of the HS baseball coach and I was big on hockey.. I figured soccer was nothing more than hockey on a bigger field using a ball and you couldn't use your hands... pretty simple (or so I thought)...

I took to the game fairly well although I'm no David Beckham. On Thursday nights I play in an over 30 mens indoor league that can get pretty rough... last week we had one of our team members go down with a torn ACL...

Me, personally, I've broken multiple fingers and dislocated my thumb (tearing the ligaments) along with separating my left shoulder 3 times and busting a couple toes here and there. That's just soccer...

Playing baseball, football, soccer, hockey, lacrosse, softball and others both competetively and recreationally since I was 5 years old, I've had plenty of time to accumulate quite a thick medical folder.

My 12 year old daughter is still amazed when she sees the men play soccer or her old man play shortstop for the softball team ... she can't quite seem to grasp why dad still thinks these things are fun as he limps around the house on Friday and other days of the week...

I would love to play into my 60s - especially since I've seen a 70+ year old soccer player playing in the advanced outdoor league I play in on Sundays...

Whatever the vice - continue as long as you can if it brings you pleasure and doesn't hurt anyone around you...

Keep kicking!

Baseball and Life...

To some (ok - many) baseball is life.

Unfortunately, most of the people who may believe this are office jockeys/cubicle tenents that are living their lives through their fantasy baseball teams. Don't get me wrong, I'm a fantasy baseball player (1st season) but spend less than 1 hour a week dealing with it... there are too many other things to do at this stage of my life.

The only ones that have the "right" to think that baseball is life are the kids. 5 - 13 year olds in particular playing in all the various Little League and other rec leagues in the world.

Just tune in to ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC over the next week and watch some of these kids playing in the Little League World Series in PA. Passion, desire, blood, sweat, tears, smiles. It's all there... these kids are giving all they got for the love of the game.

No million $$ contracts, no endorsement deals - just the game.

Sure, now almost all the games are on national TV and these kids are beating some of the pros in the highlight reals on ESPN Sports Center but it's only because of the purity of the game (and the fact that these kids are damn good athletes). Example - http://youtube.com/watch?v=cgsv6CBZ5sc




Certainly the fact is that the majority of these kids will never make the major leagues, but there are plenty of examples of those that did, and because of their experience in the Little League that they are giving back to the organization.

I remember my days in Little League baseball, very fondly. Never had the chance to do what these kids are doing on national TV, but was thrilled the year we got to play under the lights in a championship game. For that night, we were pros. For the kids in PA, they are experiencing something that will never be taken from them - even beyond the baseball.

Farewell to Phil Rizzuto

Phil Rizzuto was legendary when I was growing up in NJ. Nothing more can be said about him.

He was an unbelievable ball player for the Yankess in the 40's and early 50's and carried the Yankee mystique into the broadcast booth for 40 more years.

Seeing all the footage on ESPN last night and this afternoon brought back a lot of memories - summer days in the yard listening to games on the radio with my dad and friends, watching games on WPIX (Channel 11 in NY) and listening to Rizzuto call the game.

He was so amazing that even if you were in a different room of the house, you could just listen to him and get the picture of what was going on out on the field.

There can never be another play-by-play man like Scooter.

For more, see the NY Daily News site. http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/2007/08/15/2007-08-15_memories_of_scooter.html

August? - Rockies? - Contention?!?!?

OK - it's August, usually the time of the year when Broncos fans are chomping at the bit to get the football season underway. (As someone who grew up in NJ suffering with the Giants for a long time, it took me a long while to get used to the Broncos being the lead story on the nightly news in the off-season!).

But what's this?

Baseball is still being spoken in the Mile-High City? IN AUGUST?!?!? There's gotta be something wrong with this? No?!?!? Really???

What gives?!?! The Rockies were only 4 games out of first in the NL-West as of this morning and they put a 19 - 4 thrashing on the BrewCrew today at home. Nicely done Tulowitzki - 17 points for my fantasy team today alone after going 4 - 5 with 2 doubles and an HR.

Finally, it seems the team has some chemistry - now if only the GM will leave things alone as best as possible in the off-season, then maybe next year it could be a very fun year of baseball in the Rocky Mountains!

Sure beats the hell out of having to turn the paper upside-down just to see your team in first place!!

http://www.coloradorockies.com/

This is Gonna Be a Good Day

Little things mean a lot... Today with the wife and daughter off on a Girl Scout weekend trip, it's just me an my son.

Saturday morning cartoons, baseball, a game of catch and a trip to the pool today. I haven't looked forward to a weekend in a long time and this is definitely something that's welcome. Little worry about work - only 1 week left before I leave - and no real concerns here other than trying to figure out what we're going to do for dinner tonight.

Later I plan on giving a friend of mine a call - someone who I haven't talked to in a while. She'll be surprised to hear from me and I'm looking forward to catching up a bit. A lot has happened in both our lives since we both left our native NJ quite some time ago. I'm nervous about calling though. She usually had that effect on me.

Time to go throw some batting practice for my son. Damn - this is gonna be a good day.