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NLCS Game 2
2007-10-12 15:48
by Mark T.R. Donohue

For the last couple of weeks, my expression has been fixed as one kind of like the one Kazuo Matsui had last night after Miguel Montero stumbled over second base to make the Diamondbacks' last out of the night an appropriately ugly summary. Really?

You know, there's nothing lamer than an unknown blogger taking potshots at the throne. It's self-serving and unseemly. But I am really disappointed in Bill Simmons lately -- he's so busy deeply inhaling the rich Boston smell of his own farts that he's completely ignored the best sports story of the whole year. Is it so wrong to want my favorite sportswriter to notice my favorite team, now that they're actually worthy of notice? It's a bummer. On the other hand Jeff Francis's Sports Illustrated cover is already framed and hanging in my living room.

My gut feeling entering this series was that either the Rockies would win in four or five or the Diamondbacks would win in six or seven. A lot of the local radio guys -- who can be excused for getting overexcited since they're in the same boat as me, ignored for years and suddenly now the most popular kids at the dance with no time to adjust to it -- have been crying "sweep!" I don't know about that. Arizona has been harder to beat than they look all year, and after spending the whole season waiting for a dramatic correction that never came I'm hardly going to be fool enough to write them off now.

I took the exact right course with the "controversy" in the NLDS. Manny Corpas poured a "liquid" on his jersey? In hundred-degree, hundred-percent-humidity weather in Philadelphia? Oh my stars, whatever could it have been? Likewise, there's no story about Game 1 other than how professionally Francis handled himself and how profoundly undeserving of a playoff team the Phoenix "fans" were. Justin Upton interfered with Matsui. Period. Shoulder charges are legal in the UFC, but not in MLB.

It's funny how many statheads have picked Arizona to win this series. Why is that, do you suppose? I think since the Diamondbacks made it all the way through the regular season defying all the experts' predictions regarding their negative run differential, sabermetrics folk have somewhat perversely rewarded them for doing so: "We don't know why they win, but they do." Also, stat guys have a problem with doubt. Once they're convinced of something, they tend to highly overvalue the difference between a guy of whom, say, they're 95% certain he's good and a guy whom they only feel 80% sure about. The Diamondbacks have a guy everybody is sure about in Brandon Webb. The Rockies have a lot more guys in the second category between Webb and rest of the Arizona players (who fall into two categories, might-one-day-be-good and for-sure-bad). The fact that Webb is definitely a really good player doesn't guarantee he will beat the Rockies three times, as Nate Silver wrote in his preview for SI.

Now he'll have to beat them at least twice, but we'll see if it even comes to that. The Rockies have an immensely favorable matchup tonight between better-each-time-out Ubaldo Jimenez and Doug Davis. Davis is the sort of savvy, timing-disrupting no-stuff veteran that used to give the Rockies fits. Something has really changed in the organization's culture these last few weeks, and Colorado has suddenly been doing what it needs do go in games like the one earlier this week at Coors where Jamie Moyer was writing a textbook on how a veteran pitches in a playoff game. Even the return of Willy Taveras can't stop us now, although in a reduced-run atmosphere like the playoffs, Taveras has a lot more value than he does as an everyday regular season player. He's also the Rockies' best defensive option in center, and with the middle of the Rockies lineup already far better than the Diamondbacks, they can afford to take Ryan Spilborghs' pop back to the bench.

If he misplays a pop-up into a game-losing triple, we'll assess Willy anew. But for now it seems like nothing can stop the momentum. It might even be time, dare I suggest it, for the Rockies to get out of those ugly sleeveless black things and start wearing their classier normal home and road jerseys again.

Update: Although his Arizona Fall League start went fine, Clint Hurdle used his discretion in leaving Aaron Cook off of the NLCS roster. Franklin Morales will start Game 4; Josh Fogg will start Game 3.

Update #2: If you want to read the analysis of someone less fearful than I of naming the Rockies winners of the NLCS after only one game, this is where to go.

Comments (305)
Show/Hide Comments 1-50
2007-10-12 16:45:46
1.   Suffering Bruin
Before these playoffs began, I picked the Rockies to win the WS. I'm sorry if this a jinx. It shouldn't be because I'm a Dodger fan who is still wallowing in misery. It just seems to me that the Rockies are gelling on all the right cylinders--great hitting, strong defense, a fine bullpen and starters who seem to be pitching their best ball of the year at the right time of the year.

I think--no, I know--that if the Rockies win, the headlines on every paper east of the mountains will be What Happened to the Red Sox?

2007-10-12 17:20:42
2.   Bob Timmermann
I went to the DBacks website and I could not buy a ticket. So it looks like it will be a full house in Phoenix.

Which isn't surprising that it's a weekend and the starting time is more favorable.

2007-10-12 17:27:43
3.   Mark T.R. Donohue
Last night's game was announced as a sellout but it was patently NOT a full house; whole sections in the upper deck were half-full or less.

Tonight? We'll see. If the Rockies get out to a big lead it could be completely empty by the 6th.

2007-10-12 18:30:38
4.   Sam DC
Look at you with the creeping confidence.
2007-10-12 18:36:42
5.   Mark T.R. Donohue
The Rockies are better than Arizona. I don't know if that means they win the series or not, but they are better.
2007-10-12 18:48:13
6.   Bob Timmermann
Rockies:
Taveras CF
Matsui 2B
Holliday LF
Helton 1B
Atkins 3B
Tulowitzki SS
Hawpe RF
Torrealba C
Jimenez P

DBacks:
Young CF
Drew SS
Byrnes LF
Clark 1B
Reynolds 3B
Salazar RF
Snyder C
Ojeda 2B
Davis P

2007-10-12 19:03:28
7.   Sam DC
If the other guy changes his uniform because he's worried mine is lucky, I'm thinking that only makes me feel less intimidated by him.
2007-10-12 19:06:34
8.   Bluebleeder87
for the record I picked the Rox to go to the WS.
2007-10-12 19:18:04
9.   Shaun P
As a baseball fan, I think it'd be fascinating to see World Serious games played in Coors Field.

But outside of that, I'd pick the Rockies because I think they have the better rotation. Doug Davis and Livan Hernandez are LAIMs at best; Jimenez and Morales may be rookies, but they have talent. Or, to borrow from Simmons, "tremendous upside potential". So does Micah Owings, but he's been relegated to Game 4. Where he'll be pitching in Coors for the 1st time. And have you looked at his home-road splits?

How any of my fellow statheads look at how the rotations stack up, to say nothing of the offenses - even taking park effects into account - and conclude that the Diamonbacks should win is beyond me. Rockies in 5, but only because I think Owings will win a game.

2007-10-12 19:20:41
10.   Bob Timmermann
Owings could be benefit from Coors Field with his bat.
2007-10-12 19:25:03
11.   KG16
7 - The advent of the alternate jersey is one of the worst creations of the '90s. (Yes, I know that teams had them before the 90s but they seemed to multiple in unnatural ways during the 90s, in all sports).

I blame Michael Jordan.

2007-10-12 19:31:30
12.   Mark T.R. Donohue
HD-TBS is not coming it at all on my cable system, and heads are going to roll.
2007-10-12 19:32:10
13.   Mark T.R. Donohue
TU-LO!
2007-10-12 19:32:26
14.   Sam DC
Wow.
2007-10-12 19:33:45
15.   Bob Timmermann
So is Ubaldo Jimenez the third major leaguer to pitch in the postseason who had a first name starting with U?

Urban Shocker pitched for the 1926 Yankees in the World Series and Ugueth Urbina pitched for the 2003 Marlins.

2007-10-12 19:34:52
16.   Bob Timmermann
12
I have TBS-HD on TWO channels on my cable system.
2007-10-12 19:34:58
17.   Mark T.R. Donohue
I was out picking up food so I didn't realize until just this minute -- Arizona has indeed deliberately elected to wear their intramural-looking alternate off-black things so as to get the Rockies out of the sleeveless blacks they have been wearing for this whole run. That is both hilarious and pathetic.
2007-10-12 19:36:20
18.   KG16
Why does the Rockies pitcher roll up and down his sleeves?

I think the approach I ave to the play offs when the Dodgers and Angels aren't involved is to root for the team with the most fmr. Dirtbags on it. In this series, I think that means I root for the Rockies, as Tulowitzki and Gallo are former 49ers.

2007-10-12 19:38:52
19.   KG16
Also (and I'm looking towards Bob on this one), what is the traditional reason for the strip of dirt on the infield that Diamondbacks have? I remember that a lot of stadiums had that many years ago, yes?
2007-10-12 19:39:06
20.   Mark T.R. Donohue
Gah, Chip Caray must be stopped.
2007-10-12 19:40:17
21.   KG16
20 - What'd he say? I heard that Gagne was in in the other game and switched over.
2007-10-12 19:42:48
22.   Mark T.R. Donohue
He was going on about error totals for the series would be an important stat. Because the reason you can tell the Rockies have a good defense, see, is they don't commit a lot of errors.
2007-10-12 19:43:47
23.   Bob Timmermann
19
The dirt path that the DBacks use is supposed to make it look old timey.

Why old parks had them is still in dispute. Some say it had something to do with cricket fields, although I believe it just had something to do with that part of the field getting worn out faster so the groundskeepers just made it dirt for convenience sake.

Trust me, there have been a lot of people who have spent time trying to figure out the reason for the strip between home and the mound.

2007-10-12 19:45:11
24.   Mike Carminati
19 It's for nostalgia's sack now. It comes (probably) from cricket and was the same width as the pitcher's box back in the day. It narrowed as the pitcher's gave way to the mound and was probably only ornamental by the turn of the 20th century.
2007-10-12 19:45:54
25.   Mike Carminati
23 Sorry, didn;t see you responded already.
2007-10-12 19:47:05
26.   KG16
23 - yeah, I figured Arizona had it because they wanted to go retro, but I was mainly wondering why the old stadiums had them. I would have figured it had something to do with pitcher safety - a ball hitting the dirt might be slowed more than one hitting grass?
2007-10-12 19:47:38
27.   Mark T.R. Donohue
I don't know why they existed to begin with, but I feel fairly confident the reason they have one at Chase Field/Bank One Ballpark is because Buck Showalter felt it was important.
2007-10-12 19:48:28
28.   Mark T.R. Donohue
Brad Hawpe doing it AGAIN versus the left-hander. That's good stuff.
2007-10-12 19:48:36
29.   Bob Timmermann
Arizona no longer has its warning-warning track where it went grass, dirt, and then grass again.
2007-10-12 19:48:42
30.   Bluebleeder87
22

seeing your picture Mark T.R. Donohue I can't imagine you being a stathead, I kind of feel like a stat racist for saying that, but that's how I feel.

2007-10-12 19:49:14
31.   Mike Carminati
26 I would expect the reverse
2007-10-12 19:49:15
32.   Sam DC
20 And they way he said it was hysterical. "So guys, what do you say, head to head errors gonna be a key stat in this series?"

::silence::

"Um, yeah."

2007-10-12 19:50:51
33.   Mark T.R. Donohue
22 I'm a long-haired, bearded musician slash stathead slash Republican. Go, this country.
2007-10-12 19:54:10
34.   Mark T.R. Donohue
Boy, I could not feel less tension. A 1-0 lead against this bunch feels solid and the Rockies are going to get at least another two off of Davis and then they'll probably get at least three innings against the Arizona's bullpen's flabby midsection.
2007-10-12 19:57:01
35.   Bluebleeder87
uhh, Willie Taveras was that close...
2007-10-12 19:57:02
36.   Eric Stephen
Taveras was ohhh so close to holding on to that one.
2007-10-12 19:57:24
37.   Mark T.R. Donohue
Ah well, Spilborghs wouldn't even have caught up with that one... but Willy still should have caught it.
2007-10-12 19:58:17
38.   Bob Timmermann
Chip Caray again obsessed with productive outs.
2007-10-12 19:59:33
39.   Mike Carminati
Not to jinx the Rockies, but can anyone name the last NL team to win 19 of 20 games played at any time during a season?
2007-10-12 20:00:28
40.   Bluebleeder87
Jimenez has a pretty good motion, doesn't seem to expand to much energy.
2007-10-12 20:02:54
41.   Mark T.R. Donohue
I have noticed this watching the gun in games he starts. He starts out 94 in the first inning and his peak speed goes UP, usually peaking around 96-97 in the sixth or the seventh. That's cool.
2007-10-12 20:03:38
42.   Bob Timmermann
39
Didn't the Padres have a stretch like that a few years back?
2007-10-12 20:04:39
43.   Mark T.R. Donohue
TBS's storyline on the night: Because Arizona Plays The Game The Right Way, if they lose, it can only be because they lost their concentration and DIDN'T Play The Game The Right Way. It certainly could not be that the Rockies' hitters and pitchers are simply better ballplayers.
2007-10-12 20:05:24
44.   Mike Carminati
42 Nope. I'll give you a hint. It was in the '70s.
2007-10-12 20:06:33
45.   Bluebleeder87
the ump has a fluctuating strike zone with Ubaldo Jimenez!
2007-10-12 20:07:52
46.   Mike Carminati
45 Yeah. wildly. By the way he hit 99 on t he two last picthes to Snyder.
2007-10-12 20:08:27
47.   Mark T.R. Donohue
99 MPH! OK, the TBS gun is jacked up a bit, but nonetheless, that was narsty. Narsty!
2007-10-12 20:09:01
48.   Bluebleeder87
although Ubaldo just busted his best Gagne impression in that last strike out...
2007-10-12 20:09:48
49.   Mike Carminati
MLB.com had them at 98.8 & 98.9.
2007-10-12 20:10:40
50.   Bluebleeder87
that sounds more accurate.
Show/Hide Comments 51-100
2007-10-12 20:11:16
51.   Bob Timmermann
44
Or we could just look at your blog for the answer.
2007-10-12 20:11:20
52.   Mike Carminati
They do have a 99.4 on the Chris Young K in the 1st.
2007-10-12 20:12:06
53.   Mike Carminati
51 Cheater! Yes, the 1977 Phils, a team close to my heart.
2007-10-12 20:13:11
54.   Bob Timmermann
First extra-base hit of the LCS for the Rockies!

No team has won more than one game in a postseason series without an extra base hit since 1918 when the Red Sox won three games with nothing but singles.

2007-10-12 20:13:13
55.   Bluebleeder87
49

I feel so mortal reading that (I peak at 82 ON A REALLY GOOD DAY!)

2007-10-12 20:13:54
56.   Mark T.R. Donohue
For how long have you been waiting to share that stat, Bob?
2007-10-12 20:14:01
57.   Bob Timmermann
53
The 1977 Phillies are a team close to my heart for a different reason.
2007-10-12 20:14:24
58.   bhsportsguy
53 Manny Mota meets Greg Luzinski.
2007-10-12 20:14:28
59.   Bob Timmermann
56
Surprisingly, not that long.
2007-10-12 20:15:55
60.   Bluebleeder87
Doug Davis is the lefty Paul Byrd but is in the losing end of it so far.
2007-10-12 20:19:43
61.   Bob Timmermann
If the Rockies really want to try hard, they can try to be the first NL team to win an LCS without hitting a home run.

The A's won the ALCS in 1990 without a homer.

2007-10-12 20:20:16
62.   KG16
lead off double by the pitcher, that's generally a bad way to start an inning
2007-10-12 20:20:31
63.   RockieRoad
22

They should put it back in their nostalgia sack.

2007-10-12 20:20:57
64.   KG16
61 - of all the teams to win an LCS without a HR, I'm surprised that it was the juiced up A's
2007-10-12 20:21:57
65.   Bob Timmermann
Doug Davis actually had three doubles and a triple in 2005. Brandon Claussen gave up the triple.

Wasn't Brandon Claussen supposed to be really good?

2007-10-12 20:22:01
66.   Bluebleeder87
Doug Davis just broke up the NO-NO right? man, pitchers get some of the UGLIEST looking hits I swear.
2007-10-12 20:22:16
67.   KG16
I think the pitcher missed third.
2007-10-12 20:23:55
68.   Bluebleeder87
man, Torrealbe is doing his best Russell Martin impression.
2007-10-12 20:24:24
69.   KG16
nice foot placement by Tulo, little things that make a difference in defense.
2007-10-12 20:24:48
70.   Bob Timmermann
64
Oakland still outscored Boston 20-4. Wade Boggs homered in Game 1 for the only homer of the series.

The 1980 NLCS for all of its drama had just one home run hit in it.

2007-10-12 20:25:56
71.   KG16
70 - I'll be honest, I would figure there would be significantly fewer HR/G in the playoffs because you're generally facing better pitching staffs.
2007-10-12 20:26:29
72.   Mark T.R. Donohue
Heyyy and Garrett Atkins flashes the leather!
2007-10-12 20:30:47
73.   fordprefect
Half expected the classless Dbax fans to start throwing stuff again after that call.
2007-10-12 20:30:53
74.   Bluebleeder87
You guys think managers get mad when they get interviewed in the middle of a game? If it was me I'd probably be PO'ed.
2007-10-12 20:32:04
75.   Bob Timmermann
The managers who don't want to get interviewed make a coach do it.

But I think most of them accept it now because MLB tells them to do it.

2007-10-12 20:32:52
76.   KG16
74 - it's part of the job, and it's not like they do it in a critical situation. I always think of when the mic'd Tommy Lasorda and went to him live, only to get an ear full of words you can't say on television.
2007-10-12 20:34:45
77.   Mike Carminati
I believe it's recorded between innings and they played from tape, isn't it?
2007-10-12 20:34:49
78.   Mark T.R. Donohue
That was the second really nice at-bat of the game by Hawpe. The Rockies really didn't want to go 1-2-3 here with Davis's pitch count pushing 80.
2007-10-12 20:35:28
79.   Bluebleeder87
75

I picture them cursing at the end of the interview "I've got a game to manage & these..."

2007-10-12 20:35:51
80.   Bob Timmermann
77
I think only the NHL has coaches who give interviews while the action is going on.
2007-10-12 20:37:03
81.   Mike Carminati
By the way, the fewest extrabase hits in a postseason by a winner or loser ever was one by the NY Metroplitans in the 1884 Championship and the Braves in the 1982 NLCS. Both were doubles and both teams lost.
2007-10-12 20:37:36
82.   Bob Timmermann
My source says that Mile High Stadium was 335 to left, but 375 to right.

Does that seem right?

2007-10-12 20:38:00
83.   Mike Carminati
80 That's when they aren't gambling, right?
2007-10-12 20:39:40
84.   Mike Carminati
82 That's what Ballparks.com has.
2007-10-12 20:40:28
85.   Bob Timmermann
I wonder why NHL coaches don't wear headgear. They're far more likely to get brained by a puck than a baseline coach.

Yet they never seem to get hit.

2007-10-12 20:41:09
86.   Bob Timmermann
84
That was my source. I was hoping that our host had fond memories of Mile High.

Except he probably never went to a Rockies game there.

2007-10-12 20:42:16
87.   Mark T.R. Donohue
I didn't move to Colorado until 2004, sorry.
2007-10-12 20:45:43
88.   Mark T.R. Donohue
It is lame that the Diamondbacks PA people play the exact same canned "let's go team" loops that the Rockies use, probably provided them by the MLB analogue to Clear Channel.
2007-10-12 20:46:23
89.   Bluebleeder87
managers seem a lot healthier these days (Bobby Cox not included) I guess the era of unhealthy managers is slowly but surely going extinct, which is a good thing I guess. I remember watching an umpire having a stroke DURING a game a few years back.
2007-10-12 20:47:26
90.   Bluebleeder87
87

what city are you migrating from?

2007-10-12 20:47:40
91.   Mark T.R. Donohue
Oh no! It's the grey unis!
2007-10-12 20:48:10
92.   KG16
that should have been Matsui's ball.
2007-10-12 20:48:14
93.   Bob Timmermann
Green Cathedrals confirms the asymmetrical dimensions of Mile High.
2007-10-12 20:48:32
94.   Mark T.R. Donohue
87 I grew up in Wilmette, Illinois and I went to college at UC Berkeley; after about a year-and-a-half period of dithering around living lots of places after college I settled here.
2007-10-12 20:49:30
95.   KG16
93 - makes sense, since Mile High was/is a football stadium. Like when the Dodgers played at the Coliseum.
2007-10-12 20:52:46
96.   Hallux Valgus
Mile High was something like 420 down the right field line. And the entire "left field" bleachers moved on hydraulics to expand to a baseball stadium. It took about a half an hour to move. It was very unexciting.
2007-10-12 20:53:11
97.   Bluebleeder87
94

you sound like a hybrid hippie of some kind.

2007-10-12 20:57:01
98.   Bluebleeder87
96

I had to google it, I'd forgotten what an ugly baseball stadium it maid, the new one is WAY better.

2007-10-12 20:59:01
99.   Hallux Valgus
98 That is very correct. I believe center was 470 feet away, and the rockpile didn't even face the field- it faced the left field stands.
2007-10-12 20:59:51
100.   Ken Arneson
Mike Gallego is reason enough to root for the Rockies.
Show/Hide Comments 101-150
2007-10-12 21:01:49
101.   Bob Timmermann
99
At least for its two major league seasons, Mile High was never deeper than 423.

I don't know if any major league park has had a spot that was 470 feet away from home and still in play since the Polo Grounds.

2007-10-12 21:02:55
102.   Bob Timmermann
Ahh, the false hustle of Eric Byrnes shows up!
2007-10-12 21:02:57
103.   Bluebleeder87
wow, Taveras has some wheels on him. It's always fun watching a world class athlete run.
2007-10-12 21:03:16
104.   Ken Arneson
Ah, I was waiting for the Eric Byrnes brain cramp. There it was.
2007-10-12 21:04:24
105.   Bob Timmermann
Does Tom Emanski teach outfielders to fall over when they make throws?
2007-10-12 21:05:17
106.   Mark T.R. Donohue
How did Byrnes manage to put that much effort into flying through the air like a mook and still have the throw into the infield be a wounded quail? I feel like the laws of conservation of mass and energy are being violated.
2007-10-12 21:06:08
107.   Hallux Valgus
101 Um, I plead the difference between the 14 year old me and the (semi) adult me currently. It seemed very much farther away at the time.
2007-10-12 21:07:05
108.   Mark T.R. Donohue
Tulo would have had him!
2007-10-12 21:07:28
109.   Bluebleeder87
105

John "T-Bone" Shelby use to do that as well.

2007-10-12 21:09:00
110.   Bob Timmermann
107
I can understand. I can't judge distances very well. I'm even worse on area and volume.

I have trouble with three dimensions. Two dimensions are somewhat challenging at times.

2007-10-12 21:09:31
111.   Bob Timmermann
109
Modeling your outfield play after John Shelby is not a good thing.
2007-10-12 21:11:05
112.   Hallux Valgus
yeah, the picture of Mile High I'm looking at now looks nothing like the picture in my head. It was still a very crappy baseball stadium. It had a cement wall all the way around the lower level so no one on the concourse could look in on the games. My mom once got hit in the back of the head with a foul ball that ricocheted off the back wall.
2007-10-12 21:15:13
113.   Ken Arneson
106 Byrnes contains a microscopic black hole at his center of gravity. He sucks in a completely unique way.
2007-10-12 21:15:42
114.   yankee23
100 Whenever I hear Gallego's name, I can't help but recall Rickey's infamous quote: "If they're gonna pay Rickey like Mike Gallego, then Rickey gon' play like Mike Gallego."
2007-10-12 21:16:11
115.   Bob Timmermann
113
Vin Scully wants to adopt Eric Byrnes.
2007-10-12 21:17:01
116.   Johnson
112 Did she at least manage to keep the ball?
2007-10-12 21:20:37
117.   Hallux Valgus
116 of course not! Man did that make me mad, because I wasn't at that game. In 10 seasons of sitting in those seats (or the Coors equivalent), we never got another foul ball.

Joey Meyer had a seat commemorated for a home run he hit for the Denver Zephyrs. It traveled 580 some feet into the upper deck in left.

2007-10-12 21:25:23
118.   yankee23
Did anyone else think Hurdle should've let Matsui swing away in the top of the 3rd? He's got the speed to score from second on a long single, plus there were no outs... it just seemed like a strange call to me.
2007-10-12 21:25:25
119.   Sam DC
Barry Svrluga (Wash Post baseball writer): "Watched Livan Hernandez and Micah Owings taking batting practice today. Might as well have been Matt Holliday and Garrett Atkins. Given the D'Backs' feeble lineup, those two might end up pinch hitting in this series. They littered the seats in left field with line drives."
2007-10-12 21:26:32
120.   Hallux Valgus
118 welcome to the Clint Hurdle experience!
2007-10-12 21:27:16
121.   Mark T.R. Donohue
118 Clint bunts.
2007-10-12 21:28:00
122.   das411
So has anybody figured out some obscene stat about the relative payrolls of these two teams, as compared to the Red Sox? Like, for example, do the two NL teams' combined payrolls still not exceed that of the Sox this year?

Which will of course make it all the more sweet when the Rox go all 2003 Marlins on them...

2007-10-12 21:29:37
123.   yankee23
120 121 I assume not bunting with him on first is also part of the experience?
2007-10-12 21:29:44
124.   Mark T.R. Donohue
The Rockies are at $41 million and the Diamondbacks are a little below that. The Red Sox payroll is $150 million not including the Daisuke posting fee.
2007-10-12 21:32:49
125.   Mike Carminati
101 Shibe/Connie Mack was about 450 after the Giants moved. I think it was well over 470 in its earlier days.

Sorry I was working out for a little bit but some comments: 104 Horrible play by Byrnes, but why were the DBacks booing? The throw? The call at third? These fans seem like complete dolts to me.

Finally, I know he's out of the game, but how was Davis's move to first NOT a balk? Carlton had the best pickoff move I ever saw but they would call that look home/throw to first a balk on him.

2007-10-12 21:36:43
126.   Mark T.R. Donohue
Balks are only called by the league office nowadays, and certainly not during the postseason.

D-Backs fans are a joke. I will never say anything bad about Denver as a baseball town, I swear -- the atmosphere Monday and Friday last week was incredible.

OK, that is too extreme. I will still say bad stuff, but I will always mention how much worse Phoenix is.

2007-10-12 21:37:33
127.   Hallux Valgus
123 sounds right. the Clint Hurdle experience should be a ride at Six Flags. Not the Don Baylor experience though- that ride would just increase in speed steadily before slamming you into a wall.
2007-10-12 21:40:15
128.   Mark T.R. Donohue
I feel like there should be some kind of karmic boomerang payback for Clint's reliance on Matt Herges, but remember, the alternative would be Jorge Julio.
2007-10-12 21:41:06
129.   Mark T.R. Donohue
THERE'S the Gold Glover!
2007-10-12 21:42:24
130.   Mike Carminati
Again Caray with the frickin' errors!
2007-10-12 21:43:37
131.   Hallux Valgus
128 I decided that Jeff Francis was karmic payback for Greg Harris/ Bruce Hurst/ Bret Saberhagen, and Brad Hawpe is for Dale Murphy. I watched a lot of losing Rockies teams.
2007-10-12 21:45:37
132.   Bob Timmermann
I believe the fans were booing when Taveras slid into third because he spiked Reynolds and Reynolds fell over and the fans thought that Taveras should have been called out for interference like Upton was.

I really think that was their mindset.

2007-10-12 21:47:16
133.   Mike Carminati
132 Wow, Reynolds foot was between him and the bag. What did they expect him to do?
2007-10-12 21:48:38
134.   Mark T.R. Donohue
Taveras's spike may well have ended up in Reynolds' leg, but that was mostly on Reynolds for making the taking of a relay throw from the outfield into a high-level yoga manuever.
2007-10-12 21:49:05
135.   fordprefect
132
While allowing for the pain of being spiked, I still think that was a soccer-style flop by Byrnes.
2007-10-12 21:50:49
136.   Bob Timmermann
Curt Schilling is the only other pitcher to record five straight Ks in LCS play. Schilling did it all in one game.
2007-10-12 21:54:35
137.   Bob Timmermann
6 straight Ks in postseason play:
Hod Eller, Cincinnati 1919
Moe Drabowsky, Baltimore, 1966
Todd Worrell, St. Louis 1985
(all in World Series)
Tony Pena, Arizona, 2007

The first three were in one game.

2007-10-12 21:55:14
138.   Bob Timmermann
Mike Mussina also had two streaks of 5 straight Ks in the ALCS.
2007-10-12 21:55:37
139.   Mike Carminati
The only two pitchers to strike out all of the batters they faced in a postseason are:

Player Yr Tm K BFP
Jim Brewer 1974 LAN 1 1
Doug Bair 1984 DET 1 1

2007-10-12 21:56:21
140.   Mark T.R. Donohue
I don't know why LaTroy in the seventh is so less terrifying than LaTroy in the eighth, but it is so.
2007-10-12 21:59:35
141.   Mark T.R. Donohue
Is anyone else noticing: This is exactly the kind of baseball the announcers every network that broadcasts the playoffs extol every chance they get. And yet as we know, no one is watching, nationally speaking. Why do Fox and ESPN hire guys who tell us things we know on the face of them are completely wrong?
2007-10-12 22:00:20
142.   Bob Timmermann
Only half of the batters Eller struck out were trying to throw the game.

The 1966 Dodgers couldn't hit anybody.

2007-10-12 22:01:57
143.   Hallux Valgus
stupid Eric Byrnes.
2007-10-12 22:02:38
144.   Mark T.R. Donohue
I was just thinking, what was the justification for the Eric Byrnes montage?
2007-10-12 22:03:17
145.   Mark T.R. Donohue
Chip just said "That's why Clark is in the lineup against Hawkins tonight." Hawkins just came in! JUST came in!
2007-10-12 22:03:37
146.   Mike Carminati
How has Tony Clark, a guy I always think, "He's still in the game?" when I hear his name, become David Ortiz?
2007-10-12 22:04:18
147.   Hallux Valgus
145 That's foresight for you! Colorado doesn't have a clairvoyant manager.
2007-10-12 22:05:24
148.   Bob Timmermann
Peter Gammons once told an anecdote that Ruben Sierra said, "Tony Clark. God bless that man, but he cannot play baseball."
2007-10-12 22:07:38
149.   Mark T.R. Donohue
LaTroy Hawkins holding a one-run lead in the late innings of an NLCS game! Somewhere in the Chicago suburbs my dad is pouring himself a third gin and tonic.
2007-10-12 22:07:46
150.   Hallux Valgus
TAVERAS!!!!!!
Show/Hide Comments 151-200
2007-10-12 22:07:48
151.   das411
TAVERASSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2007-10-12 22:09:17
152.   Mike Carminati
Makes Hurdle look like a genius.
2007-10-12 22:09:31
153.   Mark T.R. Donohue
Sure, he's great when he has to run 20 feet. But for the love of Pete, DON'T HIT IT RIGHT AT HIM!

I jest. This is clearly just the Rockies' year, and you can tell by the comparative dugout body language that both teams know it.

2007-10-12 22:11:06
154.   Mike Carminati
Why is Taveras playing him the opposite way? Didn;t think he could turn on the fast ball?
2007-10-12 22:11:19
155.   das411
Man, and now it feels like a playoff series...let's just all hope this game doesn't require a Chris Burke to end it!
2007-10-12 22:13:35
156.   Mark T.R. Donohue
That's a good question... probably he forgot to move after the second out and nobody from the dugout noticed and signaled someone paying more attention to get him to shift.
2007-10-12 22:13:45
157.   Bob Timmermann
Not a strikeout!
2007-10-12 22:13:56
158.   Hallux Valgus
152 154 you have now hit the corkscrew portion of The Clint Hurdle Experience. I'm seriously going to market this ride. Right next to it will be the Jim Leyland Experience. You'll be in a hollowed out log that goes very slowly for about 20 minutes. Then it will just stop in the middle and tell you to get out.
2007-10-12 22:15:04
159.   Mark T.R. Donohue
Hallux, I'm sorry you missed the 2006 postseason on Bad Altitude.
2007-10-12 22:15:50
160.   Bob Timmermann
I left out Mike Hampton from the list of pitchers with 6 straight Ks in the postseason. He did it in the 2003 NLDS against the Cubs for the Braves.
2007-10-12 22:20:46
161.   Hallux Valgus
159 que?

160 you'd be wise to leave Mike Hampton out of any thread involving the Rockies. I hate him more than any baseball player ever.

If the Rockies lose this, I blame your jinx.

2007-10-12 22:22:16
162.   Hallux Valgus
damn you Hampton!
2007-10-12 22:22:46
163.   Bob Timmermann
What if Jeff Cirillo gets into the game?
2007-10-12 22:23:32
164.   Mike Carminati
Why throw Reynolds anything but fastballs? He hasn't been able to hit it all night.
2007-10-12 22:25:04
165.   Mark T.R. Donohue
I don't hate Hampton anywhere near as much as I hate Paul O'Neill but still, Bob, that was remarkably poor timing.

Last year's postseason, as any of the regulars can tell you, basically came down to me finding new daily ways of childishly criticizing Jim Leyland. I still can't believe how the national media gave him such pats on the back for saving baseball in Detroit with his professionalism and style... when he did Denver and the Rockies over "No Vaseline" style.

2007-10-12 22:25:18
166.   Hallux Valgus
163 Then I don't know what to believe any more.
2007-10-12 22:27:15
167.   Mike Carminati
165 Why O'Neill?
2007-10-12 22:28:19
168.   Hallux Valgus
165 Then you never met him. He ruined both Rockies games and Avalanche games for me (along with Larry Walker). I was often in the same spot as they were for Avs games, and they had special security that were, let's say, less than courteous.

That's what I figured re: Leyland.

2007-10-12 22:30:09
169.   Mark T.R. Donohue
Because he seemed to me the complete opposite of everything baseball ought to be about, the guy who would go 5-for-6 and moan about getting squeezed on the sixth at-bat. He never agreed with a call third strike his entire career. Watching him play made me want to have kids, show them tape of O'Neill, and tell them to just do the opposite of everything he did.

Also he played for the Cincinnati National Socialists and the Evil Empire, the two least likable teams of my adolescence.

2007-10-12 22:30:16
170.   Mike Carminati
They boo every throw to first. Why bother?
2007-10-12 22:31:52
171.   Hallux Valgus
boy can Tulo pick it.
2007-10-12 22:32:14
172.   Mark T.R. Donohue
I don't know if it matters, but it would be nice to get some insurance runs here just so Arizona has absolutely nothing to hang their hopes on going to Denver this weekend.
2007-10-12 22:32:37
173.   Bob Timmermann
I meant no malice by bringing up Hampton. I was just trying to be complete.

169

The Yankee fans were chanting O'Neill's name toward the end of their final game.

2007-10-12 22:33:10
174.   Hallux Valgus
um, watching this Verizon commercial, I infer that the guy is cheating on his wife.
2007-10-12 22:34:44
175.   Mark T.R. Donohue
173 I know, that was crazy, right? Made me think that the ridiculous red-ass, sore-loser, sore-winner, sore-EVERYTHING attitude O'Neill had is something Yankees fans crave, which makes me even more fearful of them. And fascinated by them.
2007-10-12 22:35:21
176.   Bob Timmermann
My cat is trying to bite my hand while I type. The hand I feed him with!
2007-10-12 22:35:58
177.   Bob Timmermann
Ahh, there was the lion roar.
2007-10-12 22:36:39
178.   Mark T.R. Donohue
See, this is weird Clint logic here -- why pinch-hit Carroll? Why not go for Baker, Spilborghs or Smith, a guy who could conceivably hit a solo home run?
2007-10-12 22:37:23
179.   Bob Timmermann
Paul O'Neill's B-R page is sponsored by a Jimmy Clausen fan site.
2007-10-12 22:38:15
180.   Bob Timmermann
178
Well, at least Smith already batted.
2007-10-12 22:38:25
181.   Mike Carminati
173 They did so because O'Neill singled in the 9th inning of the final game of the 1997 (I believe) ALDS vs. the Indians with the Yanks trailing.
2007-10-12 22:40:32
182.   Mark T.R. Donohue
Here we go with the Corpas-ral punishment.
2007-10-12 22:41:19
183.   Bob Timmermann
181
That was the reason?

The Yankees didn't even win that game. That's like Mets fans cheering for Paul Lo Duca because he walked before Carlos Beltran struck out in Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS.

2007-10-12 22:41:20
184.   Hallux Valgus
173 I can't think of a Colorado player that Colorado fans, collectively, hate more than Mike Hampton (which was still fairly milquetoast). Personally, I can think of three guys I hated almost as much- Jose Jimenez, Charlie Hayes, and a guy who currently patrols center field for the Dodgers.
2007-10-12 22:43:00
185.   Bob Timmermann
Which was the bad outfield pair in Colorado: Pierre and Hunter or was it Pierre and Goodwin?
2007-10-12 22:44:48
186.   Mark T.R. Donohue
I have followed the Rockies on and off since their expansion year -- my dad bought me a shirt on a business trip to Denver, and I liked it, so the Rockies were always a team I kept an eye on -- but I've only been obsessed since I moved here before the '05 season.

In that time, I can't think of a player in the purple and black who has irritated more than Willy Taveras, but that has more to do with other people's outrageous estimations of Willy's value and nothing he personally has done. Although he's a dumb centerfielder and nobody that fast should EVER be caught stealing.

2007-10-12 22:46:49
187.   Hallux Valgus
Pierre and Hammonds was bad. Hammonds had an arm and pretty much nothing else. Pierre lacked an arm. They would've been a great outfielder if they were some sort of Frankenstein. But they weren't a Frankenstein.
2007-10-12 22:47:02
188.   Mark T.R. Donohue
I wish that Arizona's hitters could be watching this and thinking "Yes, we need to hit homers, not merely steal second and hit a single!"
2007-10-12 22:47:38
189.   Mark T.R. Donohue
Oh, groovy.
2007-10-12 22:48:19
190.   Mark T.R. Donohue
That was a real nice piece of hitting. As was Reynolds' hit against Fuentes.
2007-10-12 22:48:32
191.   Mike Carminati
So Hurdle will keep Corpas in to finish this one way or the other?
2007-10-12 22:48:50
192.   luck
Come on, grounder to short.
2007-10-12 22:49:39
193.   Mark T.R. Donohue
Whuuhhh?
2007-10-12 22:49:58
194.   Bob Timmermann
That was different.
2007-10-12 22:49:59
195.   KG16
what constitutes a "come from behind win"? If a team falls behind in the top of the first, 1-0, and then wins the game 5-1 with a 5 run third, does that count? Or does it have to be later?

Wow, that was an, um, interesting play at second.

2007-10-12 22:50:29
196.   Mike Carminati
Drew's Boner
2007-10-12 22:50:44
197.   luck
I'm watching via a slow connection. I cannot get TBS. What happened?
2007-10-12 22:51:13
198.   Bob Timmermann
That play sends the official scorer scurrying around.

Is it a 4-6-5 FC?

2007-10-12 22:51:16
199.   das411
NOW it's a playoff series!
2007-10-12 22:51:45
200.   KG16
194 - haven't seen them call a middle infielder on a shadow tag in a very long time.

And sorry, Tony Gwynn, that is not a "young player mistake" - 99 out of 100 times, the runner is called out at second if the infielder is within two feet of the bag.

Show/Hide Comments 201-250
2007-10-12 22:51:59
201.   Bob Timmermann
195
A "come from behind win" is a win when a team wins a game it has trailed at any point.
2007-10-12 22:52:11
202.   Mike Carminati
Really, what is Drew doing? Trying to advance while Tuliwitzki argues? If he thought he was out, why did he think there was an argument? It also was a bad call to begin with.
2007-10-12 22:52:15
203.   Mark T.R. Donohue
Were I the Rockies I would definitely try to use Corpas for another inning if he can get out of this jam here. They've used Herges, Hawkins and Fuentes and after Jeremy Affeldt the pickings get slim.
2007-10-12 22:52:35
204.   Bob Timmermann
200
But Tulowitzki was about four feet off the bag.
2007-10-12 22:53:09
205.   das411
197 - What looked like a double play grounder to second, but the flip to Tulo apparently pulled him off the bag and the runner at 2nd was called safe...until he for some crazy reason got up and started walking off the field, then easily tagged out by the Rox. The run scored, but the DBacks also literally run into an out, and this last grounder makes all moot anyways...
2007-10-12 22:53:56
206.   KG16
204 - he wasn't that far off the bag when he caught the ball. but he was off the bag
2007-10-12 22:54:25
207.   Mike Carminati
198 I would go 4-6-5 FC/5U.
2007-10-12 22:54:39
208.   Mark T.R. Donohue
OK, definitively: Slow grounder to Matsui, who fielded it and flipped it to Tulowitzki. Tulo was CLEARLY way past the bag when he caught it. He held the ball and started complaining, although who knows what about. Drew wasn't paying attention and started trotting off towards the D-Backs' dugout. Tulowitzki realized he was still a live runner and threw to Jamey Caroll, who tagged him out.

Runner on third scores, runner on first is out between second and third, batter safe at first on an RBI fielder's choice. I assume.

2007-10-12 22:54:41
209.   Hallux Valgus
186 Oh man, you've missed so much. The Howard Johnson era (1 year). you missed Astacio, who was the scariest decent pitcher in history.

Tulo is so friggin good. Let's get some runs.

2007-10-12 22:54:58
210.   Bob Timmermann
The play is being scored thusly.

Byrnes reaches on a fielder's choice.
Drew is safe on a throwing error by Matsui and then out trying to advance 6-5.

2007-10-12 22:55:50
211.   Mike Carminati
I love Lefty, but the greatest lefthander ever?

206 Agreed, they typically give them that call.

2007-10-12 22:57:10
212.   Bob Timmermann
Byrnes did get an RBI on the play.
2007-10-12 22:57:53
213.   Mike Carminati
210 They called that an error? That's a bit tough on a bang-bang play.
2007-10-12 22:58:25
214.   Mike Carminati
212 He gets the RBI since you can't assume the DP.
2007-10-12 22:58:38
215.   Mark T.R. Donohue
Hey, Bob, you might know this baseball calculus question... is it possible for a fielder's choice to be scored on a play where no out or error is recorded?
2007-10-12 22:59:31
216.   Mike Carminati
Yes, that's what it would have been had they simply not gotten the runner and Drew hadn;t wondered off.
2007-10-12 22:59:43
217.   Mark T.R. Donohue
Well, stepping back a bit, this is a positive thing. It's about time this started feeling at least a little like a playoff series.
2007-10-12 23:01:43
218.   Bob Timmermann
215
Yeah, you get those in game-ending situations where they try to get the runner at home on a grounder, but throw late.

And other times.

2007-10-12 23:01:46
219.   Hallux Valgus
One swing, Helton. One swing
2007-10-12 23:02:33
220.   Mike Carminati
217 Don't be circumspect yet.
2007-10-12 23:02:49
221.   Hallux Valgus
those waving towels are pretty stupid in baseball.
2007-10-12 23:03:20
222.   Bob Timmermann
215
If you use Retrosheet data, they consider plays where the batter reaches on a fielders choice when no error is recorded to be the same as "reaching on an error."

The Retrosheet guys have debated this a lot.

2007-10-12 23:03:44
223.   Mark T.R. Donohue
I meant losing the lead temporarily, not losing the game. I definitely think the Rockies should still win. Kill the Snakes now.
2007-10-12 23:04:16
224.   KG16
221 - they're pretty dumb in any sport.

217/220 - I thought a playoff series doesn't start until a team won a road game, or something.

2007-10-12 23:05:08
225.   Bob Timmermann
221
Towels like those led the Phillies to the playoffs.

Towels and the Mets.

2007-10-12 23:05:55
226.   das411
221 - They make awfully fine free souvenirs for those of us whose teams aren't in the playoffs all that often...

There's Sager!! Please, spare us all and put on one of those DBacks shirts!

2007-10-12 23:06:10
227.   Bob Timmermann
224
I thought a playoff series doesn't start until a team won a road game, or something.

No quoting Doug Collins!

2007-10-12 23:06:26
228.   Mark T.R. Donohue
Craig Sager with the final word on the ugly uniforms.

Seems appropriate.

2007-10-12 23:06:47
229.   Mike Carminati
221 Yeah, that was something new to Phils fans this year. I think they gave them out to prevent fans from throwing batteries.
2007-10-12 23:06:51
230.   Hallux Valgus
225 I'm sure it was the swinging towels. You're right.
2007-10-12 23:08:37
231.   Mike Carminati
Who comes in after Corpas?
2007-10-12 23:09:50
232.   Hallux Valgus
229 They should've given out cotton balls. "cotton balls is something I'd like to buy, but wouldn't like as a nickname. Cinnamon buns on the other hand..."
2007-10-12 23:09:54
233.   Bob Timmermann
Affeldt and Speier(????)
2007-10-12 23:10:06
234.   Mark T.R. Donohue
Chip Caray: "Both teams are off tomorrow."

And here I thought the Rockies had to fly to Pittsburgh tomorrow for a quick make-up game against the Pirates.

2007-10-12 23:11:18
235.   Mike Carminati
234 Yeah, that was a good one.

What is that DBack mascot anyway?

2007-10-12 23:11:18
236.   Mike Carminati
234 Yeah, that was a good one.

What is that DBack mascot anyway?

2007-10-12 23:11:31
237.   Mark T.R. Donohue
Good spelling. Taylor Buchholz is also an option, although he has been M.I.A. the last ten days and might not be in tight-game shape.
2007-10-12 23:11:34
238.   Hallux Valgus
234 I think the Diamondbacks have a game scheduled against an AFL team.
2007-10-12 23:12:13
239.   Hallux Valgus
that was a really really sweet pitch.
2007-10-12 23:12:32
240.   Mike Carminati
Copras is due to lead off
2007-10-12 23:13:24
241.   Mark T.R. Donohue
Where was THAT Corpas-ral punishment when we needed it in the ninth?
2007-10-12 23:13:25
242.   Mike Carminati
237 Buchholz was once a hot Phils prospect
2007-10-12 23:13:44
243.   Bob Timmermann
Actually I wasn't worried about the spelling of Speier. I just didn't know if he was on the roster.
2007-10-12 23:13:50
244.   KG16
Why do I continue to read Bill Plaschke? That is a rhetorical question, having absolutely nothing to do with baseball at the moment
2007-10-12 23:14:53
245.   Bob Timmermann
244
I think it's an existential question.
2007-10-12 23:15:12
246.   Linkmeister
BTW Bob, UH managed to defeat San Jose State 42-35 in OT tonight. They scored and then intercepted an SJS pass in the end zone.
2007-10-12 23:15:40
247.   Hallux Valgus
the flip side is- who do the D-Backs have left?
2007-10-12 23:16:22
248.   Bob Timmermann
247
Gonzalez, Slaten, Nippert
2007-10-12 23:16:33
249.   KG16
244 - six of one, half dozen of the other at this point. I really wish the Times could trade him to the St Louis Post Dispatch for a month's worth of classifieds.
2007-10-12 23:17:13
250.   Mike Carminati
Did Gwynn just say the "Dimebags"?
Show/Hide Comments 251-300
2007-10-12 23:18:34
251.   Hallux Valgus
Spilborghs with the Pierre Special!
2007-10-12 23:19:34
252.   Mike Carminati
If you are a bunting team with a decent bunter up, why wouldn't you bunt here? I hate the bunt, and I probably would have bunted.
2007-10-12 23:20:20
253.   Mark T.R. Donohue
250 He and Rex Hudler party all the time.
2007-10-12 23:22:03
254.   KG16
253 - that explains soooooooooooooo much
2007-10-12 23:22:46
255.   Mike Carminati
Like how Gwynn packed on the pounds?
2007-10-12 23:24:09
256.   yankee23
Wow, just finished watching a movie and the game's still going. Can someone please tell me that Taveras isn't at fault for the game being tied?
2007-10-12 23:24:54
257.   Bob Timmermann
256
Corpas blew it by hitting Short Chris Young with a 1-2 pitch.
2007-10-12 23:25:16
258.   Mike Carminati
No, it was Bob's fault (just kidding).
2007-10-12 23:25:19
259.   KG16
255 - that started in 1984
2007-10-12 23:29:05
260.   Hallux Valgus
when I see Hurdle blowing bubbles, I imagine him fiddling as Coors Field burns.
2007-10-12 23:29:18
261.   Mark T.R. Donohue
Yay, Jamey Carroll! Love that playoff beard!
2007-10-12 23:29:57
262.   Bob Timmermann
Hope for Rockies fans: Willie Taveras has been hit by a pitch seven times this season!
2007-10-12 23:30:19
263.   Bob Timmermann
Dangit, Willy, not Willie.
2007-10-12 23:30:25
264.   Mark T.R. Donohue
2-out bunt single with the bases loaded, anybody? Worked for Ramon Hernandez once.
2007-10-12 23:31:06
265.   Mike Carminati
I'd have Taveras take two pitches here.
2007-10-12 23:31:38
266.   yankee23
257 That's good. His defense is so hot/cold it worries me sometimes. Plus, I saw 150 & 151 and wasn't sure what happened.
2007-10-12 23:31:41
267.   Mark T.R. Donohue
Take sign all the way.
2007-10-12 23:32:18
268.   Mike Carminati
Now, have him take two more.
2007-10-12 23:32:44
269.   Mark T.R. Donohue
266 Willy made a marvelous catch to keep the Rockies ahead -- on a play where for some reason he was playing Tony Clark hitting lefty all the way over in far-left center field. So we got the good and the bad all in one play.
2007-10-12 23:32:50
270.   Mike Carminati
You have to get Valverde here, right? Anyone ready?
2007-10-12 23:33:03
271.   Hallux Valgus
that's the Taveras version of power!
2007-10-12 23:33:23
272.   yankee23
Now that's great. Singles hitter with the BB + RBI. Triple steal, anyone?
2007-10-12 23:33:39
273.   Bob Timmermann
Now that's a rally.
2007-10-12 23:33:57
274.   KG16
I am going to laugh all off season when one of these two teams beat Boston in five games.
2007-10-12 23:34:00
275.   yankee23
269 Yikes, must've missed the signs from the bench, eh?
2007-10-12 23:35:05
276.   Mike Carminati
275 No, it was a designed play.

By the way, I can;t get Bonnie Tyler out of my head.

2007-10-12 23:37:16
277.   Bob Timmermann
276
On that commercial, the offramp the driver is going by would you put in to one of the worst sections of Los Angeles.
2007-10-12 23:38:20
278.   Hallux Valgus
276 Is that worse than the Holiday Inn execs humming REO Speedwagon?
2007-10-12 23:38:38
279.   Mike Carminati
277 I guess she didn;t really love him
2007-10-12 23:39:18
280.   Mike Carminati
278 Is that what that was. I don;t mind that I didn't get it.
2007-10-12 23:40:04
281.   Mark T.R. Donohue
Don't. Walk. Augie.
2007-10-12 23:40:17
282.   Bob Timmermann
Valverde was taken out of two games this year in mid-inning.

Once against the Mets and once against the Phillies.

2007-10-12 23:40:28
283.   Mike Carminati
This guy pitched just 18 innings. That's the best they have left?
2007-10-12 23:41:35
284.   Bob Timmermann
280
The commercial uses fictional names however. I just recognized the spot from driving past it.
2007-10-12 23:41:45
285.   Mark T.R. Donohue
Pinch-hitting starter! Awesome!
2007-10-12 23:42:11
286.   Hallux Valgus
I don't like this one bit
2007-10-12 23:42:20
287.   Mike Carminati
If Owings gets hurt, Melvin looks like an idiot.
2007-10-12 23:43:22
288.   Mark T.R. Donohue
Bad call on the check swing. Hardly the first. They've all started blending together at this point.
2007-10-12 23:43:24
289.   Hallux Valgus
now I like it much more
2007-10-12 23:44:10
290.   Bob Timmermann
Owings was the first pitcher to pinch hit in a playoff game since Roger Clemens in the 2005 NLDS against the Braves.

But there were exigent circumstances then.

2007-10-12 23:44:11
291.   Mike Carminati
288 Yeah, you never saw that called 5 years ago.
2007-10-12 23:45:39
292.   Mark T.R. Donohue
Hell yeah!
2007-10-12 23:45:47
293.   Hallux Valgus
EXCELLENT!
2007-10-12 23:45:52
294.   Mike Carminati
Didn;t matter if he swung, it was a strike.
2007-10-12 23:46:19
295.   Mark T.R. Donohue
I'm still waiting for the announcers to realize Taveras was 20 feet out of position on that Clark fly.
2007-10-12 23:47:01
296.   Mike Carminati
295 They never will.
2007-10-12 23:47:20
297.   yankee23
Player of the Game!
2007-10-12 23:48:10
298.   Bob Timmermann
Ryan Speier joins Mark Thompson as Rockies who had no saves in their career until they got to the playoffs.
2007-10-12 23:48:18
299.   Mark T.R. Donohue
296 Hell of a game they missed. Well, that's why Baseball Toaster exists, I suppose.
2007-10-12 23:49:00
300.   Mark T.R. Donohue
Amare Stoudemire is all about the name on the front of the jersey.
Show/Hide Comments 301-350
2007-10-12 23:49:39
301.   Mike Carminati
299 You bet. Later it's almost 3 here.
2007-10-12 23:49:51
302.   Mark T.R. Donohue
298 I assume Mark Thompson must have saved the one game the Rockies won in the 1995 NLDS against Atlanta.
2007-10-12 23:51:14
303.   das411
290 was one of the greatest playoff games of our time.

299 - Exactly! It's been fun, seeya for game 3 peepz!

2007-10-12 23:55:04
304.   Mark T.R. Donohue
Thanks everyone for joining us, I will be at Game 3 in person but the rest of the regulars should be here raising the usual calamity.

Remember, nothing says "I'm celebrating a Rockies playoff victory!" than listening to and if possible purchasing the music of the Daily Afflictions:

myspace.com/thedailyafflictions

2007-10-12 23:55:06
305.   Bob Timmermann
302
Yes, Thompson saved Game 3 of the 1995 NLDS.

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