Baseball Toaster Bad Altitude
Help
East Coast Baseball
2008-07-25 16:37
by Mark T.R. Donohue

I'm writing this evening from Rockport, Massachusetts, where I'm staying in a beach house with my folks and sisters for a few days. Luckily I've managed to find a nice family just a few doors down who have the MLB Extra Innings package, so I'm getting to look in at tonight's attractive pitching showdown between Aaron Cook and Edinson Volquez. I would like to think that I'm the only person along the entire Atlantic coast tonight who cares about the Reds-Rockies game, but my logic tells me that there have to be at least a few Cincinnati retirees in Florida.

We'll see how much of the game I'll actually get to see -- try telling a room full of Boston fans some time that you want to switch away from the Yankees and Red Sox to see what the Reds and Rockies are doing, it'll be funny -- but it's nice that I'm getting at least a few peeks. This is a big game for Colorado, who played as well as they have all year in their recent homestand. The distance between them and the lead in the NL West continues to shrink, regardless of how unimpressive that is real numbers. We can't treat one good 6-1 homestand as a breakthrough because the Rockies have good homestands all the time. They could easily give all of that good work right back.

Well, I sense another battle over the remote brewing so you must excuse me. I'll check back in later to comment if anything particularly sensational happens.

Comments
2008-07-25 18:49:35
1.   ralfthewiseandpowerful
The sensational thing happened, it's name is Aaron Cook. Can a Rockies player win the Cy-Young? I wonder...
2008-07-25 19:06:27
2.   ralfthewiseandpowerful
After reviewing some data, Cookie is lurking around, at best. Although some of the guys ahead of him are kind of fraying at the seams a little (see Volquez tonight) and may pitch themselves out of contention. Right now, I'd say that Ben Sheets is probably the winner, taking into account the Brew Crew keeps sizzling and wins the Wild-Card or even bucks the Cubs.
2008-07-26 19:37:35
3.   3rd gen yankee fan
"there have to be at least a few Cincinnati retirees in Florida"

There certainly are. There's enough that they have Skyline down there. mmmmmmm Skyline

2008-07-27 13:29:32
4.   Gagne55
The Rockies have the best record since the all-star break in the NL. (The Yankees are perfect since the break)
2008-07-27 16:01:12
5.   Woden325
4 Go figure.
I just wish someone would explain to the Rockies that all those games in April and May count, too. The past few years, the pattern has been to dig a colossal hole in the first half and then try and climb out of it after the All-Star break.
2008-07-27 18:22:22
6.   ralfthewiseandpowerful
Actually, prior to the 2006 campaign, the pattern was for them to play over their heads and remain in contention and then come crashing down to Earth in the second half or whenever they would take a 10 game road trip out to California. You have to remember that before MLB started to rotate divisions in inter-league play, the Rockies would often have a road trip that was 7 games against any combination of Padres, Giants and Dodgers and then 3 games in Anaheim. It was usually such a trip that was their undoing.

Anyhow, I am a much bigger fan of the team that gets better as the season goes on. Even if the Rockies fall short of the NL West crown, we as Rockies fans are all but assured that meaningful games will be played in August and, most likely, September.

Looking at the standings and the Rox remaining schedule, I'd say that the division is theirs to lose. The only real ground between them and Arizona is the 9 games played early on in the season, when the Diamondbacks were in "we are not losing to the Rockies" mode. It will be interesting to see the remaining match ups with the Rockies starting to play much better baseball and the Diamondbacks slipping into their 2007 offensive groove or lack of therefore.

Comment status: comments have been closed. Baseball Toaster is now out of business.