Oh my goodness, the TBS guys are going to use every cliche the Rockies guys have been repeating for the last three weeks as if they just thought them up in their production meeting yesterday.
It's pretty weird cause I thought I was gonna end up rooting for the Phills but the Rox (to me) seem like a more compelling story, plus they play great D so that's bonus points in my book.
The Rox are doing everything right in the 1st couple of innings there also keeping the fans quite which is a pretty big deal if your a visiting team, one would think.
Francis is on, he's mainly striking them out on curves (the hitters will adjust from at bat to at bat) I'm hoping Francis mixes his pitchs a little more as the innings progress.
Sup everyone. As a participant in the mammoth one-game playoff thread, I am now morally obligated to root for the Rockies the rest of the way (unless they play the Yankees).
If the division seriess is Arizona-Colorado, I suspect Fox may just order the dissolution of the National League and run America's Funniest Groin Surgeries instead.
I don't know how it looks on TV, but on Gameday, there have been some awful "Called Strikes" - including the second pitch to Victorino, which Gameday has over the righty batter's box. Shocking, I know.
70 That's a revealing comment. Jeff Francis has had plenty of no-doubter #1 shutdown stopper-type starts in his career; his pitching fantastic is hardly a surprise. The thing separating Francis from true ace status is that when he doesn't have his best stuff he can completely lose it sometimes (see his last start in Philly, for example.) When he's on his command, it's no surprise that no one can hit him.
That's the way some people see it, but I really feel the Rox have the competitive edge BECAUSE THERE SHARPER right now then the Phills. People don't realize how much your timing goes off when you get 2 days off specially for major leaguers WHO PLAY NEARLY EVERYDAY.
Boy, that was a freaking pop-up. How come people write the Rockies' entire offense for playing at Coors but the Phillies get a free pass for playing in a freaking pachinko parlor?
I don't think he lost his command -- the pitch to Burrell was exactly where he wanted it. It's not his fault it's 310 feet to the wall in the left-field power alley in Philadelphia.
80 Coors Field still has the COORS FIELD stigma, humidor or not, even though Citizens Bank has a higher park factor this season (108 to 107). Plus, Philly did score something like 60 runs more than Colorado on the road this season, but I doubt any mainstream media pays attention to that.
by the way, compare Tulo's age 22 season (this year) vs. Jeter's (1996) .... even taking into account park effects, Tulo seems to have better power, but doesn't (didn't) run as much
72 That's true Mark, I never liked seeing Jeff Francis on the mound against the Dodgers, each of the Dodgers main competitors have at least one guy who gives them trouble, Webb, Peavy and Francis.
I liked how Chad pitched against the Padres, I hope he will become the Padre's nemesis.
Listen: Tulowitzki is better defensively than Jeter. By a lot. By a WHOLE lot. This is objective fact. It's not a pot shot, it's not me saying Jeter isn't the clutchiest clutcher who ever clutched a clutch, it's not me saying he's a waste of money. Troy Tulowitzki is a better defensive shortstop. Period. If you think there is a debate on this, you're dumb.
I don't think anyone would disagree with you on that point, Mark, and I love Jeter, but i think the point is he's a rookie and maybe he'll have a lobotomy in a couple of years, or hurt something, or lose it in some way. But right now, no question - he certainly has greater range.
Let's not fight about the Yankees. I'm already cranky about the vast majority of baseball "experts" picking the Phillies to win this series for no reason other than picking the Rockies would require them to do a whole bunch of extra work actually learning the names of the people on the Colorado team.
I love Clint Barmes -- I'm amazed the Rockies haven't traded him to someone like the Pirates for a pitching prospect by now. He could play for a lot of NL teams. But yeah, he's not THAT good, which was kind of the joke... now the Rockies have players good enough to make Barmesmania look as silly as it initially did to non-Coloradans in 2005.
110 Just keep Tulo away from the venison then. That was the gist of what I was saying. FWIW, I like Tulo and was glad he flew under the radar this year. He has the makings of being a fine ballplayer.
my only pet peeve with Tulowzki is his throwing motion (looking long term he could get hurt) a coach or just a simple observer wouldn't recommend it to any little leaguer.
Yeah, I don't know if people know this or not, but... Clint Hurdle has no idea what he's doing. He didn't manage in the minor leagues very long and he figured out fairly quickly that in Colorado so long as he was cheerful to the owners and D O'D he was never going to get fired for being incompetent. His in-game moves have been dictated by pure whimsy for as long as I've been watching Rockies baseball.
148 Yup, I have that written down somewhere. Clint Hurdle, Incompetent. Check! Luckily the Rockies have a lot of good hitters and character to overcome those Hurdle(s), and he stays out of the way of things when he can. When he retires he can be an extra in a Scorsese movie.
You kind of knew Matt was going to hit one out eventually this game. Seriously, why even pitch to the guy...I know, no one was on, but only throw change ups
148 I'm numb from having to watch Dusty Baker and Felipe pull the trigger. It's pretty amazing that there are so few tactical dugout generals out there anymore.
And the worst part is, after Hurdle has already worked some five years longer in the job than he's had any right to, this late-season run has probably guaranteed that we will have to watch him in Denver for another three or four years.
Everyone who was predicting this to be a super-high scoring series has really been overlooking the Rockies' pitching. Their team ERA since the all-star break is 3.86, first in the NL and second in MLB behind Cleveland and Toronto.
So the guy with the 591 slug% against LHP continues to sit while down 2 runs and a LHP on the mound with a runner on base. Nothing against Shane but come on.
People say great things about Bob Melvin, particularly his bullpen management, but I don't actually know any D'Backs fans nor do I frequent any D'backs blogs, so I don't know if the general fan base has the same consensus.
Wow, I have been saying for ages Brian Fuentes was going to be a money eight-inning guy for some playoff team one day... I never suspected it would be the Rockies.
Most Angel fans like Mike Scioscia a lot. If managers were polled like politicians, I think Angel fans would give Scioscia a lot of high ratings and very few negatives.
If you are a Rockies or Phillies fan and are stuck listening to regular radio today, you might be a little upset that at 2:30 P.M. PDT, KSPN 710 left the playoff game to begin their pregame show for the Angels/Red Sox game.
178 Thanks, Bob. Even as much as we adore Abreu (and did Sheff too, for a time), there are many of us Yankee fans who regret the Yanks not signing Vlad.
Ryan Howard was useless today. I bet the Phils come back strong tomorrow. If they don't, they're doomed.
And what Bob said in 178 . I would've liked Scioscia as manager but definitely don't think he's perfect. Most managers are only as smart as the talent they have around them.
What is this Pittsburg?
Wish I could watch this on TV but 3:00 is just too early.
Potatos-potatoes
Frank McCormick did so in 1940.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/m/mccorfr01.shtml
That is why he is cold as ice.
Or else he just made a mistake.
I'm guessing.
That is a Sign. That is a capital-"S" sign, no doubt.
45 pitches
there both ex-Dodgers too, that's pretty weird.
Its the '93 World Series all over again ...
It looks normal, the ump is being pretty consistent, SO FAR.
Strike zone looks good. Couple close pitches called balls, that looked either a bit inside or a bit low.
Curve, curve, fastball
or
Curve, fastball, Curve. He's yet to throw a 1st pitch fastball from what I've seen, I could be wrong.
Francis looks awesome so far.
ABC would have "America's Funniest Groin Surgeries" (with an occasional nod to ABC Family), while Fox would have "When Groin Surgeries Attack!"
I don't know how it looks on TV, but on Gameday, there have been some awful "Called Strikes" - including the second pitch to Victorino, which Gameday has over the righty batter's box. Shocking, I know.
That's the way some people see it, but I really feel the Rox have the competitive edge BECAUSE THERE SHARPER right now then the Phills. People don't realize how much your timing goes off when you get 2 days off specially for major leaguers WHO PLAY NEARLY EVERYDAY.
Mark, what were you saying about Francis losing his command?
I liked how Chad pitched against the Padres, I hope he will become the Padre's nemesis.
But he dove into the stands and hurt his pretty face.
Way to insult your guess posters for displaying a difference of opinion.
57 - Depends on how much $$ the Chitown teams throw at him, but the Flyin' Hawaiian may not be a bad replacement...
79 - Nope! One more year like this would be just fine, thank you!
Clint played pretty well for the Sky Sox, but he's not going to the big club as long as Tulo's around.
Serious, the times I've seen him he looks pretty slick PERIOD.
Much better than his last start at philly.
Hurdle is a strange duck ...
but I believe "Clint Hurdle sucks tactically" answers your question.
I didn't think that type of mistake made it to the major leagues...obviously I haven't been following the Rockies....just inexplicable....
Also, seriously, there's an on-field graphic showing the lead of a runner at first? Who thought that up?
Gordon-Myers vs Fuentes-Corpas. How could anyone ever take Gordon-Myers?
oh my .... then we could be in for a real 3-ring circus ....
Is his nickname Clint "my mind can't get over that" Hurdle or something Manuel-esque like that?
http://tinyurl.com/3xgpe7
Don't call Tony La Russa a "genius." It gets him angry.
What is Fuentes doing?
Utley is not having a good day. 4 Ks in 4 ABs, ouch.
Last year, Jim Leyland was a god in Detroit.
This year, he was not.
They don't make gods like they used to.
Most Angel fans like Mike Scioscia a lot. If managers were polled like politicians, I think Angel fans would give Scioscia a lot of high ratings and very few negatives.
Wait, something's wrong. Fuentes has contravened a baseball law of nature.
I also can't recall any complaints of Bud Black, but again, I don't know many Padres fans.
The vast majority of Dodger fans think it's very sad that Scioscia manages the Angels and got the bum's rush from Kevin Malone.
There are diehards at Dodger Thoughts who think Scioscia has an Angels team that spends much of its time running into outs.
Mostly, Dodger fans regret the team not signing Vladimir Guerrero.
..too soon?
MTRD, enjoy this game because I have a feeling Utley will not be picking up any more Golden Sombreros in this series..
If that joke is making fun of Brett Myers's victim: yes, and always, too soon.
For a while ...
Man, by Gameday, Dale Scott is horrible, and has only gotten worse as the game went on. The umpiring needs to be fixed.
Corpas just made a great hitter look like a pig.
And what Bob said in 178 . I would've liked Scioscia as manager but definitely don't think he's perfect. Most managers are only as smart as the talent they have around them.
However, a lot of people there think he should be traded so the Tigers can pick up... something.
That was WAY too easy.
OK, over to the Red Sox/Angels thread!
Now it's off to Cardboard Gods for the Angels-Red Sox chat.
At this juncture, it would seem prudent to relocate to the blog hosting the Los Angeles of Anaheim-Boston game chat.
(did anyone else think that strike zone got a LOT bigger in the 9th than it was in, say, the top of the 2nd?)
D'oh!
vr, Xei
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