21 wins in 22 games. 7-0 in the playoffs. The Colorado Rockies — that’s right, the Colorado Rockies — are going to the World Series.
Not having any Champagne on hand, I just poured a mixture of baking soda and vinegar over my head, and thanked all my fans for their support.
Life is best when lived vicariously through the accomplishments of others, don’t you think?
Anyway, congrats to the Purple Reign! And congrats to me. Because let’s face it: I warned you guys all year about this team.
My genius. It knows no bounds.
I’ve been saying all along that the AL team would beat either one of those teams, but I’m beginning to wonder.
The most amazing part of this sweep? Is that the Rockies went into one of their team hitting slumps.
It happened a couple other times this year. I think the time off might actually do them good. Honestly, this was the worst I’ve seen them play offensively all year. And yet…
No matter the outcome, pretty astounding run, and a pretty astounding team.
A very young one, too — with a couple studs on the way to help the pitching staff.
And then there’s that deal with the devil that certainly won’t come back to bite you in the ass.
Seriously, that’s a damned impressive run. Congrats.
Jeff…. I know there were times when you lost heart. But you kept it up. Cubs did it again for me… but WOW it had been heartening to watch my old home state team make a serious run. Movie of the Week written all over it.
Now I really am worried about 9 days off. Will that be too long a break?
I am speaking, of course, of the Rockies.
Good luck to your Rox, Jeff. I hope their downtime doesn’t hinder them against the eventual ALCS champs.
Colorado Rockies? What is that, some sort of boxing club?
I remember when the Rockies were roundly criticized and ridiculed because they facilitated a Christian-based code of conduct.
Guess who has the last laugh?
BTW, I think they’ll win it all.
Here’s the link to the article:http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/nl/rockies/2006-05-30-rockies-cover_x.htm
Now we know how they were able to walk on water Sunday night.
I haven’t watched a ballgame since my Expos got the royale avec fromage but the Rockies kind of interest me. Larry Walker still there?
Grats, Jeff. What a great story that team’s been since the break.
Now I gotta get back to bemoaning the play of my listless Red Sox.
Piss off, Jeff.
‘Cause now I have to root for YOUR team.
[/Philadelphia sports fan]
When did it begin that teams from the Pacific Coast League could play in the World Series?
It’s a crazy world. Congrats and, by golly, throw yourself a party.
GO NATS!
Congrats to the Rockies on their first World Series appearance – the team seems to find a way to win (especially going 21 for 22), whether it is pitching, defense or a key hit. Whomever comes out of the AL for the series is going to be playing against a buzzsaw of a team. I’m pulling for the Rockies to win the Series.
ROCKTOBER – what a month!
Aarrrrrgh! Shame, that; now I have to switch allegiances, quickly.
I feel like Lincoln Chafee should have felt.
Go….Rockies~!
“Life is best when lived vicariously through the accomplishments of others, don’t you think?”
Hell, yes! I’m living vicariously through you about this, and yes, I remember that first post all those months ago where you said this could happen!
I seriously doubt that there is a team in either league that wants to play the Rocs at this time. They are steel melting smoking red hot, getting all of the breaks and have that air of destiny about them, Florida Marlins style.
Jeff, it’s amazing that every good young pitcher they threw into the fray after losing their starters has matured at the big league level. If you had laid this out as a plan most baseball pundits would have laughed at you. Hell, I laughed at you.
Humph! Who’s laughing now? Congrats!
Because let’s face it: I warned you guys all year about this team.
Karl would’ve provided 10 links to back up such a provocative claim.
You cannot be series!
To a fan of a historically unsuccessful club, it’s an out-of-body experience when your team goes on a jag like this, isn’t it? You sit there watching them win and win and win, and you only vaguely remember 1-9 summer road trips where you thought they were the worst team ever assembled and close losses that you thought doomed them to next-year status. But you’re watching and every fisted bloop is finding a hole, and the other team is kicking it around, and your pitchers all hit spots like Grag Maddox.
I remember how I felt when the Astros made it in ’05 with a similar (not quite 21 and freaking 1) run, only to run into the hottest playoff team ever — until this year, maybe. May the fates be kinder to your boys in the WS than they were to mine.
Congratulations, Jeff! You deserve it.
Good luck to the Rockies in the Series. (And good luck to the Phillies, as well. Wherever they are.)
I’m sending Carlos Santana over to play two sets from the hood of your Willys. The bin goes on the front porch and you’ll want to cordon off the block. It’s a little cool now for topless hippy chicks, but hey.
Enjoy!
Repeat after me:
In spite of Clint Hurdle.
Not because of.
Since my Cardinals were not in it, the Cubs puked all over themselves IMMEDIATELY, and I cannot stand the AL … GO ROX !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I blame these bogus curse instructions I got from Churchill. The freakin’ rip-off artist…
Nice Rockies Poster here…
Sigh.
Getting in the mood…
Sigh.
Amen, # 24. If anything, the most impressive part of this ridiculous run is that fact that Hurdle hasn’t gotten in their way. When it got to 6-4 last night, I thought he may have panicked a bit by bringing in Corpas early but it ended up working out. He’s still a so-so manager, but the team deserves credit for covering for him for the last 6 weeks.
The sad thing is, this morning when I heard the Rockies won, I immediately thought of this place. Jeff, congrats – I hope the Colorado nine win the President’s Cup, or whatever this “based ball” league awards to the final champion.
(Now a serious question: how did Colorado develop a decent pitching staff? Back when I paid actual attention to baseball, the rap was that you’d never have a decent pitching staff there because of the thin air, the expansive outfield, etc. I also recall that later on, the team started refrigerating the baseballs to make them less lively. Are they still doing that?
Because God knows, when I refrigerate my balls, the whole game changes.)
So does Colorado still have a professional football club? I haven’t heard much about those guys lately.
Percy —
Humidor, yeah. It adds a bit of moisture to the ball and mimics natural humidity. Then, the Rockies grew the grass out a bit, and found pitchers who weren’t afraid to throw strikes. Also, most of them are homegrown talent, which means they’ve pitched at altitude in Colorado Springs.
The organization also poured a lot of time and money into player development and its program in Latin America — more than just scouting, they teach the fellas to speak English, acculturate them, etc.
The INS might want to borrow the handbook.
See also: 2006
jeffersonian – Precisely. For about 4-5 years now, it has just been the assumption that the AL teams would breeze through the World Series, or that the ALCS was the actual World Series. My Cardinals stuck it to Detroit last year, but the BoSox swept us a couple years prior.
The Cubs would like to take a look at it, too.
Again, my heartiest congratulations. Anyone who wins with Josh Fogg on their team is obviously smiled on by God.
Last year, after a long WS drought my team unexpectedly made the playoffs and won 7 straight playoff games to reach the WS. Only to fall apart once there. Just saying, Jeff. Congratulations, and Go Rockies, whoever you may play.
My professional sports loyalties are up for auction and I am perfectly willing to become a front-running, bandwagon bastard for the right price.
I’m looking to replace:
Temple Football – ouch
Notre Dame Football – oof
Villanova Basketball – yikes
Phillies – pain!
Eagles – Wild card! Wild card…ah hell…
Sixers – will root for the Sixers when Mo Cheeks comes back from the dead.
Flyers – where have you gone Pelle Lindbergh, oh that’s right, a mark on the wall at Teddy Pendergrass curve.
The USFL Stars – the most successful franchise in Philly sports history.
I’m willing to do a package deal for an entire metropolitan area except for New York or Dallas. Or any team that calls itself “America’s” anything.
If you win the auction, I have four sons I can outfit in the livery of the chosen team and a wife who likes tattoos and Starter Jackets (she’s originally from Jersey). It would be nice if the teams are in either the Eastern or Central time zones, so I can start drinking at a reasonable hour, but that isn’t a deal breaker.
This town is electric. Usually a Tigers fan, but am definately on the bandwagon. My buddy owns a bar in LoDo(Denver) and got a call from Tulowisky(sp) saying they wanted to reserve a part of the bar for the celebration last night. That’s confidence. It was the same place they celebrated after game 163 and the sweep of the Phillies. He told me to come down, but old, and father of 2, I was asleep by 10:30. If they win the series, I will be there for sure. It is the same bar that I got to party with the Stanley Cup in ’01(I think). Go Rocks.
My buddy said after game 163, he was sitting in between Tulo and Holliday at 3am and both of them were slobbering drunk. He said it was one of the coolest moments in his bar owning career.
Congrats Jeff, you have supported these guys for years and it’s always nice to see a true fan get some love from his hometown club.
Good luck to your Rockies, unless of course they play my Bosox, which is looking increasingly unlikely.
A Cleveland-Denver World Series! FEEL THE EXCITEMENT!!!
And would it be too much to ask to get rid of Dane Cook? Seriously, that guy is like nails-on-chalkboard annoying.
Matt Holiday sure has liberally applied the icing to the cake of his MVP case.
To decide whom to root for I must apply the oldest and most reviered of Texas Rangers fan traditions: Looking at the lineups to count the number of guys on the two competing team and counting the number of former Rangers that sucked here, but wen’t one to actually perform. Then I root for the team with the lowest number because of the HATE.
Rob B – One can consistently predict the winner of the Series by counting the number of ex-Cubs on the teams. Obviously, the team with the fewest ex-Cubs wins.
Have fun with this one, Jeff. And congratulations on your brilliance. That is one helluva team right now. They blitzed my Phillies, so the least they could do is win the whole thing already.
Lost My Cookies,
I tried to become an A’s fan because they were the team that should have stayed here. That, and my grandfather was an A’s fan, though only the Philly kind, not the other two. Anyway, it never worked out. The games are too late and when I tried to switch they started to suck.
Congratulations to the Rockies who will be the next team to go down to God’s favorite baseball team — the Cleveland Indians. Remember the plague of gnats he sent to thwart the Yankees.
Congrats to the Rockies. Unbelievable. My tribe is looking good, but that will be an absolute buzzsaw, should we get by the Red Sox. But, that’s definitely getting ahead of myself. Anyhow, you were right. You kept the faith and the Rox are in the World Series.
And, yes, an Indians/Rockies World Series may indeed be the lowest watched Series…EVAH. But, we here in flyover country couldn’t give two shits less about that.
Before this series I had no idea that Matthew McConaughey played ball in between his movies, but it’s now been confirmed. But seriously, only good baseball being played right now is in the ALCS, AKA “World Series.” Both teams can hit and both can pitch, it’s quite something. And best of all, they don’t let the starter give up 6 runs in one inning because they need his bat.
LOL, LMC, I sent your rant off to several of my Philly sports friends and they are unanimous in their opinion that it captures the deperste, haunting futility that is the Philadelphia Sports Fan.
Kudos!
Phillies suffering has nothing over the Cubs. Nada. Zip. Zero.
It has been a freaking century since the Cubs won the Series, and it was prior to the bomb that felled Japan when they were even in the Series. The Phillies have about 80 years to go until they catch up.
Always looking to bait me, aren’t you, Richard?
But yes, you’re right. 21 wins in 22 games is not good baseball, even though the team doing it lead the NL in ERA the second half of the season, was the number two scoring team, the number one hitting team, and set a record for defense.
What’s been amazing is that they’ve done this without hitting. They’ve been in a teamwide slump for a couple weeks now. If they don’t break out of it, they’re likely doomed.
If they do, they can play with anyone.
Not many teams beat Beckett this year. The Rockies, though, handed him his first loss of the season.
Personally, I’d rather play Boston, but I’m in the minority. I fear Cleveland’s pitching more than Boston’s: we’ve seen Beckett (as a Marlin, and this year, as a member of the Bosox), we’ve seen Schilling (as a Diamondback, and again this year), we’ve faced Wakefield once this season, and we’re familiar with Timlin, Lopez, and Gagne.
Which leaves Okijima and Papelbon.
The Rockies pitchers throw strikes, and the fielders pick it. Boston is superb at working counts and getting into the opposing bullpens. But in our case, I’m not sure that’s the best strategy.
Incidentally, the Rockies were 5-1 against Boston and the Yankees this year.
Nobody will be overlooking them this time — and if they don’t hit I don’t think they can win — but if they play like they’re capable, they’ll make the games competitive.
I have no problem with the proposition that the Rox are the best team in the National (“AAAA”) League at the moment, and that they’re run up some impressive numbers against NL competition, and even a 10-8 record in Interleague play (contrast with Red Sox at 12-6.) But nothing those boys have faced this year will prepare them for a World Series. The standard of play in the AL is consistently higher than in AAAA, and that’s reflected in the Interleague and All-Star outcomes. The Rox handled the Snakes quite easily, as expected, but now they have several days to sit around with the Devil putting doubts into their heads like he did to the Tigers last year after they swept the A’s. By the time the WS starts, they’re going to be so full of fear and dread that not even Baby Jesus can save them.
Indians in 5.
How does that make any sense, Richard? The AL will always be the little bitch to the NL, as long as they allow substitute batters for the pitchers who are too dainty to actually stand in the batters box. The AL is where NL hitters, past their prime, go to retire, when they are no longer physically able to play in the NL.
The Interleague and All-Star game results clearly show who’s the bitch, and her name is National League. Now I have to admit that I do find it charming to see the pitchers come to the plate and try to lay down a bunt periodically, because the break in the action gives me time to freshen-up my beer and score some garlic fries or a polish sausage. It’s just that bunting to move a guy from second to third isn’t all that exciting compared to the three-run homers that are the staple of the AL’s power-hitting game.
As for the movement of players between the two leagues, I can’t think of a single AL DH this year who came over from the National League (Piazza tried, but a career minor-leaguer hit better than he could so he ended up riding the pine.) There was some talk about Flaxseed Bonds doing that, but nobody has jumped up to claim him yet. I dare say if they did, I’d rather see him at the plate than Barry Zito, but YMMV. One thing that is pretty common is for over-the-hill American League pitchers (like Zito, Randy Johnson, and Jamie Moyer) to move over to the easy league to extend their careers. Anybody can pitch to a bunter, you see.
But don’t get me wrong, I’m not totally down on buntball, I happen to believe that the suicide squeeze is the most exciting play in baseball. It didn’t work in Iraq, but that’s another story.
And incidentally, there’s something cute about a “Cleveland-Rox” series, doncha know.
[…] right-wing Christian fundamentalist Jeff Goldstein is pretty excited about the Fundamentalist Mountain Goats playing the Champion, and I have to admit […]
Come on JD. Besides your Cardinals, the AL owns the NL. It’s a fact of life. Just like datadave REALLY needs cheaper health insurance. As an Indians fan, I do absolutely fear the Rox. This is 1997 all over again (should the Indians make it to the World Series). The Marlins beat us. The Fucking Marlins! Oh well, I’ve been a bridesmaid all year long (OSU Buckeyes losing in both NCAA basketball and football national championships and the Cavaliers getting smoked in the NBA finals), I need a freaking championship for ONE of my teams. Just one!
6-0 bottom of 5th inning! Sweeeeeeeetttttt!!!!!!! Sorry, drunk commenting (btw, Great Lakes Brewing Company’s Christmas Ale is good shit!). Sad, I know. But c’mon, I’m a Cleveland fan! Go Tribe.
Brush back Ramirez the next time he’s up? I can go either way – I’d rather not risk adding a baserunner, but it’d be nice to knock him down a peg.
That’s funny RDub. When Manny was here, we all loved him, warts and all. But as a member of another team, damn, what an asshole. I’d put one in his earhole just once. But that’s why I’m drunk commenting on a political blog and not playing professional baseball. No matter what, he’s a great hitter, though.
Oh, he’s tremendous. Easily amongst the best hitters of the last 20 years, RH or LH. And I don’t have a problem with the fact that he’s something of a doofus, the cowboy boots full of cash, left an uncashed paycheck in the glove compartment of a rental car, his adventures in the outfield, etc. All fine with me. But I wouldn’t have been okay with his grandstanding post-homer (especially when it brought it to within 4 runs – way to go, champ!) when he was with Cleveland, much less anywhere else.
To be fair though, Cleveland fans have shown a distinct lack of “getting over it” – I’m amazed everytime Jim Thome comes to town and still gets booed.
Belated congrats to Jeff on the Rockies making it to the World Series!
With the Tribe’s win tonight, I’m sure the Fox Sports advertising people are slitting their wrists over the prospect of two “small market” (though exciting) teams drying up their precious East Coast revenue. All I can say is, “Suck it dry, bitches!”
And I’d sure like to offer the same to the chowder-guzzling, Kennedy-electing, Jenjis-coddling drama queens of the Red Sox “Nation.” Cleveland-Rox, and you can choke on your stupid bloody sock. Massholes.
Comes to America at 13. In the In the Majors at 21. Kind to his father and mother who worked their asses off so he’d have a chance. Kind to his siblings. Kind to his friends from the neighborhood. Kind to the groundkeepers and attendants. Kind to and friendly with all the real folk. Grew up in a drug-infested, gang-ridden, troubled NY area and not only stayed clean but worked his ass off. Up at 4:30 every morning to run hills with a tire dragging behind his ass. Wonder what Jesus on the corner keeping lookout for the cops thought about that? Couldn’t hit worth crap at the age of 14. At 19 a NY legend with a NYTimes reporter following him around and drafted in the first round. Still works harder, arguably, than any hitter in the Majors. I’ve always liked Manny. Liked him even more after going through some of these well-written articles: link.
link
There’s an easy remedy for Manny’s annoying little victory dance every time he hits a homer: every time a pitcher gets him out, let’s encourage said pitcher to point at Manny with both hands, laugh loudly and do a little dance. Let’s have all the infielders do the same. And let’s see how much he likes getting his face rubbed in the poop three or four times a game. Because for every homer he hits, he gets put out ten times.
The punk should respect his talent and grow up.
I’d say Manny is about as far from a “punk” as a person can be. Though I agree his victory dances are getting a bit long these days. But he hasn’t added a moonwalk yet. He could and they probably still wouldn’t throw at him. Why isn’t he thrown at more? Basically most of the players respect his talent and his person to such a degree that they don’t mind as much as Richard that he isn’t all “grown-up” in a way Richard approves of. They are players who respect the game and appreciate the talent and the drive of Manny, and they are all mostly on good terms with Manny, and thus probably laugh in their sleeves more than shoot him the evil eye when Manny is being Manny. But Bennett is a fan. And he’s serious. And he’s very, very bothered. And he’s being a putz. Perhaps Bennett should respect more the talented and grown-up players who respect the very talented and very interesting Manny. I’m rooting for the Indians but I hope Manny hits a few more and throws in a moon-walk so Bennett’s head explodes. Lofton, of course, will be doubled over laughing. As will the other Indian players who would very much like Manny, the prodigal son, to return to Cleveland next year.
Dude, if you don’t think Manny acts like a punk, you don’t know what “punk” means. Do a victory dance when you hit the homerun that brings your team from 5 runs down to (only!) 4 runs down is punk. It’s celebrating your personal achievement and ignoring your team’s dire position. It’s low class, it’s childish, and it’s punk. Does it make me mad? Nope, not at all. Baseball is entertainment, and punk, low-class trashy behavior is just as entertaining in baseball as it is on the Jerry Springer show.
Manny’s entire tenure in Boston has been surrounded with drama as he’s demanded trades and generally been a pain in the ass. People put up with him because he can hit, and for sure he hits as well as a few elite players to play the game. But inside that pointy little corn-rowed head of his lives a punk. The biggest punk, in fact, ever to play the game. The first inductee in the Punk Hall of Fame. The King of the Punks, the Punk Par Excellence, the Punk of all Punks and the Punk Lord.
It’s simply a fact.
Jeff, Re comment #31? Damned straight!!!!….But God help the Rockies if the Indians ge in…2 teams of “destiny” but the Indians are simply the better team…..Now if my Sox win 3 in a row? all bets are off
LMC? Come,join the hoodie nation….The Pats won’t let you down
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