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Wednesday Morning Rockpile:

Dear diary,

I haven't seen the Rockies in four days. The media tries to comfort me with the last vestiges of the Yankees/Indians series and the downfall of the Bronx Empire, but it's a poor substitute. I don't know how much more of this I can take. Distantly, I remember of something called the "off-season" and how it would last for months at a time and I marvel that I was once able  to endure that long without Rockies baseball. I am told that there are many baseball fans enduring that right now, and I pity them. Thankfully, my own torture is about to end soon, the players are back on the field practicing, the manager is recovering from the flu and I am told tomorrow there will again be Rockies baseball for me to watch and absorb. Thank the heavens. -RG

-----------------

More nascent rivalry talk, this time from Eric Byrnes and the D-backs side. Nobody would like a retro style rivalry to form between these two clubs more than Jeff Moorad and the Monfort brothers. In April and May, these two teams had trouble drawing 20,000 for games between the two, and it was only because of the Opening Day sellout that the Rockies were able to keep the overall series attendance total respectable. Even as late as mid-August, when both clubs had proven to be decent at the very least, and were fighting for playoff spots, the D-backs only drew around 25,000 for the three games at Chase Field. By the end of September, Rockies fans had finally caught on to the talent of their club, and Coors was packed, of course, but the owners I'm sure would be thrilled if they could count on that kind of support earlier in the year. That kind of loyalty and passion needs to be earned, but both teams are doing a fine job of that this year.

Both teams are also doing a fine job of relying on their own to get them to this point. When new Pirates GM Neal Huntington speaks of a lack of organizational cohesiveness as a reason to start from scratch, you can see what he means by looking at how the two NLCS teams operate. There is a high level of personal involvement and vested interest in their prospects, from the top of the organization down. There is patience; nobody's getting alarmed if Ian Stewart isn't putting up the numbers of a superstar, or if D-backs pitching prospect Max Scherzer hits a bump at AA. If you're ready to rise fast, like Tulo or Justin Upton, the teams will promote you aggressively, but if you're not, it's not a big deal, just keep growing.

At the same time, though, both teams are pretty good at eventually sifting out those that are legit everyday big leaguers from the role players. For example, Ryan Shealy and Matt Chico both were traded despite decent minor league numbers but have proven to be at best borderline talent for a contending team. Not perfect by any means, but both teams' scouting departments provide them with enough depth to cover mistakes like letting Dan Uggla slip away. Okay, enough rambling, I want to get to scouting reports today, so I'll end this here.

Update [2007-10-10 21:34:25 by malakian]:
NLCS Roster Announced

0 recs  |  Comment 18 comments

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Off season...
At the close of every season, I always wonder what I'm going to do with all the time I used to spend on baseball.  It is my plan to watch, or listen to, every game.  Sure, I miss some, but for the most part, between mlb radio, my TiVo, and my Slingbox, I see most of them.  Then, there's the daytime ritual of reading about what I watched, which now starts with a quick read of what's new at coloradorockies.com on my iPhone, which is conveniently my alarm clock as well.  With so many games in the mountain and pacific time zones, and my travels being primarily in the eastern and central, many times I literally go to bed with the rockies (watching the game), then wake up with them (reading the wrap up and "notes" articles).  Once I get to work, I tend to fill breaks and lunches with other internet-served baseball reading.

Somehow, I manage to fill that time, possibly be re-introducing myself to my wife and kids, and catching up on reading I would normally do in the evenings.

Then, March and April roll around, and I find myself wondering how I am ever going to find the time to follow my boys again.  162 games?  All that reading?

But, I find a way.  Every year, it's the same.

The one bonus to life in the post-season is that these "off days" are filled with lots and lots of extra coverage.

You smell that? Do you smell that? Baseball in October, son. Nothing else in the world smells like that. I love the smell of Baseball in October.

by Gumbo on Oct 10, 2007 10:17 AM MDT reply actions   0 recs

Dan Uggla?
Not only that, but we traded minor leaguer Brad Penny for Matt Mantei. Whom would you rather have?

On another note, I would say that we should never trade with Florida again, but they also gave us Yusmeiro Petit for Jorge Julio. (And thence BK Kim) Now that was a nice trade.

DbacksSkins... I hail from here and here.

by DbacksSkins on Oct 10, 2007 10:44 AM MDT reply actions   0 recs

A very Happy Happy Birthday
to everyone's favorite kid superstar shortstop, may all your birthday wishes come true, Troy. Especially the ones that involve winning the World Series.
Get Demented. Standing by my guys forever.

by Silverblood on Oct 10, 2007 11:23 AM MDT reply actions   0 recs

Didn't know where else to post this
so here it sits.

I made it out to the Nuggets preseason game against the Clippers last night. Boring game, as to be expected with a pre-season matchup, until late in the game during a timeout Rocky comes stormin out to half-court with a Broncos jersey in his hand. He holds it up, and naturally the crowd greets him with a chorus of cheers. He tosses the Broncos jersey down, then points to the Nuggets logo on his chest, and the crowd clapped and whatnot. Lastly, came the big surprise. He tore off the Nuggets windbreaker-esque jacket he was wearing, and revealed a Rockies jersey underneath. Wouldn't you know it, the sparse crowd in attendance EXPLODED. Great moment. It had the crowd fired up for the next 2-3 minutes (until play resumed, basically).

by SlamDunkTheFunk on Oct 10, 2007 12:28 PM MDT reply actions   0 recs

NLCS Preview from ATSH2H
Rockies took the season series, 10-8, winning five of nine games both at Coors and Chase Field. ... Webb was just 1-3 with a 5.77 ERA in six starts vs. Colorado, yielding 43 hits and 17 walks in 39 innings. Coincidentally, his lone win on September 28 is the Rockies' only loss in their last 18 games ... (for full Game Preview, visit www.atsh2h.com/mlb/teams/colorado-rockies/).

www.atsh2h.com

by ATSH2H on Oct 10, 2007 1:59 PM MDT reply actions   0 recs

With thanks to the SnakePit
http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/sportsnation/polling?event_id=3172

ESPN's Poll for the NLDS.  It's good for a laugh, especially since we actually are facing a talented team coming up.

President of the Kazuo Matsui Fan Club

by MattTheRock on Oct 10, 2007 4:14 PM MDT reply actions   0 recs

NLCS Poll
http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/sportsnation/polling?event_id=3177

It's a bit more balanced.

President of the Kazuo Matsui Fan Club

by MattTheRock on Oct 10, 2007 4:14 PM MDT up reply actions   0 recs

Sort of...
Diamondbacks have a more dangerous lineup? That's news...They're also better on defense? Interesting...

The NLDS poll at least got a couple things right...this is a total joke.

by potterhead4 on Oct 10, 2007 4:42 PM MDT up reply actions   0 recs

I have to say, however
that this about Helton:

He's just OK defensively

gave me a WTF?! moment.

Get Demented. Standing by my guys forever.

by Silverblood on Oct 10, 2007 5:22 PM MDT up reply actions   0 recs

It should have,
Helton was by most measures the second best first baseman in the MLB this year, saving us between 16-18 runs on defense, which is a couple of wins right there.

by Rox Girl on Oct 10, 2007 7:19 PM MDT up reply actions   0 recs

A D-Back fan
has apparently created a script of some sort to flood the NLCS poll.
Every day is a Holliday!

by free7694 on Oct 10, 2007 8:33 PM MDT up reply actions   0 recs

Taking a closer look,
I think he is under rating the rockies pitching.

Lets do some ERA+ calculations here.

Francis - 112
Jimenez - 111
Morales - 138
Top 3 - 361

Webb - 156
Davis - 111
Hernandez - 95
Top 3 - 362

So basically what advantage the D-Backs have in Webb, its negated when Davis and Hernandez Start.  Add the fact that we have been able to knock Webb around a bit this year, and I'm saying Rockies in 5

by wolf213 on Oct 10, 2007 6:11 PM MDT reply actions   0 recs

I agree with you on the pitchers. That said,
I'd probably have to disagree with his ranking of Spilorghs over Young, too.

At any rate, here's another preview I found most informative.

by Rox Girl on Oct 10, 2007 7:28 PM MDT up reply actions   0 recs

Rockies set roster for NLCS
Link

The only changes: Redman off--- Taveras on.  No Cook.

They have until 10 AM tomorrow to make any last minutes changes.

by malakian on Oct 10, 2007 7:33 PM MDT reply actions   0 recs

1:21
Damn... beat my diary by a minute and 21 seconds.
mvn.com/mlb-rockies - Staying on the sunny side of Blake Street since 1993.

by Franchise26 on Oct 10, 2007 7:36 PM MDT up reply actions   0 recs

And you both beat my post...
I had to put it on the front page just for the feed subscribers.

by Rox Girl on Oct 10, 2007 7:38 PM MDT up reply actions   0 recs

Slightly off-topic
Patrick Saunders mentioned in an article on Monday that the Rockies outrighted multiple players off the 40-man roster.  Dan Serafini was the only one he mentioned specifically.

Anyone know who else was axed?

by malakian on Oct 10, 2007 7:46 PM MDT reply actions   0 recs

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