The Colorado Rockies have decided to go on a late summer relaxation retreat, it seems, as a long homestand against weak teams has given the team a breather on several fronts.
First and foremost is in the record:
- September to Remember: Wild-card lead grows; Dodgers in sight - The Denver Post
- Smith walkoff hero in Rockies' wild one - The Denver Post
- Taste of home gives Rox boost in race | ColoradoRockies.com: News
The Rockies have expanded their lead over the Giants to such a degree that they now have a better than 90% chance of making the playoffs according to BP's playoff odds report. The Rockies have 1 in 8 odds of winning the division now after trimming the Dodgers lead to 2.5 games. Continued success against the Reds today and the Padres this weekend should see the Rockies gaining on at least one of those two teams as the Giants and Dodgers play each other in AT&T.
Second, the easy schedule is allowing Jim Tracy to rest several tired players and allow others more time to recover:
- Tulo targeting "huge" series against giants - The Denver Post
- Embree plans return before season's end | ColoradoRockies.com: News
I'm not sure how I feel about that last one given that the quality of Alan Embree's performance before he was injured wasn't exactly up to par.
Other Links:
- Colorado continues to get dazzling plays on defense - The Denver Post
- Local high school legend McDonald: Mr. Perseverance - The Denver Post
I'm still on the road, but I've set aside some time so I can be back to actually comment on the blog during this afternoon's game thread. The Rockies will be going for their seventh straight victory against Kip Wells of all people. This is one of the few cases where I think I'll be disappointed with anything less than a sweep.