Carlos Gonzalez may be playing his final days with the Rockies. | Denver Post
I’m not crying, you’re crying.
This could be it for Carlos González in Colorado. The longest tenured player on the Rockies, and one of the best ever, is likely playing in his final home stand, staring tonight. CarGo has been with the Rockies since 2009, when the team acquired him from the Oakland A's for Matt Holliday.
Nick Groke talked to CarGo and Nolan Arenado about the possibility of this being it for him in Colorado. Arenado: "I love playing with CarGo. I've loved it ever since my rookie year. My first big-league camp, he treated me right." CarGo: "I feel like I've represented this team the right way. I play hard. I was in the All-Star Game with 'Rockies on my chest." The heart wants CarGo—his big smile and those bat drops—to stay in Colorado. But the head knows not only that it probably won't happen, but also that it shouldn't. This final run will also be CarGo's Colorado swan song. I hope it's as memorable as it is long.
Kiszla: Bud Black has Rockies on the verge of a playoff berth. Why he’s NL manager of the year. | The Denver Post
Mark Kiszla makes his case for Bud Black as manager of the year. He argues that Black has held a team in flux together, and that should earn him votes over other candidates, such as fellow NL Westers Dave Roberts and Torey Lovullo.
Manager Bud Black leaves it up to players | MLB.com
A trip down memory lane for Bud Black's late season teams, either as a player or a manager, aren't always that positive. Black spoke with Tracy Ringolsby about 2007—maybe the most wounded year of Black's managerial career in San Diego.
There is no obvious NL MVP | FanGraphs
Dave Cameron counts about 13 possible MVP candidates in the National League, including the two players from the Rockies who have been getting a lot of attention, Nolan Arenado and Charlie Blackmon. He includes reasons why a certain player could win it before pointing out a reason why he might not. For instance, an RBI-minded voter may vote for Arenado or Paul Goldschmidt. But if that voter opts for RE24 over RBIs, then Joey Votto would be the best option. That only works if the person doesn’t care about contention though—and if that’s not a worry, then Giancarlo Stanton is a pretty good option.
Ultimately, Cameron thinks that “This year, the NL MVP really will come down to what kind of secondary numbers a voter looks at in order to split hairs.” Unfortunately for Colorado’s hometown heroes, getting Coors’d by voters is a distinct possibility. Whatever happens, it’s fun to look forward to the unveiling with so many viable winners.
Rocktober Streak: The final edition
Noah Yingling recaps the final game of the 2007 Rockies’ 11-game winning streak. It capped off a sweep against the Dodgers in Los Angels.
Staying Alive: Milwaukee Brewers dance on, beating Reds 4-3 | Brew Crew Ball
The Brewers won yesterday, and the Rockies' magic number remains at 2. The Cardinals lost yesterday, so it’s now down to Milwaukee and Colorado.
MLB playoffs 2017: Every possible result for the second NL Wild Card | Purple Row
The latest update. The only scenario in which the Rockies miss the Wild Card outright is if the Brewers sweep the Cardinals and the Rockies get swept by the Dodgers. The two ways for the Brewers series to not matter at all is if the Rockies win one or two games against the Dodgers. There are two tiebreaker scenarios: If the Brewers sweep and the Rockies go 1-2, or if the Rockies get swept and the Brewers finish 2-1.