BEWARE: sharp Rocks ahead!
| 5
|
by Tstelnicki03
I like being timely. Excluding airports, I feel most of society would agree with me on that. I make an attempt to group myself with the rest of society because as of right now, I am on the verge of writing a blog concerning the 2007 NLCS, and considering the fact that the NLCS started approximately two plus hours ago, you wouldn't be going out on a limb if you considered my previous statement claiming my affinity for timeliness a false statement. Yet, for the sake of my 3 faithful readers, I will write on, timeliness or not. Time may be money, but this column isn't costing you a dime so shut up already.
The Colorado Rockies will be your 2007 World Series champions.
ESPN's talking heads and pundits can spew Red Sox (and even Yankees, despite their elimination) garbage as much as they like, in a few weeks time, they will be proclaiming this team as nothing short of a miracle dark horse. Now, a few people may argue that it's a bit easier to make a prediction like this after having seen the entire regular season and one round of playoff baseball, and I would have to admit that these criticizing individuals have a legit point. Although, correctly predicting the World Series champ at this point in October would make me only slightly less prophetic that your average psychic, and somehow these pathetic slobs make a living off of reading palms and astrology, so if you look at it that way I'm still in the right here.
The impending fact that the 2007 NLCS will recieve the poorest ratings in the history of playoff baseball has been pounded into the ground over and over already. It's also become common knowledge that if Cleveland were to oust the Sox in the ALCS that a Indians-D'Backs/Rocks World Series might also recieve it's fair share of terrible ratings. Fall Classic or not, it appears to be a foregone conclusion no one wants to stay up late to watch a team from the Mountain Time Zone do battle with a team from Ohio.
And that's a shame.
It's a shame mainly because the Colorado Rockies are the best team you've never seen play. Sure, by now we all know that they've won 17 of their past 18 games, an astonishing feat. A feat also responsible for the mass outbreaks of jaw-dropping as of late. Though it turned out that their miraculous season ending run wasn't enough, and they still only managed a tie for the NL Wild Card spot with the division rival Padres at season's end. In an utterly insane Coors Field insta-classic, 12+ innings of baseball passed before the Rockies pushed across the deciding run with a Jamey Carrol sac-fly in the bottom of the 13th. Controversy ensued, did Matt Holliday, your NL MVP, and that game's winning run, ever actually touch home plate? It didn't matter of course, the game had been decided. Nevertheless, Matt Holliday's left hand and the Coors Field home plate became the topics of radio hosts, columnists, and general sports talk everywhere.
You couldn't escape Holliday's left hand. "Did he touch it?" "Did he graze it?" "Did the ump even see it?" "Sure looked like he touched it, he didn't dive back for it!" "But Michael Barrett dropped the ball so it's moot!" "Yeah but he never touched home plate, the Rockies never scored that run!" Annnnnnnd so forth.
Have you heard ANYTHING about the Rockies since?
Yep, you're right, they swept the Phillies. Congratulations, you've succesfully attained the absolute bare-minimum amount of knowledge concerning this white-hot baseball team. But if we were to quiz you on, say, I don't know, some East Coast teams, Yanks and BoSox? Couldn't you rattle off every major concern, problem, shortcoming, or success these two teams have experienced in the past two weeks? Of course, nevermind that the Yankees were eliminated a few days ago.
What's with the Torre situation, huh?
And how bout Mariano, why are they saying he'll leave the Bronx?
And the Red Sox, bet you can name their ALCS Game 2 Starter too.
Why?
Because you need your sports news, you're a sports fan. "It's October, baby! Fill me in on all this postseason baseball action!" Where do you get your news? The E astcoast S ports P rogramming N etwork, of course.
I'm not going to just clamber up onto my soapbox and berate ESPN for gravitating towards the East Coast teams, why shouldn't they? The West Coast games are on later, everyone's in bed when they're on. All the Northeastern teams are right around the corner from Bristol CT, and big markets are just more interesting, aren't they? Nevermind that LA is almost nearly as big as NY in terms of a market, but can anyone out there east of the Mississippi honestly say they watched one LA Angels game this season? (Nevermind East of the Mississippi, do Angels fans even watch their teams' games? Talk about diehards, leaving halfway through a playoff game? Ok, ok, digression alert message recieved.)
While West Coast teams have recieved the short end of the proverbial stick since the dawn of time zones, it doesn't make them any less interesting. I'd guess that around 9 out of 10 people could tell me the Red Sox leadoff hitter, but how many of those 9 could name 6 or 7 Rockies? Can you blame those people for not hearing of Troy Tulowitzki, (NL Rookie of the Year), until the Rockies playoff push? Can you blame them for not even realizing Kaz Matsui was still in the league? Can you blame them for limited knowledge of the Rockies' pitching staff? (When I say limited pitching staff knowhow, I mean, you've heard of Jeff Francis. Couldn't pick him out of a lineup if your mother's life depended on it...but you've heard of him.) But can you expect these loyal ESPN viewers to actually be aware of the Rockies, after all they hear about is East Coast this, East Coast that? No. Not at all.
The general reason behind writing any column or blog is to shine the light on a problem or issue, and offer a solution, or means of improving it. While I've hopefully made you aware, (Or if you were already aware, then I've bored you) of the East Coast bias problem facing incredibly talented West Coast teams dying for a little well-deserved attention, I've offered no viable solution and don't plan on conceiving any kind of idea at 11:57 pm. One thing I can do is offer a suggestion, watch the Colorado Rockies, your 2007 World Series champs.
I first did on June 25th of this year.
Cubs-Rockies, middle of the season. Cubs hovering around 8 or 9 under, Rockies right at the .500 mark. A little heads up, previous to this matchup, I, personally, had never actually seen the Chicago Cubs win in person. 19 games, never seen one win.
0-19. I kid you not.
Naturally, coming into this game, my hopes weren't exactly sky high, owing to the Cubs' .000 Winning Percentage when I was inside the Friendly Confines, yet headed into the top of the 9th, the Cubs led 8-3. Even though the Cubs record in past visits to Wrigley was in the back of my mind, I was feeling pretty good. The Rockies had looked subpar all night long, Jeff Francis was shaky and gave up most of the runs early on but they hadn't been able to fight back. Enter Scott Eyre for the ninth...
Kaz Matsui led off the inning, and he singled. Ok, not a problem.
Holliday next, he walked. 1st and 2nd, chill, we've got a FIVE RUN LEAD.
Todd Helton followed with a ringing double to left, Matsui scored, Holliday to 3rd. Ok, maybe getting a tiny bit nervous here but still, even the Lovable Losers can't blow a 5 run lead at home, or can they?
0-19 was flashing across my thought process on a second to second basis.
I distinctly remember, as Scott Eyre was being pulled for Bob Howry, looking at my scorecard on my lap and scanning my eyes over the Rockies' lineup. I KNEW that the Cubs were blowing this lead, I knew it. Whether it was because of my knowledge that as a Cubs fan, you can't allow your hopes to get the best of you, no matter how big the lead, or if it was because the Rockies lineup was so frightening. Garrett Atkins was next, then Brad Hawpe, then Tulowitzki. I thought to myself, "There are no outs right now, and that's not going to change. Every single one of these Rockies is going to reach base, and I know it."
It's an odd feeling, an almost haunting one, when you dread and predict the worst, and it turns out...you're right.
Atkins singled, Hawpe singled and Tulowtizki unleashed a 3-run homer and sent me into the quickest fit of depression I've ever experienced. I knew it. I KNEW it. There was no way that any one of those Rockies was going to led that rally die. I could see it in their dugout, grim determination etched into their faces.
The Rockies went on to lose that game, courtesy of some unforgettable Alfonso Soriano heroics. But ever since that game I followed the Rockies closely, waiting for them to heat up, knowing they would.
Season winding down, I had almost given up on them, they shocked the world. They got into the dance, and now find themselves up 1-0 against a miserably inexperienced Diamondbacks team. And they're not finished yet.
My point is this. People don't know about the Rockies, and it's a cryin' shame. They're an unstoppable force, I'm tellin' you! Red Sox in that high altitude in the World Series? Advantage: Rocks.
Blame the East Coast bias, or blame people's general lack of interest in a Wild Card team devoid of big names, but watch out for those Rockies.
They'll be hoisting that trophy in three weeks time.
