The Overlooked Story
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by Rawbeezeitz
I never really saw East Coast Bias until now. That’s probably because I’m on the East Coast, and I’m biased. Everybody seems to be talking about the Mets collapsing, and the Phillies soaring. “Phillies win, Rollins for MVP” has become the war cry out of Philadelphia and we all know how big of an implosion the Mets suffered.
Nobody is talking about that team from Denver. That’s not exactly true, people are talking. They’re mentioning the Rockies, almost as if it is an afterthought, the side dish to a full plate of sports from a crazy weekend. The Rockies are, after all, the team that might play the Phillies.
While the Mets floundered and the Phillies feasted against the dregs of the NL East, the Rockies were playing their best baseball against some of the best in baseball. They went 13-1 down the stretch, including a massive 3 game sweep in San Diego, and a season ending 2-1 series victory in Arizona. MVP candidate Matt Holliday hit .367 in the month of September, with 30 RBI, and 12 homers. He slugged .796 and had an unreal OPS of 1.244.
Colorado forced a playoff game with the Padres for the NL Wild Card. If the Rockies win, it will be their 2nd post-season berth in franchise history. They’d play the Phillies, and would actually have a slightly better record than Philadelphia. Even if they don’t win, simply forcing a playoff game is nothing short of impressive. The Rockies have already achieved their best record in team history.
So while everybody will be talking about the Mets’ collapse, or the Steelers losing to Arizona, or Florida’s loss to Auburn, or Brett Favre, I’ll have my East Coast eyes focused on Denver as Colorado takes on the Padres tonight. And I’ll be rooting for Colorado, because they have demonstrated that mathematical elimination is the only kind of elimination.
