Beyond Our Control

In the excitement of rooting for a game, one of the things we forget about baseball players is that they are humans too, and sometimes, unexpectedly, non-baseball issues rear their heads and affect a player or a game. Jason Hammel had an impending bereavement last weekend as he took the mound in a game the Rockies lost. Did it affect him? Probably, but he might have lost the game anyway, and the reality is the game didn't matter in the big picture to him.

Last night Troy Tulowitzki came down with some illness, which kept him from even coming to the ballpark. The Rockies had to switch up some positions which admittedly hurt them in the loss last night, especially when you came down to the last out with the potential winning run at the plate in the person of--Omar Quintanilla????? But it happens.

It can be worse. Last month the Brewers' Corey Hart had an appendectomy that is sidelineing him for about a month, the Twins Justin Morneau came down with an inner ear infection, that has sidelined him for nearly a week and possibly will land him on the DL.

And let's not forget the scare Aaron Cook got a few years ago with his blood clots, that not only threatened his baseball career, but his life.

These things pop up all the time, and are the unknown factor in the ultimate pennant race. They are part of the game though, and we always have to deal with them as they come.

IT WAS FUN WHILE IT LASTED, BUT THE SEASON IS OVER: Speaking of Aaron Cook, he is headed to the DL and Matt Herges is being called up. Most likely Josh Fogg, or Adam Eaton who both pitched last night will take his place in the rotation against the Dodgers next Wednesday. After that the next scheduled start would be September 1st against the Mets, and the Rockies can call up a starter from the minors for that game as rosters expand.

According to Troy Renck (see 3a), this means the Rockies WILL NOT MAKE THE PLAYOFFS. It may not matter anyway, because as he also said (see 2), they won't make the playoffs unless the Rockies win the next 3 games (going 3-1 against the Giants at home). His words "The Rockies must split six at AT&T Park and win three of four on Blake Street." Talk about pressure. (My emphasis)

I'll stick with my prediction that Troy Renck will be proven wrong, and all is not lost in either of the cases. Keep in mind if we can win just one in this series, we remain tied for the Wild Card spot.

BECOMING BASEBALL FANS: One of my complaints about Rockies fans is that have not yet become true baseball fans. The most obnoxious thing is doing "the Wave", and doing it while the Rockies are batting.

At the 2007 Tiebreaker game, an elderly woman who was a season-ticket holder got annoyed with the other fans in front of her whenever something exciting happened in the game, and yell at us repeatedly to sit down. Sorry Ma'am this was for the playoffs. I've seen it at other games in different sections as well. And I'm not talking about the random drunk fan who doesn't realize he's a better door than a window, but a block of fans who stand up for a great play or situation.

So I have to give Kudos to the fans in their further evolvement into Baseball Fans. With the Rockies 4 runs down and the bases loaded in the bottom of the 7th, and Todd Helton batting, the fans stood on their feet the entire at bat, even during the pitching change--And I did not hear one person complain.

THE OUT-OF-TOWNERS: I'm hosting three Giants fans who flew in from the Bay Area this weekend for games at Coors Field. This had been planned since the middle of May, when both teams were under .500, not realizing the potential significance of the series at this point. Obviously they were pleased with the result, but I had to laugh at them for their lack of faith in the middle relievers and even the Closer Brian Wilson in an non-save role. I think they really thought that they were going to lose the game, even when it was 6-1. With good reason too. The Rockies loaded the bases with one out on two walks and a HBP in the 7th, got a solo HR in the 8th and had 4 baserunners in the 9th.