Baseball is a long season. 162 games played over 6 months is the longest season in American Pro Sports. Baseball still has the shortest post season, as the entire playoffs will take place over 29 days in October and possibly November 1st.
Let's admit it--after the first 2.5 months, we didn't think it would come down to the last weekend for the last Wild Card position, if anything we were hoping for a chance to clinch the West Division. But the past 3.5 months have told a different story.
Going into the weekend, FiveThirtyEight.com gives the Rockies a 94% chance to make the playoffs and Milwaukee only has 6% chance. But remember 2007 where San Diego went into Milwaukee needing 3 wins and/or Rockies losses to get the Wild Card Spot with 3 games to play. On Friday, the Padres won while the Rockies lost to the D-Backs ending the 11 game winning streak and putting the Magic Number of 1 which meant they would have to lose 3 in a row including a Tie Breaker game, while the Rockies would have to win all 3 (which meant the Rockies magic number was essentially 6.)
Everything broke the Rockies way in their improbable win to the 2007 World Series, so don't start the celebration yet. The Rockies also have made the playoffs 3 times as a Wild Card entry and all three times they have clinched the Wild Card on October 1st. Expect this to go down to Sunday. In 2018 the season ends on September 30th, but we will deal with that later.
It should be a fun weekend, just like this has been a fun season.
Friday, September 29, 2017
Saturday, September 16, 2017
I Gotta Feeling That Tonight's Gonna Be a Good Night
Today is the 10th Anniversary of the start of THE greatest run in Rockies History and one of the greatest runs in MLB history, the 2007 drive to Rocktober.
The Rockies had just returned from a split of a four game series in Philadelphia, and promptly lost the first two games to the Marlins 7-6 and 10-2, and had the 7th best record in the NL at 76-72 4.5 games behind the Padres with 14 regular season games to play. On Sunday, the Rockies casually won the series finale against the Marlins 13-0 where Todd Helton hit his 300th Home Run, and had Monday off.
On Tuesday, a double header was scheduled with the Dodgers, and Jeff Francis pitched a 3-1 gem during the day game, and the Rockies, while the night cap came down to the 9th inning trailing by a run, facing Dodgers Closer Takashi Saito, who the Rockies were hitless against for the season. Saito got a ground out and strikeout, and faced Matt Holliday, who singled on the first pitch to Right Field. Todd Helton came up and on a 1-2 pitch hit home run #301 to Right Center Field to win the game, tossing his helmet as he came home and the run was on.
As the Rockies drive to the playoffs once again, many of the retired 2007 Players returned for a reunion Friday night at Coors Field, to celebrate the improbable finish.
The Rockies had just returned from a split of a four game series in Philadelphia, and promptly lost the first two games to the Marlins 7-6 and 10-2, and had the 7th best record in the NL at 76-72 4.5 games behind the Padres with 14 regular season games to play. On Sunday, the Rockies casually won the series finale against the Marlins 13-0 where Todd Helton hit his 300th Home Run, and had Monday off.
On Tuesday, a double header was scheduled with the Dodgers, and Jeff Francis pitched a 3-1 gem during the day game, and the Rockies, while the night cap came down to the 9th inning trailing by a run, facing Dodgers Closer Takashi Saito, who the Rockies were hitless against for the season. Saito got a ground out and strikeout, and faced Matt Holliday, who singled on the first pitch to Right Field. Todd Helton came up and on a 1-2 pitch hit home run #301 to Right Center Field to win the game, tossing his helmet as he came home and the run was on.
As the Rockies drive to the playoffs once again, many of the retired 2007 Players returned for a reunion Friday night at Coors Field, to celebrate the improbable finish.
Wednesday, September 13, 2017
Oh, Yes, They Call Him the Streak
The Indians today set an American League record for consecutive wins with their 21st.
Last night, the Dodgers ended their longest losing streak in Los Angeles at 11.
Tonight, the Rockies go after their season high tying 7th win in a row and thier franchise tying 9th win in a row on the road.
Winning streaks are fun, losing streaks are frustrating. And streaks don't just end with the one win or loss, you have to sustain it over a period of time. The Dodgers earlier this season, won 59 of 72 games, the Rockies in 2007 won 20 of 21. In 2009 they won 17 of 18. In 2010, they won 10 in a row and 13 of 15 before turning it around and losing 13 of 14 to finish the season.
The point of all this is just to temper the excitement that comes with a winning strreak or keep perspective when your team is losing. Cleveland has won 20 regular season games which means nothing other than their seeding in the playoffs. The streak will end at some point, will it go straight into a nosedive like the 2010 Rockies, or take them to the World Series like the 2007 Rockies.
DODGERS QUIETLY CLINCH: The Dodgers have clinched a spot in the playoffs, althourgh many people will tell you that they still have a magic number of 2 ESPN actually has this correct. The Reason: The Cardinals need to win all but one of their games to catch the Dodgers and Milwaukee would have to win all of their games plus a tiebreaker game against the Dodgers (and the Dodgers would have to lose all their games.) The Cubs can win all but 4 to catch the Dodgers if they lost all their games. Problem is the Cubs have 7 games against the Cardinals, and 4 against Milwaukee, while Milwaukee and St. Louis have the final 3 games against each other. Only one team could possibly win all their games, which would give them the NL Central Division, while the H2H would knock the other two out of reach of the Dodgers. Therefore the Dodgers have clinched the Visitor's Wild Card.
Last night, the Dodgers ended their longest losing streak in Los Angeles at 11.
Tonight, the Rockies go after their season high tying 7th win in a row and thier franchise tying 9th win in a row on the road.
Winning streaks are fun, losing streaks are frustrating. And streaks don't just end with the one win or loss, you have to sustain it over a period of time. The Dodgers earlier this season, won 59 of 72 games, the Rockies in 2007 won 20 of 21. In 2009 they won 17 of 18. In 2010, they won 10 in a row and 13 of 15 before turning it around and losing 13 of 14 to finish the season.
The point of all this is just to temper the excitement that comes with a winning strreak or keep perspective when your team is losing. Cleveland has won 20 regular season games which means nothing other than their seeding in the playoffs. The streak will end at some point, will it go straight into a nosedive like the 2010 Rockies, or take them to the World Series like the 2007 Rockies.
DODGERS QUIETLY CLINCH: The Dodgers have clinched a spot in the playoffs, althourgh many people will tell you that they still have a magic number of 2 ESPN actually has this correct. The Reason: The Cardinals need to win all but one of their games to catch the Dodgers and Milwaukee would have to win all of their games plus a tiebreaker game against the Dodgers (and the Dodgers would have to lose all their games.) The Cubs can win all but 4 to catch the Dodgers if they lost all their games. Problem is the Cubs have 7 games against the Cardinals, and 4 against Milwaukee, while Milwaukee and St. Louis have the final 3 games against each other. Only one team could possibly win all their games, which would give them the NL Central Division, while the H2H would knock the other two out of reach of the Dodgers. Therefore the Dodgers have clinched the Visitor's Wild Card.
Monday, September 11, 2017
Oh Baby, Don't Mess With Me
The Rockies could have made it a lot easier on themselves by winning just a few more times in June, July, August, and Early September.
But they didn't. So they entered the current 8 game road trip with only a 2 game lead over St. Louis, and 2.5 over Milwaukee for the Visitor Wild Card Spot, and 7.5 games behind the D-Backs for the Home Wild Card Spot.
Realistically, they were looking at falling behind St. Louis or Milwaukee by the end of the trip as they were 1-5 in these two parks in June, and losing 24 of their past 33 on the road (although they had won 3 of their last 4 on the Road Trip.) The most optimistic person, may have hoped for a 5-3 record, but more realistically it would be 3-5.
Instead the Rockies have put together a 5 game winning streak, and guarnteed that they will head home Friday night with the Visitor Wild Card lead. They are also now 1.5 games ahead of the NL Central leading Cubs.
Nolan Arenado got annoyed by the fans behind the on-deck circle and transformed it into a 3 run homer in the 8th.
Magic number is now down to 16 over the Cardinals for Visitor Wild Card, 23 for the Home Wild Card.
But they didn't. So they entered the current 8 game road trip with only a 2 game lead over St. Louis, and 2.5 over Milwaukee for the Visitor Wild Card Spot, and 7.5 games behind the D-Backs for the Home Wild Card Spot.
Realistically, they were looking at falling behind St. Louis or Milwaukee by the end of the trip as they were 1-5 in these two parks in June, and losing 24 of their past 33 on the road (although they had won 3 of their last 4 on the Road Trip.) The most optimistic person, may have hoped for a 5-3 record, but more realistically it would be 3-5.
Instead the Rockies have put together a 5 game winning streak, and guarnteed that they will head home Friday night with the Visitor Wild Card lead. They are also now 1.5 games ahead of the NL Central leading Cubs.
Nolan Arenado got annoyed by the fans behind the on-deck circle and transformed it into a 3 run homer in the 8th.
Magic number is now down to 16 over the Cardinals for Visitor Wild Card, 23 for the Home Wild Card.
Lightning is Striking Again
It hadn't happened in 24 years, but it happened when it needed to: The Rockies swept a four game series at Dodger Stadium for the 2nd time in their history, and the first time since August 8-11, 1993.
The Rockies used a good mix of starting pitching, timely hitting, and fantastic relief pitching to win the four games, go 6-1 for the week. By Thursday, the Rockies had stretched their Visitor Wild Card lead back to 3 after Milwaukee closed to 1/2 game last Sunday, but the Cards and Brewers all swept their weekend series, to keep pace with the Rockies. Meanwhile the D-Backs dropped 2 of 3 to the Padres as the Rockies closed to within 5 games of Arizona as they head to Phoenix for a 4 game series.
The Dodgers have lost 10 in a row, which is the longest losing streak in MLB this season, and ties the longest in their Los Angeles history. It also happened to them in 1961 and 1987. They have also lost 15 of their last 16. Prior that they lost 15 games out of 74 from May 31st to August 25th. 9 of the last 15 losses have been at home. They now go on a 10 game road trip to San Francisco, Washington and Philadelphia. As bad as the Rockies 3-6 homestand last week, the Dodgers went 0-7 on this one.
The good news is the Rockies passed the Central Leading Cubs by a game, which means two of the three Central teams Cubs, Brewers and Cards have to pass them for the Rockies not to make the playoffs, but all three play teams with losing records early in the week, but over the final 17 days of the season, 2 of the 3 Central teams will play each other, meaning there are 14 losses between them.
Here's the remaining schedule (all series 3 games unless noted) Bold Playoff Contenders:
Los Angeles: Home (6)--San Francisco, San Diego; Away(13)--San Francisco, Washington, Philadelphia, Colorado
Arizona: Home(10)--Colorado (4), Miami, San Francisco; Away(9); San Francisco, San Diego, Kansas City
Colorado: Home(9)--San Diego, Miami, Los Angeles; Away(10): Arizona (4), San Francisco (2), San Diego (4)
Chicago: Home (9)--New York Mets, St. Louis, Cincinnati; Away(10) Tampa Bay(2) Milwaukee(4), St. Louis (4)
Milwaukee: Home (10): Pittsburgh, Chicago (4), Cincinnati; Away (9) Miami, Pittsburgh, St. Louis
St. Louis: Home (10): Cincinnati, Chicago (4), Milwaukee; Away (9)--Chicago, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh
The Rockies used a good mix of starting pitching, timely hitting, and fantastic relief pitching to win the four games, go 6-1 for the week. By Thursday, the Rockies had stretched their Visitor Wild Card lead back to 3 after Milwaukee closed to 1/2 game last Sunday, but the Cards and Brewers all swept their weekend series, to keep pace with the Rockies. Meanwhile the D-Backs dropped 2 of 3 to the Padres as the Rockies closed to within 5 games of Arizona as they head to Phoenix for a 4 game series.
The Dodgers have lost 10 in a row, which is the longest losing streak in MLB this season, and ties the longest in their Los Angeles history. It also happened to them in 1961 and 1987. They have also lost 15 of their last 16. Prior that they lost 15 games out of 74 from May 31st to August 25th. 9 of the last 15 losses have been at home. They now go on a 10 game road trip to San Francisco, Washington and Philadelphia. As bad as the Rockies 3-6 homestand last week, the Dodgers went 0-7 on this one.
The good news is the Rockies passed the Central Leading Cubs by a game, which means two of the three Central teams Cubs, Brewers and Cards have to pass them for the Rockies not to make the playoffs, but all three play teams with losing records early in the week, but over the final 17 days of the season, 2 of the 3 Central teams will play each other, meaning there are 14 losses between them.
Here's the remaining schedule (all series 3 games unless noted) Bold Playoff Contenders:
Los Angeles: Home (6)--San Francisco, San Diego; Away(13)--San Francisco, Washington, Philadelphia, Colorado
Arizona: Home(10)--Colorado (4), Miami, San Francisco; Away(9); San Francisco, San Diego, Kansas City
Colorado: Home(9)--San Diego, Miami, Los Angeles; Away(10): Arizona (4), San Francisco (2), San Diego (4)
Chicago: Home (9)--New York Mets, St. Louis, Cincinnati; Away(10) Tampa Bay(2) Milwaukee(4), St. Louis (4)
Milwaukee: Home (10): Pittsburgh, Chicago (4), Cincinnati; Away (9) Miami, Pittsburgh, St. Louis
St. Louis: Home (10): Cincinnati, Chicago (4), Milwaukee; Away (9)--Chicago, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh
Monday, September 4, 2017
The Nearer Your Destination The More You're Slip Slidin' away
The Rockies offensive woes continued despite winning their first game in the last 5 tries with a 4-3 win over the San Francisco Giants. The hitting drought has reached 6 weeks and 37 games, where the Rockies have gone 15-22 since July 23rd.
It's September and the stretch drive and while the D-Backs and Brewers (along with the Cubs) have gotten hot over the past two weeks, the Rockies are decidedly not hot. But they haven't been cold enough (yet) to relinquish the Visitor Wild Card lead. It was down to 1/2 game over Milwaukee yesterday and increased to 1.5 games today as both the Reds and Rockies got walk off wins.
As the Rockies approach a key road trip with four games each in LA and Phoenix, the Rockies cannot afford to languish in their hitting doldrums any longer. They need to find several people to step forward and lead the scoring effort, as the pitching continues to do well.
Meanwhile the Dodgers have been in their first prolonged funk of the year. After losing 3 in a row and 5 of 7 back in early June, the Dodgers ran off winning streaks of 6, 10, 11, 9, and 6, en route to an amazing 56-11 run and taking them to a 91-36 overall record. Over the past 10 games however they have now lost 9 of 10 and had their first 5 game losing streak and swept in a series for the first time.
It's September and the stretch drive and while the D-Backs and Brewers (along with the Cubs) have gotten hot over the past two weeks, the Rockies are decidedly not hot. But they haven't been cold enough (yet) to relinquish the Visitor Wild Card lead. It was down to 1/2 game over Milwaukee yesterday and increased to 1.5 games today as both the Reds and Rockies got walk off wins.
As the Rockies approach a key road trip with four games each in LA and Phoenix, the Rockies cannot afford to languish in their hitting doldrums any longer. They need to find several people to step forward and lead the scoring effort, as the pitching continues to do well.
Meanwhile the Dodgers have been in their first prolonged funk of the year. After losing 3 in a row and 5 of 7 back in early June, the Dodgers ran off winning streaks of 6, 10, 11, 9, and 6, en route to an amazing 56-11 run and taking them to a 91-36 overall record. Over the past 10 games however they have now lost 9 of 10 and had their first 5 game losing streak and swept in a series for the first time.
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