Worth Repeating: The Colorado Rockies 2008 and Beyond

[OregonDuck1989]

Colorado Rockies (51-45 7 GB) at Los Angeles Dodgers (48-49 10.5 GB) July 22-24

July 22-In an absolute slugfest Ian Stewart goes 4 for 4 with a home run and we score more runs then the Dodgers and as Joe Morgan says “that’s how you win”. Rockies 14 Dodgers 10

WP-Ramon Ramirez (1-0)
SV-Manny Corpas (20)
HR-Yorvit Torrealba (6), Ian Stewart (9)

July 23-Brandon Hynick doesn’t have such a good second start in the MLB and gives up 8 earned runs. The Dodgers destroy us in game two. Dodgers 10 Rockies 2

LP-Brandon Hynick (1-1)

July 24-Franklin Morales may be out of his slump as he strikes out six Dodgers to give us the rubber game. Rockies 7 Dodgers 2

WP-Franklin Morales (11-6)

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Coming away from the Dodgers series…

I’m happy with the play of the team. Over the day off I do a bit of minor league scouting and make some call ups. We move Chris Frey (CF) to AAA, Dexter Fowler (CF) to AA, and Daniel Mayora (2B) to A. These three players are playing exceptionally well and I feel they deserve a call up. I also put Seth Smith as next in line to the big leagues. He might have to wait for September call ups but I like the way he his hitting in AAA (.351, 12 HR, 91 RBI).

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Arizona Diamondbacks (61-40 1st in NL West) at Colorado Rockies (53-46 7 GB) July 26-28

July 26-Brandon Webb strikes out six and pitches seven shut out innings, Jeff Francis struggles and the Diamondbacks rip us in game one. Diamondbacks 9 Rockies 3

LP-Jeff Francis (8-9)
HR-Matt Holliday (27)

July 27-The offense goes off on Doug Davis and the D-Backs bullpen to even the series as we romp to a big win. Rockies 14 Diamondbacks 5

WP-Jason Hirsh (3-2)
HR-Todd Helton (10), Omar Quintanilla (2), Brad Hawpe (29)

July 28-Brandon Hynick pitches mediocre but strikes out seven and we put up six runs in the seventh inning and win the series against Arizona. Rockies 10 Diamondbacks 6

WP-Luis Vizcaino (4-3)
HR-Troy Tulowitzki (19)

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Coming away from the Diamondbacks series…

Yes! We gain a game on Arizona and a half game on New York with the series win. It’s now make or break time. We have to decide who we are going to trade before the deadline. The latest projections put us as four million dollars over budget. Manageable if they are correct. The question is: do we make the push for the playoffs with Hawpe and let him go to free agency? Or do we send him away now and give up on the season for a chance at having something in return. Dan, Charlie and I debated for hours. Finally, we decided. Hawpe is staying, we’ll risk losing him to free agency. We are done trading for this season. This is the team we are going to push for the playoffs with. We now welcome struggling San Diego to close out the month. We hope to finish out the month in style.

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San Diego Padres (48-55 13.5 GB) at Colorado Rockies (55-47 6 GB)

July 29-Morales doesn’t pitch well but the offense bails him out as we squeak by in game one. Rockies 9 Padres 7

WP-Franklin Morales (12-6)
SV-Manny Corpas (21)
HR-Yorvit Torrealba 2 (8), Matt Holliday (28), Brad Hawpe (30)

(After the game the Houston Astros offer us Garrett Atkins back for a couple low level prospects. Dan laughs on the phone. “You aren’t being serious!” he yells. The Astros laugh... “of course not…” they say. Interesting General Manager in Houston…)

July 30-The offense bails out Jeff Francis this time and we take the second in a row against the Padres and are now only one game back of falling New York. Rockies 7 Padres 5

WP-Jeff Francis (9-9)
SV-Manny Corpas (22)
HR-Omar Quintanilla (3)

July 31-Luis Vizcaino gives up three runs in the eighth and the sweep is avoided by the Padres in the late innings. Dang. Padres 11 Rockies 9

LP-Luis Vizcaino (4-4)
HR-Ian Stewart (10), Willy Taveras (3)

[OregonDuck1989]

Baseball July Round Up

TRADE DEADLINE WRAP UP

The trade deadline saw some teams make moves to put their teams in position to win the world championship, while other teams made moves to rebuild for the future. Let’s recap the biggest trades of this July 31…

The Reds and Astros made a HUGE trade that sent slugger Miguel Tejada and closer Jose Valverde to Cincinnati for three great Reds prospects in Shaun Cumberland (RF), Edinson Volquez (P), and Tyler Pelland (P)

The Chicago White Sox went full rebuild sending right fielder Jermaine Dye to Minnesota and ace Mark Buehrle to the New York Mets for prospects Erik Lis (LF), David Winfree (1B), and pitcher Nicholas Carr.

The Mets not only grabbed Buehrle from the White Sox but made another big move later in the day grabbing Jeremy Guthrie from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for three pitching prospects: Josh Stinson, Dylan Owen, and Jon Niese.

Baltimore traded two players within the division including right fielder Luke Scott to Boston for prospect Jeffery Natale(1B) and catcher Ramon Hernandez to Tampa Bay for pitching prospect Wade Townsend.

That wraps up this years major trades as teams make the push for the world championship!

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AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST A DEADLOCK

As we head into the final two months of the season its easy to see the division with the best race in the American League is the East. With the Yankees having a strong month putting them in first only a game ahead of the reigning champions and the surprising Tampa Bay Rays only two games out it really looks like it could come down to the last week of the season for this division to sort itself out…if not the last day.

THE REVITALIZATION OF ANDRUW JONES

After having a terrible 2007 in Atlanta before heading to Los Angeles not much was expected of Andruw Jones…but he has proven those skeptics wrong having a career season. Right now, he is three RBI’s away from last seasons total (91) and is already six ahead of his 2007 home run count (32). His batting average is upped by 50 points with two months left and it looks like Andruw could be putting his name back out there as one of the games premiere outfielders.

AROUND THE LEAGUE…

Division Leaders:

ALE: New York Yankees (62-47) Boston Red Sox (61-48 1 GB) Tampa Bay Rays (59-48 2 GB)

ALC: Detroit Tigers (64-44) Minnesota Twins (59-48 4.5 GB)

ALW: Los Angeles Angels (64-44) Texas Rangers (54-54 10 GB)

ALWC: Boston Red Sox (61-48) Minnesota Twins, Tampa Bay Rays (59-48 1 GB)

NLE: Atlanta Braves (64-44) Philadelphia Phillies (60-47 3.5 GB)

NLC: Cincinnati Reds (61-44) St. Louis Cardinals (52-53 9 GB)

NLW: Arizona Diamondbacks (63-44) Colorado Rockies (57-48 5 GB)

NLWC: Philadelphia Phillies (60-47) New York Mets (59-49 1.5 GB) Colorado Rockies (57-48 2 GB)

League Leaders:

Batting Average: Alberto Callaspo KCR .361 (AL), David Wright NYM .337 (NL)
Home Runs: David Ortiz BOS 27 (AL), Mark Teixeira ATL 32 (NL)
RBI: Alexis Rios TOR 90 (AL), Matt Holliday COL 101 (NL)
Stolen Bases: Chone Figgins ANA 47 (AL), Juan Pierre LAD 48 (NL)
ERA: Kevin Slowey MIN 2.82 (AL), Tom Shearn CIN 2.15 (NL)
Wins: Josh Beckett BOS 12 (AL), Aaron Cook COL 14 (NL)
K: C.C. Sabathia CLE 161 (AL), Johan Santana NYM 168 (NL)
Saves: Joakim Soria KCR 34 (AL), Rafael Soriano ATL 31 (NL)

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Colorado Baseball Round Up: July

FUENTES ONLY MOVE IN JULY

What many fans and source expected to be a huge July for the Rockies in terms of players sold it ended up the opposite as only reliever Brian Fuentes moved in a trade to the New York Yankees for prospect Jeff Karstens. Although Fuentes is playing extremely well in New York (1.29 ERA) the Rockies have to feel confident with the move they made to acquire a great prospect. Holliday, Taveras, and Hawpe stay in town for now as the Rockies push for a second straight playoff run.

STRETCH RUN…

The Rockies have put themselves in position that with a good August and September we will once again see a Colorado team in October baseball. With Aaron Cook and Franklin Morales keeping the pitching locked tight and the tremendous offense of the Rockies bailing out any bad starts it seems as though the Rockies have hit their stride.

TEAM LEADERS…

Batting Average: Willy Taveras (.321)
HR: Brad Hawpe (30)
RBI: Matt Holliday (101)
SB: Willy Taveras (39)
ERA: Aaron Cook (3.53)
Wins: Aaron Cook (14)
K: Jeff Francis (96)
Saves: Manny Corpas (22)

DOWN ON THE FARM…

Hitter of the Month: Chris Frey (CF) .351 8 HR 57 RBI in AA (.375 in AAA moved up July 26)
Pitcher of the Month: Greg Reynolds (RH Starter) 10-1 2.78 ERA 92 K in 18 appearances in A Modesto
2008 Draft Picks: Marv Rouillard: 2.89 ERA 4-1 31 K in six starts in R Casper, Carlos Sirva: 6.19 ERA 11 K in 7 appearances in R Casper

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Coming away from July…

We played extremely well in July, especially after the All-Star break. Charlie has given me and Dan a break on the budget talks but today, while hunting around in Dan’s office, I discovered an email from the Seattle Mariners. Apparently, they are about to fire Bavasi…and Dan is set to be their replacement. I’m not sure what this means for the rest of us. But I’m pretty sure Dan is going to take the job. They are offering gobs of money. As we head into August we trail Philly by two games and Arizona by five. What happened to the Mets? We head to San Francisco…

[OregonDuck1989]

Team Stats:


Batting:

2008 Batting             Team    G   AVG    AB    H  2B  3B  HR   BB    K   SB  CS    R  RBI   SLG   OBP
Baker, Jeff               COL   47  .256    43   11   1   1   2    3   12    0   0    8   14  .465  .304
Barmes, Clint             COL   27  .235    34    8   2   1   0    0    5    0   0    5    4  .353  .257
Barker, Sean              COL   14  .250    40   10   0   0   3    2   12    1   0    7    5  .475  .279
Bellorin, Edwin           COL    6  .417    12    5   0   0   0    0    2    0   1    1    2  .417  .400
Buchholz, Taylor          COL   29  .143     7    1   0   0   0    0    4    0   0    1    0  .143  .143
Capellan, Jose            COL   25  .286     7    2   2   0   0    0    1    0   0    0    1  .571  .286
Clarke, Darren            COL   22  .000     1    0   0   0   0    0    0    0   0    0    0  .000  .000
Cook, Aaron               COL   18  .122    41    5   0   0   0    2   15    1   0    2    1  .122  .163
Francis, Jeff             COL   20  .146    41    6   1   0   0    3   11    0   0    3    1  .171  .205
Gonzalez, Luis A.         COL   26  .205    44    9   1   1   0    3    6    0   0    4    3  .273  .255
Hawpe, Brad               COL  100  .287   376  108  14   2  30   50  101    0   2   71   62  .574  .374
Helton, Todd              COL  105  .292   421  123  19   3  10   46   54    1   0   63   64  .423  .372
Hirsh, Jason              COL   32  .200    10    2   0   0   0    1    2    0   0    1    1  .200  .273
Holliday, Matt            COL  105  .315   410  129  20   2  28   29   88    3   2   72  101  .578  .367
Hynick, Brandon           COL    3  .500     4    2   1   0   0    1    1    0   0    1    0  .750  .600
Iannetta, Chris           COL   55  .315   178   56   6   0   4   19   43    0   0   23   25  .416  .394
Jimenez, Ubaldo           COL   16  .107    28    3   0   0   0    2   12    0   0    3    2  .107  .167
Manzella, Thomas          COL    4  .077    13    1   0   0   0    1    3    0   0    1    0  .077  .143
Morales, Franklin         COL   21  .174    46    8   0   0   0    3   16    0   1    4    6  .174  .224
Morillo, Juan             COL   10  .000     2    0   0   0   0    0    1    0   0    0    0  .000  .000
Nix, Jayson               COL   75  .256   277   71  16   2   7   22   60    3   0   38   39  .404  .311
Quintanilla, Omar         COL   21  .405    79   32   7   1   3    5    6    1   1   15   12  .633  .447
Ramirez, Ramon            COL    7  .000     2    0   0   0   0    0    0    0   0    0    0  .000  .000
Redman, Mark              COL   11  .067    15    1   0   0   0    1   10    0   0    0    1  .067  .125
Spilborghs, Ryan          COL   94  .386   132   51   9   0   4   17   23    2   5   26   22  .545  .461
Stewart, Ian              COL   67  .224   245   55   6   2  10   26   58    1   1   37   42  .388  .296
Taveras, Willy            COL   96  .321   377  121  18   1   3   32   54   39  12   68   34  .398  .383
Torrealba, Yorvit         COL   71  .314   210   66  12   1   8   19   55    2   3   31   34  .495  .378
Tulowitzki, Troy          COL   99  .320   410  131  30   2  19   41   89    6   4   79   77  .541  .383
Zambrano, Victor          COL    1 1.000     1    1   1   0   0    0    0    0   0    0    0 2.000 1.000

Pitching:

2008 Pitching            Team     IP   ERA    G  GS   W   L  SV    K   BB   R/9
Buchholz, Taylor          COL   45.0  3.80   29   1   0   2   1   24    8 11.60
Capellan, Jose            COL   40.2  8.41   25   2   1   0   0   38   18 17.48
Clarke, Darren            COL   30.1  4.15   23   1   0   2   0   27    7 11.57
Cook, Aaron               COL  135.0  3.53   19  19  14   4   0   70   30 10.27
Corpas, Manuel            COL   30.0  2.10   30   1   0   2  22   22   12 10.20
Francis, Jeff             COL  135.1  4.79   20  20   9   9   0   96   33 11.70
Herges, Matt              COL    3.2 12.27    5   0   1   0   0    3    1 17.18
Hirsh, Jason              COL   63.1  8.10   32   3   3   2   0   43   45 17.05
Hynick, Brandon           COL   15.0  9.00    3   3   1   1   0   19    6 16.80
Jimenez, Ubaldo           COL  101.2  4.96   17  17   6   5   0   59   42 13.63
Morales, Franklin         COL  130.2  4.41   21  21  12   6   0   95   42 12.88
Morillo, Juan             COL   17.1  8.31   10   0   0   0   0   20   17 18.69
Ramirez, Ramon            COL   11.0  4.09    7   0   1   0   0   10    1  9.82
Redman, Mark              COL   66.2  4.32   12  10   4   3   1   31   22 11.61
Vizcaino, Luis            COL   50.0  3.96   47   1   4   4   1   63   20  9.90
Zambrano, Victor          COL   15.1  8.22    3   3   0   3   0   10    9 15.85

[OregonDuck1989]

Colorado Rockies (57-48 5 GB) at San Francisco Giants (39-69 24.5 GB) August 2-4

August 2-Ubaldo pitches a shutout for eight and a third innings and four runs in the first inning hold up as we cruise. Rockies 4 Giants 0

WP-Ubaldo Jimenez (7-5)
HR-Ian Stewart (11)

August 3-Morales pitches just well enough for us to pull out the squeaker and Arizona and Philadelphia lose to move us up in the standings! Rockies 6 Giants 5

WP-Franklin Morales (13-6)
SV-Manny Corpas (22)

August 4-Redman duels Lincecum for eight strong innings but a Bengie Molina home run in the eighth helps the Giants avoid the sweep. Both Arizona and Philadelphia win so we fall back a game. Giants 2 Rockies 1

LP-Mark Redman (4-4)

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Coming away from the Giants series…

We’re in a tight race right now. Every win seems like double the victory and every loss seems crushing. The Diamondbacks themselves now come in for a four game set. We trail them by five games but if we can take three out of four I would be ecstatic. Aaron Cook will miss one more start due to his foot fracture and so Jason Hirsh will start game two against Arizona…

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Arizona Diamondbacks (65-45 1st In NL West) at Colorado Rockies (59-49 5 GB) August 5-8

August 5-Not exactly a pitching duel as neither pitcher (Francis vs. Johnson) pitches well. We put six runs up in the first two innings and we pull this one out with a big offensive showcase. Rockies 11 Diamondbacks 6

WP-Jeff Francis (10-9)
HR-Brad Hawpe 2 (32) Willy Taveras (4)

(Phillies are off. We gain a half game)

August 6-JASON HIRSH! I didn’t expect much out of the kid but he dominates the Diamondback hitters for five strikeouts in seven and two thirds innings, just enough for our offense to take it back late Rockies 5 Diamondbacks 3

WP-Luis Vizcaino (5-4)
HR-Troy Tulowitzki (20), Matt Holliday 2 (30)

(Phillies lose to the Giants 9-5 and we are now ½ game behind both them and New York)

August 7-Ubaldo pitches well, the offense does its job and we cruise to our third straight win over Arizona. We’re now two back of the division. Rockies 5 Diamondbacks 3

WP-Ubaldo Jimenez (8-5)
SV-Manny Corpas (24)

(Phillies beat the Giants 7-3, Mets beat the Cardinals and we remain ½ GB)

August 8-In a game that send Coors Field shaking to its core we pulled out the most memorable sweep of 2008. Possibly the most memorable four game sweep of the Diamondbacks since the NLCS. Brad Hawpe hits a three run home run in the bottom of the tenth to give us the sweep! Rockies 6 Diamondbacks 3

WP-Manny Corpas (1-2)
HR-Brad Hawpe (33) Walk off

(Phillies whoop the Giants 9-1, Mets complete the four game sweep of the Cardinals 4-2 and we’re still a half game behind them for the Wild Card)

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Coming away from the Diamondbacks series…

Can you believe it? We’re one game behind the Diamondbacks after the sweep and still a half game behind New York and Philly in the Wild Card which could turn into the best race of the entire season! I can’t believe we swept the Diamondbacks. Hawpe’s walk off capped an incredible series and the stands shook that August night as we walked out with a four game sweep. We now head to San Diego juiced up. We don’t play Arizona for the rest of the season. The Phillies travel to Washington next to take on the lowly Nationals and the Mets take on the Diamondbacks. It’s a series where I’m not sure who I want to root for, but I think I should root for the Mets. The division is a lot nicer to own then the Wild Card.

[OregonDuck1989]

Colorado Rockies (63-49 1 GB) at San Diego Padres (52-60 12 GB) August 9-11

August 9-The Padres and Mark Prior shut us out to end the win streak. Padres 8 Rockies 0

LP-Mark Redman (4-5)

(Both the Phillies and Mets win but the Diamondbacks lose their fifth straight)

August 10-Jeff Francis pitches well, Brad Hawpe hits his 34th home run of the season and we get the Padres back for the loss yesterday. Rockies 5 Padres 3

WP-Jeff Francis (11-9)
SV-Manny Corpas (25)
HR-Brad Hawpe (34)

(The Phillies and Mets lose their games and the Diamondbacks win)

August 11-Aaron Cook struggles in his return and the offense can’t quite bail him out of this one. Padres 7 Rockies 6

LP-Aaron Cook (14-5)
HR-Yorvit Torrealba (9), Troy Tulowitzki (21)

(The Diamondbacks lose the series to the Mets and the Phillies lose their second straight. The Mets now hold sole possession of the wild card)

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Coming away from the Padres series…

If we could have taken two of three from the Padres we’d be tied for first right now, but could of doesn’t cut it in this world and we will hang one game back of the Diamondbacks as we travel to St. Louis to take on the Cardinals. Our team ERA is 5.07, that’s crazy. I understand ours should be higher as we play in Colorado but still 5.07? We need to get that under control. Arizona welcomes the Giants while the Phillies welcome the Marlins before heading to Arizona for a four game showdown against the Diamondbacks (Go Phillies!) The Mets go to San Diego.

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Colorado Rockies (64-51 1 GB) at St. Louis Cardinals (54-61 13.5 GB)August 12-14

August 12-Manny Corpas blows the one run lead in the bottom of the ninth to give the Cardinals the stolen victory. Cardinals 2 Rockies 1

LP-Manny Corpas (1-3)

(Mets and Diamondbacks win, the Phillies losing streak is now at three with their loss)

August 13-Chris Carpenter pitches masterfully as we fall in our second straight to St. Louis. Cardinals 2 Rockies 1

LP-Franklin Morales (13-7)

(Arizona wins, Mets win, and the Phillies win)

August 14-The offense finally comes to St. Louis as we avoid the sweep in good fashion. Rockies 8 Cardinals 6

WP-Darren Clark (1-2)
SV-Manny Corpas (26)
HR-Brad Hawpe (35), Ian Stewart (12)

(The Phillies lose but the Mets and Diamondbacks cruise to sweeps)

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Coming away from the Cardinals series…

It’s important that we get back on track against the Giants after this day off. The Diamondbacks are back on track after getting swept by us. (They dominated the Phillies 9-1 today) We need to do the same. We’re 3.5 back in both races. A sweep over San Francisco will do bunches in getting us back in this race.

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San Francisco Giants (42-78 27.5 GB) at Colorado Rockies (65-53 3.5 GB) August 16-18

August 16-Jeff Francis crafts his 12th win of the season as we take game one of the series. Rockies 5 Giants 3

WP-Jeff Francis (12-9)
SV-Manny Corpas (27)

(The Diamondbacks defeat the Phillies again but the Mets lose as well we are 2.5 back of the Wild Card)

August 17-Aaron Cook gets back on track on a day the defense does terribly (three errors) we hit five home runs and cruise to victory. Rockies 9 Giants 5

WP-Aaron Cook (15-5)
HR-Todd Helton (11), Troy Tulowitzki (22), Matt Holliday (31), Ryan Spilborghs (5), Brad Hawpe (36)

(Diamondbacks cruise for their third straight win over the Phillies and the Mets lose to move us up in the wild card race again)

August 18-Ryan Spilborghs hits a walk off home run to send the Giants home with their eighth straight loss and we sweep San Francisco. Rockies 5 Giants 4

WP-Manny Corpas (2-3)
HR-Ryan Spilborghs (6) Walk off

(Diamondbacks four game swept the Phillies at home and the Mets avoid the sweep at the hands of Atlanta)

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Coming away from the Giants series…

A great sweep but we can’t dwell on it too long, we are now heading to Cincinnati to face the Central leading Reds. Our team ERA dipped below five after the Giants series (4.99). The Diamondbacks put their seven game win streak on the line in San Francisco a team that has lost eight straight. The Phillies and Mets have the 19th off before taking each other on in a huge battle that could help us out.

[OregonDuck1989]

Colorado Rockies (68-53 3.5 GB) at Cincinnati Reds (68-52 1st in NL Central) August 19-22

August 19-The most frustrating loss of the season by far. We go into the ninth leading by two runs and Vizcaino gives up three when HE ALREADY HAS TWO OUTS. It’s frustrating. Reds 7 Rockies 6

LP-Luis Vizcaino (5-5)

(The Diamondbacks won their eighth straight and the Mets and Phillies were IDLE)

August 20-Jeff Francis pitches a gem. Eight shutout innings and a Matt Holliday home run gives us the pitchers duel win. Rockies 2 Reds 0

WP-Jeff Francis (13-9)
SV-Taylor Bucholz (2)
HR-Matt Holliday (32)

(Nine straight wins for Arizona now and the Mets cruise past the Phillies 8-4 as the Phillies have dropped their sixth straight)

August 21-Aaron Cook and Tom Shearn get into a great pitchers duel that we lose. Tom Shearn can pitch. Reds 3 Rockies 1

LP-Aaron Cook (15-6)

(The Diamondbacks finally lose a game and the Phillies rebound with a 3-0 win over the Mets crafted by Adam Eaton)

August 22-Todd Helton hits a home run but dislocates his shoulder and will be out for three weeks. We get the win though and the injury doesn’t seem as bad. Rockies 11 Reds 10

WP-Juan Morillo (1-0)
SV-Manny Corpas (28)
HR-Todd Helton (12), Troy Tulowitzki (23), Matt Holliday (33), Brad Hawpe (37)

(Arizona takes a day off so we gain a half game on them and the Phillies take the series from the Mets with a 4-2 victory and we are one game out of the wild card)

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Coming away from the Reds series…

A good split on the road, we needed that after the Giants sweep. We’re still four games back of the on fire Diamondbacks but being only one back of the wild card is very nice. We now head home to face the Pirates before the Phillies come into town. Two big series back to back. Arizona faces St. Louis at home before going to Pittsburgh.

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Pittsburgh Pirates (55-70 15.5 GB) at Colorado Rockies (70-55 4 GB) August 23-25

August 23-Morales returns to his early season form in a big win in game one of the series. Rockies 3 Pirates 1

WP-Franklin Morales (14-7)
SV-Manny Corpas (29)
HR-Yorvit Torrealba (10)

(Both the Mets and Phillies win but the Cardinals beat the Diamondbacks 2-1 and we’re within three)

August 24-Mark Redman crafts a great pitching performance of his own and finally we can rely on pitching to win us games and not the offense. Rockies 3 Pirates 2

WP-Mark Redman (5-5)
SV-Manny Corpas (30)

(Mets and Phillies win and the Cardinals beat the Diamondbacks 5-1 we’re now back within two games)

August 25-It’s the pitching that gets us this sweep and how sweet it feels to sweep the Pirates. Rockies 4 Pirates 1

WP-Jeff Francis (14-9)
SV-Manny Corpas (31)
HR-Troy Tulowitzki (24)

(The Diamondbacks and Phillies win but the Mets drop the final game against the Reds and we are now tied for the wild card)

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Coming away from the Pirates series…

What a great sweep. With the Phillies coming in we hope to continue this stellar play, especially from the pitching staff who pitched outstanding in that series. Arizona now travels to Pittsburgh to face the Pirates and the Mets travel to Houston.

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Philadelphia Phillies (71-58 5.5 GB) at Colorado Rockies (73-55 2 GB) August 26-28

August 26-The offense goes off on Jamie Moyer and we grab the first game in offensive fashion. Rockies 9 Phillies 5

WP-Luis Vizcaino (6-5)
HR-Yorvit Torrealba (11), Troy Tulowitzki 2 (26), Jeff Baker (3), Clint Barmes (1)

(The Diamondbacks win, but the Mets lose and we now have sole possession of the wild card!)

August 27-We score a late run in the bottom of the eighth to give us a one run win. Luis Vizcaino tore his rotator cuff however and will miss 10 months to a year. We call up phenom Casey Weathers from AAA (Casey has a 1.77 ERA in AAA) to replace him. Rockies 5 Phillies 4

WP-Taylor Bucholz (1-2)
SV-Manny Corpas (32)
HR-Ryan Spilborghs (7), Jeff Baker (4)

(Our sixth straight win doesn’t gain any ground as the Diamondbacks win. The Mets win as well so we remain one game up in the wild card)

August 28-So long Phillies! We broom sweep them out of Colorado in great fashion as we win our seventh straight game. Morales pitches well, the offense hits four home runs and it all comes together for a clean sweep. Rockies 5 Phillies 3

WP-Franklin Morales (15-7)
SV-Manny Corpas (33)
HR-Yorvit Torrealba 2 (13), Troy Tulowitzki (27), Clint Barmes (2)

(The Diamondbacks win but with a Mets loss we are up two whole games in the Wild Card)

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Coming away from the Phillies series…

A huge sweep in a month that we have played exceptional! We’re 19-7 in August with a four game set with St. Louis to finish out the month coming up. We’re two games back of Arizona who after a day off on the 29th head to New York to take on the Mets. Whoever wins that series it doesn’t matter, we need to win our games.

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St. Louis Cardinals (64-66 10 GB) at Colorado Rockies (76-55 2 GB) August 29-September 1

August 29-We demolish Cardinal pitching the entire day and put the win streak at eight. Rockies 13 Cardinals 2

WP-Mark Redman (6-5)
HR-Matt Holliday 2 (35), Clint Barmes (3)

(The Diamondbacks are IDLE so we gain a half game on them. They now head to New York. The Phillies have lost three in a row and are now behind Florida in the standings)

August 30-We’re playing like the best team in all of baseball right now as we pound the Cardinals again. Rockies 11 Cardinals 2

WP-Jeff Francis (15-9)
HR-Yorvit Torrealba (14), Brad Hawpe (38), Ian Stewart (13)

(The Diamondbacks beat the Mets to give us a three game lead on the wild card)

August 31-Aaron Cook pitches a complete game shutout and the win streak is now ten games. Rockies 7 Cardinals 0

WP-Aaron Cook (16-6)
HR-Yorvit Torrealba (15), Brad Hawpe (39), Clint Barmes (4)

(The Diamondbacks beat the Mets again and we are four games up on the Mets in the wild card)

September 1-Eleven straight! Ubaldo outduels Chris Carpenter and we walk all over the Cardinals in four straight games for a gigantic sweep and our eleventh straight victory. Rockies 2 Cardinals 1

WP-Ubaldo Jimenez (9-5)
SV-Manny Corpas (34)

(The Diamondbacks sweep the Mets and we now have a big lead in the wild card race)

[OregonDuck1989]

BASEBALL AUGUST ROUND UP

AL EAST STILL HEATING UP

The Boston Red Sox now have a slim 1.5 game lead in the American League East after a good month of August and with the rough month that Tampa Bay had it appears this division has become a two horse race between Boston and New York.

WHERE DID THEY COME FROM?

The Texas Rangers had a 21-9 month in August and stormed their way up the standings. Terrorizing team after team as they get to within 3.5 of the Angels by the end of the month. At this point they are also tied with Minnesota for the lead in the wild card race. The Rangers have found an ace in Jason Jennings interestingly enough and are now in prime position to stay hot and win the division.

SAN FRANCISCO AND WASHINGTON ELIMINATED FROM PLAYOFFS

The San Francisco Giants and Washington Nationals became the first two teams eliminated mathematically from the playoffs this month as both teams are pushing 100 losses already. The Giants are currently 45-91 and the Nationals are 51-85 and are nowhere near the points they should be as a baseball team. Look for the losing to continue next season as well.

AROUND THE LEAGUE…

Division Leaders:

ALE: Boston Red Sox (76-62) New York Yankees (74-63 1.5 GB)
ALC: Detroit Tigers (79-59) Minnesota Twins (74-62 4 GB)
ALW: Los Angeles Angels (78-59) Texas Rangers (75-63 3.5 GB)
ALWC: Minnesota Twins (74-62) Texas Rangers (75-63) New York Yankees (74-63 ½ GB)
NLE:Atlanta Braves (80-57) New York Mets (76-61 4 GB)
NLC: Cincinnati Reds (76-58) Milwaukee Brewers (65-69 11 GB)
NLW: Arizona Diamondbacks (82-54) Colorado Rockies (80-55 1.5 GB)
NLWC: Colorado Rockies (80-55) New York Mets (76-61 5 GB)

LEAGUE LEADERS:

Batting Average: Alberto Callaspo KCR .354 (AL), David Wright NYM .345 (NL)
Home Runs: David Ortiz BOS 33 (AL), Brad Hawpe COL 39 (NL)
RBI: Alexis Rios TOR 106 (AL), Matt Holliday COL 125 (NL)
SB: Chone Figgins LAA 55 (AL), Juan Pierre LAD 51 (NL)
ERA: Justin Verlander DET 2.81 (AL), Tom Shearn CIN 2.35 (NL)
Wins: Josh Beckett BOS 16 (AL), Aaron Cook COL 16 (NL)
K: C.C. Sabathia CLE 201 (AL), Johan Santana NYM 222 (NL)
Saves: Joakim Soria KCR 45 (AL), Rafael Soriano ATL 38 (NL)


Colorado Baseball Report: August Edition

MATT HOLLIDAY: MVP?

After an enormous 2007 Matt Holliday has been even better in 2008. He has 125 RBI’s which is good for tops in the league along with 35 home runs and a .320 batting average. No other hitter is in the top ten in all categories in the National League.

HAWPE HAS MASSIVE AUGUST

The month of August was a great one for the Rockies and in particular right fielder Brad Hawpe. Hawpe hit nine home runs in the month to place himself firmly in control of the league’s home run count. He was a key part of the Rockies 22-7 month and current eleven game win streak.

ROCKIES LEADERS

AVG: Willy Taveras (.325)
Home Runs: Brad Hawpe (39)
RBI: Matt Holliday (125)
SB: Willy Taveras (48)
ERA: Aaron Cook (3.58)
Wins: Aaron Cook (16)
K: Jeff Francis (137)
Saves: Manny Corpas (34)

Coming away from August…

A great month to be a Rockies fan or in the organization as we cruise to an eleven game win streak to finish the month and a 22-7 mark. We’re five games up on the Mets in the wild card and are only two games back of the division. We don’t play Arizona for the rest of the season however so we’re going to have to win the division by playing well against other teams. We called up our 40 man roster today and here are our September call ups:


Position Players:

Joe Gaetti (LF .304, 16 HR, 74 RBI in AA)
Cory Sullivan (CF .286, 5 HR, 81 RBI in AAA)
Joe Koshansky (1B .304, 30 HR, 107 RBI in AAA)
Sean Barker (LF .263, 16 HR, 62 RBI in AAA)
Chris Frey (CF .347, 0 HR 9 RBI in AAA, .351, 8 HR, 57 RBI in AA)
Chris Nelson (SS .283, 17 HR, 83 RBI in AA)
Cole Garner (LF .367, 8 HR, 47 RBI in A)
Jay Cox (RF .328, 5 HR, 46 RBI in A)
Dexter Fowler (CF .272, 2 HR, 16 RBI in AA, .297, 1 HR, 17 RBI in AA)

Pitchers:

Brandon Hynick (RHP 9-3, 3.71 ERA, 59 K in AAA)
Jose Capellan (RHP 2-1, 3.98 ERA, 45 K in 20 appearances in AAA)
Shane Lindsay (RHP 6-3, 3.29 ERA, 115 K in AA)
Jason Hirsh (RHP 5-1, 2.73 ERA, 49 K in AAA)
Greg Reynolds (RHP 1-2, 4.67 ERA 29 K in AAA, 4-0, 1.76 ERA, 31 K in AA, 10-1, 2.78 ERA, 92 K in A)
Jeff Karstens (RHP 7-3, 3.11 ERA 96 K in AA)

[OregonDuck1989]

Note: Gah! The team stats were lost in my computer for August and September (I'm writing ahead so that I don't lose interest) So, no team stats. Sorry.

***
Colorado Rockies (80-55 1.5 GB, +5 G on Mets) at San Diego Padres (65-70 16.5 GB) 2-4

September 2-Chris Young shuts us out through seven strong innings and we drop the first game in San Diego. Padres 5 Rockies 0

LP-Franklin Morales (15-8)

(Arizona beats Milwaukee 4-3, Mets beat the Astros 5-4)

September 3-Brad Hawpe hits his 40th home run of the season and we roll to a victory in game two. Rockies 11 Padres 6

WP-Mark Redman (7-5)
HR-Brad Hawpe (40), Willy Taveras (5)

(D-Backs demolish the Brewers 11-4, Mets beat Houston again 7-6)

September 4-Matt Holliday goes 4 for 5 with two home runs and Jeff Francis earns his 16th win of the season. Rockies 9 Padres 2

WP-Jeff Francis (16-9)
HR-Matt Holliday 2 (37), Brad Hawpe (41), Ian Stewart (14), Jeff Baker (5)

(Arizona completes the sweep of Milwaukee but the Mets drop the final game against Houston, The Chicago White Sox become the third team to be eliminated from the playoffs)

**********************************************************

Coming away from the Padres series…

We drop the first game which is disappointing but winning the last two keeps us exactly in the same position wild card wise. We now head to Chicago to take on the struggling Cubs while Arizona welcomes in the Pirates and the Mets travel to San Francisco. The best news from this series? We’re officially projected to finish under budget! Charlie congratulates us but reminds us that it is merely a projection. Considering we were projected to finish 20 million over Dan and I all but throw a party.

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Colorado Rockies (82-56 2.5 GB +5 on Mets) at Chicago Cubs (63-75 14 GB) September 6-8

September 6-Two errors lead to three unearned runs for Cook and the Cubs run with it to a victory. Cubs 11 Rockies 6

LP-Aaron Cook (16-7)
HR-Yorvit Torrealba (16)

(Diamondbacks beat the Pirates for yet another victory, the Mets get demolished by the Giants 11-2)

September 7-Ubaldo Jimenez gets his tenth victory of the season. Rockies 6 Cubs 4

WP-Ubaldo Jimenez (10-5)
SV-Manny Corpas (35)

(The Pirates upend Arizona 7-5, and the Mets are all but out of it with a devastating 10-5 loss in San Francisco)

September 8-We can’t rebound from an early six run deficit and fall to the Cubs on the last day of the series. Cubs 6 Rockies 5

LP-Franklin Morales (15-9)
HR-Matt Holliday (38), Willy Taveras (6)

(Diamondbacks rebound over the Pirates 4-2, the Mets avoid the sweep with a 12-5 win over the Giants)

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Coming away from the Cubs series…

We fall another game back in the division as the Diamondbacks keep on winning but we stay up by five on the Mets to give us hope that barring a collapse we should be playing in October once again. The Diamondbacks head to Atlanta to take on the Braves in a three game set. The Braves still lead the NL east and we have to root for them to take down the Diamondbacks in this series. The Mets follow us in Chicago before they head home for a nine game home stand. We head home to face Houston as we play nearly the entire NL central to finish out the season.

**********************************************************

Houston Astros (67-74 13 GB) at Colorado Rockies (83-58 3.5 GB, +5 on Mets) September 9-11

September 9-We win but Matt Holliday tears his achilles tendon. He’s done for the season. Our MVP is lost and our championship hopes dwindle…the clubhouse is dreary. Rockies 4 Astros 1

WP-Jeff Francis (17-9)
SV-Manny Corpas (36)
HR-Yorvit Torrealba (17), Clint Barmes (5)

(Braves beat Arizona 7-4, Mets dominate Cubs 6-0)

September 10-Our first game without Holliday has us score one run against Wes Wright. Astros 4 Rockies 1

LP-Aaron Cook (16-8)
HR-Ian Stewart (15)

(Braves beat Arizona again 7-6, Cubs rebound for an 8-5 win over the Mets, The Pittsburgh Pirates and Oakland A’s are eliminated from postseason play)

September 11-We get shut out in day two without Matt Holliday and the Astros roll on. Astros 5 Rockies 0

LP-Ubaldo Jimenez (10-6)

(Braves sweep Arizona and the Cubs upset the Mets in the final inning 2-1)

**********************************************************

Coming away from the Astros series…

The Holliday injury is devastating. We decide to platoon left with Ryan Spilborghs and Seth Smith for the rest of the season. We’re hurt, he was our MVP and now he’s sitting on the sidelines. We now travel to Pittsburgh for four games while the Diamondbacks take on St. Louis and the Mets welcome the Dodgers to Shea.

[OregonDuck1989]

Colorado Rockies (84-60 2.5 GB, +5 on Mets) at Pittsburgh Pirates (60-84 21 GB) September 12-15

September 12-Jeff Baker hits a home run but we drop the opener in Pittsburgh. Pirates 5 Rockies 3

LP-Franklin Morales (15-10)
HR-Jeff Baker (6)

(Diamondbacks and Mets both IDLE)

September 13-Zach Duke shuts us out and we have yet to win without Holliday in the lineup. Pirates 4 Rockies 0

LP-Mark Redman (7-6)

(Cardinals shut out the D-Backs 5-0, Mets crush Los Angeles 6-2)

September 14-Jeff Francis has his worst day on the mound all season and the Pirates are rolling over us. Pirates 10 Rockies 2

LP-Jeff Francis (17-10)
HR-Clint Barmes (6)

(Cardinals beat Arizona 4-1, Dodgers rebound over the Mets 5-2)

September 15-Aaron Cook pitches us to our first win without Holliday. Rockies 4 Pirates 3

WP-Aaron Cook (17-8)
SV-Manny Corpas (37)
HR-Yorvit Torrealba (18), Troy Tulowitzki (28), Brad Hawpe (42)

(Arizona loses its sixth straight game and the Mets drop the Dodgers 5-2)

**********************************************************
Coming away from the Pirates series…

We finally pull off a win without Holliday and with the Diamondbacks struggling to end the season we’re two games back of them coming into a home series against the Reds. Arizona welcomes in the Cubs and the Mets welcome in the Brewers.

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Cincinnati Reds (83-65 1st in NL Central) at Colorado Rockies (85-63 2 GB, +3.5 on Mets) September 16-18

September 16-We can’t overcome an early deficit and we drop game one. Reds 7 Rockies 5

LP-Ubaldo Jimenez (10-7)
HR-Seth Smith 2 (2)

(Both the Mets and Diamondbacks win)

September 17-Ryan Spilborghs hits a walk off home run in the bottom of the ninth to spare us a second straight loss against the Reds. Rockies 5 Reds 4

WP-Casey Weathers (1-0)
HR-Ryan Spilborghs (8)

(Mets win and Diamondbacks cruise)

September 18-The Reds blow us out of Colorado as we drop another game in both races. Reds 9 Rockies 1

LP-Ramon Ramirez (1-1)

(Both Mets and D-Backs complete their sweeps, Astros, Brewers, Cubs, Padres, Orioles and Mariners all eliminated from playoff contention)

**********************************************************
Coming away from the Reds series…

Please don’t let us choke! We head to Houston, Arizona heads to Milwaukee, and the Mets welcome in the Marlins.

**********************************************************
Colorado Rockies (86-65 4 GB +1.5 on Mets) at Houston Astros (73-78 12 GB) September 19-22

September 19-The offense finally explodes as Jeff Francis wins his 18th game of the season. Rockies 10 Astros 4

WP-Jeff Francis (18-10)
SV-Taylor Bucholz (3)
HR-Yorvit Torrealba (19)

(Arizona wins, Mets IDLE)

September 20-Aaron Cook pitches eight shut out innings to get his own 18th victory as we roll over Houston again. Rockies 3 Astros 0

WP-Aaron Cook (18-8)
SV-Manny Corpas (38)

(The Brewers dominate Arizona 6-2, The Mets beat the Marlins 5-2 to stay 2 back)

September 21-Brandon Backe outduels Ubaldo and we drop game three. Astros 2 Rockies 1

LP-Ubaldo Jimenez (10-8)

(Both Arizona and Mets win)

September 22-Johnny Cueto dominates us in his sixth game with the Astros for seven strikeouts and a shutout and we split the series in Houston. Astros 8 Rockies 0

LP-Franklin Morales (15-11)

(Diamondbacks win again, the Mets lose and stay one game back)

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Coming away from the Astros series…

As we come into the final seven games we have given up on the division. We now need to hold on to our wild card and with four of the last seven at home against Chicago coming up next we have to steal three of four. The Mets head on the road for their final seven going to Atlanta for three and St. Louis for four.

[OregonDuck1989]

Chicago Cubs (77-78 10 GB) at Colorado Rockies (88-67 5 GB, +1 on Mets) September 23-26

September 23-Hynick strikes out six in a fill in spot for injured Mark Redman and Seth Smith crushes two out of the park. Rockies 5 Cubs 4

WP-Brandon Hynick (2-1)
SV-Manny Corpas (39)
HR-Seth Smith 2 (4)

(The Braves dominate the Mets 12-7 as New York falls two back. THE CINCINNATI REDS WIN 4-2 AT HOME OVER THE GIANTS AND ARE 2008 NL CENTRAL CHAMPIONS)

September 24-Carlos Zambrano strikes out ten in a masterful performance. Cubs 5 Rockies 1

LP-Jeff Francis (18-11)

(The Mets rebound and beat the Braves 4-2 to get back within one. THE LOS ANGELES ANGELS CLINCH THE AL WEST, THE ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS CLINCH THE NL WEST WITH A WIN)

September 25-Aaron Cook pulls his shoulder during warm ups. Cook is out two weeks with the injury, not a good time for him to go down. The offense pulls a win out however. Rockies 8 Cubs 4

WP-Juan Morillo (2-0)
SV-Manny Corpas (40)
HR-Troy Tulowitzki (29), Brad Hawpe (43), Clint Barmes (7)

(The Braves beat the Mets to clinch the NL East. The Detroit Tigers clinch the AL Central and the Boston Red Sox clinch the AL East to lock up all divisions in the American League. Tampa Bay and Kansas City are tied heading into the final series in the AL Wild Card. Our magic number is three.)

September 26-Ubaldo pitches a shut out as we take three of four over Chicago. Rockies 5 Cubs 0

WP-Ubaldo Jimenez (11-8)
HR-Troy Tulowitzki (30)

(The Mets win to make our magic number only two)

**********************************************************
Coming away from the Cubs series…

The best part of these last three games? Todd Helton rejoins the lineup after missing the last month. Jayson Nix now rejoins the team as well but will backup Clint Barmes who has been playing well. We head to Wisconsin to take on the Brewers with a magic number of two the Mets head to St. Louis

**********************************************************

Colorado Rockies (91-68 Magic Number: 2) at Milwaukee Brewers (73-86 16 GB) September 27-29

September 27-The news came in before the game started. The Cardinals had beaten the Mets 12-6. Our magic number was now one, if we could beat Milwaukee we would be going to the playoffs for the second year in a row. Joe Koshansky hits a two run home run in the seventh inning to give us the lead which we don’t give back. The Colorado Rockies are 2008 Wild Card Champions. Rockies 5 Brewers 3

WP-Franklin Morales (16-11)
SV-Manny Corpas (41)
HR-Joe Koshansky (1)

September 28-Franklin Morales trips down the stairs and breaks his leg. He’s out and the injuries keep piling up on players in odd ways. Brewers 7 Rockies 3

LP-Jeff Francis (18-12)
HR-Yorvit Torrealba (20), Seth Smith (5)

September 29-Brewers 7 Rockies 6

LP-Jeff Karstens (0-1)
HR-Joe Koshansky (2)

[OregonDuck1989]

PLAYOFFS PREVIEW AND SEASON WRAP UP

FINAL LEAGUE STANDINGS:

AL East: Boston Red Sox (90-72) Tampa Bay Rays (88-74 Wild Card Champions) New York Yankees (86-76) Toronto Blue Jays (79-83) Baltimore Orioles (69-93)

AL Central: Detroit Tigers (92-70) Kansas City Royals (87-75) Minnesota Twins (84-78) Cleveland Indians (82-80) Chicago White Sox (65-97)

AL West: Los Angeles Angels (90-72) Texas Rangers (84-78) Seattle Mariners (74-88) Oakland Athletics (71-91)

NL East: Atlanta Braves (97-65) New York Mets (90-72) Philadelphia Phillies (86-76) Florida Marlins (83-79) Washington Nationals (60-102)

NL Central: Cincinnati Reds (90-72) St. Louis Cardinals (81-81) Houston Astros (79-83) Milwaukee Brewers (75-87) Chicago Cubs (73-89) Pittsburgh Pirates (68-94)

NL West: Arizona Diamondbacks (97-65) Colorado Rockies (92-70 Wild Card Champions) Los Angeles Dodgers (82-80) San Diego Padres (77-85) San Francisco Giants (59-103)

#1 Pick: San Francisco Giants (59-103) Washington Nationals (60-102) +1

FINAL LEAGUE LEADERS:

Batting Average: Alberto Callaspo KCR .352 (AL), David Wright NYM .341 (NL)
Home Runs: Alexis Rios TOR 37 (AL), Albert Pujols STL 45 (NL)
RBI: Jonny Gomes TBR 128 (AL), Andruw Jones LAD 138 (NL)
SB: Chone Figgins LAA 62 (AL), Willy Taveras COL, Jose Reyes NYM 52 (NL)
ERA: Brian Lawrence KCR 2.87 (AL), Tom Shearn CIN 2.54 (NL)
Wins: Josh Beckett BOS 19 (AL), Johan Santana NYM 19 (NL)
K: Scott Kazmir TBR 234 (AL), Johan Santana NYM 255 (NL)
Saves: Joakim Soria KCR 52 (AL), Rafael Soriano ATL 45 (NL)

[OregonDuck1989]

PLAYOFF PREVIEWS AND PREDICTIONS:
ALDS:

Detroit Tigers (92-70 AL Central Champions, 11th playoff appearance) vs. Tampa Bay Rays (88-74 Wild Card Champions, 1st playoff appearance)

Analysis: The Rays are destiny’s darling this season. A team simply refusing to give in. Entrenched in a September battle with Kansas City and New York the Rays played harder then anyone else and earned their spot in the playoffs. The Tigers, after taking a year off in 2007, return to the playoffs once again this time as the central division champions. Backed by Marcus Thames and Miguel Cabrera the Tigers haven’t relinquished the division lead since April and are now in October are hoping to make another run to the world series. To do this however, they must go through the leagues second best run producing team in Tampa Bay (884) and they must do it with their pitching. Behind Justin Verlander and Dontrelle Willis the Tigers must pitch well to even think about moving on to the ALCS. Without the rotation this team will fall.

Prediction: The Rays dream lives on as they cruise through Detroit in this series. Rays in 4.

Boston Red Sox (90-72 AL East Champions, 19th playoff appearance) vs. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (90-72 AL West Champions, 8th playoff appearance)

Analysis: The Angels and Red Sox meet again in the playoffs as this rivalry heats up even further as these two teams will be two opposites battling it out. The Angels are the best pitching team in the American League playoffs and the Red Sox have the leagues number one offense (936 runs scored). Boston comes in as the defending world champions and last year opened the playoffs with a sweep over the injured Angels. The Angels hope to enact revenge with a pitching staff of John Lackey, Jon Garland, and John Patterson (not to mention Jered Weaver). The three John’s hope to make this a short series against Boston’s strong hitting though the Red Sox are the favorites once again.

Prediction: In the best series possibly all playoffs the Red Sox just outplay the Angels in game five and steal another series from them as they head on to their second straight ALCS. Red Sox in 5.

NLDS:

Arizona Diamondbacks (97-65 NL West Champions, 5th playoff appearance) vs. Cincinnati Reds (90-72 NL Central Champions, 14th playoff appearance)

Analysis: Two teams built around their strong pitching staffs meet in the division series for what could possibly be five of the lowest scoring playoff games in history. The Reds behind 31 year old rookie Tom Shearn and veteran Aaron Harang face off against the 1-2 punch of Brandon Webb and Danny Haren. This series is built around pitching but the big key for both teams are the starters behind their big two. Can the back of the rotation pitch well enough to get the team to the LCS?

Prediction: A strong offense in Arizona gives the Reds pitching just enough fits to give them a clean sweep. Diamondbacks in 3.


Atlanta Braves (97-65 NL East Champions, 21st playoff appearance) vs. Colorado Rockies (92-70, 3rd playoff appearance)

Analysis: Don’t let the records fool you, had the Rockies been healthy all September they could have won the division. The injuries have piled on as of late making the 08 Rockies resemble the 07 Angels. It’s going to be tough for them to win with their rotation shot (Cook and Morales out). Francis, Hynick and Jimenez will have to hold fort while the offense hopes to carry on without Matt Holliday. The Braves are completely healthy are the right time and may be in position to run for a world championship.

Prediction: The injuries catch up with Colorado and the Braves roll on to the NLCS. Braves in 4.

**********************************************************
Coming into the playoffs…

We’re hurt. It’s not looking good for the team as we head into October without two of our best pitchers in Cook and Morales. No Holliday is just the icing on the cake, we don’t know why these injuries caught us in September and we are assured its just bad luck. The bad news? Brandon Hynick will start game one of the division series for us. The good news? Jimenez and Francis will start games three and four. If we can avoid going down 2-0 in Atlanta I think we give ourselves a pretty good shot to win this series. Our offense has to keep rolling though. The Braves are menacing. Seventeen game winner Tim Hudson will start game one against Brandon Hynick. I hate starting the youngster in such a huge situation but we have no other options. In game two its going to be Smoltz vs. Shane Lindsay. Yes, Shane hasn’t had a decision yet this year…yes, he’s our only hope. It’s going to be a rough two days before we can get Francis and Jimenez back in the fray for games three and four.

[OregonDuck1989]

National League Division Series

Game One: Brandon Hynick at Tim Hudson

Atlanta in October may be one of the more beautiful cities in the United States and as the Braves took the field to a sold out crowd for game one of the division series, Charlie and I took our seats in the visiting owners box next to Dan with beers in our hand.

“We’ve come along way from March,” Charlie said as he took a sip. I nodded and Dan smiled. “it’s nice to be in the playoffs back to back years.”

“Charlie I fully expect us to be back next year,” Dan said. I looked at him questioningly. Dan and I hadn’t discussed the email I had found weeks back on his computer about the Mariners position but I knew he was considering the job and as soon as the playoffs were over I was almost certain he was jetting to Seattle to interview.

“I wouldn’t mind that, but keep us under budget,” Charlie said. We had done a great job of that this year. We entered the playoffs five million dollars in the black and a better team then when we had started the year. We weren’t forced to salary dump Hawpe or Holliday and now we were playing in the playoffs for the second straight season. “You did a good job too, Lyle.”

“Thank you,” I said as Charlie patted my back. Tim Hudson took a few warm up pitches while Willy Taveras took a practice swing or two. “It’s an honor to be here.”

“Just wait until we’re back in the series,” Dan laughed. “Just wait.”

The ump shouted play ball and Willy Taveras stepped up to bat.

**********************************************************
Game 1-Nick Swisher and Jeff Francouer hit home runs and even though we get six hits on Hudson we can’t string them together enough to pull out a victory. Braves 5 Rockies 2

WP-Tim Hudson
LP-Brandon Hynick
SV-Rafael Soriano
HR-Nick Swisher, Jeff Francouer

(Other scores: Diamondbacks win 3-2, Red Sox win 11-7, Tigers win 12-2)

Game 2 (Shane Lindsay vs. John Smoltz)-Shane Lindsay walks home four runs in the first two innings and it dips even worse from there as the Braves walk all over us. Braves 10 Rockies 2

WP-John Smoltz
LP-Shane Lindsay
HR-Brian McCann, Mark Teixeira, Ian Stewart

(Other scores: Diamondbacks win 6-3, Red Sox win 6-1, Tigers win 7-6)

Game 3 (Tom Glavine vs. Jeff Francis)-Coors Field is packed and screaming as the Rockies take the field for game three. We beat Tom Glavine out of the building early with five runs in the first three innings and Jeff Francis pitches a complete game to keep us alive in the series. Rockies 5 Braves 2

WP-Jeff Francis
LP-Tom Glavine
HR-Mark Teixeira

(Other scores: Reds win 6-5 trail Diamondbacks 2-1 in series, Tigers win 5-4 and sweep Rays, Angels win 9-2 trail Red Sox 2-1 in series)

Game 4 (Chuck James vs. Ubaldo Jimenez)-We hit three home runs as a team and roll over Atlanta’s Chuck James to tie this series at two and send it to a game five in Atlanta. Rockies 8 Braves 4

WP-Ubaldo Jimenez
LP-Chuck James
HR-Nick Swisher 2, Todd Helton, Troy Tulowitzki, Clint Barmes

(Other scores: Reds win 7-2 tie series up at 2, Angels win 6-1 tie series up at 2)

Game five coming up next...

[RedsoxRockies]

I predict you lose game 7 in the 10th inning of the World Series

[OregonDuck1989]

You can think that. But you would be wrong. As that was my game as the 1960 Pirates.