Denver Defense - Like A Rock

As we look ahead to the 2007 World Series there is one area that is difficult to compare.
On the surface, the Red Sox seem to have a rather decided edge in the starting pitching department.
The Rockies best (Jeff Francis) does not yet have the regular or post season pedigree of Sox opponent Josh Beckett.
Further down the line however, the match-ups seem even more in Boston's favor.
Don't let the numbers deceive you, there's a lot more than meets the eye.
First off, even though Coors Field now has the humidor,
Denver still has the light air.
Numbers can't be run up against each other in the usual way.

Defense is really difficult to quantify.
The Sabrematicians have tried but there doesn't seem to be a complete system that will tell you just how much guys with superior glovesmean to the fellows that make the pitches inning after inning.
It's amazing how Tom Glavine's E.R.A. went from 2.96 in his last season in Atlanta to 4.52 in his first with the Mets,than back to a respectable 3.60 when the Mets replaced the aging Mo Vaughn and Roberto Alomar and young Ty Wigginton in the infield.
Plus a porous outfield that just couldn't go get it.Bring on, Jose Reyes and David Wright in the infield and gold glove center fielder Mike Cameron and...Voila !!

The current edition of the Rockies have been built partly on a silent killer.
A team defense that rivals just about any in recent memory.
It's not just about not making errors or turning double plays.
It's about turning base hits into outs, and regular one out ground balls into inning ending, rally killing double plays.

The glue to all this has turned out to be rookie shortstop Troy Tulowitzki.
Keep an eye on the guy.
You will be amazed.
Few noticed in the lowest television rated NLCS in history.
That's about to change.
Can the Rockies continue one of the most amazing runs in baseball history and beat the Red Sox ?
I'm not sure, but as Diamondback infielder Tony Clark said:"
Sooner or later you have to admit that a team is not hot...they're good".

Football Losers, Baseball WInners, Hawks & Tiger

First let me point out that all we're all really looking for is consistency
It's not easy to pick 11 losers in the NFL and match that with another big 11 the following week.
You'd make a lot of money picking my losers.
I've been a better loser than any winner out there.
MONEY !!!

At least my Survivor picks have been perfect
and the Raiders are in first place !


Baseball playoffs, Remember this:
The Baseball playoffs are a crapshoot, starting with last year's champs.

The Cards mostly mediocre pitching staff got hot and ran the table.
The vaunted starting pitching of all those Braves teams managed only one world series championship.
The Oakland A's 'Bash Brothers" won one series.
The arrogant Mets were lucky in their only title.
Last season the Yankee hitters were being hailed as the new 'Murderers Row'.
They scored 8 runs to win game one of the division series but the Tigers held them to just six combined in the next three games
and swept them the rest of the way.

The Yankees won 97 games, The Tigers 95.
Twelve teams won more games than St Louis.
Of course the Cards had the most wins in baseball the season before, and where did that get them ?

Since the 2000 season there have been eleven teams win at least 100 games.
That includes the insane total of 116 run up by the 2001 Seattle Mariners.
Those eleven teams have run up ZERO world series titles.

Go Hawks Go.
Here are my props for the season with Shaun:

Sidney wins by more than 10 points over Jagr.
Hawks better and more exciting than the Habs.
Sergei Samsonov scores 20.
Both Shaun and Denis laughed at those last two.


Standing behind Tiger on the practise range was almost as good as getting Bobby Hull's autograph when I was 8 years old.