Rockies vs. Phillies
Cubs vs. D-Backs

Angels vs. Red Sox
Yankees vs. Indians

TV:
Div. Series: TBS/TNT
NLCS: TBS
ALCS: Fox
WS: Fox

Oh yeah, Kaz Matsui is currently my Most Favoritest Rockie Ever, simply for his at-bat music. He uses "It's Tricky" by RUN DMC.

Re-worked, you can sing the chorus as:

"Matsui is at the plate,
that's right, I said, he's at the plate,
Matsui!
Matsui! Sui! Sui! Sui!"

(repeat)

If the Cubs make it to the World Series... I will seriously explode.

I had all the probable pitchers and game times typed up, but accidently hit 'Back' on my browser and lost it all. So instead you get this version.

MY PICKS:

Rockies over Phillies in 5
Cubs over D-Backs in 4

Red Sox over Angels in 5
Indians over Yankees in 5

Rockies over Cubs in 6
Indians over Red Sox in 7

Rockies over Indians in 6.

Fuck yes I'm on the bandwagon.

Well, at least Rodrigo Lopez finally makes the playoffs, unlike a certain team he used to pitch for.

I'm climbing on the Rockies bandwagon too.

I'm pretty sure he's hurt, so it's from no help of his own.

Yeah, Rodrigo's been out since late July. But he went 5-4, which in some ways helped.

I just realized one of those weird/poetic thingies about this batch of Rockies. And I can almost guarantee you that nobody on the national media has picked this up. This current batch of Rockies officially debutted on Opening Day, 2005. Before that, they had been trying to "build around Larry Walker" (HA!), so it wasn't until 2005 that he was dumped and they went with the full-on youth movement. Hawpe, Holliday, Atkins, Franics, Spillborghs and a few others all cut their teeth on the big leagues that year.

Anyways, they opened at home that year. Against the Padres. They were down late and had to rally. Against Trevor Hoffman. They won.

Weird how their climb started with Hoffman and when they reached the top, there was Hoffman again.

I'm glad that the Red Sox held on for the Division Title, but I don't see them making it to the Series this year. If they do it, it's without Ortiz and Ramirez at full strength. They have the bullpen to pull it off, but I don't see it happening.

I see Rockies & Indians as well. If not the Rockies, the Phillies. If not the Indians, the *gulp* Yankees

I'm still sticking to my August prediction of the Angels taking it all.

But I'll pick the Rockies on the NL side. I hope they go the full amount of games, too (5 games, 7 games, etc). This has been awesome, 'cuz you go to a bar and some Hot Chick will saunter up to you and ask you what's happening and why. "Why did he throw to first?" or "Why is that flyball good? He caught it..."

For once, I'm GLAD that Denver's not a baseball town. Lots of uneducated (and hot) fans.

..and here's the first Impending Doom Decision of the postseason. Instead of pinch-hitting for Jeff Francis in the top of the 7th with runners on, Clint Hurdle's leaving him in to pitch the bottom of the 7th. This'll be tied up, soon.

Edit: Nevahmind... LaTroy Hawkins came on to pitch the 7th. But yeah...why wouldn't you pinch-hit for the pitcher if you're going to pull him the next inning?

What the fuck's gotten into LaTroy Hawkins? He's always been shitty, and then he excels with Colorado of all places?

The other impending doom decision: Piniella pulls Zambrano after 85 pitches in the sixth inning. Next hitter knocks one out of the park and the D-Backs take game 1 4-1

Look at the whole Colorado lineup this year. It's filled to the gills with guys that washed out elsewhere.

Huh? There are a few "guys that washed out elsewhere" (Kaz Matsui, Josh Fogg, plus journeymen like Mark Redman and Matt Herges), but every MLB roster has those. It's not like the Rockies are the MLB version of the Raiders.

Of the starters:
1B- Helton (homegrown)
2B- Matsui(given to them by the Mets)
SS- Tulowitzki (homegrown)
3B- Garrett Atkins (homegrown)
C- Torrealba (few years with Giants)
OF-Holliday (homegrown)
OF- Spillborghs (homegrown)
OF- Hawpe (homegrown)

P- Francis (homegrown)
P- Jimenez (homegrown)
P- Morales (homegrown)
P- Fogg (few years with Pirates)
P- Redman (few years with everyone)

CL- Corpas (homegrown)


10 of those 14 are homegrown.

TBS's coverage has potential, but they seem so unorganized. Their announcers don't communicate and speak independently of each other.

For instance, in Game One of Cubs/D'Backs, Bob Howry came on to pitch. One guy said: "he's had a 0.89 ERA since September and has been on fire or them down the stretch". Immediately following that, the other broadcaster said: "Howry's been one of their best pitchers for them in September, with a 1.48 ERA in the month". Not only did they repeat the SAME EXACT THING, but they contradicted each other by providing wrong stats.

Last night, someone calling the Yankees/Indians game referred to Hideki Matsui as KAZ Matsui.

When they switched one game to TNT temporarily, the screen crawl read: "Game one between Cubs @ Diamondbacks is..." That's just bad grammar: "between Cubs @ Diamondbacks"?

The studio host, Ernie Johnson, is incredibly boring and appears unorganized on every segment. Dammit, doesn't Tony Schiavone still work for Braves radio?! Bring him in! Then we could have the Greatest Game in the History of Our Sport, every night!!

ROCKIES!

I'd like to say that the NLCS will be at 7pm MDT. That's "Mountain" daylight time. The forgotten time zone. The one all the networks conveniently skip over. Add us to your scheduling, dammit!

Yankees are the only team to avoid the sweep. Game 4 tonight at 7:37 ET.

NLCS doesn't start until Thursday, but I'm really excited for a D-Backs/Rockies series, knowing that at least one of them will go to the World Series.

What is the concept behind TBS's "nine foot line"? There's no real indication of where the "get caught zone" is, or where the "be safe zone" is. They may as well put some snazzy lightning bolts or more Frank TV graphics on there.

I'll say this for TBS' playoff games: It's not ESPN. That's a start for me.

They're getting better as they go along. The Chip Caray/Tony Gwynn/Bob Brenly team is growing on me.

I can not stand that Craig Sager coot, though. He reminds me of the news reporter from old "Super Dave Osborne" sketches-- right down to the loud and outdated suits. The dead marmot on his scalp isn't helping him, either.

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Dusty's good for some old wives' tales every now and then. They could've done worse.

Heard a "Brekaing Sports Recap" on the radio on the way to work, Friday. The clown on there talked about how "COACH Hurdle" made the right moves by activating Wily Taveras. Umm... COACH Hurdle?!! I suppose that led to the additional POINTS that the Rockies scored on Thursday. Can't wait to see 'em do the WAVE at tonight's game!

Still not a baseball town.

Poor Reds fans. And now this.

Okay, I'll bite: what's the bad knock on Dusty? The way he leaves pitchers in too long?

Most of his negative stuff happened with the Cubs. But they're the Cubs. I think Dusty's a decent manager, if not a little quirky.

To compare it, I would've been thrilled if the Pirates had hired Dusty.

The fact that he talks about base runners clogging up the base paths and thus doesn't like guys getting walks. His enabler attitude that leads to veterans becoming troublemakers. The fact that the last several years with the Cubs that his hitters were just hacking away at any and everything trying to just hit homeruns The fact that he constantly fucks over young talent.

So....Rockies are in. I'm sure I made some unbelievable "If the Rockies Ever Go the Series, I Will (Do Something Stupid)" proclamation in the past. But I'm pretty sure it wasn't "yell drunken curse words at the TV camera and flash gang signs while jumping on the hood of a police cruiser".

Anyways, I'm pulling for Cleveland. It's been about 20 years and Cleveland needs a NEW reason to hate Denver. If it is Cleveland, I can absolutely guarantee you that Some Guy Who Used to Sell Cars will throw out the first pitch for Game 3.

Has any team ever gone undefeated throughout the Playoffs (in this current format)?

He's only "popular" because he had a few good years in San Fran during which he made the playoffs.

But I'd consider that more to do with who was on the team than with Dusty himself. I was hoping for Girardi, LaRussa, Eric Davis, ANYONE but Dusty Baker. Hell, I would've taken Joe Torre if the Yankees were to dump him.

I dunno'...I don't recall too many pitching studs on the SF staff from 1993-2002 (Shawn Estes? John Burkett?), yet they usually finished strong. For six seasons (1997-2002), he had the Giants in either first or second place in the NL West. He got alot of mileage and production out of guys you didn't expect it from. I mean, Glenallen Hill was the Giants primary RF one season and they won the division. It's not like Dusty just rode Barry Bonds's coattails.


RFS-- they're telling us that, in this current format, no team has gone undefeated. Closest thing was the 1976 Reds who went 7-0 (3-0 in a best-of-five NLCS and 4-0 in the Series).

I'm not saying he's horrible, but those Giants teams had some performers on offense, and some decent pitching. Bonds wasn't the only guy on the team who could hit (Not that you'd know if you watched ESPN). Guys like Rich Aurilia, Jeff Kent, J.T. Snow, Ellis Burks. These guys weren't superstars, but they produced

That's exactly what I was saying. Dusty seems to do a good job of getting the most out of his guys.

I don't think having Dusty is building a gallows for Reds 2008 Season. But it doesn't make them into immediate contenders, either.

It's not as if they're signing someone like... RICKEY HENDERSON.

I beg to differ. Jeff Kent and Rich Aurilia at least were great players. Kent has produced everywhere and Aurilia started producing a few years after he recovered from eye surgery.

Kent seemed like an overrated prospect, or a guy who would never reach his potential, until he went to SF.

Aurilia was a good player, but I'd definitely hit the brakes before calling him great. I don't think anybody would've said "oh, they've got Rich Aurilia now...look out!" He was well over 30 and past the supposed "prime baseball years" (25-29) when he left SF, so it's not really accurate to offer him up as a guy who excelled specifically with Dusty and the Giants.

First, may I just say it doesn't put the Reds in the gutter. At least they have a "permanent" manager who isn't just filling in.

If they got Rickey Henderson, though, I would shit my pants and move back to Ohio. That would be the ONLY thing that would get me back in Cincinnati

The Shadow of the Rickey falls everywhere. I sold an Oakland A's team set on eBay to some guy who was a big Rickey nut. He sent me a money order and his return mailing address label said "Rickey Henderson Fan" right below his name.

Y'know, technically this stuff should be in "OAO MLB Offeseason Thread", but I don't think that thread should appear until next month. Anyways: Joe Torre turns down the Yankee job for next year

Read More About It: at
Yahoo! Sports

If it's Mattingly, everyone knows that the Yankees can't win shit with him in a prominent position (see: 1983-1994). Joe Girardi wouldn't be so bad, though.

Great, now I've got to top that.

I need to reiterate that he didn't write "Rickey Henderson Fan" on his mailing info.. it was a pre-printed sticker that said that-- like the kind you can order in a roll of 500 for $4.55. As if it were an official title like "Doctor of Otolaryngology", "Regional Sales Director" or something. That's frickin' hilarious.

I am now going to print up business cards that announce me as "Bubby Brister Fan".