I don’t like making predictions in a public space, but here goes: the Colorado Rockies are going to win the National League pennant.
Now, considering that the Rockies have have won 18 of their last 19 games (!!), that’s a pretty timid prediction. On Thursday in Phoenix, the Rockies easily beat the Diamonbacks 5-1 in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series and I simply don’t see this series going beyond six games. When the most exciting thing that happened for the Diamondbacks is their fans caused an eight minute delay after pelting the field with trash after a good call at second base went against their team, they’re in trouble. Every team in every sport the world over talks about “peaking at the right time” and the Rockies could be Exhibit #1 for doing just that.
I admit, as an Angels fan, I don’t really pay much attention to the National League, but from watching the Rockies so far in the playoffs, they have a classic formula: solid starting pitching + decent enough bullpen + timely hitting + solid defense = wins. Of course, now that I’ve sung their praises, watch the Rockies lose four in a row!
Please, Boston and Cleveland, please please please provide some exciting baseball in your series. So far, for me, the playoffs have been really kind of dull and I’m not just writing that because the Angels rolled over and died in their first round series. Honest! –Jim Allen
on Oct 12th, 2007 at 4:28 PM
Hey, believe me, everyone in the world thinks they’ve jinxed the Rockies over the past couple of weeks. But if Sports Illustrated couldn’t jinx Jeff Francis this week, what chance does an Outsports blogger have?
I understand being down on a sport when your team loses, but these Rockies are really an excellent team, and they’ll stand an excellent chance should they make the World Series. Yes, they’re on a streak and all — better than any streak in the NL since the 1986 Mets — but the reason for that isn’t just that they’re “peaking” (is that a play on words? Rockies … peaks … whatever), it’s that they’re GOOD, and making up for earlier times in the year when they couldn’t put it all together.
And they’ll be good for the next few years, barring significant injuries.