Could they possibly do it again?

I think it's time to start talking some baseball about this time a year as well as college football. Don't look now but could it be that the Colorado Rockies are going to do again this year what they accomplished last year? Or even more? Just like last year the Rockies were not even mentioned in playoff talk. Then after the All-Star break they finally looked like their potential and hit an unbeliveable hot streak that almost propelled them to World Series Champs. Now are they about to hum that same tune again? Like last year they have started to catch fire and find themselves only 6 games out of the division lead and another late last second push for the playoffs. Their offense has caught fire and it seems as though that they are putting it all together for long stretches at a time. They were able to take 9 of their first 10 games after the All-Star break and went 15-11 in the month of August. The pitching has been doing better as of late and, everyone seems to be hitting the ball.

Just like last year though their one downfall is starting pitching. I don't beleive that they have a true ace on their staff, and that their starters are a little overrated.

I will say that it was a pitching performance that lit a fire in the Rockies and that was the late inning performance from Arron Cook. Clint Hurdle put Cook in late in the game and at one point had to deal in the 9th inning with nobody out and the bases loaded. Cook made some great pitches, with some defensive help to get him out of the inning. But it was Uggla's Ugla defense that put the National league in the perdicament in the first place. Arron Cook then battled for 2 innings making big pitch after big pitch to keep the National league with in reach. However they did lose in the 15th inning. I think that the Rockies kind of rallied around that performance and it spread like a wild fire through out the team.

I can not say enough about the managerial job that Clint Hurdle does with his squad in Colorado. The job he did in the All-Star game was a masterpiece of managing and coaching if I have ever seen one. He went with his guy Aaron Cook on the Rockies with the game on the line, with Home field advantage in the World Series on the line and showed the type of confidence in his pitcher that this Rockie team has been playing with ever since. I beleive that he is at the very least a top five manager in MLB. The only thing that doesn't make him the best or a top 3 manager is the fact that his boys can't play like this year round. Why does it take a half season for them to make their push? None the less the push is impressive and I know I will be pushing and rooting for the Rockies to take the NL West.

However if they do make the playoffs they better hope they don't run into my Cubs because that push towards the World Series may end ealier then the previous year.

GOOD LUCK ROCKS!!!

Smitty