Can the Rockies do 14?

by RedHopeful on Sep 28, 2007 2:37 PM EDT Comment 16 comments

I'm amazed by the recent streak of Colorado. Once seeming out of the playoff chase, they've won 11 in a row. Now they face the Padres. Anyone think they have a chance of sweeping them and finishing the year with 14 wins in a row (and probably make the playoffs?) Btw, anyone know the last team to have such a winning streak and make the playoffs?

This has been the best race for the playoffs since the inception of the wildcard. It'd be some story to have the Phillies and Rockies come and sneak in the door on the last day!

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now they face the padres

well, if by padres you mean d-backs, yes.

by wily mo on Sep 28, 2007 2:32 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

LOL

Might as well be the Padres...hehe...Thanks Wily Mo. Got double vision when checking the latest wild card standings.

I'm no commie, but the Reds shall be the best again!

by RedHopeful on Sep 28, 2007 2:44 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Would be awesome if they got in

I picked them to win the West in the preseason against my better judgment (I was pissed off at the Padres at the time), but now they'll make me look good. Now if only I had put some money on it in Vegas...

by ajohnst1 on Sep 28, 2007 2:47 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

if only retroactive betting were legal!

by mroak89 on Sep 28, 2007 9:35 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

i'm pulling for the rox

i'm not a rockies fan, and i didn't pick them, and i don't like their chances even now, but i think it's really cool what they're doing. they're almost all home-grown, with a rotation of innings-eaters, a good anonymous bullpen, a solid lineup with one MVP candidate, and really, really great defense. they're what i wish the A's were... except that we don't have the MVP candidate, and none of our good glove guys are ever healthy enough to play. sigh.

i still think they've got their work cut out for them. they were really hosed by the fact that the snakes held back webb last night because of the weather.

by jpahk on Sep 28, 2007 6:12 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Run Differential

Rockies have outscored opponents by the largest differential in the NL. Wow, I didn't realize they were so good.

by abbreviatedman on Sep 28, 2007 6:34 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Rockies

Is that like having the highest IQ inside of a short bus?

by GregJP on Sep 28, 2007 7:08 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

ya know

that's basically exactly what it's like. Having the highest IQ on a short bus.

by mroak89 on Sep 28, 2007 9:36 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

indeed -- run differential

I stand by what I said preseason -- the Rockies were and still are the team to watch this year for a breakout. The Snakes are total pretenders. That being said, the pretenders will probably prevail this season.

by bleedjaxblue on Sep 28, 2007 9:07 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Pretenders?

If they won, how can they still be considered a pretender? If you were to ask someone what a pretender is they would say its a team that is not going to keep up the pace needed to win. They obviously were able to do that.

by Falcoatl on Sep 30, 2007 9:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

or......

....you could say a pretender is a team that:

will not win next year, even if it retains the same players
is even less likely to do well in the playoffs than the team's overall record suggests (not that the playoffs aren't mostly a crapshoot)
isn't talented, despite its record

i'll go with all three of those.

by bleedjaxblue on Sep 30, 2007 9:31 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

#3

I'd have to quibble with you on the last one there. While there is some dead weight on the roster, there are loads of tools in the D'Backs' toolbox. I'd put the OF duo of Jupton and Chris Young against any other 2 young OF in the game. The infield is stacked with Drew, Jackson and Hudson. You know my feelings about Drew. I like Jackson almost as much. Walks up, strikeouts down, power up. All he needs is for Tony Clark to sign with another team so he doesn't take away his ABs. Snyder was an effective catcher. Brandon Webb and Micah Owings should be cornerstones of the rotation. Brandon Lyon, Juan Cruz & Jose Valverde are rock solid in the bullpen.

I think they underperformed their talent this year and even if they don't make any significant moves, they'll be better next year. Mahalo

Matt

I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it.

by WayneCampbell05 on Oct 3, 2007 8:46 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

talent

first of all, let me say that it's POSSIBLE the D'Backs repeat next year -- because they'll have genuinely improved, seeing as a lot of their young talent won't be so damn young.

anyway, let's examine the people you mentioned:

Jupton -- awesomest talent on earth. but in no way, shape, or form was he even a STARTING quality outfielder this year (.221/.283/.364 line), let alone "talent." my feeling is that he'll be lucky to be league average next year as well, though it wouldn't shock me if he were better. he's "talent," sure, but not "performance" now or in the very near future.

C-Young -- way better than i expected this year. still, he had a sub-.300 OBP and an 88 OPS+. not exactly someone who drives a playoff-quality team. again, he's only 23, so you might see some breakthroughs next year. but, at this point.....

Drew -- more "talent" that i expect improvements from. his line THIS year? .238/.313/.370. ouch. we're seeing a familiar theme: "these kids aren't so special right now, but it's possible they'll be good in the future." i don't DISAGREE with this statement, but it's not something to bank on. especially in the case of.....

.....will-be-26-year-old Conor Jackson -- when are people going to learn that AZ hitting prospects get monumentally overrated by their minor-league hitting environments? don't be shocked if some of the guys above turn out more like Jackson and less like Pujols.

Orlando Hudson -- yes, he's good. the first ACTUALLY good, right now, as we speak, person on the team. and this is a playoff team we're talking about? even though he hits into a ton of double plays, his glove makes up for it, and he can hold his own with the bat -- 105 OPS+.

"Snyder is an effective catcher"? fantastic. their catcher is adequate. do you really wonder why this isn't screaming "loaded roster" to me as much as it is to you?

Brandon Webb is a true ace. no complaints

Micah Owings is NOT a true #2. isn't now. won't be in the future. can we please just be reasonable here and not just throw out names of everyone on the team who doesn't suck? this guy has the makings of a solid #3, but that's all.

as for their "solid" bullpen -- bullpen's are unpredictable from year to year, and, as far as guys who you CAN consistently count on......none of those three count by a long-shot. again, it seems like you're just throwing out "names that don't suck." though i do have a personal obsession with Juan Cruz......

oh....AND the team is most likely losing the only person who WAS genuinely a star: Eric Byrnes. even WITH Byrnes having a totally inexplicable career year, the team still couldn't score as many runs as it gave up. what do you think will happen when he leaves (or stays, but returns to earth?)

---------------------

in conclusion, the team is young, and some growth is sure to happen. but: 1) given the performance of the youth so far, you'd hardly bank on it happening any moment from now, 2) some of us have our suspicions about how well ANY of those prospects will hit (except Jupton, who will one day be god), and 3) the roster is REALLY lacking in immediate talent.

also, if you didn't notice, the Rockies and Dodgers are loaded with young talent that actually IS performing. the Pads are a pretty solid team, as i think they've proven.

do you really think the smart money is on a D'backs repeat? people who do strike me as the same people who argued endlessly after 2006 that "the Indians weren't actually good." sometimes, you have to look beyond the results.....

by bleedjaxblue on Oct 3, 2007 10:08 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

oh....I see....

I think we're using "talent" in two different ways....and yours is actually truer to the word.

I was really implying "ready-to-produce talent" -- i.e., there's no reason to expect this collection of 25 players to be especially good next year.

as for future ability, yes, Upton and Drew and Quentin and Young may be stars (though my warning about AZ hitters remains).

of course, i don't think i'd mention Snyder or Lyon -- or C-Jack, for that matter -- on a list of "talent." EVERY team has people that talented, so why distinguish the D'backs for owning people this marginal?

by bleedjaxblue on Oct 3, 2007 10:24 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

OY

I so did NOT want to get into a battle of wits with you. ;) I just wanted to give some props to the young players who despite their shortcomings contributed mightily to the D'Backs' success. Your post seemed to imply that there was no hope whatsoever for AZ and I disagree with that. The reason why I never brought up Byrnes is because I think he had a career year and is due for a significant regression while most of the players I mentioned are probably on the way up. AZ figured out how to win while a similarly talented group in Tampa Bay can't stay out of the cellar.

Anyways, I know they have problems. Every team does. Their starting staff is wafer thin. They are young so by nature much is unknown and they are very unpredictable. Not every prospect is going to turn into a star, but it also isn't unreasonable to expect further development. It's also unfathomable that they were able to win 90 games despite being outscored overall.

Just a few things, before I go. Snyder was 1 of only 10 ML C with an OPS over .750 so while you may scoff that he's only adequate, that's still better production than 2/3 of other teams get from that position. Owings is just 2 years out of Tulane so to me holding his own in the Majors bodes well for the future. His statistics in the minors were excellent across the board. BTW, if the hitting environments of their affiliates depreciates their batters' prospect value, shouldn't their pitchers get an equal and opposite appreciation? I also disagree that Jackson is overrated. He's a complete afterthought and if anything, he's underrated now. He still walks more than he strikes out. His BABIP is excruciatingly low and he still hasn't played a full 160 game season due to Melvin's infatuation with Clark.

Well, now that that's done, I'm off to rude dog into one of Indianfan's threads and see if I can make him write a longer reply than the one that you're about it. :) Mahalo

Matt

I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it.

by WayneCampbell05 on Oct 4, 2007 1:11 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

My apologies DENVER!

I had to be the idiot to jinx the team. I was rooting for them as well. After what transpired today, their season is about done. Should be an interesting division to watch the next few years as a number of young guys will be noticeably prevalent on all the teams (especially on the D-backs, Rockies and Dodgers.)

I'm no commie, but the Reds shall be the best again!

by RedHopeful on Sep 29, 2007 2:52 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs