October 24, 2007
 

Next Up?
Rockin’ the Sox

A World Series played right here in Colorado?  Whoda thunk?  But with our Rockies sweeping their way past the Arizona Snakes and into the “fall classic” over a week ago, the shock of our purple clad lads being the National League’s last men standing has worn off.   

After being lucky enough to witness the Rockies clinching win at Coors, leaving Erich Byrnes and the entire National League face down in the dirt, and then hi-fiveing our way down the middle of Blake Street with complete strangers looking you in the eye and shouting, “Can you believe it?  The Rockies in the World Series!” it’s finally sunk in.  Our Rockies face the latest lambs being lead to slaughter  (I hope,) starting tonight in Boston. 

The Rox winning accomplished a first in my life.  After years as a baseball fanatic, a team in which I have a vested emotional interest made it to the World Series.  Until 1993, the year of the Rockies baseball birth, the Chicago Cubs ripped my heart out yearly.  Switching loyalties to the Boys of Blake Street was a much to seamless transition, giving up one loser only to embrace another.  That was true ‘til 2007 when Todd and the Toddlers marched through Philadelphia and Arizona in the playoffs like Sherman though Georgia 

After the completion of last week’s World Series clinching victory, while witnessing the Major League “suits” award the league championship trophy to our Rox, thoughts wandered back to the original Rockies.  Where have you gone Alex Cole, Freddie Bienvenides, Jayhawk Owens and Curtis Leskanic? 

The years provided occasional Rockie highlights.  Eric Young’s lead off round tripper in the inaugural home game, Dante Bichette winning the first Coors contest with a 14^th inning jack against the Mets and the homer heroics of the Blake Street Bombers.  But those memories were never enough to make up for year after year of being out of the pennant race by mid-April, ownership and management without a clue i.e. bringing to Denver highly paid past their primers like Denny Naegel, Mike Hampton, Mike Lansing and Howard Johnson and a bullpen that year in an year out was an ever so slight upgrade from T-ball.  This summer it all changed. 

Late last year it was opined in this space how weak the Rockies were up the middle.  Solving that issue were Torreabla, Tulowitzki, Matsui and Spillbourgh/Taveras.  Plus we were lucky.  Every time a pitcher went down with injuries, his replacement, forced up from the minors, was better.  Hirsch, Cook, Lopez and Fuentes going on the DL made way for Morales, Corpas, Herges and Jimenez. Those pitching injuries gave a whole new meaning to “taking one for the team.” 

Now it’s Boston.  To the national media the Red Sox give the Series credibility.  So far the Rockies streak, the greatest stretch run I’ve ever witnessed, has been an after thought to Boston’s battles and Steinbrenner “insulting” Joe Torre by only offering 5 million a year to fill out a line-up card.   Had the Yankees closed the season like our Rox, they’d grace the cover of Time with Derek Jeter a Nobel Peace Prize nominee.  But those of us in the forgotten time zone know what the Denver baseballers accomplished.  

In a perfect world at Coors Saturday night John Elway would throw out the first pitch with Mark Jackson catching. Because from this year on when Colorado sports fans talk of “The Drive” with equal fondness they’ll recall “The Streak.”