MLB GMs Consider Instant Replay

It probably won't go anywhere this off-season, but the General Managers are at least willing to take a look at using instant replay on those questionable calls that can make or break a season--think of either of the contested calls in the Colorado Rockies' tiebreaker game that sent them into the playoffs:

For the first time Tuesday, baseball general managers recommended instant replay be used to help umpires make close calls.

The recommendation, by a 25-5 vote, was limited to boundary calls -- whether potential home runs are fair or foul, whether balls go over fences or hit the top and bounce back, and whether fans interfere with possible homers.

Baseball commissioner Bud Selig opposes the use of replays but said last month he was willing to let GMs examine the issue.

"I don't like instant replay because I don't like all the delays. I think it sometimes creates as many problems or more than it solves," Selig said then.

But Jimmie Lee Solomon, an executive vice president in the commissioner's office, thinks Selig's stance has changed a bit recently.

"He seemed to be softer, at least on the consideration of the subject," Solomon said Tuesday.

There wouldn't be too many delays using these guidelines as the number of iffy calls is rather low. But at least having the ability to review plays, especially in playoff situations, should certainly be considered as part of the game in the 21st century.

Peace Rally In Denver; Moonbats At The World Series

This past Saturday I joined Drunkablog at the state capitol (excellent pictures at the link--including more Mercedes owners for peace) to soak in more liberal moonbattery and here are some highlights of the anti-war shindig (and hey, they managed to attract more than a couple dozen this time!):

Some video captured by the moonbats:



Photos from the rally (scroll for moonbat pics from World Series Game 3 at Coors Field):


Ron Paul's supporters seem to be everywhere these days


Flags of fury


Continuing the non-viable candidate theme, there was a smattering of Kucinich supporters as well


Democrats were under attack


Some moonbat anti-war profiteering


I'm sure every rally participant walked or biked to the event


That's so 2002!


Ward Churchill makes a literary appearance


Follow the incoherence, Democrats!


I'm sure they'd love us back . . . just like 9/11!


Everyone's a fascist according to the totalitarian moonbats


Progressivism isn't healthy, or hygienic


Some brave souls who wouldn't let the moonbats go unanswered

---

Denver was the center of the baseball universe this weekend, and the moonbats are like moths to the flame wherever cameras are found


Boston's sweep was an inside job!


The Paulians were at Coors Field for all the postseason games

Boston Massacre Threatens Rocktober

As the Rocky Mountain News quips, the only "external malicious attack" Wednesday night was administered by the Boston Red Sox.

And as for the lopsided loss, the previous record 11 run record came in 1996, when the Atlanta Braves smashed the New York Yankees 12-1 in Game 1, won Game 2, and then surrendered 4 straight to the Yanks and lost the World Series.

World Series appearance and magical (now over) win streak aside, the Colorado Rockies were nothing if not a resilient team. They managed a 1-9 road trip at the end of June that threatened not only their season goals, but also dropped them under .500 and saw their star closer Brian Fuentes relieved of his duties. In spite of all this, the plucky team put together a NL-best record down the stretch, losing three games in a row only once, right before their MLB-best 11 game win streak.

The other shoe, as they say, finally dropped--and perhaps a good ol' fashioned whupping will reignite the Rockies.

They had a power outage in Game 1, but the lights should be back on tonight.

Besides, I picked them in 6, and suggested that a split would be the best they could shoot for, so this wasn't that bad.

Let's hope and pray there is no repeat!

Rocktober 2007 World Series Edition--Predictions

First, FWIW, the "expert" predictions from Sports Illustrated.com (7 of 11 for the Boston Red Sox) and ESPN.com (8 of 10 for the Sox). But ESPN's Jayson Stark and six scouts aren't so easily persuaded by the AL's representative team, and argues effectively for the Colorado Rockies in 6 games:

1. They're the real team of destiny
2. That eight-day layoff was overrated
3. The Rockies have the real home-field advantage
4. No fear of Fenway
5. Lean to the left

No one envisions a sweep by either team, despite the "momentum" each carries into the series. A six game battle seems about right, and a Game 7 isn't that farfetched either.

So, Rockies in 6--unless they get a split in Boston, in which case the Rockies could wrap it up in 5.

---

More from yesterday's ticket frenzy--so close and yet so far.

Rockies Finally Sell World Series Tickets

What was it like for the lucky few who made it through technical difficulties and the massive crush of Rockies fans trying to get in?

"It's like the Holy Grail of Jesus. No one has ever looked at it. No one has ever touched it."

While the lucky ones remained astonished at their good fortune, computer experts didn't appear to be buying the Rockies' "external malicious attack" explanation for the ticketing debacle yesterday:

The Colorado Rockies' online ticketing system probably fell victim to a lack of computer "horsepower" and was not the target of an outside attack as the Rockies insist, computer experts said.

On Monday, the Rockies offered a terse explanation for the ticketing system's crash, saying that the team and fans had been victims of an "external malicious attack."

On Tuesday, Rockies spokesman Jay Alves again leveled the "malicious attack" charge without offering details.

But computer and Internet security experts said that Monday's computer crash and the system's less-than-smooth performance Tuesday pointed to a shortage of capacity on the computer servers powering the system — or a failure to balance out traffic across those servers.

Christian Faith Guides Colorado Rockies, Individual Character Builds Team Chemistry

“When you have as many people who believe in God as we do, it creates a humbleness about what we do. I don’t see arrogance here, I see confidence. We’re all very humbled about where this franchise has been and where it is now, and we know that what’s happening now is a very special thing”--Rockies reliever Jeremy Affeldt

Perched on the threshold of baseball's highest stage and about to enter the eye of a sports media storm, it is the Colorado Rockies players' faith that helps keep them together, and is a factor in building the team chemistry that has helped them build a phenomenal 21-1 streak heading into the World Series:

The role of religion within the Rockies’ organization first entered the public sphere in May 2006, when an article published in USA Today described the organization as adhering to a “Christian-based code of conduct” and the clubhouse as a place where Bibles were read and men’s magazines, like Maxim or Playboy, were banned.

The article included interviews with several players and front office members, but team players and officials interviewed this week said it unfairly implied that the Rockies were intent on constructing a roster consisting in large part of players with a strong Christian faith. Asked how his own Christian faith affected his decision-making, General Manager Dan O’Dowd acknowledged it came into play, but not in a religious way. He said it guided him to find players with integrity and strong moral values, regardless of their religious preference.

“Do we like players with character? There is absolutely no doubt about that,” O’Dowd said during a recent interview in his Coors Field office. “If people want to interpret character as a religious-based issue because it appears many times in the Bible, that’s their decision. I believe that character is an innate part of developing an organization, and to me, it is nothing more than doing the right thing at the right time when nobody’s looking. Nothing more complicated than that.

“You don’t have to be a Christian to make that decision.”

For most Christian opponents--moonbat liberals, atheists, etc.--being Christian and possessing good character is either a risible notion dismissed offhand or represents a threat to others' freedoms. Won't those Christians impose their views on other people, in this case, the other players who don't share the clubhouse's Christian faith?

As a Jewish player who attended a Catholic high school and a Lutheran university, Jason Hirsh knows what being a religious minority feels like. So last December, when he was traded to the Colorado Rockies, Hirsh wondered if what he had heard about his new organization was true.

Now, Hirsh said not once during the season had he felt uncomfortable with the place Christianity occupies within the organization.

“There are guys who are religious, sure, but they don’t impress it upon anybody,” Hirsh said. “It’s not like they hung a cross in my locker or anything. They’ve accepted me for who I am and what I believe in.”

Wow, religious and tolerant? (sarcasm off) The Rockies' clubhouse has a decidedly Christian flavor, but in a surprising way (these days) the team doesn't shy away from discussing their faith:

Even if the Rockies are not consciously doing it, reliever Matt Herges, playing for his seventh organization, said the team had the highest concentration of devout Christians he had seen during his nine major league seasons.

Every Sunday, about 10 people gather for chapel, according to reliever Jeremy Affeldt, and Tuesday afternoon Bible study sessions usually attract seven or eight players. Affeldt said players discussed life and their families as well as scripture.

“Certain guys attend chapel, certain guys don’t,” outfielder Cory Sullivan said. “I don’t think that’s any different from how it is in any other major league clubhouse. Nothing’s shoved down your throats.”
. . .
“I think that if they were Catholic or Baptist or didn’t believe in God but were quality players and good people and good teammates, there would be a place for them here,” Herges said. “But I do see a lot of quality people in this clubhouse. This is the tightest-knit group I’ve ever been around.”

Pitcher Mark Redman, playing for his eighth team in nine seasons, has been with the Rockies for only two months, but he, too, said he sensed a different chemistry. “I’ve been on teams with guys who you can’t wait to leave when the season’s over,” Redman said. “You don’t find a bad guy in here. I’m more than comfortable bringing my son in here. I haven’t been able to say that in the past.”

When the Rockies celebrated their National League Championship Series victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks last week, NLCS MVP Matt Holliday and one of the owners took the time to thank God (can't remember which one of the owners, I was at the game and it was loud) for their success, to no one's surprise here in Denver. None of the local MSM picked up on that in the following days, but this astonishing article from the NY Times of all MSM outlets captures the most important point.

A little faith can go a long way--all the way to the World Series.

Thank God, Go Rockies!

PS--commenters here and on other sites poke fun at the notion that God is behind the Rockies, due to the players' prayer--no such argument is being made. If prayer = victory, the Boston Red Sox wouldn't have had to wait until 2004 to win another World Series, and the Chicago Cubs wouldn't be enduring a century-long drought (and the Denver Broncos wouldn't have lost 3 Superbowls with John Elway, and the Colorado Avalanche would now have 11 straight Stanley Cups!) The type of religion itself isn't necessarily bringing success (even though their run has been miraculous, they still haven't won the World Series yet), but the practice of it--the team chemistry that had been a problem in recent season has been strengthened, and the players feel comfortable with each other and have confidence in their teammates on and off the field.

Colorado Rockies' Success Equals Taxes?

The only downside to the Colorado Rockies' phenomenal postseason success--a better chance for property tax increases:

The Rockies maiden voyage to the World Series seems to have lifted the mood and spirit of a city.

But will the excitement make Denver property owners more likely to increase their taxes next month?

At least one local pollster and Denver Councilman Charlie Brown, who has run 20 or more political campaigns, think it could.

"There's nothing like either a Super Bowl or a World Series to put everybody on cloud nine," said pollster Floyd Ciruli.

"If (voters) feel positive about what's happening in their city, they have a tendency to be more inclined to vote 'yes,'" Brown said.
. . .
"You couldn't have better luck than to have a local baseball team win this historic opportunity to play in the World Series on the very day that people start to vote," said Ciruli, who is part of a team of political pros Hickenlooper assembled to sell the ballot package to voters.

Brown called Hickenlooper "damn lucky."

"I don't care if you did direct mail pieces every day, you can't buy the feeling of good will in the city and county of Denver, indeed in the state of Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region," he said. "You can't put a price tag on it."

Positive civic pride may influence a small amount of voters who are both baseball fans and see the tax increases as a chance to reinvest in the city. Not sure how many of those who have no clue about the Rockies' win streak would translate such a feeling into Yes votes, but hosting the World Series in Denver for the first time in history can't hurt.

Let's hope that most of the laundry list of proposed tax increases (and the Boston Red Sox) fare as well as the rest of the Rockies' recent opponents!

Rockies' Rocktober No Fluke

The best team in the National League will be playing in the World Series in 2007 after all:

To win 21 times in 22 games, now that's fluky. The '61 Yankees never did that. The '84 Tigers never did that. The '86 Mets never did that. Only four other teams in the past 70 years have ever gone on a 21-1 tear. So it's as much a measure of good luck as good baseball.

But there's nothing fluky about the team that has strung together that 21-1 streak. If there is, how could we explain all this?

• The Rockies led the league in hitting.

• They had the highest fielding percentage in the history of baseball.

• They led the league in ERA after the All-Star break.

• And they have the best record in the National League since May 1, June 1, July 1, Aug. 1, Sept. 1 and Oct. 1.

So if anybody wants to make a case that the best team in the NL isn't about to play in this World Series, be our guest. But our response will be: See above.

Read the rest.