Posted by Richard on October 24, 2007
For the umpteenth time in the past week, some brain-dead schlub of a sports reporter today asked Rockies manager Clint Hurdle to speculate about how harmful the team's eight-day layoff before the World Series was. This time, Hurdle had the perfect response: "We will not apologize for winning quickly."
Pow!
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Posted by Richard on October 16, 2007
Watching the Rockies take a 6-1 lead into the 8th, I was wondering: if I'd offered to bet two years ago, or last year, when they were tied for last in the NL West — or, heck, earlier this season after their 1-9 road trip — that the Rockies would go to the World Series before the end of the decade, what kind of odds would I have gotten? Pretty long, I suspect.
Well, they're going! The team that was one strike from elimination won the pennant. The D-backs made it exciting, scoring 3 runs in the 8th. With two outs and a runner on third, Clint Hurdle pulled Fuentes and told closer Manny Corpas "Tonight, you've got to get us four outs instead of three."
Corpas delivered. It ended 6-4, appropriately with a great throw to first by Tulowitzki.
The superlatives just keep piling up for this young team. 21 of 22. Seven straight playoff wins. Best team fielding percentage in the history of Major League Baseball. What's most noteworthy to manager Clint Hurdle? He couldn't say enough about the character of his players.
Congrats on a great season to the very young Diamondbacks (who last year were tied for last with the Rockies). They fought hard to come back in the 8th and 9th, making for an exciting finish and showing a lot of character themselves.
But Todd Helton had the line of the night: "We're not done yet."
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Posted by Richard on October 15, 2007
It was a cold, wet night in Denver, but the Rockies remained red hot. They just won their sixth straight playoff game 4-1, their 20th win in 21 games. In the first three games against the Dbacks, they've given up only four runs. They're one win away from a second sweep and the World Series. Wow.
Tonight's interesting baseball fact: the last team to win 19 of 20 after September 1 was the 1977 Royals, and Rockies manager Clint Hurdle played on that team.
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Posted by Richard on October 14, 2007
It's shortly after midnight, and I just returned home safely from Rocky Mountain Blogger Bash 7.2, which was at the Irish Snug pub. Got there about 4:30 pm, and left a little after 11:30 pm. It was a fine evening. The first half consisted of lots of good conversation, a very tasty and filling shepherd's pie and salad for dinner, and several Guinness.
The second part of the evening featured live music by singer-guitarist Brian Clancy, who did a terrific job (with help from a bass player and virtually everyone in the bar) of performing more Irish songs than you can shake a shillelagh at. Songbooks were provided to help us with the lyrics. It was a blast. Upon my request, Brian did a fine job on the old Tommy Makem song, "Johnson's Motor Car." I suspect that Brian and I were the only people in the place who'd ever heard of the song. I remember it from a marvelous album that's not even listed in the Makem discograpy, The Clancey Brothers and Tommy Makem Live at Carnegie Hall.
And of course, there were several more Guinness.
I was impressed by the Irish Snug, and plan to go back. The food was good, the service and atmosphere made you feel at home, and it had a good mix of people spanning several generations, all singing songs and drinking and having a good time. Thanks to Off Colfax for suggesting it (and, along with Jed, sharing his smokes; I start to crave nicotine after a few beers), and thanks to DavidJ for buying some of my beers. I owe him some shots next time. Thanks to the folks from Lijit for the fine conversation and the free t-shirt. I'll add their tool to my blog Real Soon Now.
We'll have to do this again sometime soon. But will it be RMBB 7.3 or 8.0? I just don't understand the numbering.
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Posted by Richard on October 13, 2007
Win #19 in the last 20! The Rockies beat the Diamondbacks 3-2 in the 11th, becoming the first team in 31 years to start the post-season with five straight wins. The Dbacks walked in the winning run.
The Rockies take a 2-0 lead back to Coors Field Sunday night. Keep those brooms handy, Rockies fans!
And if you're going to the game Sunday, take a sweater and a jacket. The temp may be in the 30s, and rain is possible. The Broncos have a bye week (and will be trying to figure out why they can't do anything right), so this town will definitely be Rockies crazy.
Rocktober rolls on! Unbe-frickin-lievable.
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Posted by Richard on October 12, 2007
Rockies 5, Diamondbacks 1. At Phoenix. Against the D-Backs' best pitcher. Win #18 in the last 19 games. Is this team hot, or what? Three more wins to the World Series, baby!
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Posted by Richard on October 10, 2007
Rocky Mountain Blogger Bash 7.2 will commence at 4 PM (!) this Saturday, October 13, in the Irish Snug pub at 1201 E. Colfax (at Downing, across the street from the Ramada Inn). I haven't been there, but Off Colfax likes it and the reviews are good. They have Guinness on tap, so I'll be happy. David Aitken should be happy, too, because he can walk there in about five minutes. Yes, David, you should come — even though it's been a while since you've blogged.
If you're a blogger, a blogger groupie, or just the occasional reader of Denver-area bloggers wondering what kind of weirdos we are, drop on by and have a drink or two or… Maybe dinner, too. A friend told me they have good food.
ResurrectionSong has more info, including a list of those who've RSVP'd and/or left odd comments. Feel free to RSVP and/or leave an odd comment.
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Posted by Richard on October 7, 2007
The Rockies swept the Phillies! The Rockies swept the Phillies! The Rockies swept the Phillies!
Yeah, I'm a bit excited (and just a bit inebriated). Like I said the other day, I'm not a huge baseball fan. But I admire the hell out of this team and its achievements in the past month. Tonight's 2-1 win (the winning run came from 3 singles in the 8th after 2 outs) was the 17th in the last 18 games. Incredible. Look out, D-Backs, Rocktober rolls on!
It's been a great sports Saturday, IMHO. This afternoon, Tennessee shocked #12 Georgia 35-14 in a game not as close as the score would suggest. It looks like the Vols finally found a defense, and their running game looked great.
This evening, I kept flipping back and forth between the Rockies game and the LSU-Florida football game, which was a thriller. Florida's Tebow is something else, making the previously awesome LSU defense look merely mortal. But after trailing all game, LSU scored the go-ahead touchdown with 1:09 remaining, and their defense held. We Tennessee fans appreciate the big favor, Tigers!
Sunday, we'll see if the Broncos can find a defense. And the ability to finish drives. Sigh.
UPDATE (Sunday): Defense sucked worse than ever, offense sucked as well, and I turned the slaughter off early. Zombyboy has the details and thoughtful analysis.
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Posted by Richard on October 2, 2007
I'm not a real big baseball fan. When you grow up with not much hand-eye coordination and a poor memory for names and numbers, baseball just doesn't have that much appeal. I've been to a few games at Coors Field and enjoyed them thoroughly, and I watch it on TV occasionally, but I don't closely follow it or keep track of players, stats, and all that.
But I am a big fan of grit, determination, character, courage, and heart — and boy, do these Colorado Rockies have all of that! Tied for a wildcard spot, they played a 163rd game tonight against the Padres. A local sportscaster just said it may be one of the best baseball games ever. I don't know about that, but it was a monumental battle, back and forth through 13 innings. Trailing by 2 runs in the bottom of the 13th, facing the best closer in the game, the Rockies rallied and won:
DENVER (AP) – Matt Holliday raced home on Jamey Carroll's shallow fly ball, capping a stunning, three-run rally in the 13th inning leading the Colorado Rockies into the playoffs.The run came against Trevor Hoffman and the San Diego Padres for a 9-8 win Monday night and the right to go to the NL wild card.
After Scott Hairston's two-run homer put the Padres ahead in the top of the 13th, Colorado came back against baseball's career saves leader.
The Rockies won the longest one-game tiebreaker in major league history, and advanced to play Philadelphia in the first round.
That's victory number 14 out of the last 15 games. 14 out of 15. Every one of them necessary to make it to the playoffs. Talk about peaking at the right time! Talk about never say die! Go, Rockies!
Baseball in October is a beautiful thing. 🙂
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Posted by Richard on July 8, 2007
Reason #347 why driving my SUV is better than mass transit: Last night's Rocky Mountain Blogger Bash at the Celtic Tavern was just a few blocks from the Union Station light rail stop, so I told myself taking the train would be reasonably convenient and safer than risking a DUI on the way home. Well, the latter was probably true.
I live about half a mile from the Broadway & I-25 station. I got about two-thirds of the way there when the thundershower hit and I had to seek shelter. Fifteen minutes later, I was able to continue.
The train I wanted sat at the station as I worked at getting the ticket machine to accept my dollar bills (an RTD light rail ticket is just about the only thing I can think of that can't be bought by scanning a debit or credit card). It continued to sit as I sprinted toward it, teasing me to within twenty feet before pulling away.
When I finally got to Union Station, it was raining cats and dogs. I waited there for twenty or thirty minutes until it slowed to a light drizzle, and then headed out with alacrity. I was almost at my destination when I realized it wasn't my destination.
In a senior moment, I'd headed for an Irish pub I'd been to in the past, Fadó, instead of the Celtic Tavern. A mere three or four block detour.
All of which explains why I was much more than the seven seconds late that I'd promised.
Nevertheless, the evening was delightful, with lots of good conversation, and the trip home about one-ish was slow but uneventful (albeit a wee bit hazy). Even the food and service were quite good. I had just one question: How the heck can you run a place called the Celtic Tavern and not serve Guinness and Harp?
The Murphy's Irish Stout was a tolerable substitute, but no Guinness.
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Posted by Richard on July 6, 2007
OMG, I've let the next Rocky Mountain Blogger Bash (it's v.6.583…, if you believe Jed) sneak up on me! Tomorrow, on 07/07/07, at 7:07 PM*, various and sundry ink-stained electron-stained wretches will gather at the Celtic Tavern in downtown Denver to imbibe malted barley beverages (hooray, Guiness!) and regale each other with glorious tales of daring commentary and linkery. Join us! You don't have to be a blogger — as long as you have the proper fawning attitude toward us heroic html-slingers, we'll welcome you. Especially if you offer to buy the next round.
* I plan to be 7 seconds late.
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Posted by Richard on June 15, 2007
Here in Denver, the phrase "squirrel problem" has lately referred to dead ones, killed by bubonic plague. At least a couple of dozen dead squirrels that tested positive for plague have been found in city parks, along with at least one cat and a monkey at the Denver Zoo.
The latter two made some of us higher primates a bit nervous, suggesting that the virulent disease was getting closer to our place in the food chain. But I don't think too many people feel threatened by squirrels. It's not as if they're rabid and likely to attack us. Like they do in Germany:
An aggressive squirrel went on the rampage in southern Germany on Tuesday, injuring three people. But a 72-year-old pensioner finally put a stop to the mayhem, killing the creature stone dead with his crutch. Now the dead animal is being examined for rabies.
…
It was not the first incident of squirrel invasions in Germany. Just last year a family of raucous squirrels stormed (more…) an elderly couple's home in Germany, triggering an elaborate 90-minute fire brigade operation. But, although the squirrels didn't go without a fight, no one was injured in that incident.
Craig Ferguson did a great riff about the German attack squirrel last night (the video may be available later on this page under "Show and Tell"). He opined that this is something really frightening — squirrels that are not just psychotic, but also German. It won't be long, Ferguson warned, before they gather together and start marching, marching across Europe. French squirrels, he said, have already surrendered.
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Posted by Richard on June 9, 2007
When I got up this morning (a few minutes after 6), my furnace was cranking away. After grabbing the paper from the porch, I decided to forget the Hawaiian shirt I was planning to wear and dig out something long-sleeved instead. It felt downright nippy.
Tonight, I learned that my perception and my furnace were right. Denver's official low this morning was 31° F. That's not only a new record for the date, but it makes this the latest freeze ever recorded in Denver. Take that, Algore!
(In case you're wondering, the latest snow in Denver was on June 11, way back in 1947.)
Of course, that 31° was at the airport; here in town, it was a few degrees warmer. Still, temps in the 30s don't really mix well with Hawaiian shirts. The freeze capped off an interesting several days, coming after a strong storm front moved through the state. Colorado didn't get the strong thunderstorms that the front spawned after it moved farther east, but the mountains got up to 6" of snow, and the winds were something.
Wednesday and Thursday, gusts hit 50 mph here in Denver and 90+ mph in Boulder and various foothill and mountain locations. One of my neighbors lost about a third of a 50-foot maple — one of three main limbs, easily as big around as my waist, ended up in the front yard. I was spared any new tree attacks.
The saying in Colorado is if you don't like the weather, just wait a few minutes. Well, we literally had to wait just a few hours today. By late afternoon, it was sunny and 75° — Hawaiian shirt weather. Back into the 80s for the weekend. If you get bored in Denver, it won't be because of the weather.
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Posted by Richard on February 20, 2007
For the first time since December 20, Denver officially has no snow cover this morning. The streak ended just a couple of days short of the all-time record:
There will be no snow cover record for Denver. Tuesday’s measurement brought the record watch to an end. The city ended up with 61 days in a row with 1" of snow or more on the ground.
But there was only a trace on the ground Tuesday, so we fell two days short of tying the record.
Measurements are taken at the National Weather Service station at the old Stapleton Airport at 6:00 a.m. each day. Snow is measured in a number of different places, and the depth of those readings is averaged to come up with the official figure.
This winter’s 61-day streak sits in second place, just ahead of the 60-day streak in 1913-14. The 63-day record was set my first winter in Colorado, 1983-84. Five of Denver’s ten longest snow cover streaks have occurred since 1983.
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Posted by Richard on February 19, 2007
I’m sorry to say I missed Rocky Mountain Blogger Bash #6 Friday night. No real reason — I just spaced it out. For some reason, I thought it was next week. Oh, well — RMBB #7 will come around soon enough, I’m sure.
As for #6, Jed has more pix than you can shake a stick at. Click the thumbnails to see the large versions if you dare. The pictures prove that Jed’s right — Stephen Green has recovered from his grave illness and is looking good. Despite the really weird shirt. Publicola has a complete rundown on the festivities and attendees, along with links to other bash-posts. I liked Andy’s review best.
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