The Rockies have now won 18 out of their last 19 games!

Make that 19 out of 20.
(Colorado 2, Arizona 0.)

These 10PM EST starting times can't be good for ratings. Even though it was a Friday night, I was asleep well before the game ended. The 6th inning was just starting at 12:30AM!

Those Fox execs must be thinking "PLEASE, not the Indians and the Diamondbacks in the Series!" WS ratings would really be in the tank, I think.

LOL...you are a better man than I Jimbo. I only made it to the eighth inning of the first game, and I had a rooting interest.

I guess I shouldn't have been so worried about Sabathia. That was a good old fashioned butt whipping. The Indians absolutely have to win tonight. If they don't, this one is over. The back end of Cleveland's rotation doesn't worry me at all.

If Torre goes, Mattingly or Girardi..........not LaRussa..............screw him. Lose Mussina, Clemens and ARod......let the Red Sox overpay for this overrated pos. He's done NOTHING for the Yanks in the playoffs. Keep Rivera for two years. Re sign Posada. Phil Hughes is the future ace of the Yankees staff. After Rivera is done the next two years, see if he'll stick around as a pitching coach. Look what he did for Vizciano who really sucked before he started working with Mo. M.

I could be wrong, but I think the overwhelming consensus in Boston is that we are content to let A-Rod walk to the Angels or Cubs, and re-sign Mike Lowell. Lowell drives in runs in the playoffs and is a much better defensive third baseman. I'll gladly give up 20 regular season RBIs in favor of good defense and a positive presence in the clubhouse.

I can not remember the last time a baseball team was as hot as the Rockies.
I'm not counting Cleveland out yet, but a Red Sox-Rockies Series would be an interesting one.

As for Yankee business, I have heard put forth a theory that Steinbrenner was caught off-guard in his interview, and that while he meant what he said the organization hadn't really decided Torre's fate yet, and that the delay is partially to cover for the old man.I originally felt that Torre should go, but I now hope he stays at least one more year.
I'm with those who would be fine if Rodriguez goes. You can, if you need to, get a few good players for what you'd have to pay him-I would guess
around $40 million per year, if you count the luxury tax.

One thing is true. The world has stopped here in NY till the Yankees have that damn meeting and decide Torre's fate. Thats all you hear on Sports Talk Radio.

No one around here cares that there is a baseball playoff going on.

Its Yankee Crisis Talk 24/7.

The Mets have completely disappeared. Like they don't exist. Probably better off not to show their faces till March at the soonest.

Last night's Sox-Tribe game took 5 hours and 15 mins. to play. I don't think ol' Abner Doubleday intended baseball games to be played at 2 o'clock in the morning. Heaven forfend that a Saturday playoff game should be played in the sunshine.

A point that has been made by many sportswriters: unlike some of us older fans, today's kids will have no fond memories of great playoff/World Series games, because they can't stay up late to watch these games to conclusion. Same is true in basketball now.

btw...caught the end of the Boston game last night after we got in from the Porcupine Tree show at the Beacon (sold-out).

Boston did a NY Mets and imploded. Nice to see every team has a volatile bullpen.

Teams spend millions on superstar infielders and outfielders but the bullpen remains generally a no-man's land of ineptitude.

And there is nothing you can do about it. One years great closer or middle relief is a bum the next year, no matter what you pay these guys.

The big problem last night was with Gagne, which has been the problem since they got him. It's obvious that Francona has no confidence in him, and if the Sox advance they will have to think about leaving him off the WS roster. I think it really hurt that they didn't have Kyle Snyder available in the 11th. No worries though, they got nice performances from Manny Delcarmen, Mike Timlin, Okajima, and Pappelbon. Most games won't require 7 innings of relief, and they'll be fine.

20 wins in their last 21 games!
(Colorado 3, Arizona 0.)

This is one of the best sports stories of the year!

The Rockies have rolled in the last month to being only one game shy of making it into their first-ever World Series.

Such an unknown team to us over here in the East.

This NL fan can only hope they keep it up once they get into the WS.

After playing last night in a steady rain, tonight's NL game is another 10PM EST start. Since the Giants are on MNF, I'll be up for awhile, but I doubt I'll watch more than the first 3-4 innings.

I recall a late 70s playoff game between the Phillies and the Dodgers that was played in the rain. I love how the broadcasters act like TV has nothing to do with the decision to play in such conditions.

from The Associated Press--

The Rockies are off to the World Series ... what'll they think of next?
Yet here come the Rockies, the most unlikely and yet most undeniable pennant winner in a long, long time. One month ago today, the Rockies were in fourth place in the National League West. They were 6½ games out of first, behind nearly half-a-dozen teams in the wild-card standings. They were done. Toast.

And then it started. And it hasn't stopped. The Rockies beat Arizona 6-4 on Monday night to win the National League Championship Series, advance to the World Series and continue the hottest September-October stretch in baseball history.

The Rockies won 13 of their final 14 regular-season games to force a one-game playoff with San Diego for the final postseason spot, then won that. Then they swept the Phillies in three games in the NL Division Series. And now they've swept the Diamondbacks in four games of the NLCS. Colorado has won 21 of 22 games, including 10 in a row, to become the first team to enter the World Series on such a crazy carpet ride.

"It's been one game after another, one person (coming through) after another," Rockies reliever Brian Fuentes said. "Who's next?"


"There comes a point in time when a team is no longer hot, they're simply good," Arizona's Tony Clark said. "And I think that's what we saw with Colorado."



• With their 21st win in 22 games, the relentless Rockies beat the rattled Arizona Diamondbacks 6-4 in Game 4 Monday night to sweep the NL championship series at chilly Coors Field.

• The Rockies joined the 1976 Big Red Machine as the only teams to start a postseason with seven straight wins. Colorado has won 10 in row overall and lost only once since Sept. 16.

• The Rockies have a record eight days off before opening the World Series at either Cleveland or Boston on Oct. 24. The Indians lead the ALCS 2-1.

• Arizona hadn't lost four straight game since a five-game slide July 4-8.

• The only team to sweep a NLCS since it went to a best-of-seven format in 1985 was the Atlanta Braves, who blanked Cincinnati in 1995.

• The D-backs went 4-for-27 with runners in scoring position in the series and scored just eight times, the fewest in an NLCS of at least four games since Pittsburgh was held to 12 runs in seven games in 1991.

• The Rockies trailed in just two of the 38 innings in this series.

• Matt Holliday leads all players in the postseason with four home runs.

• Colorado's starters posted a 1.66 ERA. Corpas leads all closers in the playoffs with five saves.


http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/recap?gid=271015127

Thanks for that rundown. Truly a remarkable run by the Rockies.
As I watch this team of virtual unknowns, castoffs, and kids, I think more about how players like Clemens and Rodriguez, as great as they are or have been, are overrated and often unnecessary.

I don't know what the Rockies payroll is, but I bet you could get the whole team for what the Yankees paid Rodriguez,
Clemens, and Giambi this year.

BINGO! You hit the nail right on the head. While the Colorado Rockies are a great story, it's too bad that few people (outside of Colorado) will remember it years from now.

That is the beauty of baseball. You have teams like the Mets and Yankees that spend fortunes chasing that elusive WS Trophy for nothing.

The Joe Torre watch continues in NY. The Boss said he was fired at then end of the 3 last seasons but he survives. I expect him to survive once more.

Then in 2 weeks we get to enjoy the A-Rod will he? or won't he? tour.

Torre declines Yankees' one-year offer

By Ronald Blum, The Associated Press

NEW YORK — Joe Torre is out as manager of the New York Yankees, rejecting a substantial pay cut after the team failed to make it past the first round of the playoffs for the third straight year.
Torre turned down a $5 million, one-year contract Thursday that still would have made him the highest paid manager in baseball.

Bench coach Don Mattingly is the leading contender to replace Torre, who led the Yanks to 12 straight playoff appearances and won four World Series championships. Yankees broadcaster Joe Girardi, the NL Manager of the Year with Florida in 2006, is another top contender.

"It's a difficult day," general manager Brian Cashman said.

But it was one Yankees' fans could see coming.

After losing the first two playoff games to Cleveland, owner George Steinbrenner said he didn't think Torre would be back if the Yankees didn't advance. They lost in four games.

Torre, who took over the team to start the 1996 season, made his decision after traveling fom New York to the team's spring training complex in Tampa He was accompanied by Cashman and chief operating officer Lonn Trost.

"It is now time for the New York Yankees to move forward," team president Randy Levine said.

Torre made $7.5 million this year, the final season of a $19.2 million, three-year contract. His new deal would have included substantial bonuses for each round of the playoffs the team reached.

"We felt we needed to go to a performance-based mode," Levine said. "We thought it was very fair. It clearly was at the top of the market, but we respect Joe's decision."

Torre led the Yankees to the postseason every year he managed them, winning the AL East 10 times. But the Yankees have gone without a Series championship in the last seven and haven't even reached it since 2003, a stretch of futility that finally prompted Steinbrenner to make a change.

With 2,067 regular-season wins, Torre is eighth on the career list and was third among active managers behind Tony La Russa of the St. Louis Cardinals (2,375) and Bobby Cox (2,255) of the Atlanta Braves. Torre's four World Series titles are likely to earn him a place in the Hall of Fame — every manager with three or more has been inducted.

As for salary, he led all managers — Lou Piniella of the Cubs was second at $3.5 million a year.

Torre's was the longest uninterrupted term for a Yankees manager since Casey Stengel held the job from 12 years from 1949-60. Stengel was pushed out, too, let go after his team lost a seven-game World Series to Pittsburgh.

Under Torre, the Yankees went 1,173-767. He trails only Joe McCarthy (1,460) for wins among Yankees managers.

"This has been a great 12 years. Whatever the hell happens from here on out, I'll look back on these 12 years with great, great pleasure," Torre said after his final game, his voice quavering as he tried to avoid choking up. "The 12 years just felt like they were 10 minutes long, to be honest with you."

He wouldn't address his future.

"If I have some options, I'll look at it because I'm certainly not ready to move somewhere and not do anything," the 67-year-old New Yorker said.

When Torre succeeded Buck Showalter, the Yankees had not won the World Series since 1978, the longest drought since the team's first title in 1923. It was the 20th change in manager following Steinbrenner's purchase of the franchise in 1973.

Torre never had much success as a manager before landing in New York, and many predicted he would be gone in no time. But he turned out to be a rock and a buffer to the blustery Steinbrenner. He was calm, stoic and brought an unprecedented period of stability to a team accustomed to constant turmoil.

The Brooklyn native was a former NL MVP and a nine-time All-Star. Before joining the Yankees, he had unsuccessful managing stints with the Braves, Cardinals and Mets — the three clubs he played for. When the Yankees hired him, one New York paper dubbed him: "Clueless Joe."

But New York won the World Series in 1996, led by a group that included Bernie Williams, rookie Derek Jeter, setup man Mariano Rivera, Paul O'Neill and Tino Martinez. With catcher Jorge Posada added in, they won the Series from 1998-2000, the first team to win three straight since the Swingin' Oakland A's of 1972-74, and advanced to Game 7 of the Series in 2001, when they failed to hold a ninth-inning lead at Arizona.

Since then, despite baseball's largest payroll, there has been only frustration: a first-round loss to the Anaheim Angels in 2002, a World Series defeat to the Florida Marlins in 2003 and a painful exit the following year, when they allowed the Boston Red Sox to overcome a 3-0 deficit in the AL championship series.

They lost to the Angels in five games in the first round in 2005, were eliminated by the Detroit Tigers last year and were knocked out by Cleveland this year.

Communication between Torre and Steinbrenner deteriorated in 2005, and it wasn't clear that Torre would return for 2006 until after the pair met in Tampa. Steinbrenner meddled less with the team the past two seasons — even during a 21-29 start this year — giving almost unprecedented authority to Torre and Cashman.

Mattingly became the Yankees' bench coach this year following three seasons as hitting coach. A six-time All-Star and a former AL MVP, he starred for the team from 1982-95 and is a fan favorite whose No. 23 was retired by the Yankees in 1997.

Girardi is a Torre protege who kept a young Florida team in contention until late in the 2006 season with a no-nonsense approach.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball ... orre_N.htm

Torre turns down offer to return as Yanks' skipper

ESPN.com
Updated: October 18, 2007, 5:57 PM ET

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3069115

Tough Act to Follow
Whoever succeeds Joe Torre, when the likely Hall of Fame manager leaves the Yankees, will have some big shoes to fill.
Among his accomplishments in New York:

• 1,173-767 record
• Four World Series titles
• 10 AL East titles (9 straight from 1998-2006)
• Two-time AL Manager of the Year (1996 and 1998)
• Reached postseason all 12 seasons

All-time managerial wins leaders
Manager Wins
Connie Mack 3,776
John McGraw 2,840
Tony La Russa 2,375
Bobby Cox 2,255
Sparky Anderson 2,194
Bucky Harris 2,159
Joe McCarthy 2,126
Joe Torre 2,067

This was one bizzare negotiation. It took over a week to tell him its a pay cut 1 yr contract or nothing? Sheesh. Why bother?

They better hope the next guy gets into the Playoffs 12 years in a row.