FanNation - The Republic of Sport

The Colorado Rockies sat in 4th place in the NL West on September 16th. Then came a massive and historic win streak to catapult them into the post season. They cruised through the Philadelphia Phillies, a team that had to rely on a collapse from another franchise to make the playoffs. The Rockies won four straight over the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLCS to punch their ticket to the World Series. After completing the sweep, the Rockies pitching staff had a team ERA of 2.08. They had been hitting down in the low .200's but still had managed to get clutch at bats. They were hot, and their town of Denver was buzzing. Purple galore! Woody Paige was filled with glee on ATH, and FanNation was calling for a four game sweep for the Rox.

Coming into the World Series, I had questioned the team ERA of the Rockies. I stated that it might have been so low due to facing one of if not THE worst hitting team in the MLB in the NLCS. Guys like Jeff Francis and Josh Fogg were looking like HOF's because they were facing the Conor Jackson's and Stephen Drew's of the world. The Rockies had not allowed over five runs all post season during their 7-0 start, and after dropping three straight games to the Boston Red Sox in the World Series they have allowed a total of 25 runs.

I had made the prediction that this series would go six games. I figured that the Rockies would be able to win a few games at home. I thought they could have some rocky mountain magic against guys like Matsuzaka or Lester. And then, get smashed by Beckett for the 2nd time in Game 5 and lose all hopes when Schilling closes it out in Game 6. Now, we are looking at a three game hole and the possibility of a sweep.

The Red Sox came into the World Series favored two to one. And now it looks like the guys in Vegas had it right. Jeff Francis was shalacked in Game 1 and Beckett was his usual self. Schilling delivered yet another majestic post season performance in Game 2 and out dueled the young stud Ubaldo Jimenez. And in Game 3, the so called "Dragon Slayer" couldnt even last three innings as Dice-K pitched scoreless ball into the 6th. Even having to deal with no Youkilis and sticking Ortiz at 1B, Boston had no troubles. They jumped out on top early, and never relinquished it even when NL MVP candidate Matt Holliday hammered a first pitch fastball from Okajima for a 3R HR. The Rockies have not gotten anything they've needed whether it is dominant pitching or timely hitting. They went two games where they only put up one run, and then finally cranked out five but couldnt get the quality start they had hoped for.

So, was this 2007 Rockies team a fluke? Or, was it just the fact that they ran into a far superior opponent? To me, it was a little bit of both. Boston won 96 games off of dominant pitching year round, and as always great team hitting. Boston took down some of the best teams in all of the MLB during their run to the World Series. Knocking out the Angels and Indians was no small task. And yet, they made it look easy at times. They ran right by the Angels in three games, and during their three game comeback against the Indians they outscored them 30-5. Boston came in hot in every which way. Starters like Beckett, Schilling, and Dice-K all came in off of wins. The bullpen had been superb and the lineup came in hotter than the core of the Earth. The Rockies, as talented as they are, never had a chance to win this series. There wont be an 04' like comeback.

Congratulations to them for having such a succesful season, and thank you for entertaining the fans during such an incredible late season hot streak. I know using the word fluke is a little harsh, but being down 0-3 in the World Series warrants it.