Hey guys...If anyone is interested I will be hosting a chat about the Rockies on InDenverTimes.com.  There is no real agenda, we are just going to talk about the Rockies and the 11 game streak that they are on, as well as anything else Rockies related that anyone might be interested in discussing.  The chat starts today at 2 pm for anyone interested.  Just go to InDenverTimes.com and click on the link above all of the stories and sign up.  It should be fun.  It is supposed to last for about an hour.  So if you have a chance, swing by and say hello.

Thanks,

David Martin

RockiesReview.com

InDenverTimes.com- Rockies writer

Is it just me, or do the dumbest Rockies fans in the world always post their comments on the Denver Post online stories?  You would think that every now and then you would get a good comment, or someone would say something that makes sense, but really, everyone incriminates themselves as a September 2007 and on Rox fan.  All you hear the whole time is how bad the Rockies are for getting rid of Matt Holliday and how this team will lose 100 games.  They may as well be writers for Foxsports.com.

If you are anything like me, this time of year is almost torture.  It has already been a long offseason, and Spring Training is just around the corner.  But just around the corner means another three weeks.  The team is starting to take shape, you can start to guess how the Rockies will do if everything goes right, or if everything goes wrong.  You can point out the strengths and weaknesses of the team, and you can hope, but until then, there is nothing to do except replay the same scenarios over and over again in your head.

As far as hope goes, any Rockies fan is hoping for the 2007 Troy Tulowitzki, or at least not the one from April of 2008.  In an article written by Troy Renck of the Denver Post, Tulowitzki seems to be eager to prove that he is the shortstop of his rookie year, the one who was robbed of the N.L. Rookie of the Year.  Renck suggests at one point that Tulo is oozing confidence.  As a Rockies fan, it is hard not to get excited about that statement.  Tulo came into 2008 with something to prove, maybe to himself, that he was a great player, and that 2007 wasn't a fluke.  Tulowitzki's performance is a huge determining factor in how the Rockies end up.  Losing Holliday's bat means the rest of the lineup will need to step it up, and Tulowitzki will be asked to produce most likely from the 2-hole, a spot where he struggled in '08.  If he can be on base, that means better pitches for Helton (if healthy) and Garrett Atkins.  If Tulo can hit .280 with 20 home runs, and 90 RBI, along with his standard Gold Glove defense, the Rockies will be in good shape.

Another 2008 disappointment was top pitching prospect Franklin Morales.  Most analysts suggested that Morales' problems were mental.  However, In an article written by Thomas Harding from coloradorockies.com, Morales suggests that he was suffering lower back pain that was making it hard for him to crank his velocity to the usual upper 90's, therefore he was relying on his breaking pitches.  What is most surprising about this revelation is that Morales says he never informed the team until after the season was over.  Since then he has been recieving treatment and feeling better. 

The Rockies gained a little wisdom with the Morales situation.  Last year they put all of their eggs in one basket, banking on the fact that Morales and Ubaldo Jimenez would act like veterans, instead of young men in their early 20's, as ended up being the case early on.  This season, a healthy Morales comes into Spring Training with plenty of competition for the 5th spot in the rotation.  The front runner for this position is no doubtedly Jorge De La Rosa, who impressed everyone down the stretch.  Morales will be battling De La Rosa and lefties Glendon Rusch and Greg Smith, as well as a host of others for that last spot.

Jack Etkin, in his blog for the Rocky Mountain News mentions that Carlos Gonzalez is on his way to Denver for the last day of the Rockies winter development program.  The Rockies felt that it would be better for Gonzalez to play in the Venezualan playoffs and gain valuable expirience there, rather than the typical work done at the winter program.  According to Etkin, Gonzalez hit .289 in the playoffs, while showing progress with his strikeout to walk ratio, something that was alarming in his short time in the big leagues with the A's.  Gonzalez has the potential to be a superstar, and it seems as if the Rockies are handling him with extreme care in order to maximize his potential.  It will be interesting to see where he ends up to start the season.  If everything goes as planned, Gonzalez will be in Colorado Springs, but if he has a great spring and Seth Smith looks a little lost in centerfield, don't be surprised to see Gonzalez on the opening day roster.

That leads into the signing of Scott Podsednik.  Podsednik did a great job in the roll that he held with the team last year and brought valuable competition to the clubhouse.  He is a lefty off the bench with significant speed.  As a non-roster invitee, he is nothing more than insurance in case Ryan Spilborghs or Seth Smith goes down with an injury, or to give more time in the Minors to Dexter Fowler.  It should be interesting to see how centerfield shakes out for the Rockies.  All signs point to Spilborghs being the starter with Seth Smith and Carlos Gonzalez getting an opportunity.  However, Gonzalez looks to be the favorite for the left field spot.  This may be another situation that depends on the health of Todd Helton.  If Helton is healthy, he is at first base, with Garrett Atkins at third.  That means, in order to get Ian Stewart's bat into the lineup, he may be forced to learn left field, something that he seems athletically capable of handling.  This would bump Gonzalez into the centerfield competition, and possibly leave Podsednik looking for a job with another organization.  It seems like a good problem to have.

Tonight's matchup between the Mountaineers of West Virginia (13-4) vs. the 12th ranked Hoyas of Georgetown (12-4) is a conference matchup from one of the most talented conferences in men's college basketball.

The Big East has eight teams in the top 25 and are continuing to look good in non-conference games.  Georgetown, who at the beginning of the season looked like a contender for the national title, has struggled a little bit as of late, but remains a power packed team.  Five of the last six games for the Hoyas have been against teams ranked 13th or higher, a brutal schedule for anyone.  The last game in that streched was a hard fought game on the road against no. 3 Duke.  Georgetown dropped that game 76-67. 

West Virginia is another team that was ranked early in the season, but has sinced dropped off after losing to Marquette and UConn.  The Mountaineers barely survived a scare this past Saturday courtesy of South Florida as they blew a 17 point first half lead.  They held on to win 62-59. 

The key for the West Virginia is their shooting.  They have shot an abysmal 34.3% from the field in their last three conference games and have only averaged 56.7 points per game. 

Georgetown has won 12 of the last 15 meetings between these two teams going into the game tonight.

Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post is reporting that how Matt Holliday does in Oakland determines the way people will look at the post humidor days of Coors Field.  Saunders dives into some stats that would suggest that the humidor is doing its job, such as three 1-0 games in 2008, something that never happened in the past.  I tend to disagree.  The reputation for Coors Field has been etched in stone and placed in the history books to stay.  Despite hitters parks like Great American and Citizen's Bank Park, Coors Field still comes into play as the more "hitter friendly" venue.  Don't believe me?   Ask Holliday and the MVP trophy he lost to Jimmy Rollins.  If Holliday does well in Oakland, he simply becomes a great hitter, and Coors Field remains an unfair advantage to the rest of the baseball world.

In another Denver Post article, Troy Renck tells fans to not write off the 2009 Rockies.  Renck mentions, among other reasons, that the rest of the N.L. West hasn't gotten any better. If the Dodgers can't pony up the money to sign Manny Ramirez, the Rockies, with the addition of Jason Marquis, may just have the ability to win the division, or at least make it close.  While I can be accused of being a hopeless romantic with this franchise, I believe there is some truth in this article.  Despite most fans opinion, Dan O'Dowd has done a good job this off season with what he has been forced to work with.  I believe that ownership told him to ship off Matt Holliday at all costs, they didn't want to spend $12 million on someone who wouldn't be around in 2010.  In that trade they received an extremely talented player in Carlos Gonzalez, and a closer with close to 100 career saves.  In addition, O'Dowd rid himself of his 2007 mistake in Luis Vizcaino, and landed a quality, experienced arm in Jason Marquis.  Marquis has won no less than 11 games in each of the last five seasons.  Essentially, he is a more talented Josh Fogg.  With this addition, and a return to form of Jeff Francis, the Rockies have every opportunity to be in the hunt come September.

The Rockies dealing with arbitration is usually a quick process, exchange numbers and meet in the middle.  The Rockies have only been to an arbitration hearing on three occasions, winning two of them.  Jack Etkin of the Rocky Mountain News is reporting that the Rox may be in line for their fourth hearing.  Apparently the Rockies and Garrett Atkins are $1.3 million apart.  That is a huge difference as far as arbitration is concerned.  Atkins is reportedly seeking $7.95 million, and the Rockies are offering $6.5 million.  Despite Atkins numbers going down in two consecutive seasons, Atkins has a strong case for his number.  With the loss of Holliday, he is now the teams power source.  Also, he showed his versatility by moving from third base to first base when Todd Helton went down with a back injury.  It almost seems as if the Rockies are preparing to say goodbye to Atkins by suggesting early on that they are not going to be shelling the money out for him.  Tracy Ringolsby suggests that he may already be gone, if not for the question of Helton's health going into '09.  If Helton returns to health, the Rockies may put Atkins on the trading block depending on where they sit in the standings come July 31st.

The Arizona Cardinals shocked the football world Sunday as they defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in the N.F.C. Championship game 32-25, earning their first ever Super Bowl berth.

For years the Cardinals, charter members of the National Football League, have been the laughing stock of the league.  In fact, going into this postseason the franchise had registered one playoff win in team history.

Two years ago, the Cardinals spent their number one draft pick on Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinert.  Most thought that he had the talent to lead the team out of the dark days into a better future.

Leinert, however, was forced to take a back seat and watch from the sidelines as grocery store shelf stocker-turned Super Bowl Champion- turned NFL MVP- turned back-up QB refused to be on the sideline and turned himself into an early favorite for league MVP.

Larry Fitzgerald capitalized on the Eagles secondary by scoring three touchdowns in the first half.

Fitzgerald, along with a stingy Cardinal defense, led the team to a 24-6 halftime lead.

Even with such a large lead, the feeling was not that the Eagles were out of it, in fact, many experts at halftime were predicting a come-from-behind victory.

The feelings were realized in the second half as Donovan McNabb and his squad, a team who themselves needed help to get into the playoffs, scored 13 third quarter points, while holding the Cardinals scoreless in the frame.

The Eagles defensive began putting pressure on Warner and held the Cardinals to just eight yards in the whole third quarter

Philadelphia scored the first six points of the fourth quarter, taking their first lead of the game, and bringing the pessimists back out.

After the convincing third quarter, it looked as if the momentum was in favor of the Eagles, and the chances for the team from the desert were fading away.

With their miracle season hanging in the balance, Warner and Fitzgerald took the reigns and lead the Cardinals on one final drive.

The Cardinals began with the ball on their own 28 yard line with time winding down.

Warner lead the team down the field, the drive was capped with a touchdown pass to Tim Hightower with 2:53 left to play.  Warner then connected with Ben Patrick for the two-point conversion and it was left up to the defense.

McNabb had several opportunities, but seemed to misfire, and history was made.

All in all, Warner threw for 278 yards, with four touchdowns. 

The Cardinals and Warner look two weeks into the future where they will have a tough challenge where they will face the winner of the Steelers-Ravens game in the Super Bowl.

The AFC winner will no doubtley be the favorite in Tampa, but that does not seem to matter to the Cardinals, who came into the year as long shots to even make the postseason.