Silverblood
Mar 24, 2008 Dec 10, 2009 53 17800
Yes, I am a woman. Yes, I know everything about both baseball and football, and if you call me a typical ditzy female fan, I will take great umbrage. This does not stop me from questioning my devotion to my teams, the Rockies and Broncos, who love to repay my attention and time with FAIL.
And I stick around for them anyway. In short, I may be the sucker.
I am currently a college senior and will be moving to Asheville, North Carolina after graduation, where I hope to work for the Rockies' Single-A affiliate. AKA, real life. Terrifying.
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Purple Row Awards: National League MVP
by Silverblood on Oct 24, 2009 1:58 PM EDT
54 comments
The round of imaginary hardware-dispensing concludes today, in the form of the National League MVP. This is the last of the six awards voted on by the staff, and the third unanimous one, after which we will all have to sit back and wait for the real ones to be announced, then scoff behind our hands that they are clearly not as deserving as ours.
As Jabberwocky Poseidon warned, the choice may indeed be slightly contentious. Wanna see why? You have to JUMP.
54 comments | 0 recs |
Rockies Review: Offseason Procedures
by Silverblood on Oct 18, 2009 8:24 PM EDT
32 comments
Well, Rowbots, the season is still over. Sadly. I've been around, but I had to take a week cold turkey off from the Rockies because that Game (you know the one) hurt so much that I still haven't been able to bring myself to watch highlights from the eighth inning. So we're left to watch the Angels beat themselves, Chase Utley morph into Chuck Knoblauch, and other such exciting postseason baseball (at least this time sans Frank TV). Yankees-Dodgers World Series FTW! (Give me the meteor).
There isn't much to say on the Rockies front that hasn't already been said, but I thought I'd throw this up there and explain how thingz iz gon work from now, through the blasted, desolate no-baseball hinterlands until life begins next spring (I hear there's an invention called football, may have to give it a try). As I see it, the Review is most usefully constituted as a weekly feature during the season, so I must sadly report that this is the last regular post for a while. If something big happens in Rockiesland, like us signing John Lackey +, Clint Hurdle being re-hired, or anything else like that, then I'll Review the beejeezus out of it, just for you, my loyal readers. But life will begin again next spring, by which point the Dodgers will have been humiliatingly booted out of the playoffs + and someone else that is not the Yankees will be busy hoisting a championship flag and giving out hardware. Time for us to dream again, keep ourselves warm over the hot stove, enjoy the crisp fall air and the upcoming holiday season, all that.
I have to say, the sting of that Game will take a while to dissipate, but I'm still able to thank the Rockies for a great, highly enjoyable, heart-attack-inducing season that (I certainly do hope) marks the beginning of their ascent to a regular contender. There will be transactions aplenty, awards to give out, and time to speculate, until the crocuses start showing and the buses roll into Phoenix, and by that time spring will have been sprung and we'll be ready to run the gauntlet all over again.
Thanks much for all your support and kind comments this year. It's been a lot of fun doing this Review for you. If you have suggestions on how I can improve it for next season, don't hesitate to leave them in the box below.
Colorado Rockies vs. Milwaukee Brewers, Miller Park, 12:10 PM MT. Monday, April 5, 2010. Be there or be square.
/turns out the spotlight
/exits stage right
+ LET ME DREAM OKAAAAAY
32 comments | 0 recs |
Rockies Review: Our Town, Our Time
by Silverblood on Oct 4, 2009 10:34 PM EDT
18 comments
First things first: Wow, what an incredible season. From the word go way the hell back on April 6 (losing to the Dbacks in their home opener by a score of 9-8) to coming to the technical end today (losing to the Dodgers in their home closer by a score of 5-3) it's been a rollercoaster of epic proportions. Bookended between those two losses to NL West division opponents was down down down, up up up, down down, and up down up again. (One thing that didn't change was more losses to the Dodgers, but we'll magnanimously overlook that fact). If 2007 was our filing of intentions to be taken seriously as a contender forthwith, then 2008 was the embarrassing Polaroids that we should hide under the bed (ask Rox Girl about that) and 2009 represents the ship finally sailing. Or so we hope. The team matured, after the much-publicized and shockingly effective in-season managerial resetting, from a gawky collection of talented but underachieving individuals into a purple-and-black dynamo that's rumbling into the playoffs as the possessor of its second wild card berth in three seasons, with a chance to lay to rest the lingering sour taste from Rocktober Part Une.
Join me after the jump as we glory in the good moments, rejoice that the bad moments are over with, hide the evidence, fuel the RV, and prepare to wreak doom upon the unsuspecting peons of Philadelphia (who, no doubt, are planning the same for us. Look out beloooooowww!)
18 comments | 3 recs |
Rockies Review: Ladies and gentlemen, start your defibrillators
by Silverblood on Sep 27, 2009 8:44 PM EDT
129 comments
I have to say, Rockies fans, it is a stroke of luck that I am alive to write this. What with the team redefining the meaning of the Heart Attack Pack on a daily basis, the inability of the Braves to lose a damn game, and the well-chronicled ineptitude of the four Mensa candidates in blue, it's been a stressful weekend. At the end of it, we still hang on, maybe more or less by the seat of our pants, but hey. The U.S.S. Rockie has been taking on some water, but it's not time to launch the lifeboats yet (and hopefully not ever. But haven't we learned by now that it's never ever easy with this lot?). Suddenly, our season-long foe, the San Francisco Gi-nots, are 5.5 games arrears with an elimination number of 2, and we are staving off the last Charge of the Tomahawk Brigade instead. As SDCat likes to say, Rockies, for the love of God, do not make us live in a world where John Kruk is right.
The reason we are not only a slender 1.5 games up: Clint Barmes. Barmes has been run ragged around here, and deservedly so, for his foibles at the plate, but that play to end it today felt like as much a season-saver as Betancourt beating Schierholtz at the Phonebooth. Barmes usually brings his glove even if his bat has been in the great Lumberyard in the Sky for most of the month (although in fairness, it may be attempting to re-materialize). Yet today, this may have been the first time we were so thrilled to see the words "Barmes" and "popup" in the same sentence. Let's just say this. I went to get dinner a good 30-40 minutes after the game was over, and my legs were still shaking.
It is no longer time to look back. We will only be looking forward. Kindly join me after the jump as we sound the horn of Helton Hammerhand in the deep ONE. LAST. TIME.
129 comments | 3 recs |
Rockies Review: The Knights Who Say NI! Declare That Merely A Flesh Wound
by Silverblood on Sep 20, 2009 8:43 PM EDT
58 comments
It was a close thing. At one point, it looked as if the Giants might have cut our legs off, but instead, denial worked, the leg came back, and we sprang to our feet and ran the sword through that annoying black-and-orange entrant in return. Now we have to see if it'll finally knock them down for good. (Answer: not likely). But being in this position at all is highly preferable over just 48 hours or so ago. What was shaping up as a truly craptacular road trip was redeemed today by a number of complex scientific factors, such as the skyrocketing graph of Yorvit Torrealba's awesomeness, the angular momentum of a pair of Golden Thongbombs, the square root of Tulo's clutchiness and CarGo's speed -- even the gentle breezes of Stewart's K's and the lovely calculable parabola of a Barmes popout. Or, in layman's terms, Good U-ball returned today after an unfortunate hiatus in San Francisco, the Rockies finally figured out Danny Haren, and they escaped the desert with a 5-1 win, to take 2 of 3 from Arizona and close out a difficult road trip at 4-5. Not exactly what they were looking for, mixing in a pair of tough losses against San Diego, a pair of total blowouts in San Francisco, and a blown lead in Arizona. But, remarkably, the Giants, Marlins, and Braves all lost today as well, pushing the Rockies back to 4.5 games clear in the wild card -- just where they were before all the pain began.
And so, if they can shake off the offensive rust (which showed signs of happening in hitter-friendly Chase Field and should be aided by finally heading back to Coors) they ought to be nicely assured of a playoff spot. Knock on wood.
Join me after the jump to examine top performers, the upcoming chess games, and sundry other factors to aid in the Rockies' ambition of having the Giants arranging tee times a few weeks from now.
58 comments | 1 recs |
Rockies Review: They just saved the good part of the road trip for the Midgets, right?
by Silverblood on Sep 13, 2009 9:04 PM EDT
29 comments
It's been an up-and-down sort of week. It began with an eight-game winning streak that included a pair of dramatic comebacks (Seth Smith's two-run walkoff single against the Reds, Yorvit Torrealba's three-run ninth-inning double against the Padres) but all in all, it ended with something of a sour taste, as Franklin Morales performed the ignominious feat of a walk-off walk in dropping the second game of the series to the Friars. That was followed up today by an all-around failure, resulting in a 7-3 loss. Coupled with the Giants finally figuring out how to beat the Dodgers, it left us 3 back in the division and 4.5 up in the wild card. While technically that is a sweep-proof lead (even if the Giants do, please god no, what they did to us last time, we'll still be up 1.5) let us hope that it does not come to that. While we've already established that nothing good will come easily, I don't particularly want to let the Giants come creeping back. We had them on the ropes at 5.5 games out. We still do hold the 4.5 game edge, and with only 18 games to play, the math becomes inexorable at some point. That doesn't mean we need to start doing anything... stupid.
Join me after the jump for a look at some of the things we need to quit doing as we head to San Fran for a series that can either settle the issue fairly decisively, or make it juuuuuust a wee bit too interesting once again.
29 comments | 0 recs |
Rockies Review: Now that's more like it
by Silverblood on Sep 6, 2009 8:16 PM EDT
74 comments
About this time last week, nobody was in particularly good spirits, as the Giants' come-from-behind win, featuring an Edgar Renteria grand slam (sorry for the memories, go ahead and repress them again) had secured a three-game sweep for them and a tie in the wild card. While not exactly panic, let's just say that the sentiment around here wasn't one of sunshine and roses.
Well, as we've learned all year, a week can make all kinds of difference, and that anything can happen in the wild, wild West (and the wild, wild card). Not that this week seemed to be making one. We were locked in tango with the Giants; after a lone misstep on their part allowed us to claim a one-game lead, that was how matters remained. We won, they won. We lost, they lost. We all stopped thinking that it was going to be easy when that comfy-looking four -game lead vanished quicker than you can say, "Seth Smith is a sexy beast," and unless something drastically unforeseen takes place in the last few weeks of the regular season, the race is going to come down to the wire. Anybody up for another play-in game.....?
Gentlemen, start your defibrillators.
Join me after the jump as we take a look at the factors fueling a 5-1 (thus far) homestand, and our return to a two-game lead in the Wild Card (thanks to our 13-5 beatdown of the Snakes today, and Prince Fielder hitting a walk-off homer to beat the Giants in 12).
74 comments | 0 recs |
Rockies Review: Karma's a (Not So Nice Word)
by Silverblood on Aug 30, 2009 9:30 PM EDT
24 comments
Ouch, Rockies Nation, ouch. I don't entirely know where to begin with it, aside from: damn, that one hurt. I suppose we might have expected it, as karma has an unfortunate tendency to bite you in the butt right when you think you've gotten away with a steal, and quite frankly, here comes crunch time. We learned today how a backbreaking grand slam feels like (funnily enough, like your back being broken) and a lot more about the team that we might have preferred not to. There were culprits aplenty, whether it was Atkins looking at three straight strikes with a runner on third and one out in the top of the eighth (back in those oh-so-enjoyable times when we were only behind by one) followed by CarGo fishing in the dirt to end the inning, after his escapades in the previous frame had diddled us out of an extra run. Not to mention the normally reliable Rafael Betancourt giving up the go-ahead grand slam to Edgar Freaking Renteria (fourth homer of the year, holla!) and otherwise dooming us to one of the hardest losses to stomach all year. All we had to do in San Francisco to retain at least a two-game lead was to avoid getting swept. And... well....
It didn't go too well. In the unique and colorful parlance of Purple Row, we like to call this "fail."
Join me after the jump if you feel like analyzing the collective misery any more. I promise, it's short.
24 comments | 0 recs |
Rockies Review: We outsail the Pirates, but can't catch the Fish
by Silverblood on Aug 16, 2009 10:26 PM EDT
16 comments
It's been a quiet week in Lake Woebegon, if by quiet you mean winning a series at home against the woeful Bucs, but dropping one on the road to the hot Fish. It doesn't exactly have the excitement of a divisional clash, but the Marlins are on our tail for the Wild Card, and at one point today, it looked as if we might have to start THE SKY IZ FALLIN chants. Fortunately, a 7-3 win in the second game of the doubleheader enabled the Rox to escape the approaching Tropical Storm Claudette (man, living in Florida would suck, wouldn't it?) with a 1-2 start to the six-game road trip. While it might be a bumpy flight up to Washington, where they're heading to commence three against the Nationals, the proceedings will hopefully smooth out from here. It won't, however, be as easy as you'd think. While the Nats are still solidly in the cellar of the NL East, with a frankly embarrassing 43-75 record, they've been red-hot. After an eight-game winning streak, they dropped a pair to the Braves and one to the Reds, but recovered to take the next three from Cincinnati. Now that they're just getting the hang of this whole winning business, they'll be understandably eager to compensate for the three wins we picked up at their expense back in July. They've also helpfully equipped us with Joe Beimel since that time, but in all honesty, I see no reason to pay back the favour. We have an off-day tomorrow, then Ubaldo Jimenez opens the series against Craig Stammen on Tuesday at 5:05 pm MT, and I don't give a damn about being altruistic. The Nats need to be squashed like, well, Gnats. GRRAAARGH!!!
16 comments | 0 recs |
Rockies Review: Have YOU walloped a Small Furry FailBear today?
by Silverblood on Aug 9, 2009 10:49 PM EDT
28 comments
Because if you haven't, then there's a few things you should know about this most important of scientific principles. The Surgeon General has recommended that Small Furry FailBears should be pounded wherever they appear, as doing so will confer a number of healthful benefits. It clears skin, counteracts entropy, lowers blood pressure, increases libido, perks energy, spikes happiness, lowers gas prices, mends the ozone hole, and does the shopping. In addition, not pummelling Small Furry FailBears is in fact a Bad Thing for the universe. You see, the FailBears, as physical manifestations of, well, failure, in fact encapsulate your bad breakup, the fact that you weren't promoted at work, that asshat who cut you off on I-25, and the catastrophic devaluation of your investment portfolios. They are a walking disprovement of Leibniz's silly "best possible world" theory, and in fact run the risk of returning the world to a state of Hobbesian chaos, where life is nasty, brutish, and short (especially if you're in the stands at Coors trying to fend off the FailBears' mindless myrmidons). So in short, valiant soldiers, SMITE SMITE SMITE.
Oh yeah, and doing that and getting Matt Cain to lose to the Reds will put you back into a tie for the Wild Card. So there's always that.
28 comments | 0 recs |
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