Eight Straight

Holy shit, that's about all I can say. Everybody in the world, myself undoubtedly included, wrote the Rockies' obituary after they lost two of three to the Marlins to follow up a disappointing split in Philly, painful experiences that I am sure you are already well aware of if you've been following their season or reading this blog. And while Baseball Prospectus still puts their playoff odds at a disappointingly far-away 5%, what the Rockies have done defies explanation. They said they needed a sweep to be talked about at all, and a sweep they got. Their convincing 7-3 victory today featured an absolutely ace-like performance on the back of Jeff Francis (8 innings, 7 hits, 2 runs, 8 K) to improve to 17-8 and tie Kevin Ritz and Pedro Astacio (yes, he's following a dubious precedent) for the all-time franchise single-season victory rotal. Adding to the oddity was an inside-the-park-homer from Garrett "Fankles" Atkins, whose sprinting lumber barely beat the throw home after Cameron and Bradley collided on his deep flyball to center, and Brad Hawpe turning into Mad Hawpiday after Mad Mattie MVP had to sit out (boo!) for the second straight day with an oblique strain. After having the game-winning homer in fourteen innings, he followed it up with a 4-for-4 performance in the middle game of the series and another multi-RBI performance, and another HR, today. So proud of my boys I could burst -- and I will be wearing my Hawpe shirt around SLC for the foreseeable future.

Speaking of which, doing my homework on Sports Sunday (football and baseball, the Rockies won and the Broncos got their asses kicked by the Jaguars) didn't work so well. Good thing I already read Adam Smith, now I was supposed to read Karl Polanyi as a counterpoint, and now I really should be in bed since I have a busy day tomorrow (politics lecture, neuropsych class, Mets game with Mary and Steve YAY) but I'm staying up late talking to my friends, reveling in the Rockies' glory (84-72, 1.5 back of the WC, 8 wins in a row) and trawling laboriously through page by page of Polanyi and really getting worried that it will not be done in time. Who cares?! The Rockies rule!

Oh man. My love for my sports teams is going to get me into so much trouble. But it's amazing the way you can feel for them. At the close of the Rockies game today, I cried. It was in joy, in disbelief, in hope, perhaps, relief, gratitude for them for giving me this ride and this amazing resiliency and talent. This team is for real. I love them deeply enough to forego homework, and if you know me, you know that's something.

They begin their final six games of the season -- three against the Dodgers starting on Tuesday, three at home against the D-backs -- with a chance to stun everybody and complete this comeback. And you know what? I believe they can. There is no quit in them. It's time. They can. And that's what a fan's prerogative is. I can't let go of them, not now and not ever.

Go Rockies. Yours forever.