"What's that," you ask? I see this thing called, "The Rockies" in the NL West standings every day.
Yes, for years, the Rockies have played major league teams, and the games have counted in the standings, much as interleague games count, or the NFL replacement players' games counted in 1988. But the actual product on the field bore the same resemblance to major league baseball as Stephen Sondheim bore to Rogers & Hart. You went for a while, because it seemed like the thing to do. And then you stopped going.
This year promised more of the same until about two weeks ago. The Rockies were destined to play .500 ball, which would be progress. Then, suddenly, they started winning. And then, all at once, the games started counting. In late September.
So here I sit, work to do, watching the Rockies with the sound off and streaming the Brewers and Padres. There's a certain cognitive dissonance in doing that. You have to watch, rather than listen, for the crowd reaction when they post the Padres' score updates on the field on the TV.
Right now, it's 9-4 Brewers in the 7th, but the Rockies and Diamondbacks are in a scoreless tie in the 6th. The Rockies hitters seem to be trying too hard, though, swinging at first pitches, popping balls up, not able to capitalize on the few opportunities they're giving themselves.
(Rockies get a 2-out bases-empty walk in the bottom of the 6th.)
I've never seen a playoff game live.
(Rockies get a run-scoring double to right, scoring the runner from first, with the batter going to 3rd on a fielder's choice, as the 3rd baseman can't handle the throw from the catcher. It's 1-0, Rockies in the bottom of the 6th.)
The closest I came was in 1989 in Baltimore, the "Why Not?" year, much like this year in Colorado. Nobody expected much of that Orioles team, and the record wasn't so great, but they held first place all year until September, and even then it came down to the last weekend of the year. I went to the last Sunday home game, where they lost 2-0 to the Yankees, basically knocking them out of the race. The Orioles fell into a years-long slump, reviving briefly under to reach the playoffs Davey Johnson before Peter "Li'l Steinbrenner" Angelos fired him.
(The Rockies batter can't get down a suicide squeeze bunt, and it thrown out at first. So we go to the top of the 7th with one out.)
I am informed by the Brewers' announcer that the possible one-game playoff between San Diego and Colorado would be played here tomorrow.
(The Brewers' announcer has it in for the Rockies, dissing the Diamondbacks second-stringers who are starting today. Anyone with a bat in his hand is dangerous.)
Should that happen, and a 1-0 lead is paper-thin out here, you can bet I'll be there. I work one block away from the stadium. And a one-game playoff is still a playoff.
In the meantime, nothing's settled. The Brewers are piling it on the Padres, 10-4 now, but the Rockies just issued a 1-out bases-empty walk, and the next pitch almost ended up in Mile High Stadium down the road.
God, I love late-season baseball.
UPDATE: Well, they made it interesting, grabbing a 4-1 lead, and holding on for a 4-3 win. San Diego's coming to town tomorrow, after all. We'll see if they have time to break out the bunting.
