Colorado Rockies enjoying Rocky Mountain High

Don’t look now, but the Colorado Rockies are making it appear as if it’s 2007 all over again.

You remember those Rockies? The team that won 21 of 22 games to make it to the World Series, only to be swept by the Boston Red Sox?

Well, these Rockies of 2009 are looking like another miracle team.

How many people thought Colorado had a chance when it trailed the Los Angeles Dodgers by 15 ½ games on June 3?

But how many of those people now think the Rockies don’t have a chance as they are only two games behind the Dodgers in the NL West?

The Rockies have certainly made their impression with a three-game sweep of the San Francisco Giants and last night’s win vs. the Dodgers.

Suddenly, it appears as though they are the best team in a very competitive three-team race in the NL West.

And to think the Dodgers were supposed to be unbeatable after Manny Ramirez returned from his 50-game drug suspension July 3.

Problem is, somebody forgot to tell the suddenly resurgent Rockies!

Cheating is fine; if you're on the home team

So here we go again.

Now we discover that the Boston Red Sox first World Series title in 86 years was tainted when they won in 2004.

Surprise, surprise … David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez were among the 104 major league players listed as having tested positive for performance-enhancing substances in 2003.

Does that diminish Boston’s championships in 2004 and 2007 with these guys on the team?

If you’re a Red Sox fan, absolutely not. If you’re a fan of someone else, of course it tarnishes the accomplishment.

Funny, but it wasn’t so long ago that Red Sox fans were on the New York Yankees for having known cheaters such as Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi.

But failing a drug test is only a crime if you are not on the home team, according to the fans.

After all, Los Angeles Dodgers fans couldn’t figure out why San Francisco Giants followers cheered cheater Barry Bonds. Now those same Dodgers fans support Ramirez … because it’s OK to cheat if you’re on the home team.

Mark McGwire will always be a hero in St. Louis; same with Sammy Sosa in Chicago.

And the list goes on.

Lesson learned? Society has taught us to cheer for cheaters … as long as they wear the uniform of our home team.

Cheating doesn't matter ... if player is on your team

First of all, Steve McNair did not deserve to be murdered.

Nobody deserves such a fate from his girlfriend while lying on the couch.

The sad reality of McNair’s death concerns the circumstances surrounding it.

Now we find out that McNair had perhaps as many as three girlfriends; the one who killed him thought he was breaking off their relationship because of another one.

And as we all know, McNair was married with four kids.

It appears a majority of people in Tennessee could care less about McNair’s lifestyle because he was a great football player.

If you succeed on the field, local fans turn a blind eye to what you do off the field.

No wonder San Francisco Giants fans supported (suspected) steroids user Barry Bonds. No wonder Los Angeles Dodgers fans are backing Manny Ramirez after a 50-game, drug-related suspension.

Cheating – whether it’s with drugs or infidelity with women – doesn’t seem to matter if you are a sports hero.

Take former NFL running back Travis Henry. He has nine kids with nine different women (married to none) and has now been sentenced to three years in prison for financing a drug trafficking operation that moved cocaine between Colorado and Montana.

Recently, we learned from former North County Times sportswriter Mike Sullivan that Antonio Cromartie of the San Diego Chargers has seven kids (all under age 5) by five different women. He’s not married or engaged to any.

Cromartie was a hero in 2007; a bust in 2008 because of a hip injury. With his off the field activities, he’s obviously distracted in more ways than one.

Like all others, Cromartie puts on his pants one leg at a time. From now on, hopefully he’ll keep his pants on … both on the field and off!

San Francisco Giants: Comeback team of the year?

There’s no doubt that Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants should start for the National League in the MLB All-Star Game on Tuesday in St. Louis.

Not only is Lincecum the reigning NL Cy Young award winner, he also:

Leads the league in winning percentage (.833)
Is tied for the lead in wins (10)
Ranks second in ERA (2.33)

Lincecum and All-Star teammate Main Cain certainly form the league’s best 1-2 duo.

Don’t be surprised if they lead the Giants to the wild card berth (finishing behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West.)

After them, San Francisco’s starting rotation isn’t that shabby.

Despite currently being on the DL, Randy Johnson has shown he still has something left at the age of 45.

Barry Zito isn’t worth anything near his $18 million annual contract for each of seven seasons, but he is pitching well enough to be a factor in the Giants’ success again.

These four could provide the Giants with a formidable rotation if/when they make the playoffs.

Considering San Francisco hasn’t finished better over the past four seasons than 75-87 in 2005, it could be called the “comeback team of the year.”

Pitching is best in NL West

You may not have noticed because of the East Coast media bias, but …

Did you see where seven of the 13 National League All-Star pitchers are from the NL West?

Without a doubt, the best overall pitching in MLB resides in the NL West.

For proof, check out the All-Star pitchers from the division:

Heath Bell, San Diego Padres: Leads the NL with 23 saves. Anybody in San Diego still think he can’t replace Trevor Hoffman?

Chad Billingsley, Los Angeles Dodgers: Among four pitchers tied for second in the league with nine wins.

Jonathan Broxton, Dodgers: Leads all MLB relievers with 65 strikeouts, averaging near 15 strikeouts per nine innings.

Matt Cain, San Francisco Giants: Tied with teammate Tim Lincecum for the NL’s best winning percentage (.818) with a 9-2 record and third in the league in ERA (2.48)

Dan Haren, Arizona Diamondbacks: His 2.16 ERA leads the league; and he’s even 8-5 with an Arizona team that is 25-44 when he doesn’t figure in the decision.

Tim Lincecum, Giants: The 2008 NL Cy Young winner is tied with teammate Cain for best NL winning percentage and is second in ERA (2.23).

Jason Marquis, Colorado Rockies: OK, how many of you actually know that Marquis is tied for the major-league lead with 10 wins?

There’s no question that pitching is best in the NL West.

MLB pitcher once went 16 shutout innings without a win

Back when MLB players made normal salaries and were normal people, starting pitchers were abnormal in the amount of innings they worked.

A complete game was expected; compared to today’s babied pitchers who are considered heroes if they work seven innings.

But, hey, that’s what huge salaries will do to you.

In fact, did you know that Gaylord Perry of the San Francisco Giants pitched 16 shutout innings against the Cincinnati Reds on Sept. 1, 1967 at Crosley Field?

And Perry did not even get credit for the win! It took the Giants 21 innings to win, 1-0, as Frank Linzy was credited with the victory for working five shutout innings of relief.

Perry faced 59 batters, struck out 12 and had the option of retiring from the game earlier.

“After the 14th inning, my favorite manager, Herman Franks, said: 'How are you feeling?' I said, 'Herman, I have two more innings in me, then I'm going to the clubhouse,” Perry commented, according to the National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum.

Nowadays, not only do pitchers rarely go seven innings; they rarely stay healthy. Consider for a moment how many pitchers have been injured on your favorite team this season.

Chris Welsh, the outstanding color analyst for the Reds on FOX Sports Ohio, recently questioned the number of oblique injuries these days as he noted how pitchers are bigger and stronger (presumably through weight training.)

“Are these pitchers too strong for their own good?” he wondered. “That’s a question you have to ask.”

Great question. Hopefully, someone will come up with an answer just as good.

Why would those who booed Barry Bonds cheer Manny Ramirez?

Los Angeles Dodgers fans were among the most vocal in booing Barry Bonds for his suspected drug usage later in his baseball career.

Now those same fans are going to cheer Manny Ramirez when he returns from his 50-game drug suspension in July.

More than a little contradictory?

You bet.

As much as we all hated Bonds for good reason, there’s reason to wonder why Dodger fans will cheer Manny upon his return.

After all, these are the same fans who couldn’t understand why San Francisco Giants faithful always cheered Bonds despite his reported drug usage, being a jerk, etc.

Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times wrote a great column on this topic recently.

Check it out:

http://tinyurl.com/o7rdh8

Manny Being Manny? Dodgers schedule favorable without him

Manny Ramirez’s 50-game suspension brings up an interesting point for teams attempting to catch the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West.

After the San Francisco Giants play a three-game series this weekend in LA, remaining NL Worst teams won’t be able to beat (or lose) to the Dodgers for quite awhile head-to-head.

The Dodgers have 12 straight games out of the division before a three-game series at Colorado, then it’s four games at the Chicago Cubs before LA comes back home to host the Arizona Diamondbacks in a three-game series.

In all, the Dodgers will play only 14 of their 50 games sans Manny vs. the NL West.

So, how’s that for scheduling? (Could be tough on the Dodgers, since they seem to play much better vs. the NL West.)

Even before the Manny situation, the MLB schedule was once again quite bizarre.

After all, the Giants play six games in LA the first five weeks of the season vs. their fierce rivals. In the final 21 weeks, the Giants only come to Dodgers Stadium once again on Sept. 11-13.

In fact, after the teams play Sept. 18-20 in San Francisco, they don’t even meet again during the final two weeks of the season. How’s that for head-to-head competition between arguably the two best teams in the NL West?

Last season, the Dodgers played nine September games against the weak San Diego Padres … winning seven.

Any wonder why the Dodgers won the NL West?

This time, western division teams will still be seeing Manny a vast majority of the time that they play the Dodgers.

And that may not be good for anybody trying to catch the runaway Dodgers without Manny until he returns July 3 in … of all places … San Diego.

MLB Opening Day: There's nothing like it

Opening Day.

There’s nothing like it in sports.

It’s a sign that spring is here (well, maybe not in Boston or Chicago), baseball season is on and all is well in America for at least a day.

There are tons of memorable Opening Days. In the 41-year history of the San Diego Padres, none may have had as many twists and turns as the April 5, 1983 opener at the San Francisco Giants.

The Padres won, 16-13, but not before the game took 3 hours, 39 minutes (in an era when 2 ½ hours was a long game.)

San Diego’s winning pitcher was Tim Lollar, who gave up six runs on eight hits in five innings.

Mike Krukow of the Giants wasn’t so fortunate, surrendering four runs, three walks and four hits in 1 1/3 innings to take the loss.

The Padres led after 5 ½ innings, 16-6, only to hold on for dear life before Gary Lucas earned the save with 1 1/3 shutout innings.

Along the way, Garry Templeton had a home run and four RBIs for the Padres, Terry Kennedy and Lollar each added three RBIs and newly-acquired Steve Garvey was 2-for-4 with two runs scored.

Thankfully, not many Opening Days transpire as this one did.

Don’t expect nearly as much when Jake Peavy of San Diego faces the Los Angeles Dodgers on Opening Day because he always beats the team from up north.

John Moores finally appears in San Diego!

Where is John Moores, owner of the San Diego Padres?

If you didn’t blink, you could have seen him Sunday afternoon at Petco Park.

Moores actually stopped by the box of General Manager Kevin Towers during the first couple innings of the Padres rare 4-1 win over the San Francisco Giants.

The significance?

Moores has hardly been seen in months. He didn’t even attend the 10-year celebration of the Padres 1998 National League championship team last month at Petco Park.

Obviously, the pending divorce with his wife, Becky, is weighing heavily on his mind. Becky even attended that 10-year festivity last month.

John Moores could very well be losing the team to Becky, who has hired a litigious divorce lawyer. Or more likely, the team could wind up in the hands of their daughter, Jennifer.

But at least it’s nice to know John Moores is still alive and kicking despite the divorce proceedings.

When – or if – we’ll see him at Petco Park again is another question.

Kansas City Royals could win NL West

The Kansas City Royals could be the best team in the west.

Make that the NL West.

The Royals now reside in last place in the AL Central. But if they moved to the NL West, it would obviously be a different story.

It’s no coincidence the Royals are on a three-game winning streak … it’s because they are playing teams from the Weak, Weak NL West.

In fact, Kansas City is 5-2 overall against the NL West.

The Royals won two of three against both the Arizona Diamondbacks (on the road) and San Francisco Giants (at home) before Monday night’s home win against the Colorado Rockies.

Luckily for the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres, they don’t have to play the Mighty Royals this season.

Much of Kansas City’s success is due to closer Joakim Soria, who already has 20 saves. Yes, this is the same Soria the Padres let go to Kansas City in the Rule V draft two years ago.

As weak as the Padres’ bullpen has been, couldn’t they use somebody like Soria right about now?

Interleague play benefits Padres

When it comes to interleague play, which begins Friday night, the Padres have it much easier than their two California rivals in the NL West.

The Padres get to play Seattle each year as their “natural rival.” The Los Angeles Dodgers must face the Anaheim Angels; while the San Francisco Giants are matched up against the Oakland Athletics.

Think about it for a minute. The Padres play a Seattle team that traditionally battles Texas for last place. The Dodgers and Giants are playing the year-in and year-out top two teams in the AL West.

What’s interesting is how this all breaks down. The Padres have a winning record against Seattle and losing record against the rest of the AL. The Dodgers and Giants have losing records vs. their “natural rivals,” but winning records against the remainder of the AL.

So we can’t feel too sorry for the Padres having to play the New York Yankees, Cleveland, Detroit and Minnesota this year.

It could be worse: They could be playing the Angels or Athletics every year in interleague action.

Why can't Padres' Peavy pitch on the road?

Has anybody else noticed that Jake Peavy is not pitching so well on the road this season?

Five starts do not a season make, but Peavy’s home/road splits are certainly interesting thus far.

In three home starts, the Padres ace has allowed just one run in 24 innings with 23 strikeouts.

On the road, it’s seven runs in 12 innings with six strikeouts in two starts.

Yes, it’s way, Way, WAY too early to draw conclusions, but the Peavy breakdown is interesting at this point.

People have made much out of how Padre hitters are “Petco-ized” at Petco Park because of the difficulty in hitting there.

But the reverse must also be asked: Are Padre pitchers being the opposite of Petco-ized on the road? (After all, they have allowed 44 runs in their last five road games.)

Tonight, they return to Petco Park to play the San Francisco Giants. If Petco is going to be used as an excuse for the Padres not hitting, then the same must go for the other team.

Peavy’s next start is Sunday at home vs. the Arizona Diamondbacks, but his next real test may come in his first May start at Florida.

Padres' bench leaves much to be desired

You think the outfield and most of the bullpen members are weaknesses for the Padres?

Well, have you checked out the bench players lately?

In comparison, they make the outfielder and relievers look like giants; or did you not notice who was coming off the bench in Tuesday night’s 3-2 loss to the San Francisco Giants in 11 innings?

Check it out:

Tony Clark. He’s the only guy on the bench you can count on in a pinch.

Paul McAnulty: He had all of 77 major-league at bats before this season.

Calix Crabbe: His first hit in two major-league at bats came Tuesday.

Justin Huber: He recorded 98 career at bats before this season.

Colt Morton: The replacement for the injured Michael Barrett (sprained elbow) is 0-for-2 in his career.

There you have it: Tony Clark … and four guys whose combined major-league experience is less than a year … coming off the bench. (Next thing you know, The Friar will be coming off the bench to pinch hit!)

These guys ought to strike fear in opponents, lol.

Padres need starting pitching

In the immediacy, let’s hope the Padres do not allow Barry Bonds to break the Major League Baseball home run record in San Diego this weekend.

But there’s suddenly an even bigger issue with Padres’ pitching.

Jake Peavy is finally back on track, but:

Chris Young is injured.
Greg Maddux can’t go past five or six innings, even when he’s on.
David Wells is getting paid $170,000 (on top of his $3 million base salary) each start to get pummeled.
Justin Germano isn’t fooling anyone any more with his hanging breaking ball.

Enter Clay Hensley. The injury-plagued pitcher has had a terrible 2007 season thus far, but he seems to have regained his form in a pair of three-inning relief stints since being recalled from the minors.

Let’s see how he does in Saturday’s start against the San Francisco Giants.

Luckily for the Padres, the Dodgers and Arizona are not deep in starting pitching either.

So, it may all come down to a battle of attrition in the NL West.

Bonds in town: Dodgers host steroids awareness clinic

Good for the Dodgers!

They have partnered with the Professional Baseball Strength and Conditioning Coaches Society and the Taylor Hooton Foundation to host a steroids awareness clinic for local youth at Dodger Stadium today.

More than 100 kids from local little leagues and RBI (Reviving Baseball in the Inner City) are expected to participate. The children will receive instruction in nutrition, proper strength training, the medical implications of using steroids, and hitting. Also, a representative from the Drug Enforcement Agency will be on hand to discuss the legal repercussions of using steroids.

The Taylor Hooton Foundation was founded by his parents, family and friends. Hooton, a 17-year old high school athlete from Plano, Texas, took his own life on July 15, 2003, as a result of the abuse of anabolic steroids. Hooton was the nephew of former Dodger pitcher Burt “Hoot Owl” Hooton (1975-84).

The foundation serves to combat the illegal use and abuse of anabolic steroids which is a growing problem among high school athletes across the country. Participants of the clinic will range from age 12 to 15.

Oh, by the way, the San Francisco Giants and Barry Bonds just happen to be in town. The Dodgers say it is a “coincidence” they are hosting a steroids awareness clinic while Bonds is on the premises.

Right; and pro wrestling matches are on the up-and-up!

Bonds will break record in San Diego

Bad news for Padres fans.

Barry Bonds is going to break Hank Aaron’s all-time home run record in San Diego this weekend.

Doesn’t it figure he will do it against the Padres?

After all, Bonds has 86 career home runs against San Diego. He does not have more than 65 against any other team.

Bonds also hit No. 700 off Jake Peavy of the Padres.

And speaking of the Padres, aces Chris Young and Peavy will not pitch this weekend against San Francisco.

Bonds probably won’t hit record-breaker No. 756 Friday night against Greg Maddux. But don’t be surprised if it comes Saturday against Tim Stauffer or Sunday off Justin Germano.

Let’s hope we’re wrong. Just the thought of Bonds breaking the record in San Diego makes me ill.

Barrett is quite a catch

Michael Barrett was obtained by the Padres from the Chicago Cubs last week for his offense.

Or was there a catch to it?

In his first week with the Padres, Barrett is proving to be quite a find behind the plate. Just take the final out in Tuesday night’s 3-2 win over San Francisco in 10 innings for example.

Dave Roberts was on first base for the Giants. Trevor Hoffman was pitching for San Diego. It normally doesn’t matter who’s behind the plate, but this time it was Barrett.

Roberts is one of the best base stealers around. Hoffman has a major league record of 502 saves, but it’s not because he can hold runners on base. And the Padres haven’t had any catcher the past couple of years who could throw out base stealers.

So what happens?

Hoffman uses a slide step instead of his normal high leg kick. Barrett throws Roberts out at second attempting to steal. Game over.

The irony is that the Padres have spent all season saying it’s not that important to throw out base stealers; what matters is concentrating on the batter.

But at least in this case, concentrating on the base runner paid off with a win.

Padres aren't much of a hit

The Padres are at a crossroads.

Not only have they lost five of six games, their biggest weakness is being exposed.

This is a team that flat out can’t score runs, meaning the pitching staff has to be “on” every night in order to win.

Monday night’s 4-3 loss to San Francisco in 11 innings was a perfect example.

Scott Linebrink has an impressive 2.20 ERA, yet it proved to be the difference when he gave up a run in the eighth inning that allowed the Giants to tie at 3-3.

From then on, it was back to a Padres’ offense that can’t hit in the clutch.

Is help on the horizon? Not likely.

General Manager Kevin Towers told Channel 4 San Diego that the Padres have little to trade at the Triple A level. That means the Padres would likely have to break up their stellar bullpen to acquire a proven power hitter.

The hitting deficiency didn’t seem to matter when the Padres were first in the NL West. But now that they’re in third place (albeit just one game behind Arizona), their shortcomings are starting to open some eyes.

Speaking of, you might want to keep closing your eyes when the Padres are at bat.

Can the Padres step it up?

The Padres have shown the ability to beat poor teams. But can they defeat the good ones?

We should find out this week as they host the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers for three games apiece at Petco Park.

The Padres are 9-0 in series this season against teams currently standing in the bottom two spots of their division. They are 0-3 in series against teams in first- and second-place.

Since Milwaukee leads the NL Central and Chicago is in a virtual tie for second with Houston, this will be a week for the Padres to prove themselves.

San Diego is 4-2 against San Francisco and Colorado; as well as being 2-1 vs. St. Louis, Cincinnati, Florida, Washington and Seattle. Those teams are all within the last two places of their respective divisions.

However, the Padres are just 2-4 against the NL West leading Dodgers, and 1-3 vs. second-place Atlanta of the NL East.

If the Padres are ever going to start beating top-quality teams, this week would be a good time to start.