Ask most baseball fans if they want to improve the game, and you’ll no doubt come across 3 polarizing issues: Postseason, instant replay, and the designated hitter (DH) rule. The first two are slowly being implemented. It is the latter that is a polarizing issue even today. And unfortunately, it will take the Commissioner of Baseball to put it to rest.
Read more
Who’s designated to hit?
Playing the Cards
From the Clubhouse
I’m going to start by a tweet I mentioned to Bert:
@bertjanb Right. So far, instead of playing Texas Hold ‘em, it’s more like O’Dowd’s playing “Go Fish”
— Frank ? druid (@druidlove) January 22, 2012
I’ll put this into perspective: I can’t wait until Spring Training starts. This signifies to me that we’re ready for baseball, and that our roster is pretty much set. (Actually, it’s hardly set at this point, but this is the set of players we’ll get a better look, and see if they really pan out, or are on the 25 or 40-man rosters.) The hot stove league does make me nervous. But it makes me more nervous when a GM is in his contract year after having a team with high expectations bite the dust. Just when I think something is set, I turn my back and something changes. This happened with Seth Smith last week, and then Slowey was traded on Saturday.
So, let me make a list of our current Rockies roster, and Spring Training invites updated as of Sunday. I’ll put them in 4 groups:
Read more
Age matters
I like it when a topic comes up on a last minute’s notice… So let me get to the root of the subject
From the clubhouse
I guess it’s no secret that the Rockies have signed Jamie Moyer to a minor-league deal (Spring Training invite). And already the critics on both sides are out.
The critics are out because of his age: he’s 49 years old, and wants to pitch again, after being sidelined in 2010 due to Tommy John surgery. He had an open scouting session session last year to try to prove to teams that he can still pitch. Sadly, no one cared, and maybe 2 media organizations (ESPN was one) showed up. Everyone pretty much sluffed him off probably because he’s “too old”.
In a day when younger is better, people liken age more as beer instead of wine. Nobody likes skunky beer. Even Budweiser dresses its beer with a “born on date” instead of an expiration date (Thanks Mr. Foam Finger Vendor Man™) But even a brief chat with Brian (@gorox1983), 40 seems to be a magic number for most sports, as it seems to be, according to his tweet:
@druidlove yeah… and the MLB and the NHL are much more likely to have a 40 year old player than the NBA or the NFL..
— Brian Smith (@gorox1983) January 19, 2012
Yeah, it’s true that baseball is likely to have 40 year olds, especially since it’s not as intense of a sport as football. (And with the DH, that argument makes it easier… but it’s another topic.) So, you can imagine I’ll feel sad the day Todd Helton retires. He has been as famous of a Rockies landmark as the Statue of Liberty is to the US. 
So when our oldest pitcher to date hasn’t turned 28 (with JDLR in the mix), the need for some veteran experience helps. And I like the minor-league deal because even if Moyer isn’t really up to it in the majors, having him in the Springs isn’t a bad thing either.
Speaking of age, I was glad to hear Dan O’Dowd say on Monday that Nolan Arenado will not be starting on the Rockies in the beginning. His reasoning makes sense: he was concerned with the maturity of the player. Maybe he has the stuff to come up, but he didn’t want to move up Arenado early if he isn’t mentally ready, and I think that’s wise. You just don’t move a player from high-A to MLB. I think there are 3 players on the Rockies that probably suffered from being promoted so soon… and as a result, don’t have any options left.
Talking with Cari, she felt her team is getting younger–the team is migrating towards “babies”. I see the same with the Rockies. Sure, we’ve moved players to the majors from AA (Fowler, Tulowitzki). But they have the long term talent and maturity to survive. Not everyone is mature enough to start in the major leagues.
So, while youth is better, the experience helps. A balance of both helps even mediocre teams on paper become leaders.
Today’s tweet brought to you thanks to Cari (@carisports) and Brian (@gorox1983)
Whose house? Our house!
Before I continue, news broke on Monday just after I blogged that Seth Smith agreed to a 1 year dear, avoiding arbitration. Then hours later, he went to Oakland for 2 pitchers: Guillermo Moscoso and Josh Outman. Okay, I think our pitching situation is done.
I was happy to hear this tweet from Kirsten (@sillychurro2) and Troy Renck (@troyrenck):
“@TroyRenck: Here’s link to Tulo and Helton video from #Rockies‘ media access today: bit.ly/ygOQVq”
— Kirsten Sandefur(@sillychurro2) January 19, 2012
And… it’s only 30 days till Spring Training (Pitchers & Catchers report). Baseball is in the air.
Sliding Home
I couldn’t resist this tweet from Brian, who managed to bring sports and politics in a classic tweet:
these refs can go to hell along with the SOPA
— Brian Smith (@gorox1983) January 19, 2012
Ladders and chutes
On Thursday, I had this nice conversation with Jessica (@AvsAngel14). I’d recommend following her if you don’t mind a nice woman who knows more about sports than you do. Anyways, our conversation sparked an interesting topic I’m bringing up, and my first off-topic of the year.
On page 2
Each sport in North America has a different system on teams, players and progression. For example, Major League Baseball has its famous farm system and nested levels. The NHL has a similar system, though it’s not as pronounced. Actually it’s more of a mess but I’ll get into it later. The NBA and NFL don’t have any such system, instead they relegate their farm system be the colleges, and use a draft (or lottery in the case of the NBA.) The lesser known sports don’t really have any system, since there are less players/teams involved (and a lower fanbase) so I’m not going to talk about them.
For the most part this seems to work in 3 of the 4 sports. Hockey is more of a mess on the lower levels, because you not only have college hockey teams like DU and CC, but you also have a bunch of minor league professional teams as well. One of my favorite teams, the Colorado Eagles, is an interesting case. From their inception in 2003 until 2011, they played in the Central Hockey League. If I had to compare it using baseball terms, this is an independent AA-league. With the massive sellouts (over 350 if we count this year, basically every home game since they opened), this was a contributing factor for the Eagles to switch to the ECHL as of this season. The ECHL is one of 2 official farm teams under the NHL CBA, and is also classified as a AA league. (The other is the American Hockey League (AHL), and is AAA-caliber.) As such, I’m learning what it is like to be a real farm team, seeing players move more often, whether it’s to our affiliates (Winnipeg Jets & St. John’s Ice Caps), or to other teams, and how that affects our bench. So this is one way players move up and down in hockey.
But like I discussed with Jessica, the NHL has other ways to acquire players: colleges have also been seen as sources, and some skip it altogether, like young Matt Duchene. Some colleges seem to be in rebuilding mode every 2 years because they then get absorbed by NHL (though Jessica admitted CC hardly has a problem with losing players.) But it makes the NHL a real mess, as they get players through the draft, but also their development teams, and outside free agents, without protection for other minor teams/leagues. Is there a good solution?
I asked if we use a European-style system, where instead of moving players, we move teams based on performance. If you’re not familiar with this, I’ll take the Swedish hockey leagues as an example since I spent 6 years there. They had 6 different levels, and the “Elitserien” was the highest level with 16 teams. The 2 worst teams have to earn their right to remain up with the 2 best teams of the lower level. It’s like a playoff of the worst teams. If you were to compare this on a player level, it’s like a MLB player that does well will get a good look by the Yankees. But if a player doesn’t do well, they’d be lucky to get a look by the Royals. An extreme case, but I think you get my point. I found that in this case, a farm team to a “Classic” elite team found itself in Elitserien, while the classic team dropped, which was funny and ironic at the same time. This type of system puts emphasis not only on players, but also on management to perform if they want to stay up. It’s an interesting system.
Unfortunately, it wouldn’t work in the NFL or the NBA because there is nothing except the college “amateur” level. (I could have seen the NBA splitting itself like this before the lockout happened.) It would also not be feasible in MLB for many reasons. MLB already has an excellent farm system built in by Branch Rickey, and has systems to prevent it from ‘leeching’ from other leagues and countries like Japan. (It also has 2 leagues playing with slightly different rules.) I’d like to see the NHL try it, but I believe they are too big to manage it now. In fact, sports in North America are a huge market now.
Let’s just play ball…
Today’s post brought to you thanks to Jessica (@AvsAngel14) and Erik (@nt_eagle)
Under Further Review
Okay, the latest, if you go by my twitter timeline, is that the football season has ended… Oh, I’m sorry, that’s Denver Broncos and Tebow’s season ended. Thank God, as he was more popular than Osama bin Laden’s death. Now, can we have baseball?
Other than football, it’s been a relatively quiet week. Rockies haven’t had any action, though Carlos Gonzalez says his arm is fine, and Charlie Blackmon is smarter. … and Renck still issues concerns about the pitching rotation. But otherwise, nothing new… except that Pomeranz is also calmer with the dropped disturbing the peace charges.
In hockey, the Avalanche lost a home-and-home series with Nashville this week (the away game was dropped in overtime). But they managed to win Saturday in Dallas. They have a busy schedule this week, with 3 of the next 4 games this week on the road against Phoenix (Monday), LA (Saturday), and Anaheim (Sunday). The only break is Wednesday’s home game vs. Florida.
The Eagles won Wednesday at home vs. Utah, but split the last weekend series at Bakersfield, losing Friday and winning Saturday. This week they play today at Las Vegas unusually early (3:05pm MST), and then the weekend series at Ontario Reign.
I really hope for more baseball news this week… there’s only 33 days left till Spring Training starts. (Pitchers & Catchers report)
Sliding home
My final quote comes from Krista (@astoria922). It’s priceless:
@druidlove I think that game was bad. And in all honesty, I think the the entire season was one huge clusterfuck.
An unnecessary change
As usual, I had another topic hijacked by breaking news. I have to admit, I was having a hard time writing it, so it was probably best that the breaking news came up. That way I could relegate my first topic to a secondary topic. So let me go on with the main topic:
ʞaught looking
News broke last night that a local high school, Mullen, has terminated Dave Logan and his coaching staff from their football team. This came as a shock, as if it came out of the blue. Well, it did. If you google either Mullen or Logan up, you will certainly find links to the Denver Post or 9News article about the firing. And you know what the reason was? He couldn’t be a full-time staff member with the school.
Now, coaches can get released by retirement, poor record, or other behavior/ethics issues. Maybe a conflict with certain staff members or athletes will also do it. But to say that a coach is released because he had too many obligations, even though they have virtually not been changed for years is lame.
Dave Logan was a wide receiver who played for the Cleveland Browns. After his football career ended, he landed a career behind the mic at 850 KOA, where he is to this day. But he also coached 3 high school teams in the Denver area, and taken each of them to champions. Apparently, neither Clear Channel, nor the schools had a problem with his dual nature before. And the fact that the Denver Post reports him doing it out of love (and not money) made it even better.
Yeah, I heard the interview with the school this morning on KOA, and it seemed like they just wanted to get rid of him. Though the school admits it was not anything wrong ethically, the attitude they took through this just seemed cold. In Colorado, Mullen was probably a recognizable name for sports. They just shot themselves in the foot. The man will get a chance elsewhere, though I wouldn’t be surprised if he took some time away from coaching for a bit, and just focus on his radio show. The school, on the other hand, alienated students, parents (who pay to enroll their family), and the public in general.
This part of my blog is not sponsored. This is my personal opinion. But the rest of the blog is brought to you by the people listed below………….
Whose House? Our House!
Now to the post I was going to make today, though I’ll condense it a bit. I’m here to argue that twitter was meant for baseball. And there are a bunch of wonderful folk on here that I’d like to give a shoutout.
Unlike most sports, which are time-based (and action happens fast), in baseball, actions are turn based (usually upon when the pitcher pitches the ball.) So you can tweet that Tulo created a 6-4-3 double play, or that Albert Pujols doubles to center, but it’s harder to tweet a delayed tripping call in hockey. Baseball is also live, so it’s not like you can spoil something like you can for a sitcom that may be on a tape delay for Mountain/Pacific time zones. And, unlike football (which is also turn-based), MLB was one of the first sports to adopt twitter. So, you see a common hashtags for talking about your favorite team like #Rockies, or #stlcards (St. Louis Cardinals–to avoid the ambiguity with the Arizona Cardinals of the NFL). In fact, MLB incorporated a twitter client into its At Bat app by late 2010, at no additional cost.
And thanks to Twitter, I have known many fans of baseball, both male and female… Rockies fans, and others (classy fans), who I’d like to dedicate today. (This is your #followFriday, humor style):
- @audinco: The one who knows how to turn the word Tracy into a swear word.
- @sillychurro2: Who thinks the Rockies SS tastes excellent, with cinnamon.
- @Townie813: who should think about applying for Tracy Ringolsby’s job
- @gorox1983: The only one who I think could get in a row with Joe West and have HIM ejected
- @303wes: The one who could surf the Wave riding around Coors Field. (and I still disapprove of the Wave done at ballgames.)
- @Ms_Apayne: I could see her being Annie in Bull Durham.
- @PoseidonsFist: has just replaced Tom Helmer in the ROOT Sports pregame booth.
– @edwscott: Was spotted kissing Alanna on the Jumbotron between innings.
– @ColoSportSpaz: Received a ball from the batboy with a proposal signed by Jordan Pacheco
– @cjensen23: was seen on the field throwing the first pitch
– @roxfan97: was catching the first pitch
– @rusty1026: Received a hug by Dinger
– @rockieswoman1: Took the place of Alanna Rizzo
– @rockiebelieveR: set off the fireworks with Helton’s Grand Slam
– @Rockkstar11: the on-field announcer for the Frontier Airlines catch game.
– @RockiesReview: Replaces Drew Goodman in the ROOT Sports booth
– @lecroy24fan: who now owns ESPN, and changed Baseball Tonight to put on quality broadcasting
– @msroxrock: Spotted on the Jumbotron tweaking the butt of Carlos Gonzalez as he heads to the dugout.
The saying goes: if I do tease you a bit, that means that I like you.
Under Further Review
2 hockey teams played this week:
* The Colorado Avalanche lost on Tuesday at home to Nashville. They are currently playing today on the road at Nashville, where as of this writing were winning 2-0
* The Colorado Eagles won at home yesterday 5-1 vs the Utah Grizzlies. They have a weekend series at Bakersfield tomorrow and Saturday.
Rockies, Giambi, and the Hall of Fame? Really?
I had another topic I was going to use, but I’m moving it to Thursday, in light of another article.
ʞaught looking
According to Google Maps, it is 1775 miles from Coors Field to Cooperstown, New York. It would theoretically require 28h of travel time (realistically, it’s more like 48h). Also, make sure you bring your piggy bank, since you’ll be paying tolls in Indiana and Ohio. But don’t tell that to the Rockies. Almost 20 years later, and they still couldn’t even buy a vote to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, if that was possible. And it being that far away, is probably either in a big void, or too high for the writers to look up.
As I read Denver Post article delivered by Troy Renck (@troyrenck), it got me thinking. I was thinking that maybe all of us Rockies fans are looking at the wrong people to get in the Hall of Fame. What if it is someone we could identify as a leader in disguise?
Right now, the Rockies still face an uphill battle to convince people that we play real baseball at Coors Field. Since 2002, the humidor was introduced to manage the manufacturer’s specifications for baseballs. That mean yes, we actually have the correct equipment. Take that New York! 
Sorry, I get on my soapbox and see red instead of purple every time someone accuses us of either cheating (like the San Francisco Giants in 2010), or tries to compare Coors Field with the Moon. It’s like discriminating against Rosa Parks, or saying that all Muslims are terrorists, or that Californians are a bunch of elitists snobs. Not only are these bad stereotypes, it’s wrong and (in certain cases) illegal. Please do your research, and you’ll find a bunch of 1-0 games, and even a pitcher by the name of Ubaldo Jimenez who had success at reducing Coors Field’s reputation to being a regular hitter’s ballpark.
Yet, the only ones who have tried to pave their way in are those among the Blake Street Bombers, and this was in the 90s, before the humidor. Therefore, they are all subjected to the east coast bias. None of them may make it, though Larry Walker is on the ballot this year. He will probably stick around one year, but the future isn’t great, even if we consider that Renck thumbed down Walker on this year’s ballot. Yet, I’ve heard writers with voting privileges say they will never vote for anyone who has played for Coors Field, which is a bigotist view and sad as a member of the KKK, or Occupy Wall Street. The next person with any chance to make it would be Helton, when he retires within the next couple years.
But what if I suggested that the first person would be an unlikely source, and wouldn’t represent the Rockies directly? How about Jason Giambi? Yeah, this would be a huge shock on many levels. Before I begin, I’ll just say I didn’t look at his numbers before I considered this. But I will say that he has a few advantages: He has a few great years on other teams. He also is one of the only players from the so called ‘steroids era’ who doesn’t have a controversy around him, despite admitting to using them. And while it has no impact on candidacy, he has a great attitude, and contributor to others in the game. Now, the negative: 1. Steroids are always negative, no matter what. 2. he doesn’t put up great numbers, especially in the Rockies portion of his career. 3. He has been on the Rockies, a team that still gets negative votes for existing (thank you East Coast bias). Now, while I don’t think he’ll get in, I can always try.
Well, at least we can still hold faith that the Toddfather will be the first, and can finally show ESPN he is a legitimate candidate… Just don’t board the bus to Coopersville yet. It’s not ready to go.
PS. According to Andrew Fisher, Giambi’s numbers aren’t sufficient to warrant Hall of Fame status, regardless of his steroid use. But one can always dream?
Under further review
Before I continue with the action in sports, I would like to thank Dave Krieger for his time chronicling the Rockies. From this tweet by the Denver Post:
Columnist Dave Krieger leaving Denver Post for KOA radio dpo.st/wWenfj
I’ve heard him on KOA since mid-last year, and he is a great personality. I believe he already fits in with Dave Logan on the Dave Logan show (3-7pm daily). Good luck.
I’ll first start with the Colorado Eagles: A quiet week, as they were home this past weekend vs. Las Vegas Wranglers. They easily took the Friday game, but had a memory lapse in the Saturday game, allowing 4 unanswered goals within a 2 minute duration. Let’s hope this never happens again. Next game is home vs. the Utah Grizzlies Wednesday 7:05pm. Listen in on 107.9FM in NoCo*, or station KPAW on iHeartRadio.
The Colorado Avalanche, like their NoCo cousin, also split a weekend pair of games. But their 4-game road trip starting with the New Year’s Eve game looks nicer losing only 4-0 on Saturday in St. Louis. They come home to take on Nashville tomorrow night starting at 7pm.
How the Broncos made it to the playoffs is one story. How they did on Sunday is another. And the world overwhelmed twitter again with a 29-23 overtime win by the Broncos. To bring this back to a Rockies point of view, today’s Rockpile from Purple Row describes how I feel.
And finally, @TracyRingolsby and @TroyRenck both just reported that former starting pitcher Aaron Cook is going to Boston on a minor-league deal pending a physical. Good luck.
Sliding home
My final quote comes from Ryan @MileHighKid23
Games like today are why I invest almost irrational amounts of time in my teams and in sports in general. That was special.
Survivor- Rockies style
Wow, it’s the first week of January, and we have something to talk about with the Rockies. Granted, it’s not new news, but enough of a topic to allow me my usual Monday/Thursday format.
From the Clubhouse
After a dismal 2011, everyone knew that there should be some changes. So, Dan O’Dowd started a game called “Survivor of the Rockies”. But he put in some rules: He would not eliminate the old “senior citizens” (Helton, Giambi), his superstars (Tulo and CarGo), and his potential stars (Fowler, Chacin, Pomeranz and JDLR.) Those players not listed were not given immunity, and can be voted off at will. But, unlike the TV show, the island could accept new people when the outcasts were voted off.
Despite the fans demanding that Ian Stewart be the first to go, O’Dowd chose Wiggington. The fans rejoiced. The next to go was Iannetta, which caused a deep rift in the audience. But the remaining Rockies talked Ramon Hernandez to join the island. Huston, we have a problem: You’re fired… to the Angels. Ryan Spilborghs was given the finger to be released, and he left, but kept pleading to do anything to return. We have yet to see if O’Dowd will change his mind. And then O’Dowd, the mighty Lord, finally listened to the fans and the Almighty Cubs and had a dinghy ready for Ian Stewart, only to be returned with Colvert and LeMahieu with help from Google to get the correct spelling. (I hope you got the sarcasm in the last sentence.) Since there was still a gap opening, a nice man named Michael Cuddyer asked to join the fold, and was given a cruise boat to dock on the island by the ever-gracious O’Dowd and Charlie Monfort.
And now, the moment we have been waiting for. O’Dowd has his hand in the pot, ready to draw the next name. Rumor has it that it will be Seth Smith. But O’Dowd looks into his crystal ball, and sees a fog. He tries the telephone, but the line is down. He then goes to his crackberry, only to find it has been cracked, and he cannot read his screen very well. He squints to read what he can… To be continued.
So this is a funny story about how the Rockies have looked like during this offseason. But really, what will our team look like at Spring Training, let alone April 1st, when the regular season is finally under way? Some of the changes I do like. I do feel that Michael Cuddyer will be a great addition to the Rockies. Much better than Beltran, who I have compared to as a used condom. Sure, he might get the job done if he doesn’t break–but I feel that Cuddyer would make a better fit, and he doesn’t feel icky. I read the fan mail in the Denver Post for Cuddyer, and he’s a positive all-round character. Other deals I was not too happy, like when we sent Netta off. Netta was my all-time favorite Rox. I did felt that I could identify with him a lot better than, let’s say Tulo (when he acts like a tantrum-throwing 2 year old on the bases.) I was really upset when Iannetta was traded. But I remember holding hope that it was not wasted, and that we’d get Ramon Hernandez. Sure enough, less than 90 minutes later, it was announced on Twitter, and I was relieved quite a bit. It didn’t nullify the hurt, but it comforted me enough to know it was not a waste.
Now, everyone’s keeping an eye on Seth Smith. We know he’s probably going to see a better team, but it’s like looking at the top cards off the deck to see if the replacement will be that Ace of Spades to complete our Royal Flush. And so far, all we’ve been getting is garbage in response. It’s not too hard to find the news: From Troy Renck (Denver Post) or Ken Rosenthal.
We know there are a few pieces of the jigsaw puzzle missing from the 2012 Rockies puzzle, and I’m sure they will be fulfilled. The question is, will the picture, when complete, be a picturesque view of the World Series trophy, or just the pitcher’s mound? And do you agree with the changes?
Today’s blog post is brought to you thanks to @RockiesReview @gorox1983
On page 2
While there is little action in baseball, there was plenty of action in other sports not involving a bat. The Denver Broncos, somehow made the playoffs, despite losing their last 3 games, and going .500 (that’s 8-8) on the season. And they only made it in due to some complicated formula. They won’t win next week, but I sure like what KOA has done as a parody of the Bud Light commercial for the Broncos. (Warning, please pull your speakers up to hear this!)
I hear that the Nuggets are going good, despite the short start to their season, and more than one blowout game. Congrats!
And in hockey, the other sport that I care about until late February (when Spring Training starts), the Avalanche are on a roller coaster ride trying to get into a playoff position. Season is still quite early, and the difference between 5th and 10th or so is only a handful of points. The Colorado Eagles, on the other hand, are fighting for 1st in the ECHL West, though they didn’t do too well in Alaska. Losing all 3 games, including the final one in a shootout (after pulling an early lead) was a disappointment. I hope they can break the curse as they come home. Despite the short bench through most of December, they’ve been doing quite well apart from Alaska.
Final tweet: This came in from a friend of a friend: This tweet from @IndyFan18Always who shared to me and @CariSports:
@druidlove @CariSports Haha. Wings/Avs games aren’t what they once were. Think I’ll watch McCarty fight on Youtube and reminisce.
With a change of sports venue
Welcome to my first new Rox Blox posts of the 2012 year. Trying to come up with a good post, since the year is relatively new, and then I realized there’s another baseball-related event happening this week. On January 2nd, in Philadelphia’s Citizen’s Bank Park, there is a game happening.
Whose House? Our House!
This is really front-page news, though the biggest winner is the fan. It’s not every day that a sports venue hosts a sport it was not originally designed to host. This is especially true considering that the (now) Miami Marlins are moving out of their old (insert name and pay $20,000) stadium which was originally built for the Miami Dolphins. The biggest complaints included the line of sight for some seats were unsuitable. There were other concerns, but now that the Fish have their new stadium opening in time for next year, Coors Field is now the 3rd oldest ballpark (??) in the National League. The Twins moving out of the Metrodome to Target Field, in addition to Miami now leaves the MLB separated from the NFL in a movement that reversed the general multi-purpose stadiums of the 1950s, save for one. Trivia question: Which is the last venue shared by a NFL and MLB team? (Answer is at the end). The multi-purpose arenas, combining basketball and hockey is another story.
So it shows as a surprise when Citizen’s Bank ballpark, home of the Philadelphia Phillies is hosting the NHL winter classic on January 2nd. The Flyers have their own home at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. So why a game outdoors?
Hockey has been traditionally viewed as an outdoor sport since it requires skating on ice. And the NHL was originally conceived in Canada being a major sport in that country. But, like everything else, it expanded, stabilized itself, and moved indoors. And with the indoors, it was able to eventually expand to the southern portion of the 50 states. A lot of old tradition was lost.
2003 brought back a renaissance in Edmonton with the Heritage classic. A regular-season NHL game would be played outdoors. The NHL liked the idea and expanded it in 2008 in what would be called the “NHL Winter Classic”. First held in Buffalo at the Bills’ NFL stadium, it has continued in tradition in NFL stadiums and MLB ballparks, including classic Fenway Park and Wrigley Field. The first year was a huge success, drawing over 70,000 people–more than what any regular NHL arena could attract in a game. Other venues have voiced interest in hosting the NHL Winter classic. It’s like a prestige to hold a special yearly event, similar to the All-Star game, Super bowl or even the Olympics.
So why did the multi-purpose stadiums fall out of favor? For one thing, different sports have different views. Why the Marlins moved out was that Joe Robbie Stadium, as it was built, was conceived to host a NFL team and a future MLB team without too many changes. But the seats were designed to see from the football 50 yard line, making some seats unsellable for MLB games. (There are other problems with the Marlins not selling games that are beyond the content of this blog post.) Then there were stadiums like Mile High (I miss it) that were multi-purpose, but shifted their seats to make it possible. As sports became a bigger part of life, and the money rolled, many teams saw the benefits of having a venue customized for their specific needs. For football, more luxury boxes. For baseball, it was more that the ballpark would fit in snugly, and retain some of baseball’s past (for example, a manual scoreboard, or other baseball quirks.) This is partially why I desire the NHL winter classic at a ballpark less so: the seats are less-than-ideal for the action. But for it being one time a year, it’s not bad.
However, the reason for the Winter classic being outdoors has its advantages. First off, it’s a change of venue–literally. Instead of being in an arena enclosed in with other people in a tight space, it’s out in the open. Also, the return of possibly fighting the elements (as some Winter Classic games have shown) is an appeal. It brings it back in line with football (and less so baseball) with the conditioning for the weather. And also, it allows more people to see the game. For an annual event, it’s a win-win for the NHL and its fans. Now, let’s rock this roof— er game off.
This post brought to you thanks to a few friends: Matthew @brosanta, Katie @ellisfan14, Mark @townie813, Sackor @supahfly328 and @fiyahpowah
From the clubhouse
Not a whole lot of baseball news, but with the Michael Cuddyer @mcuddy3 and the Beltran signings, I think the Rockies got the better of the two deals. Cuddyer was a bit cheaper, and he has a better attitude. Plus every time someone shortens his last name (as a nickname) to Cuddy, I think of the comfort under a blanket. Nice place to be in bed, comfortable… aaaah! I’m hoping that this month, we can stabilize our pitching rotation.
Under further review
“Truly underwhelming excitement for the end of the #NFL regular season.” -@brosanta original tweet
Great words to describe the Broncos, and the NFL, which was the complete opposite of the MLB in 2011. Don’t worry, the Broncos, despite losing 7-3 in a snoozer and making the playoffs, will lose next week, and the season will be over.
This is late, though I was just informed by Nathan @lecroy24fan that Comcast/NBC blocked out the ability to DVR the winter classic. I mean, WTF? This is beyond stupid. I think a boycott on Comcast should be in order.
And the answer to the above: Oakland Coliseum is the last outdoor multipurpose stadium hosting 2 teams: The Oakland Raiders, and the Athletics. Indoor Arenas do not count, as they usually host basketball and hockey under one roof. And for purposes of this argument, we got into a discussion on what qualifies. Thanks to everyone above, though it has to consider professional sports of significance. The fan attendance drops significantly below soccer, and collegiate sports are considered amateur or farm team events.
Throwing a change up
Thank you for reading my blog–also known as druidlove.com sports. The original name was chosen because I wanted to focus on a sports blog, but I wanted to focus on topics that don’t directly involve stats or recaps. the druidlove.com is my domain, But I feel like I am going to change this blog a bit.
As of January 1
Let me tell you what is not changing in my posts. First, I will continue the theme of not providing game recaps. I will also not be heavy on stats, or discuss on fantasy action. There are plenty of blogs out there dedicated on these things. I will also not promote heavily on social networks of players, broadcasters, or industry-related things, though I will maintain a page for this. Also, my writing style should not change much.
Yet, what is changing? The blog will be called Rox Blox, as I focus to become more of a Rockies blog first, baseball second. Also, the frequency of my posts will be on a once or twice a week, on a consistent basis. This will be less focus on other sports unless it becomes breaking news, or during the offseason. Having a consistent schedule will make it easier to publish content and have more people read it. The content will be organized, as I will explain next.
For each Rox Blox post, I will post baseball content on Mondays starting January 1st. During the season, I should also be posting on Thursdays, as a preview for the weekend. During the offseason, the Thursday posts will be dedicated to other sports such as hockey, football, or in general. If there is a post on any other day, it will be dedicated to breaking news only. Other than breaking news, my posts will be organized into 2 or 3 topics. These topics include:
- ʞaught looking. This will be dedicated to general negative action or inaction caused by a player or team to produce negative results. The backwards ‘k’ is a strikeout caught looking, and also my favorite character. I claim trademark™ on it.
- Grand Slam. A positive action by a player or team that deserves attention. A grand slam in baseball is a home run with bases loaded.
- From the clubhouse. This may be my main topic, as this is what goes on from the Rockies, but off the field.
- #umpfail. A twitter tag stolen to dedicate topics involving rules, and problems officiating, or umpiring in games.
- Whose house? Our House! I dedicate topics under this heading for fan action with games. I stole this from the Colorado Eagles cheers as fans always cheer this late in games when we are winning (or close to tying).*
- Under further review. The instant replay of action going on in the week (in general).
- Up on deck. I take a look at action to be previewed over the next few days or week.
- On page 2. This is my general off-baseball topics. **
I look forward to spending 2012 with you talking about baseball. And if you have not done so already, feel free to add me on twitter (@druidlove)
–Frank
* I had originally thought of using “Need more cowbell”, but this is purely an Eagles thing, and not seen at Rockies games.
** I was going to use “On Channel 4″ to change to topic, but that made no sense. As books and newspapers are going out of style, I had to used a good metaphor to change topics.
Players really don’t care for the game… or each other.
This week, we have had 2 players make headlines. One of them was a result of shock, and the other just brought bad news. Of course, twitter goes ablaze with the chatter. If it’s an issue such as Huston Street or Ian Stewart traded, that’s only a local issue. But when Pujols decided on the Angels, that was not only a shock, but hurt many fans, especially Cardinals fans. Then as Ryan Braun of the Brewers made news on Twitter that he was caught taking “performance enhancing drugs”. And again, he denies it. Boy it must be hard to be an athlete.
Some players never have the luck when it comes to money. Look at Albert Pujols. He couldn’t decide on a contract extension with the St. Louis Cardinals before the season started, so talks stopped. At years’ end, he tested the free market for the offers. There were talks about 10 year-$200+ million deals not only with his host team, but with the Miami Marlins (who are building a new team for next year in their new facilities), and at least one unnamed team. The time during the winter meetings this week was taking a while for him to decide, so speculation was that he’d return to his old team. He made his decision the last day of the meetings, and Pujols chose the unnamed team, also known as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (or just the Angels.) The world seemed to be shocked at first. Then later on, there were tweets about anger and sadness from the Cardinals fans. In the end, what’s done is done. But Cardinals fans probably felt as betrayed as Cleveland fans were about LeBron James. To be fair, Cleveland was worse because ESPN made a big mockery TV show about his “decision”, and was seen as poor taste by the network. But it must be tough for an athlete to not care for its home team because of money.
Ryan Braun was also a new headline today (about 2 hours ago as I write this.) He was the NL MVP. But a month before he won the award, he was told by MLB that he tested positive on his drug test. MLB is mum about it because of the appeal. Of course Braun is mum as well. But ESPN’s article made it look like he was innocent. (rolls eyes when it comes to ESPN.) There are a few things to note here: Braun had a great year, which is why he got the MVP award. But the award is based in regular season only, as the ballots are cast by game 162 of the regular season. And he is fighting what may be a losing cause, since no player has won an appeal on MLB’s drug arbitration. So, it’s all but certain that Braun will be suspended for the first 50 games next year. And even if he did win, the public sentiment is against him. I asked a friendly tweep (Thanks Cari for being a good sport) for some opinions. She echoed what I expect to hear from most fans. Basically, people try to cheat, and circumvent the spirit of the game just to put up bigger numbers, and pad their wallets. And the more figures in the salary, the better. She noted that it’s easier to ‘assume players are juiced’, which is really sad to hear. I guess with names like Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, Jose Canseco, and others, they really tainted the sport of baseball forever. It must be tough for athletes to try to risk their health and their bodies just for some short-term stardom.
In the end, competition is healthy, and fun is great as well. But players in general are losing contact with the general population with their actions, with maybe the exception of Tim Tebow. Part of it is that they lose respect for their own selves for their 15 minutes of fame. And the other part is the lack of respect towards everyone else. I talk about respect a lot, and I try to respect others. At the same time, being fair is also a goal of mine, so it’s not easy to balance both of these factors out. It should be the same for any person, no matter how big of a star they are.
Footnotes: This week, Huston Street and Ian Stewart were traded to two teams. Street to the Angels, while Stewart to the Cubs. I’m not sure I like the former (though we freed up money for it, and got a token prospect to add to our farm system.) Stewart gone helps a lot, considering he sucked donkeyballs last year to the point he wasn’t even playing for the Rockies (or even the Sky Sox) by the end of the year. I also did not like his attitude (which goes along with respect), so a change of scenery for him helps. We’ll see what happens with the Rockies over the winter to strengthen our team.
Notes: Next week, I’ll be announcing a change for my journals. Stay tuned… Expect it on Monday night.