-> By "uplifting" do you mean that they will be lifting the other 4
-> teams in the
-> NL West (finishing in 5th place)?
Low blow.... No way the Dodgers are going to finished 5th... No bloody way at 
all..
I was refering to the fact that the Dodgers uplift my spirits alot more than 
that product of commercial and hype: "America's Team" *cough cough* the 
Atlanta Braves... A team that, quite frankly, I'm tired of hearing about, 
seeing ruining good playoff games, tired of that annoying arrogant chop, 
tired of hearing that jerk Bobby Cox saying stuff on television during the 
All-Star game like "What's the matter, Boggs? Can't get around on the 
fastball or the changeup??" Hey, Cox, what's YOUR career batting average?? 
Oh, yeah, you never played in the bigs...
-> The Braves are relying more and more on their unparalelled pitching
-> staff...
-> and have apparently forgotten that the Rockies power hitters have hit
-> their
-> pitching staff as well as any other team, and better than most.
-> I saw a forecast that places the Rockies in second or third place in
-> the division, with a possible WC chance.   If the position players
-> have a reasonably good season, defensively, and our new pitching
-> rotation stays healthy, there is every reason to expect the Rockies
-> to win the west and possibly get into the league championship
-> series...For the first time in the club's short history they have a
-> good blend of potential in the offensive
-> category - power hitting, speed and agility on the base path, and
-> excellence
-> on the pitching mound.
*sigh* I'm so tired of hearing about that Braves pitching staff too. Maybe 
it's seven years of being talked to like I'm an idiot for not jumping on the 
Braves bandwagon, but I kinda grew up LOYAL to a team, not jumping on the 
nearest winning team... Same stuff I heard about the Dodgers (ie. They'll 
live off their pitching).. Alot of good it did it. Besides, how good of a 
pitcher would Maddux be if he had to use the REAL strik zone, not the 
special, six inches off the outside corner one given to him??
Okay, back to the Rockies.. I agree they have picked up alot of talent in the 
pitching stuff, but the thing is, could Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson 
have an ERA under 5 pitching in Coors Field?? That place is a pitcher's worst 
nightmare, and likely will always be... I mean, truly, I think the Rockies 
would be so much better off acquiring a lineup with 8 30+ home run hitters 
and just praying their pitchers can keeo a team ERA under 7... Because I have 
this bad feeling Darryl Kile is going to go 13-12 with an ERA of 4.30 (or 
around there) next season.. I like Kile and would love to see him do well, 
but I don't have a good feeling about it..... Now, the big question I truly 
have with the Rockies is: Who's gonna replace Galarraga??
-> Recall that last season, a lot of the games lost on the road were
-> lost, after
-> the team had built a lead, because of questionable ability and
-> consistency on
-> the mound.   When Astacio and Castillo joined the team, that changed,
-> and the
-> subsequent "run" nearly got them into post-season play.
Yes, I was surprised how well both of those guys did last season down the 
stretch for the Rockies (especially Astacio, who farted around for 4+ seasons 
in Los Angeles!!).. I dunno, maybe there is hope for that Rocky pitching 
staff yet (pun intended)...
--- DB 1.39/003705
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