May I Have Your Attention Please

I turned on SportsCenter this morning and the first story was: the Rockies sweep of the Yankees. At first I thought it would just be about the Yankees and that stranger things have happened than them going into Coors Field and getting swept, scoring only five runs in the process. Yes, they did talk about the Yankees, quoting Torre as saying he didn't expect this and didn't care to see the Rockies again. But, they gave equal time to the Rockies, pointing out that since the Yankees got swept, the Rox did, in fact, do the sweeping. They didn't stop there, delving into the basis for the Rox' hot streak: better pitching and better hitting. Despite the fact that this streak has been an entire team effort without one or two players carrying the load, ESPN did single out Holliday. Buster Olney went so far as to say that he should be starting in the All-Star game and encouraged fans to stuff the ballot box to get him into the starting lineup. The bottom line is: the Rockies can't be ignored any longer and are starting to draw attention. No matter what your feelings were about the buzz surrounding the series with the Yankees, it made a lot of people pay attention to the Rockies that wouldn't have otherwise, both fans and media. You can just see the level confidence rising with this team. With the Padres losing the last two, the Rox are merely 3 1/2 games out of first. Success on a measurable scale is within their reach. Hopefully they take hold and don't let go.

Here's one thing that I don't understand. Back in the day when the AL and NL had different umpires, there were minor differences in each league. When MLB went to one crew of umpires for the entire league many of these differences went away. One such difference was when a pitched ball hit the dirt. In the NL the umpire called time and replaced the ball. In the AL the ball remained in play. Now all umpires replace a ball that has hit the dirt. The reasoning behind replacing the ball is that the dirt could cause a smudge or discoloration on one area of the ball that would make it more difficult for the hitter to pick up the rotation, etc. So, with this in mind, what I don't understand is why catchers volunteer the ball to the umpire when it would supposedly be to his pitchers' advantage to keep the ball in play. My thinking would be that the catcher wouldn't want the ball replaced and only give it up if asked. It's certainly a minor thing that likely would have little or no impact on a game, but good, smart players should accept every advantage that is within the rules, no matter how small.

Until next time, go Rockies!