Where's Dante Bichette?

GREETINGS FROM COLORADO ROCKIES NATION!!

I’m sending this missive to the vast and growing fan base of the Lodo Destroyers, the Purple Pulverizers, the High Altitude Swingers…your COLORADO ROCKIES. We are all following this amazing and improbable ride with the sweat dripping fervor that we all remember from the days of Elway’s “Drive”. Of course, we all must admit that we had written off our beloved Rockies long ago. And I don’t mean in June, but rather more like 1996. Nevertheless, they are here working their guts off for us and in the last few days have provided some of the most exciting sports moments in the history of Colorado.

Now for a bit of full disclosure. I haven’t followed the Colorado Rockies this year. Or last year. Or frankly any year that didn’t have Andres (“el gato grande”) Galarraga lumbering in the infield. Up until Monday night, I had never even heard of Troy Tolowitzki. Or Yorvit Torrealba. Or Manny Corpas. Or Josh Fogg. (Who makes up these names?) Of course I knew all about Todd Helton and had a vague knowledge about somebody called Holliday making a run for the batting title. And, since I live in New York, I watched the Mets chew up and spit out Kaz Matsui.

The Monday tiebreaker game in Denver will go down as a watershed moment in the history of the franchise. Everyone loves a one game playoff on national TV. Even Yankees fans (gasp!) were watching. Coors Field showed itself to be one of the nation’s premier ball parks. The national audience saw the lush lines of the precisely mowed outfield, the typical western scene diorama sitting over the Center Field wall that we all remember from our younger gold panning days and the boisterous crowd cheering on their gladiators as if it were a fight to the death. (The Broncos have trained their fans well.)

Monday night the Colorado Rockies earned the respect of all of baseball and the American baseball fan. They proved that great baseball can be played in Colorado, despite the thin air, wide open gaps in the outfield and humidor drenched baseballs. Do we really care that Holliday still hasn’t touched home plate? Hell no! The Rocks knocked around this year’s Cy Young winner-to-be Jake Peavy and took the all time save leader Trevor Hoffman for an extra inning three run spill ride. The boys played their hearts out with skipper Clint Hurdle emptying the bench like a little league coach on the last game of the year. They used 10 pitchers! They had pinch hitters come up for their 8th at bat of the year hit triples off Jake Peavey!! (Seth Smith ended the 2007 campaign batting a respectable .625.) And their big horses stepped up: Todd Helton had a smooth homer; Holliday overcame untimely strikeouts and an outfield brain freeze to blast a critical triple and ride his chin to everlasting glory!! Someday I will party with Clint Hurdle, I promise you that.

Now it’s on to Philadelphia with fans that know the true feeling of heartbreak (Phillies are the losing-est franchise of any sport) and heartless sports columnists. I shudder to think of the nasty things they are saying about the baseball team that currently has them down one games to nil. Hold on boys!! Root your hearts out for your new favorite sports franchise. Find those old black and purple hats stashed in basements, under beds and in trunks of cars and put em on. Go Rockies!