O/T: Last day of Season

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Posted By: Frank Wakefield

Well I went back and forth on who I was for in that game... Peavy is a good pitcher, I wanted him to do well. Helton is a thoughtful hitter, it is a joy to watch him at the plate. Torrealba has worked his way to where he is, I liked him doing well. And Giles is a solid ballplayer... So I was back and forth.

I truthfully think that Atkins' 7th inning hit to left-center was over the yellow, and that it bounced off of the top edge of the chair. I think there's no way it bounces back onto the field with such velocity if it hit that padding, and if it hit some top edge of the rail it would not have bounced back toward the field at that angle. The Rockies should have had a home run on that.

It would have been a perverse twist on baseball lore for Holliday to go 0 for 6 instead of 2 for 6, and for Chipper Jones to have won the batting title that way. But that didn't happen.

And finally, Holliday did not touch the plate in the 13th. By then I was ready for the Rockies to have a great, comeback win. I'd been thinking in the 12th how the game needed an inside the park home run, since it had about everything else. Seems like folks kept getting leadoff runners on... But Holliday was blocked off of the plate, and he knew it. If you see a replay, watch... not the plate, but his face. He slides by, Barrett drops the ball, Holliday lays there, Barrett retrieves the ball and tags him, then Holliday writhes with frustration knowing he's been tagged out. I saw Holliday miss the plate and get tagged, I knew he was out. Holliday knew it, too.

Still, I'm all for the umpires calling the game. They get so many calls correct. Even ones that might seem close to us, they get right.

A great evening of baseball, all in all. but TBS seemed to have few graphics showing the players' names and stats. They did have the scorecard thing, and while I don't exactly use their scoring system, it was neat to see what a player had done. (At this moment, I must tell everyone to read The Joy of Keeping Score, by Paul Dickson.) I could have done with a bit better graphics, and less of a flashy, multi-light set that seemed better suited for half pipe announcers than for Cal Ripken. That set was nuts.

I just wish Clint Barmes had gotten to play...