Jamie Moyer has cracked the Rockies rotation at age 49

Unbelievable. Jamie Moyer, at age 49, has earned a spot in the Rockies rotation. Jim Caple wrote a terrific piece on Moyer, but let's expand that list a little bit. Care to go in a time vault back to 1986?

Jamie Moyer made his big-league debut on June 16, 1986. Some interesting things to know:

Moyer during one of the highlights of his career,
the 2008 World Series.

• The Kansas City Royals were the defending World Champions. They have not been back to the postseason since. Chew on that one for a bit.
• Only six of the current MLB parks were in existence when Moyer made his debut. They are Fenway Park (Boston), Wrigley Field (Chicago), Dodger Stadium (Los Angeles), Angel Stadium (Anaheim), Oakland Coliseum and Kauffman Stadium (Kansas City).
• Comiskey Park, home of the White Sox, was still the oldest ballpark in baseball, as it was in its 76th season.
• 1986 is closer to 1961 and Roger Maris than it is to 2012.
• Phil Niekro was the oldest active player in the big leagues in 1986 at age 47. He was also the last active player born in the 1930s.
• As old as Moyer is, he is not the only active player born in the 1960s. Omar Vizquel (1967) and Mariano Rivera (1969) are still hanging around.
• Moyer and Vizquel (1989) are the last active players who played during the 1980s.
• Moyer is older than eight MLB managers!
• Dale Sveum, Cubs (1963)
• Ozzie Guillen, Marlins (1964)
• Joe Girardi, Yankees (1964)
• Fredi Gonzalez, Braves (1964)
• Robin Ventura, White Sox (1967)
• Eric Wedge, Mariners (1968)
• Manny Acta, Indians (1969)
• Mike Matheny, Cardinals (1970)
• Only three of the current managers in MLB were managing a big-league club in 1986: Jim Leyland (Pirates), Bobby Valentine (Rangers) and Davey Johnson (Mets, who would go on to win it all in '86).
• Tony La Russa was still managing the White Sox in 1986. In fact, when Moyer made his debut, La Russa was just three days away from being fired by GM Ken "Hawk" Harrelson, marking the only time in his 34 years of managing that he was ever canned.
• There were only 26 MLB teams in 1986, as the Rockies, Marlins, Diamondbacks and Rays did not exist.
• The Seattle Mariners, who debuted in 1977, still had yet to experience the thrill of finishing over .500. It would be another five years before Seattle would finish with a winning record.
• The Blue Jays, who also debuted in 1977, were the defending AL East Champions, coming off a 99-win season.
• On the day Moyer debuted, the Mets were already a ridiculous 44-16, leading the old NL East by 11.5 games over Montreal. Even more surprising was the play of the defending NL Champion St. Louis Cardinals, who were floundering in fourth place with a 25-35 record in the East. Already 19 games behind the Mets in June, their season was effectively over.
• The Mets finished 108-54 that year, the most wins of any big-league club since 1975. They would also join the 1975 Reds and 1983 White Sox as the only teams to win their division by at least 20 games.
• Fox Television, which has broadcasted every World Series since 2000, did not make its debut until October of 1986.
• During the span of Moyer's career, two starting pitchers have won the league MVP: Roger Clemens in 1986 for Boston, and Justin Verlander last year for Detroit.
• Legends from baseball's golden age were still alive, such as Leo Durocher, Joe Sewell and the "Meal Ticket," Carl Hubbell.
• Barry Larkin also began his career in 1986, retired, and is now being elected to the Hall of Fame after the customary five-year waiting period, plus another two years of falling short of the necessary vote total.
• A small sampling of players who were still active in 1986:
• Pete Rose
• Reggie Jackson
• Don Sutton
• Steve Carlton
• Carlton Fisk
• Tom Seaver
• Dusty Baker
• Don Baylor
• Kirk Gibson
• Mike Schmidt
• Dave Kingman
• Mike Scioscia
• Dave Concepcion
• Tony Perez
• Some managers who were piloting clubs that season include:
• Earl Weaver (Orioles, in his final season)
• Whitey Herzog (Cardinals)
• Sparky Anderson (Tigers)
• Lou Piniella (Yankees, his first season managing)
• Gene Mauch (Angels)
• Pete Rose (Reds, still a player-manager at this point)
• Chuck Tanner (Braves)
• Tommy Lasorda (Dodgers)

Well, there you have it. I'm looking forward to watching Moyer pitch this season, and even more, I hope he does well. After all, I would love to see Moyer stick around to pitch at age 50 next year!
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Eh, might as well...
Here's a hit song from 1986, Cameo's "Word Up." Enjoy.

At long last, I'm finished with school! Now, some thoughts on realignment, the DH and interleague play

Folks, I am proud to say that I am officially finished with college! I graduated last week with a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Cincinnati, and I am more than relieved that my five-year journey of obtaining a college education is finally over.

Now, back to business here on the "South Side Hit Parade." Recently, there have been some rumblings that MLB may consider some form of realignment. Nobody is really sure how the teams will be realigned at this point, but some suggestions have been offered. The one that appears to have the most talk surrounding it right now would be to move the Houston Astros to the American League West, and have interleague play year-round. Some other suggestions include moving either the Colorado Rockies or the Arizona Diamondbacks to the American League West, if only for the reason that they are two of the newer NL teams, and because they would each give the Rangers a time zone buffer (Texas is a Central Time Zone team, while the A's, Angels and Mariners are all in Pacific Time. Ouch.).

While some old-school folks may have a problem with year-round interleague play and realignment, I actually look forward to seeing something like this happen. I have always enjoyed interleague play, and it always seemed a bit bizarre to me to sequester this to just one portion of the season. If you have it year-round, it would solve the problem of "unfair" scheduling, such the Cardinals playing the Royals six times, while the Reds play the Indians six times (Never mind the fact the Reds are 1-5 against K.C. in their last six games against them, including losing two of three to them at home last year).

Another benefit to having year-round interleague play would likely mean that the National League will finally get with the times and adopt the Designated Hitter. Listen, I do not mind the differences between the leagues at the moment. However, I am starting to prefer the American League style of play. I do not care about losing the "strategy" of the game by having the pitcher in the batting lineup. There is still plenty of strategy in American League baseball, as there is in any baseball game, DH or no DH. However, I prefer to watch Vladimir Guerrero hit than to watch Tony Larussa think. There is a lot more excitement with watching Paul Konerko step to the plate in a big situation as opposed to watching Dusty Baker using the double-switch late in a game. Change can be good in the game of baseball sometimes, and it would be for the better if the National League finally adopted the DH. There would be more balance between both leagues, and you could easily have interleague play year-round.

One more thought for the evening: Even if realignment and year-round interleague play never happens, what in the hell is wrong with interleague play right now? People love to complain about it, citing the scheduling inequities teams have. It is not that big of a deal. It is just 16-18 games out of 162. Over the course of 162 games, the cream is going to rise to the top. There are no flukes; any team that makes the playoffs has earned it. If you miss the playoffs by one or two games, you can point your finger at several reasons why you failed to make it other than your interleague record. If you miss by five or six games, then you just were not good enough to make it, even if you do have a better record than a postseason team in another division. I was very upset when the White Sox missed the 2006 postseason with 90 wins, despite the fact they would have won the sad-sack NL Central by 7.5 games over the Cardinals. However, baseball, like life, is not always fair.

That's all I have for you now, talk to you soon!

My wildly outrageous 2011 MLB Predictions

• With Opening Day quickly approaching, it's always fun to predict how the season will play itself out. Here's how I think the 2011 season will go down. It'll be more fun seeing how wrong I am at the end of the season, too. Let's go!
  
  Division Predictions (asterisk denotes Wild Card winner)
  
  AL East:
  
  1. Boston Red Sox (97-65). The new acquisitions of first baseman Adrian Gonzalez and left fielder Carl Crawford will pay huge dividends to a team that is already very talented. Should everybody stay healthy, a division title is a certain lock for the Carmines.
  2. New York Yankees (88-74). Their lineup will still mash, but will their pitching be deep enough behind C.C. Sabathia to keep pace with the rest of the AL? My guess is that it won't be.
  3. Toronto Blue Jays (86-76). Much like the Yankees, the Jays will have a very formidable lineup, but there are still several question marks regarding their pitching. Also, will Jose Bautista have an encore performance at the plate this year? Chances are that he won't hit 54 home runs again, but he'll still be a very intimidating presence in their lineup.
  4. Tampa Bay Rays (79-83). The Rays may say that their pitching will still be good, but the losses of Carl Crawford, Rafael Soriano, Carlos Pena, Jason Bartlett and Matt Garza will just be too much for them to overcome.
  5. Baltimore Orioles (69-93). Their lineup looks better, and they have some young pitchers with the potential to be good, but I still think they're a year or two away from moving out of the AL East basement.
  
  
  AL Central:
  
  1. Chicago White Sox (93-69). With the new acquisition of 1B/DH Adam Dunn, Chicago's lineup will easily be the toughest in the division. Their pitching, while not overwhelming, will be good enough for them to capture their fourth division title since 2000.
  2. *Minnesota Twins (91-71). Even though they did not do much to improve themselves in the off-season, the Twins usually still find a way to get things done, and this year won't be any different, as they will capture the American League Wild Card.
  3. Detroit Tigers (87-75). They will certainly improve on last year's mediocre performance, but will their starting rotation be deep enough behind Verlander to propel them to the postseason. My guess is that they will be good, but not good enough.
  4. Kansas City Royals (68-94). Apparently they have the best farm system in baseball, so their days of misery may not last for too much longer. However, they won't be good at all this year.
  5. Cleveland Indians (61-101). Their bullpen improved last year, but that still doesn't make up for a dreadful starting rotation, and a lineup that has a steep talent drop off once you look past Shin Soo-Choo and Grady Sizemore.
  
  
  AL West:
  
  1. Texas Rangers (88-74). A strong lineup coupled with some solid pitching will vault the defending American League Champions back into the playoffs.
  2. Oakland A's (87-75). Oakland will put up a fight, as they will boast the best starting rotation in the American League for the second year in a row. However, their lack of offense will get the best of them.
  3. Los Angeles Angels (78-84). Losing out in the free agent sweepstakes will definitely cost the Angels this year, as their lineup continues to age.
  4. Seattle Mariners (65-97). At least they have Ichiro and Felix Hernandez to keep people interested.
  
  
  NL East:
  
  1. Philadelphia Phillies (102-60). The Phillies will roll to a fifth consecutive division crown behind the best rotation in baseball and a very strong lineup.
  2. Atlanta Braves (86-76). The Braves will be solid, but will they be good enough to reach the postseason again? With the multitude of deep teams in the NL, I don't think Atlanta quite stacks up to the rest of the pack. Besides, if it wasn't for San Diego's September collapse last year, the Braves would not have reached the postseason.
  3. Florida Marlins (81-81). They always seem to be stuck in gear. They are the MLB poster-child for "average."
  4. New York Mets (77-85). They could potentially be better, but we've been saying that for the last couple of years. I'll let them prove it to me before I put them ahead of the Marlins.
  5. Washington Nationals (67-95). DC's lineup should be okay, but their pitching will be wretched, especially without Strasburg.
  
  
  NL Central:
  
  1. Milwaukee Brewers (95-67). The Brew Crew are going "all in" this year, and with the additions of Zack Greinke and Shawn Marcum to their starting rotation, the Crew will have their best season since 1982.
  2. *Cincinnati Reds (93-69). Their lineup will be great again, but their pitching should be even better than last year, as their young arms will certainly improve.
  3. St. Louis Cardinals (84-78). Losing Adam Wainwright for the season will really, really hurt the Cards. Plus, an erratic lineup behind Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday certainly won't help matters.
  4. Chicago Cubs (82-80). They won't be as dreadful as they were last year, but any improvements they make this year will be only marginal.
  5. Houston Astros (70-92). Not much to say about the Astros, other than they aren't all that great.
  6. Pittsburgh Pirates (65-97). The Bucs will be dreadful, but they won't lose 100 games again. Their lineup will be stronger than most people expect, but their pitching will easily be the worst in baseball.
  
  
  NL West:
  
  1. Colorado Rockies (91-71). In a very competitive division, the Rockies will march to their first division title in team history behind a strong lineup and some solid pitching.
  2. Los Angeles Dodgers (90-72). LA will narrowly miss the playoffs, but they will hang tough into the final week of the season behind a decent offense and a deep rotation.
  3. San Francisco Giants (80-82). The defending World Champions will experience a lay over, as their offense won't be nearly as clutch as they were last year.
  4. San Diego Padres (73-89). Last year was a fluke, trust me. They'll get a good year out of Mat Latos however, as he will settle in even more to become the unquestioned staff ace.
  5. Arizona Diamondbacks (68-94). They'll improve marginally, but they still won't be that good.
  
  
  Postseason
  
  American League Division Series:
  Boston Red Sox over Minnesota Twins 3-2. The Twins will finally win a playoff game, and not only that, they'll push Boston to a fifth and deciding game before the Red Sox take care of business at home.
  
  Chicago White Sox over Texas Rangers 3-0. Chicago will make easy work of the defending American League Champions, sweeping them out of the playoffs.
  
  National League Division Series:
  Philadelphia Phillies over Cincinnati Reds 3-1. Bad luck will strike the Reds again in the form of facing the formidable Philadelphia Phillies, but they won't get swept this time though.
  
  Milwaukee Brewers over Colorado Rockies 3-1. Milwaukee will finish off the Rockies in an easy four games.
  
  American League Championship Series:
  Chicago White Sox over Boston Red Sox 4-3. The White Sox, in shocking fashion, will take down the heavily-favored Boston Red Sox in seven games.
  
  National League Championship Series: Philadelphia Phillies over Milwaukee Brewers 4-2. The Phillies will reach the World Series again for the third time in four years, but not without a fight, as Milwaukee will give them fits.
  
  World Series
  Philadelphia Phillies over Chicago White Sox 4-1. The Phillies are just too strong for Chicago, dispatching them in a quick and easy five games to take home their third title in team history. I'm not completely drinking the kool-aid right now.
  
  Awards
  
  AL MVP: Carl Crawford, Boston Red Sox.
  
  NL MVP: Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers.
  
  AL Cy Young: Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers.
  
  NL Cy Young: Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies.
  
  AL Rookie of the Year: Kyle Drabek, Toronto Blue Jays.
  
  NL Rookie of the Year: Aroldis Chapman, Cincinnati Reds.
  
  AL Manager of the Year: Bob Geren, Oakland A's.
  
  NL Manager of the Year: Ron Roenicke, Milwaukee Brewers.
  
  Other wild and ridiculous predictions:


• Joey Votto will not repeat as a MVP winner, but he'll become the first Reds player in 38 years to win a batting title, hitting .347.


• Adam Dunn will have a field day in Chicago, becoming the first player in White Sox history to hit over 50 home runs. He'll finish with 53.
  


• There will be four 20-game winners in baseball this year, with two of them coming from the Phillies (Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee). John Danks of the White Sox and Justin Verlander of the Tigers will be the others.
  


• Verlander will have the best year of his career by far, as he will become the first pitcher since 2002 to strike out 300 batters in a season.
  


• The National League will win the All-Star Game once again, securing home field advantage in the World Series for the second year in a row.
  


• After 32 years of managing and after a disappointing third-place finish, the Cardinals' Tony LaRussa will announce his retirement at season's end.
  


• Even though the Nationals insist that this won't happen, star prospect Bryce Harper will be called up to the big leagues in September.

As I already mentioned at the beginning of this post, I may be completely wrong at the end of the year when I go back and look at this. However, it's always fun to make predictions on how the year will turn out, then looking back to see how right or how wrong you are!

The 30 Team/30 Day Report Cards: Day 17- Colorado Rockies

At long last, we've finally broken the .500 barrier. From here on out, we focus on teams with winning records. Here I present to you, the 2010 Colorado Rockies!

Colorado Rockies

Record: 83-79 (Third place in NL West, nine games behind San Francisco)

Batting Leaders
Batting Average: Carlos Gonzalez (.336)
Home Runs: Carlos Gonzalez (34)
RBIs: Carlos Gonzalez (117)
On-base Percentage: Troy Tulowitzki (.381)

Pitching Leaders
Wins: Ubaldo Jimenez (19)
Strikeouts: Ubaldo Jimenez (214)
Innings Pitched: Ubaldo Jimenez (221.2)
ERA: Ubaldo Jimenez (2.88). Bullpen- Matt Belisle (2.93)
WHIP: Ubaldo Jimenez (1.15). Bullpen- Rafael Betancourt (0.96)
Saves: Huston Street (20)

Highlight of the Season: On April 17, Ubaldo Jimenez tossed the first no-hitter in Rockies history, shutting down the Braves 4-0 at Turner Field.

Lowlight of the Season: Losing 13 of their last 14 games to ultimately fall out of contention.

The Lowdown:
It was just your typical Colorado Rockies season. The Rockies start off badly in the first half, nearly fall into oblivion, and just when it seems that everybody has left them for dead, they make a mad dash for the finish line, winning nearly every game they can in August and September to vault their way back into contention. However, they unfortunately did not make it in 2010, falling just short as the Giants and Padres were able to keep Colorado at bay, and in third place. Despite this, they received some outstanding individual performances at the plate and on the mound, as Carlos Gonzalez, Troy Tulowitzki and Ubaldo Jimenez carried the team throughout the year. The efforts of Gonzalez and Tulowitzki were even good enough for the two to be entered into the NL MVP discussion, but a late September collapse that saw the team lose 13 of their final 14 games put an end to that discussion, as well as the prospects for another “Rocktober.”

Offense:
The Rockies had an underrated, yet intimidating cast in their lineup this year, finishing eighth in the majors in runs (770), eighth in home runs (173), 10th in batting average (.263), seventh in on-base percentage (.336) and fifth in slugging (.425). Most of their damage usually came from Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki, their two MVP candidates this year. Gonzalez even placed himself into Triple Crown discussion, finishing first in the National League in hitting (.336), while finishing fourth in home runs (34) and second in RBIs (117). The only knock against Gonzalez was his home and road splits, which are a bit startling to say the least. He was simply human on the road, hitting .289 with just eight home runs and 41 RBIs, while at home he was super-human, hitting .380 with 25 home runs and 76 RBIs. People might suggest that his stats are just victim to the Coors Field effect, but since the team implemented the humidor to mediate the ridiculous amounts of offense taking place there, that argument does not hold much water.

Tulowitzki was an interesting case this year as well. Entering September, Tulowitzki had just 12 home runs and 55 RBIs, which are a little bit disappointing, even if he was injured for part of that time. However, “Tulo” caught fire and went ballistic in September, finishing the month with 15 home runs and 40 RBIs while featuring a ridiculous OPS (on-base, plus slugging) of 1.176. Even though there were some that suggested that Carlos Gonzalez should have won MVP if the Rockies made the postseason, Tulowitzki made a great case for himself with his impressive September, which almost vaulted the Rockies into the playoffs for the third time in four years.

Other complimentary pieces helped turn this lineup into a dynamic one, including center fielder Dexter Fowler and third baseman Ian Stewart. Even though Todd Helton is approaching the twilight of his career (and his numbers show it, too), he was helped out considerably by sharing time with fellow aging first baseman Jason Giambi, keeping both durable and fresh, while providing a decent amount of depth at first. The pressure was off of those two to be the leaders in the lineup, so they were able to impart their knowledge and leadership in the clubhouse, which goes a long way for this team. The amount of firepower in this lineup put the team into contention, and it will likely do the same next year.
Final Grade: A

Pitching:
Any discussion of the Rockies’ pitching should begin- and end- with Ubaldo Jimenez. The lanky right-hander nearly became the first pitcher in team history to record 20 wins, finishing with 19, along with an un-Rockie-like 2.88 ERA. However his story is a tale of two seasons, as he was 15-1 with a 2.20 ERA before the All-Star break, while he was simply pedestrian after the break, going 4-7 with a 3.80 ERA. Still, his 19-8 finish stands as a testament to how great his start was, as he had a legitimate shot of becoming the first 25-game winner in baseball since 1990 entering the All-Star break. Even though that did not come to pass, Jimenez still established himself as one of the premier starters in the National League with his performance this year.

Behind Jimenez, the rest of the staff wasn’t all that good, as Jason Hammel, Aaron Cook and Jorge De La Rosa all had ERAs north of four. Jhoulys Chacin was decent, finishing 9-11 with a 3.28 ERA, but even that wasn’t good enough to save the rest of the staff.

The bullpen finished 16th in ERA at 3.99, with the top four performers being Matt Belisle, Rafael Betancourt, Randy Flores and closer Huston Street. Belisle led the team in appearances with 73, and he was rock solid, finishing with a 2.93 ERA, a WHIP of 1.06 and 21 holds. Betancourt topped him in the WHIP and holds department, finishing with a WHIP of 0.96 and 23 holds. Lefty Randy Flores was great in middle relief before being dealt to Minnesota when it looked as if the Rockies were done, finishing with a 2.96 ERA in 47 appearances with Colorado. Huston Street was respectable in the closer’s role once again, finishing with 20 saves and a WHIP of 1.06.

Colorado’s staff would end up finishing 20th in MLB in ERA (4.14), 17th in “batting average against” (.257), 14th in WHIP (1.34) and 16th in quality starts (86), meaning they were pretty average when compared to the rest of baseball. If their staff was just a tad better, their offense could have made up for their pitching deficiencies and they could have possibly made the playoffs.
Final Grade: C-

Wild Card: Carlos Gonzalez, Troy Tulowitzki and Ubaldo Jimenez
It is not a common occurrence when you see two MVP-caliber players and a Cy Young-caliber pitcher all on the same team, let alone a mid-market team like Colorado. However, the assemblage of these three stands as a testament to the Rockies’ shrewd scouting, as they were able to pick Gonzalez away from Oakland in the Matt Holliday trade, while Tulowitzki and Jimenez are both products of their farm system.
Final Grade: A+

Overall:
The Rockies, after a furious charge late in the second-half, were on the cusp of greatness, only to fall short. They have the talent in place to make another run next year, especially in a division as competitive as the NL West. Hindsight is always 20/20, but if they would have played just a tad better in the first half, they would have won the division easily.
Final Grade: B-

Check back soon for the report card on the Toronto Blue Jays!

NL MVP candidates: who gets your vote?

Just a few days ago, we took a look at the American League MVP candidates, and who I thought would win it and why. Today, we'll take a look at the MVP candidates in the National League, and who I think is most deserving of the award.

Here are the top three candidates:

Stats are as of September 17:



3.) Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals
.306 batting average, 39 home runs, 105 RBIs, .402 OBP

As usual, Albert Pujols is in the discussion for National League MVP. However, the recent slide of the Cardinals will leave his chances for winning the award very slim. His numbers are still incredible, as he is in the top ten in just about every major statistical offensive category. Unfortunately for him, the team's recent struggles will probably deny him the chance of winning his fourth MVP award.


2.) Carlos Gonzalez, Colorado Rockies
.341 batting average, 32 home runs, 106 RBIs, .378 OBP

If the Rockies continue their hot streak and make the postseason, there could be a very good chance that Gonzalez can capture the trophy. It's no coincidence that when he began to heat up in late August, so did the team. Gonzalez leads the NL in batting average and RBIs, and is tied for fourth in home runs with Arizona's Mark Reynolds. He has also accumulated many of his monster numbers since the All-Star break, as his .385 average, 15 home runs and 46 RBIs should suggest. The only argument against him seems to be his ridiculous home and away splits, which look like this:

Home: .392 average, 25 homers, 72 RBIs, .439 OBP
Away: .288 average, 7 homers, 34 RBIs, .310 OBP.

Is he a product of Coors Field? The stats certainly suggest that label. Will the voters be willing to overlook that flaw in Gonzalez's season? If the Rockies make the playoffs, more than a few writers might be swayed to vote in favor of "CarGo."


1.) Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds
.320 batting average, 34 home runs, 104 RBIs, .419 OBP

Right now, Joey Votto is my pick for MVP, if only for the fact that if the season ended today, the Reds would be in the postseason, and the Rockies would be on the outside looking in. Votto has been the leader of an offense this year that has been dismantling National League pitching, as the team's National League-leading 720 runs would suggest. Not only is Votto becoming a more feared hitter at the plate this year (he's third in the NL in walks with 83), but he is also showing off his capabilities of being a complete hitter. Votto is third in the NL in batting average, third in home runs, third in RBIs, and first in on-base percentage. Should the races continue as they are, I believe that Joey Votto will without question be the Reds' first MVP in 15 years.

Check back soon for the American League Cy Young Award candidates!

The 30 Day/30 Team Report Cards: Day 25- Colorado Rockies

The look at the seasons of the playoff teams continues, as today's report card will be issued to the Colorado Rockies.

Colorado Rockies:
Record: 92-70 (NL Wild Card Champions. Second place in the NL West, three games behind Los Angeles).

Batting Leaders:
Batting Average: Todd Helton (.325)
Home Runs: Troy Tulowitzki (32)
RBIs: Troy Tulowitzki (92)
On-base Percentage: Todd Helton (.416)

Pitching Leaders:
Wins: Jorge De La Rosa (16)
ERA: Ubaldo Jimenez (3.47)
Strikeouts: Ubaldo Jimenez (198)
Innings Pitched: Ubaldo Jimenez (218)
WHIP: Huston Street (0.91). Starters- Ubaldo Jimenez (1.23).
Saves: Huston Street (35)

Highlight of the Season: After defeating Milwaukee at home 9-2 on October 1, the Rockies clinched their second postseason appearance in three years.

Lowlight of the Season: Falling to the Phillies in the Division Series, three games to one.

The Lowdown:
The Rockies ride to the postseason went down a similar path as their 2007 team, as they both needed to get hot in order to make it. However, the road in 2009 had a slightly different twist to it, as the team caught fire in June and never looked back, as they stormed to their second Wild Card victory in three years, and their third overall as a franchise. The 92 wins the team recorded in '09 was also a franchise record. In fact, they nearly made a bid at unseating Los Angeles atop the NL West, as the two had to face each other in the last series of the regular season. The Rockies put the heat on L.A., as they took the first game of the series, before the Dodgers won the final two to ice the division championship.

Still, the fact that they nearly came back from a 15.5 game deficit on June 3 to win the division is very impressive. Their 72-38 record after that day was the second-best in all of baseball to only the New York Yankees, and that is obviously what led them to win the Wild Card pretty easily over the Giants. While a hot September and October can be just considered a fluke, this year's team wasn't; they were one of the best in baseball.

Offense:
The Rockies offense was strong once again in 2009, despite losing outfielder Matt Holliday in a trade with the Oakland A's before the start of the season. They featured four people who hit at least 20 home runs (Tulowitzki, Ian Stewart, Brad Hawpe and Clint Barmes), with "Tulo" leading the way with a career-high 32. Colorado also received some great years average-wise from their key players, including Todd Helton, Tulowitzki and Seth Smith, who hit .325, .297 and .293, respectively.

Youth was also served in this lineup in 2009, as outfielders Carlos Gonzalez and Dexter Fowler each made their own impacts on the team this season. Gonzalez only played in 89 games this season, but he made the most out of all of them, as he hit .284, with 13 home runs and 29 RBIs to go along with 16 stolen bases. Fowler received considerably more playing time this year (135 games), but he proved that he might become Colorado's lead-off hitter for good next year, as he got on base at a .363 clip, to go along with 27 steals.

The Rockies had one of the best offenses in MLB, as evidenced with their finish in the major statistical offensive categories. They finished sixth in runs scored (804), seventh in home runs (190), 16th in batting average, and tied for sixth in on-base percentage (.343). They also had a whopping 50 triples, which was second in baseball to only Kansas City. When you put it all together, Colorado had a damn good lineup this year.
Final Grade: A

Pitching:
Colorado's entire starting staff was perhaps one of the best kept secrets in baseball, as they were the biggest reason why the team won the Wild Card this year. They featured a solid five starters that made over 25 starts each, with Aaron Cook being the only one not to have at least 30. Plus, considering that Coors Field is still a big hitter's park even with the humidor in effect, all five starters managed to have an ERA under 4.50, and that is very impressive. Southpaw Jorge De La Rosa and flame-throwing righty Ubaldo Jimenez were clearly the aces of the staff this year, as De La Rosa finished 16-9, with a 4.38 ERA and Jimenez finished 15-12 with a 3.47 ERA. The other three starters (Jason Marquis, Jason Hammel and Aaron Cook) were all great as well, as they all garnered at least 10 wins themselves (Marquis- 15, Hammel- 10, Cook- 11).

The ace of the 'pen was none other than closer Huston Street. He came over as Oakland's centerpiece of the players they were trading to Colorado in exchange for Matt Holliday, and he did not disappoint, as he went 35 for 37 in saves, to go along with a 3.06 ERA and a nasty WHIP of 0.91. He replaced Manny Corpas as closer, and it was obviously the right thing to do, as Corpas registered an ERA of 5.88 in 35 appearances this season.

The Rockies would end up finishing 10th in ERA (4.22), 23rd in runs allowed (715), 22nd in walks (528) and tied for 13th in "batting average against"(.261). Having those numbers in Colorado makes that look even more impressive than what it already is. For that reason alone, I will give them a grade that I feel they truly deserve.
Final Grade: A+

Wild Card: Jim Tracy
Taking over as a manager midway through the season is never an easy thing to do. It's even more impressive if you manage to take a team that was in last place in early June to the playoffs, and that is what Hamilton native Jim Tracy pulled off this year. His work was good enough for him to earn a much-deserved National League Manager of the Year this year. Hats off to Jim, he really earned it!
Final Grade: A+

Overall:
As many people who follow baseball closely are starting to figure out, the Rockies will go only as far as their pitching will take them, as they will usually feature a decent-to-great offense that will keep them from being a pushover more often than not. However, their pitching is the difference-maker between them being a mediocre team or a great team. Since their pitching was clicking on all cylinders this year, the Rockies were a really great team. If their pitching continues to do the same next year, don't be surprised if they're back in the playoffs.
Final Grade: A-

Check back tomorrow for the report card on the Philadelphia Phillies!