Baseball Blogdome: Rockies Vs. Padres

What they're saying out there in the ether about Colorado's 9-8 win over San Diego in the NL tiebreaker ...

• Rockies Celebrate ... But He Still Has Not Touched Home Plate! Matt Holliday never touched the plate and Tim McClellan knows it. He absolutely knows it. He stood back and did not make a call because he knew it. A thought process happened, and then he made the call in slow motion. They are interviewing Matt Holliday on TBS at this very moment and even he won't say he touched the plate. Quote, "The umpire said I did, so..."

What's more, I am flat out, right now accusing Tim McClellan of making a call that, if not downright influenced by a desire to punish Sandy Alderson and the Padres, was at the very least a call that ended a ball game which he had no evidence to make. A call that ended a team's season. I can't prove that it was consciously or subconsciously influenced by any bias. But I believe it. See, the non-call was already a call. It was saying he did not touch the plate. Never seen an umpire reverse a call? Guess what? You just did. [ San Diego Spotlight]

• An Epic Game Of Inches. Tonight's game was the poster child for how the fate of a baseball season can rest on the smallest of margins. From Garrett Atkins' "double" that struck a suspiciously solid object behind the yellow padding to Matt Holliday's "to score or not to score?" slide, this cruel game toyed with the Rockies and Padres, leaving their fates twisting in the late October night until the dust had settled on Holliday's final dive. Ultimately, the Rox were rewarded for busting their asses all night even when the breaks weren't falling their way and it's that exact drive and determination that sets this team apart. [ Up In The Rockies]

• Defeat. And then I can tell you that Hoffy came to the mound. This is where the lack of a picture makes sense. A picture can be worth a thousand words — and in this day and age, a link may well be worth a million — but I can be sure, within a zillionth of an inch, that the pain is these words will be worth far more than any image you may lay your feeble eyes upon. For when Trevor Hoffman came in, and gave up a double to Kaz Matsui ... I'm going to say this slow, just so you understand . . . K-a-z M-a-t-s-u-i . . . I knew it was over. A two-strike gapper? To Kaz Matsui? [ And Here Come The Pretzels]

• Le Sigh. Not a whole lot else to say. Good luck, Colorado. Have fun in the post season. I'll save my Trevor Hoffman Needs to Retire post for another night. If you're a non-Padres fan and you're thinking about trolling, just know that the Ban Button is coming down quick and without mercy. [ Gaslamp Ball]

• Matt Holliday's Face Pain Brings Joy To Colorado. Technically it was a "tiebreaker" game, and part of the regular season, and the expanded roster is still in play. Um, bullshit. Call it the "National League Wild Card semifinal." They earned the right to play an extra game, and it's played in October, broadcast on TBS, and they don't drag Cal Ripken from the sofa into the studio to talk about a regular season game, now do they? [ Blogcritics.org]

• The Rockies Are God's Team. Remember that article about the Colorado Rockies that came out in USA Today last summer? "Baseball's Rockies Seek Revival On Two Levels," it was titled, and detailed their quest to bring themselves up from the NL West's gutter. But it also described an organization guided not by Moneyball, but by Christianity. [ Lion In Oil]

• Meanwhile, In New York ... As The Rockies were beating the Padres, Mr. Met was attempting suicide ... and failing pathetically. Late Night With Conan O'Brien has the exclusive footage. With a cameo appearance by the Phillie Phanatic, who evidently has had a gastric bypass.