The Rockies approach, as noted in a post from 2006 cited below, has paid off in spades. They are in the World Series.
The pressure now turns to the Devil Rays to get there. The Marlins have made it to the World Series and won. The Diamondbacks have made it and won. And now the Rockies have made it and have a punchers chance, a David vs. Goliath chance I suppose if the Red Sox make it. The Rockies get to take some time off and realign their pitching rotation, but you have to think that as hot as they are, they would just as soon keep playing everyday. Just a historically phenomenal stretch run just to make it to the playoffs. A one-game, do or die against Jake Peavy to get in and now quick dust offs of the Phillies and the D-Backs.
Looking ahead to the Big Show, can there be a better potential World Series match up than Cleveland - Rocks ?? It's meant to be. Two newbies, another team with a long string of futility could finally reward it fans patience, putting further pressure on the Giants and the Cubbies to participate.
GO ROCKIES!!
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THIS IS FROM JUNE 8, 2006 POST @ Yahoo Discussion Board:
Interesting stuff from Dave Zirin and the "Edge of Sports". It must be difficult
for them to distinguish between those that can talk the talk, and
those that can walk the walk.
Sure every player says, "I'm a warrior", "I have what
it takes". They all think they have the requisite work
ethic and character. Most don't know what the word
character means.
Baseball is the ultimate character game however. And
it doesn't necessarily build character as much as it
reveals it. Although for most players, true character
is not revealed until times are tough and they can't
make the tough decisions, the right decisions. Sooner
or later, true character is revealed.
It's good to see an organization applying this type of
litmus test to it's players. While I'm sure it won't
be applied perfectly, I'll bet they will be able to
get rid of a lot of "players" and find out who the
true players are.
Too many organizations have the philosophy "We'd draft
Charles Manson if he could hit the curve ball or run
the 40 in 4.4." Who wants to see scumbags like that
succeed?
Go get 'em Rockies..weed out those with weak
character, you'll be better off in the long run.
Thu Jun 8, 2006 11:09 pm
Go Tell it on the Rockies: Baseball's Faith-based Team
This article can be found on the web at
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060619/zirin
by Dave Zirin
In Colorado, there stands a holy shrine called Coors
Field. On this
site, named for the holiest of beers, a team plays
that has been chosen
by Jesus Christ himself to play .500 baseball in the
National League
West. And if you don't believe me just ask the
manager, the general
manager, and the team's owner.
In a remarkable article from Wednesday's USA Today,
the Colorado
Rockies went public with the news that the
organization has been explicitly looking for players
with "character". And according to the Tribe of Coors,
"character" means accepting Jesus Christ as your
personal lord and savior. "We're nervous, to be honest
with you," Rockies General Manager Dan O'Dowd said.
"It's the first time we ever talked about these issues
publicly. The last thing we want to do is offend
anyone because of our beliefs." When people are
nervous that their beliefs will offend, its usually
because their beliefs are offensive.
As Rockies chairman and CEO Charlie Monfort said, "We
had to go to
hell and back to know where the Holy Grail is. We went
through a tough time and took a lot of arrows,"
Club president Keli McGregor McGregor chimed in, "Who
knows where we go from here? The ability to handle
success will be a big part of the
story, too. [Note to Keli: you're in fourth place.]
There will be
distractions. There will be things that can change
people. But we truly
do have something going on here. And (God's) using us
in a powerful
way."
Well, someone is using somebody, but it ain't God.
San Francisco
Giants first baseman-outfielder Mark Sweeney, who
spent 2003 and 2004 with the Rockies told Nightengale.
"You wonder if some people are going along with it
just to keep their jobs. Look, I pray every day. I
have faith. It's always been part of my life. But I
don't want something
forced on me. Do they really have to check to see
whether I have a
Playboy in my locker?"
Then there is manager Clint Hurdle and GM O'Dowd.
Hurdle who has guided the team to a Philistine 302-376
record since 2002, as well as fourth or fifth place
finishes every year, was rewarded with a 2007 contract
extension in the off-season. Hurdle also claims he
became a Christian three years ago and says, "We're
not going to hide it. We're not going to deny it. This
is who we are."
O'Dowd, who also received a contract extension,
believes that their
27-26 2006 record has resulted from the active
intervention of the
almighty. "You look at things that have happened to us
this year. You
look at some of the moves we made and didn't make. You
look at some of the games we're winning. Those aren't
just a coincidence. God has
definitely had a hand in this." Or maybe the
management that prays
together gets paid together.
O'Dowd and company bend over backwards in the article
to say they are "tolerant" of other views on the club,
but that's contradicted by
statements like this from CEO Montfort: "I don't want
to offend anyone,
but I think character-wise we're stronger than anyone
in baseball.
Christians, and what they've endured, are some of the
strongest people
in baseball. I believe God sends signs, and we're
seeing those."
Assumedly, Shawn Green (Jew), Ichiro Suzuki (Shinto),
or any of the
Godless players from Cuba don't have the "character"
Montfort is
looking for.
Also, there are only two African-American players on
the Rockies active roster. Is this because Montfort
doesn't think Black
players have character? Does the organization endorse
the statement of their stadium's namesake William
Coors, who told a group of black
businessmen in 1984 that Africans "... lack the
intellectual capacity
to succeed, and it's taking them down the tubes"?
These are admittedly
difficult questions. But they are the questions that
need to be posed
when the wafting odor of discrimination clouds the
air.
Then there are the fans. I spoke with journalist Tom
Krattenmaker who
has studied the connection between religion and
sports. Krattenmaker
said, "I have concerns about what this
Christianization of the Rockies
means for the community that supports the team in and
around Denver--a community in which evangelical
Christians are probably a minority, albeit a large and
influential one. Taxpayers and ticket-buyers in a
religiously diverse community have a right not to see
their team--a quasi-public resource--used for the
purpose of advancing a specific form of religion. Have
the Colorado Rockies become a faith-based
organization? This can be particularly problematic
when the religion in question is one that makes
exclusive claims and sometimes denigrates the validity
of other belief systems."
You might think MLB Commissioner Bud Selig would have
something
stirring to say about this issue. But Bud, who hasn't
actually
registered a pulse since 1994, only said meekly, "They
have to do what
they feel is right."
It's not surprising Bud would play it soft. First and
foremost, Bud's number one commandment is "Thou shall
not criticize the team owners." Also Bud and Major
League Baseball are experimenting for the first time
this year with something called "Faith Days at the
Park." As if last season's Military Appreciation
Night's weren't enough, the New York Times reported
yesterday that this summer "the religious promotions
will hit Major League Baseball. The Atlanta Braves are
planning three Faith Days this season, the Arizona
Diamondbacks one. The Florida Marlins have tentatively
scheduled a Faith Night for September. These religious
promotions are attractive to owners because they
leverage a market of evangelical Christians who are
accustomed to mass worship in stadiums at events
staged by sports-driven proselytizers like the Promise
Keepers and Athletes in Action.
As part of the MLB promotion, local churches will get
discounted
tickets to family-friendly evenings of music and
sports with a
Christian theme. And in return, they mobilize their
vast infrastructure
of e-mail and phone lists, youth programs and
chaperones, and of course their bus fleets, to help
fill the stands."
At one of the Faith Days in Atlanta, the team will
sell special
vouchers. After the game, the stands will be cleared
and then only
those with the specially purchased vouchers can be
readmitted. Those
lucky chosen "will be treated to an hour and a half of
Christian music
and a testimonial from the ace pitcher John Smoltz."
Smoltz is the
player who in 2004, opined on gay marriage to the
Associated Press
saying, "What's next? Marrying an animal?" Good times
for the whole
family.
The Rockies right now are a noxious reflection of a
time in US history
when generals speak of crusades, and the President
recounts his
personal conversations with Yahweh. ("You're doing a
heckuva job
Goddy!")
If Monfort, O'Dowd, and Hurdle want to pray on their
own time, more
power to them. But the ballpark isn't a church. John
Smoltz isn't a
preacher And fans aren't a flock. Instead using their
position of
commercial power to field a God Squad, the Rockies
might want to think about getting some decent players.
There was once this guy named Babe Ruth. Not too much
for the religion, and his character was less than
sterling. But I hear he could play some decent ball.
Dave Zirin is the author of "'What's My Name Fool?'":
Sports and Resistance in the United States. He is
speaking at the conference Socialism 2006, June 22-25,
in New York City, with Etan Thomas and Toni Smith. See
www.socialismconference.org. Contact him at
dave@edgeofsports.com
