Colorado Rockies World Series: Will the Rocks Be Ready After 8 Days Off?

The Colorado Rockies have won 9 in a row and before that 11 in a row. Their 20-1 record in the last 21 games gives them the confidence that they can win against any team at any time. When the season began back in March, few predicted the Rockies would even have a winning record at the end of the season. But they beat the odds, finishing the season on a tear to force a one game playoff against San Diego.

They battled back against future hall of fame closer Trevor Hoffman to win the National League Wild Card and a date with the Philadelphia Phillies. How many Rockies players could you name at the beginning of 2007, or how many could you name at the All-Star break? After two big free agent pitcher signing bombs, Colorado decided it was time to build the franchise down in the farm system.

The significance of home grown players is that these guys have a camaraderie which developed as soon as they broke into the big leagues. They knew the laws of the Colorado Rockies organization such as defensive positioning, base running tendencies, and locker room rules. Here is a preview of how the Rockies team will be ready for the World Series.

Vacation

Will an 8 day vacation affect the team's hot streak? Or will it allow them to heal battle injuries? There are always pros and cons to having an extended layoff so consider this a neutral item.

Hitting

The anchor of the offense is Matt Holliday. He was steady throughout 2007 but caught fire in September (.367 avg, 12 HR's, 30 RBI's) to improve his chances of winning NL MVP. Tulowitzki, Helton, and Atkins have struggled in the playoffs, but Yorvit Torrealba and Kazuo Matsui have delivered clutch hitting. The team is averaging just under five runs a game while only batting .242. Those are decent numbers but nothing too spectacular.

The team is batting .234 on the road in the playoffs. Hitting is a weakness especially runs are hard to come by in the playoffs.

Pitching

Lack of experience has not affected the Rockies pitching staff yet. They have carried the team in the playoffs, especially Jeff Francis and Josh Fogg. They both have 2 playoff wins this season. Manny Corpas has 5 saves in 6 opportunities and a 1.04 ERA in the playoffs. The pitching staff has held their opponents under three runs in five out of seven games. The team ERA is 2.08 and opponents are hitting only .221. These numbers may or may not go up when facing Cleveland or Boston. In inter-league play, Colorado took two of three from Boston outscoring the Sox 20-5. This is a team strength.

Defense

Colorado led the league in fielding percentage so consider this a positive. First baseman Todd Helton set a career high in fielding percentage of 0.9987. When the shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and the second baseman Kazuo Matsui make 15 errors total you know that they are strong up the middle. Matsui's rookie year with the Mets when he made 23 errors was due to his adjusting to the North American style of play. Japan frowns on backhanding grounders. Their pitchers made only 5 errors. Remember the Tigers pitchers in the 2006 World Series. Great defense is what normally wins championships.