JOHNNYMETS PICKS A WINNER

The Colorado Rockies are in the World Series. This makes me happy for a few reasons:
a) They have never been to the World Series before, so it's a new matchup, and I get to mark up another column on the "World Series Matchups" chart.
b) I wanted them to be the National League participant in the World Series.
c) As I wrote in my last posting, they're an easy team to root for.

The last part about that, the fact that the Rockies are easy to root for, is a bit strange. I hate the Broncos, and I hate seeing them succeed. Yet here I am rooting for the Rockies. Their fans are probably the same...and if the Broncos were winning, it would kill me to see Broncos fans happy. But now, I'm rooting along with some of those same people, because we have the Rockies in common. Strange. Also, it kind of irks me that no one, even in Colorado, paid attention to the Rockies, and now suddenly everyone is going to be on that bandwagon. Until they're not good again. (Except the way the Rockies are going, that won't be for a very long time.) I guess it's better than the Diamondbacks, who couldn't even sell out...at least the fans at Coors Field were into the games.

My first instinct was to say the 8-day layoff was going to hurt the Rockies, a la the Detroit Tigers last year. But now I'm thinking it won't matter. They're a good ball club. Yes, they're hot, and they've played nearly every day for the past month (including their one-game playoff the day after the season ended). But there was a layoff (albeit a lesser one, but still a layoff) between the Division Series and the LCS, and now they're just going through another one leading up to the World Series. I liked what I heard Clint Hurdle say...something to the effect of, "It beats the alternative...losing a few games." That's for sure. Good luck in the World Series, Colorado.

MEANWHILE, IN THE ALCS: If I'm a Red Sox fan, I'm rooting like crazy for a rainout Tuesday night. (We're about 10 minutes from FOX coverage...so 29 minutes or so from the schedule first pitch...as I write this, and I hear that it's pouring in Cleveland.) I just have an issue with resting such an important game on a knuckleball. On the other hand, I don't know that I would have wanted to bring back Josh Beckett on short rest - that has ruined other careers. Plus, it's not that desperate a situation. I have a different standard for bringing a pitcher back in an LCS versus the World Series...unless you're facing elimination. Then all rules go out the window. Anyway, rain certainly helps the Red Sox, so if I'm a Red Sox fan, #1, it wouldn't hurt to have a bonus night where you didn't have to stay up until the wee hours on a worknight, and #2, you get Beckett on regular rest, and don't have to depend on the knuckleball.