Sigh...

Well, summer's over, Rockies fans. The best season in Rockies' history is in the books, ended by a couple late-inning meltdowns that would seem right in place in most of the team's first 16 years, but was quite jarring in this latest, and greatest one.

Right after last night's game, The Beard sent a quick message before leaving our galaxy to collect his thoughts over the winter:

"Dear Readers and Rockies fans:

Thank you for your support of the Colorado Rockies and their efforts to reach the peak of Beardly greatness. Unfortunately, they could not beat the Phillies in the division series, but this cannot be viewed as a failure! No, it is merely a foundation upon which future successes may be built. Worry not, Rockies faithful! I, The Beard, will be back next season, to continue to guide the Rockies toward their ultimate goal.

Congratulations and good luck to the Phillies, a fine team that plays the game the way it should be played, with the noteable exception of Jayson Werth.

Yours,
The Beard"

I'm not nearly as chipper as The Beard seems to be, but this isn't a disaster or anything. Here are some random thoughts this crappy autumn morning:

Losing to the Philles
This was a good series between two very evenly matched teams, and that fact alone should give Rockies fans some comfort today and through the winter. Things considered weaknesses for both teams didn't really come into play: the Rockies, it was said, couldn't hit lefties, and the Phils' lefty-heavy rotation gave them a clear advantage. Well, Cliff Lee shut them down in game one with a great performance, but the Rockies were successful against Hamels in game 2, knocked Happ out early in game three, and were in line to beat Lee in game 4. The Phillies' bullpen was supposed to be an issue, and while the Rockies did mount late-inning rallys in nearly every game, the Phils closed them out, with Lidge showing no sign of his regular-season hiccups.

In short, we shouldn't feel bad losing to the Phillies, they're the 2008 World Series champs after all, and three of the four games were one-run games. When you have weaknesses and the better team exploits them to beat you, that's one thing. But when you lose because one of your strengths throughout the regular season fails at just the wrong time, that's very tough to take... and that's where Rockies fans are today. But on the other hand, we have to realize that these guys don't need some crazy hot streak or lucky bounces to be one of the best teams in baseball... they are right up there with just about anybody. Rockies fans know this team was special, and could have won this series 3-1 just as easily as they lost it by that tally. But the Phillies owed them one from 2007, so I guess now we're even.

The biggest problem with losing to Philly is that John Kruk will think he was right all along (despite copious evidence to the contrary) about the Rockies, but I think even Philly fans have got to know that Kruk's a doofus of the highest order.

Best-Of-Five Series
I still hate them, and this series (the only DS series that wasn't a sweep) is a good example of why. A game like last night's is exactly what MLB should want their fans to see: a tight, back-and-forth contest not decided until the last out. These teams gave us three of those games, and they should have been allowed to give us more. As it is, the Phils eek out two wins in Colorado, and it's over. It would be great to see how the Rockies respond to a meltdown like they had in the 9th last night, but we won't get the chance.

How is that any different than the deciding game in a 7-game series, you ask? Because in baseball, flukey, weird things happen: things like awful umping (see below) robbing one team of an important baserunner or allowing another team to get one; a two-out flyball getting lost in the lights and hitting a favorite ex-Rockie in the bits, leading to an improbable comeback; or a closer who's been rock-solid all year having an unusually bad inning (Street, Papelbon).

In a seven-game series, those little things can (and often do) decide games, but when a team has to win four games to advance, those things usually even out... in a series this short, they don't often get the chance to. Once a team's down a game at any point in a five-game series, they have to be either nearly perfect or lucky from there on out if they hope to advance. There should be room for a good team -- like the Cardinals, Red Sox, or Rockies -- to be both imperfect and unlucky in a game or two, and still have a shot. And there should be room for an overmatched team such as the Twins to at least win a game against a superior, but beatable team like the Yankees.

Instant Replay
The Rockies had more than their share of bad calls go against them in this series, and it's pretty clear that some of these calls affected the outcome of the games. Can't really whine about it, bad calls have helped the Rockies too... just none in this series, I'm afraid.

Bad umpiring has been prevalent through the entire postseason, and the calls for instant replay seem to be at an all-time high. Balls and strikes are one thing, and people are always going to gripe about them... but bad calls at the bases, along the foul lines, etc., are just happening way too often. It's not as bad as the NBA, but it's getting there.

But I don't ever want to see instant replay in baseball, and I'll tell you why: baseball is a sport that does not depend on technology. In fact, for many fans, at the heart of the sport is the fact that it resists the application of technology... there isn't even a clock. Sure, there's fancy Hi-Def scoreboards and giant banks of lights, but those are parts of the ballpark, not of the game. The game we watch today is pretty much the exact same game that people sat down in the grass to watch 150 years ago, and that's something that we can't even come close to saying about any other major sport. Football has tinkered with its rules and its presentation over the decades, it's a fluid game that changes with the times. Baseball does not, and it should stay that way.

There does need to be a change, though, in the way the umps and the league handles these blown calls. I know there's supposedly some grading system, and the best umps get the playoff games... but if that's the case, how do we explain all these bad playoff calls? These are the best umps they have to offer?!? Yikes.

What needs to happen is that the umps should review their performances after each game, and publish those reviews. If an umpiring crew has to come out and say, "we made the right call here and here, but on this one and this one, we got it wrong," that's accountability we can see, rather than this mysterious, cloak-and-dagger thing they allegedly have behind the scenes. And when an ump really blows a call, there should be a consequence. When a ballplayer makes a bad mistake, he gets benched. When any other sort of employee screws up, he gets a writeup or a suspension. When an ump calls a guy safe when he's out by a step, or calls a ball foul that is fair by two feet, find somebody to replace him in the next game. He will know why, the players will know why, and the fans will know why. Simple as that.

Instant Replay is an attempt to eliminate mistakes, but mistakes will never be eliminated. That does not mean, however, that they should be tolerated.


Next Year's Rockies

Clearly, this is a team on the rise. Some difficult decisions will have to be made for this team next year. Here are my off-the-cuff thoughts on who stays and who goes next year:

GONE: Garrett Atkins, Brad Hawpe, Jason Marquis.

Garrett's contract with the Rockies is up this season. I do not expect the Rockies to sign him for next year. He has been a great Rockie, but his last two seasons have not been up to par. Stewart is the 3B for this team in the future. There is no reason to keep Garrett, but his productivity during his years here should get him plenty of looks from around the majors.

Hawpe has been a favorite of mine for quite a while, but his streakiness cannot be tolerated any longer. He basically slumped for the entire second half of the season. If he can be traded (I'm not sure of his contract status) then they should do so, to make room for Smith and Gonzales as full-time outfielders.

Marquis had a very good year for the Rockies. He will turn that into a decent contract for some other team.

BRING BACK: Torrealba, Betancourt, Spilborghs, Giambi

Yorvit showed that he is both a great backup catcher and a great starting catcher. I expect Iannetta to have a better season at the plate next year and to be the starter once again... if Yorvit will play for the money the Rockies can afford to pay him, I hope he'll come back.

Signing relievers to long-term contracts is always risky, but I thought that Betancourt did an outstanding job since coming from Cleveland, and I hope he's back. Beimel was pretty good too, but I don't know if they'll be able to afford them both.

Ryan Spilborghs is a great guy to have as a 4th outfielder, right-handed bat off the bench, and all-around good team guy by all accounts. I hope he returns.

Jason Giambi really surprised me with both his outstanding attitude and his ability in the last month of the season. I don't know what his plans are and what sort of money he's looking for, but with Helton at 1B, Giambi would be returning to this team to be his backup and to come off the bench. If he's willing to do that, I think the Rockies should make him an offer.

BATTLE: EY Jr vs. Clint Barmes for starting 2B, loser is utility infielder.

Ey Jr needs some playing time, but Barmes' inability to do anything at the plate has finally overwhelmed the fantastic defense he brings. I would like to see Young make the team as the starting 2B, his speed and bat can only help us out... if his defense approaches Clint's, I think they should go with the kid.

Barmes is a good guy to keep as a utility infielder, as he is an excellent defensive player who can play 2B, SS, and 3B. He hits a lot of HRs for a second baseman, but his inconsistency and his high strikeout count are too much to trade for that spotty power.

ROTATION: Ubaldo, Francis, Cook, DLR, Hammels.

Think about that for a second... that's a helluva rotation. I would like to see Morales challenge for that 5th spot, but if not, he was pretty good out of the bullpen. If Francis is healthy and ready to go, I expect the Rockies starting pitching to be even better next year than it was this year, and this was easily the best starting rotation the team has ever had.

GO ROCKIES!!!