Matt Holliday's Face Pain Brings Pleasure To Colorado
Published October 02, 2007
Batting Around is BC Sports' look back at the week's happenings in the world o' sports, presented in a lineup card format for some undisclosed reason.
The Lineup Card
1. LF Matt Holliday
2. SS Jimmy Rollins
3. SG Gilbert Arenas
4. QB Joey Harrington
5. PK Wes Byrum
6. LW Dean McAmmond
7. #16 Greg Biffle
8. FS Artis Chambers
9. SP Tom Glavine
Manager: Willie Randolph
1. LF Matt Holliday — 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?
In the NLWCS — yes, that's a good, solid acronym for the occasion — the Rockies' MVP candidate was in the middle of a 13th inning comeback against the San Diego Padres. Down two in the 13th, Troy Tulowitzki doubled in Kaz Matsui. Holliday tripled in Tulowitzki to tie the game 8-8, and Jamey Carroll hit a sac fly that scored Holliday ... well, maybe. The history books will mark down Holliday as scoring, and the cheering and ceremonial hats will dictate Holliday's run as capping off the win for Colorado in the NLWCS.
But replays showed that Padres catcher Michael Barrett appeared to have Holliday's hand from touching home plate. Umpire Tim McClellan — one of the finest balls-and-strikes men in the game — delayed his call of "safe" a few seconds, which one doesn't normally see.
Oh, and Holliday injured himself on the slide. So the Padres can take solace in the fact that, while Holliday may not have scored, his face really, really hurts. But he's okay — after about 10 minutes of being tended to in the clubhouse, he leaped back onto the field and joined in the super happy celebration.
(By the way, I can't say this is totally relevant, but the Rockies black home jerseys with white shoulder trim sure did resemble the umpires' uniforms.)
2. SS Jimmy Rollins — So you want the National League to have an MVP award, but you're too ashamed to vote for the Coors Field-inflated numbers of Matt Holliday? How about the Philadelphia Philles shortstop, whose lineup begins and ends with his production.
Like Curtis Granderson, he has 20 doubles, 20 triples, 20 home runs, and 20 stolen bases — the fourth player in major league history to do so. Unlike Curtis Granderson, Rollins has a T-shirt that says DIVISION CHAMPIONS.
Matt Sussman is the former sports editor of BC Magazine and also writes for Deadspin, SPORTSbyBROOKS, The Futon Report, and the Toledo Free Press. Catch him with Tuffy on Treehouse Fort, the official show of BC Sports. Feed the feedback back to matt.sussman@blogcritics.org.
- Matt Holliday's Face Pain Brings Pleasure To Colorado
- Published: October 02, 2007
- Type: News
- Section: Sports
- Filed Under: Sports: Football (American), Sports: Baseball, Sports: Racing
- Part of a feature: Batting Around
- Writer: Matthew T. Sussman
- Matthew T. Sussman's BC Writer page
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Comments on this articleComments
And San Diego had Trevor "Lights Out" Hoffman going into the 13th with a a two run lead, what the hell happened there? Season full of chokes, I swear.
When an 85 mph fastball is poorly located, well, it will locate itself between outfielders.
"Oh, and Holliday injured himself on the slide."
A head-first dive is a "slide"?
With all due respect to Holliday's great season, I thought he sucked last night. 1) He struck out three times, twice with a runner in scoring position; 2) he let the game-tying ball go over his head in the eighth inning on a ball a seeing eye dog could've caught; and 3) he should've been called out on that last play, he didn't even come close to touching home.
And why go in head first? Woulda been safe by a mile with a traditional slide.
BUT...having said all that, I'm still glad the Rockies are in the playoffs!
What's interesting about the accomplishments of Rollins and Granderson: the 20-20-20-20 had been performed only two times in the entire 120-plus year history of MLB, and then TWO guys do it in the SAME YEAR!!?!
Crazy...
Jamie Carroll is still property of the Montreal Expos.
I can just see goalies using the McAmmondesque logic: "I don't have problems stretching and stopping the puck. I have problems with people who know how to take dead aim and shoot perfectly through the five-hole."
Philadelphia Flyers brass after Downie ploughed into McAmmond: "He's perfect!"
1. The Padres take a Holliday......and we're not talking Disney Land!
2.Yeah,and the back of the shirt says,"courtesy of the N.Y. Mets"!
3.Agent Zero is the Anna Kournikova of the NBA.
4.Awkward moment???How about finding out that your starting fullback is gay and he can't stop staring at your ass?
5.think what would have happened if he would have asked the wizard for courage instead?
6."Lean in with your face son, you'll find what your looking for."
7."Break out the lanterns Boys,it's gonna be a long night"
8.Artis Chambers? Wasn't he the lead singer of the Dead Schembechlers?
9.Well the ship went down to the bottom of the sea and the only ones left were the fat cook and me so I looked to the sky with a tear in my eye........
10.(see above)
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Coors inflated numbers? You obviously know little about either Coors field or Holliday's play this year. The Rockies have won without a Blake Street Bombers lineup. They've won with guys who get key hits, everywhere and not just at Coors, and with the best defense in baseball history.
Holliday has earned the MVP, he's got the batting title and the RBI title and both he and Tulowitzky (NL Rookie of the Year beyond doubt) put their team into the playoffs tonight.