This was most assuredly a freak incident, with odds not unlike that of Randy Johnson killing a pigeon with a baseball. There are thousands of whys that could be asked. Why him? Why then? He had only moved to the first base box three weeks earlier, and he was only two months away from his second son's birthday and three months away from the birth of his third child. It was the bottom of the ninth inning. If the ball had hit him a mere fraction of an inch in either direction, he would likely still be alive today. Unfortunately, there's only one person who knows the answers to those questions, and he doesn't give interviews.

So now Mandy Coolbaugh is left with her two sons - Joseph, 5, and Jacob, 4 - and a third on the way, with no one but herself to care for them. Certainly it isn't the end of the world, because there have been dozens of women before her who have been in similar situations or worse and managed to get their children through life to adulthood, with far less publicity. That doesn't mean it won't be difficult running a three-child, one-income household.

The Rockies players, being the forward thinkers and classy guys that they are, decided to award a full playoff share to Mandy upon completion of their playoff run. Credit for the idea goes to journeyman starter Josh Fogg, though he refuses to accept it. The exact amount of the payout will vary, depending on a few factors, including whether the Rockies win the World Series and exactly how many full shares they voted on (players, coaches, staff, etc). However, it is almost certain that the payout will be at least $250,000 (the Tigers lost last year and paid out $290,000 per share), and it could sniff the $400,000 mark. That may not help Mandy get over the loss of her husband, or solve a number of other problems, but it should certainly go a long way towards stabilizing the family and providing her children with a future.

For that very selfless act - and also because the Rockies are my second team - I am rooting with all my might to hear "your 2007 World Champion Colorado Rockies!"  And you should, too.