Chargers the NFL equivalent of the Colorado Rockies

Last month, when the Colorado Rockies won 10 straight to temporarily move into the NL West and wild card chase, there was talk from everyone that the Rox were at it again... The Rockies were red-hot in September 2007 and went all the way to the World Series. They made it back to the postseason in 2009, after being all but left for dead early on.

(Of course, the Rockies ultimately fell short in 2010, losing 13 of their last 14 and finished third in the division.)

Thanks to the 2007 and 2009 runs, the Rockies were widely seen as a September team. In '07, they won 14 of their final 15 games in the regular season, including 11 in a row. After sweeping both the Phillies in the NLDS and the Diamondbacks in the NLCS, Colorado had an incredible 21-1 record in games played after September 15th. In 2009, it was a rebound from a 20-29 start and the Rockies won 10 of their first 11 games in September, and wound up with the Wild Card.

Those efforts definitely helped a lot of baseball followers believe Colorado to be a so-called 'September team.' What if Colorado could start out every year the way they play in those two Septembers? The Rockies could very well shatter the all-time record of 116 wins set by the 1906 Cubs and matched by the 2001 Mariners.

And the NFL equivalent of the Rockies, the San Diego Chargers, could very well join the 2007 New England Patriots as the only 16-0 team, if they started every year the way they played come December.

The Chargers lost to the hapless Oakland Raiders 35-27 on Sunday, snapping a 13-game winning streak against their long-time AFC West rivals. San Diego lost to Oakland for the first time since 2003, when Jerry Rice (?!!) was playing for the Raiders.

It's yet another "slow" start to the season for San Diego, which is now 2-3. The Chargers have alternated wins and losses so far this year. In the first five weeks, they have gone L-W-L-W-L. That pattern will probably continue the next couple weeks, when they face the lowly Rams (should be a W) and then the powerful Patriots (should be an L) in back-to-back games.

But what if the Chargers played every game like it's a December game?

Last season, they won their final 11 games of the regular season, and finished with a 13-3 record and the AFC West title. They were the AFC's No. 2 seed, but lost in their first playoff game to the No. 5 New York Jets. (The Indianapolis Colts, who started the year 14-0 before losing their final two regular season games, clinched the AFC's top seed and went on to play in the Super Bowl.)

In 2008, the Chargers started the year 4-8, but thanks to the Denver Broncos' historic collapse and their own 4-0 December, won the AFC West with a mediocre 8-8 record. They beat the Colts before losing to the Steelers in the AFC divisional round. Sure, they became the first NFL team to ever start a year 4-8 and still make the playoffs, and sure, they were burned by referee Ed Hochuli in Week 2, and sure, they lost five games in the last 24 seconds that year, but again... If the Chargers had played each game like they normally do in December, they wouldn't have been an 8-8 team.

2007: They won their final six games, after beginning 1-3 and 5-5. (In their first four games, they lost three in a row, 38-14, 31-24, and 30-16, to the Patriots, Packers, and.... the 4-12 Chiefs?!?!) Their 11-5 record gave them the AFC's No. 3 seed, but of course, they were no match for the 16-0 Patriots in the AFC Title Game. Sure, they'd knocked off the No. 2 seed Colts in the divisional round, but their slow start ensured they had to play in the wild card round and had no bye week for the last 13 weeks.

2006: They won their final 10 games in what turned out to be Marty Schottenheimer's final season as head coach. The Chargers were 14-2, with their only losses by three points to the Ravens and by three to the Chiefs. After getting a first-round bye in the playoffs, the Chargers lost in their first playoff game, 24-21 to the Patriots. The biggest irony of that loss came in the first quarter, when Schottenheimer decided to go for it on 4th-and-11 instead of trying for a 47-yard field goal. QB Philip Rivers lost a fumble while getting sacked, setting up a 51-yard field goal by the Pats' Stephen Gostkowski. Of course, the Chargers lost by three, and it was Nate Kaeding whose 54-yard FG attempt that fell short with three seconds left that handed San Diego the loss. Hey, they lost to the Patriots, but if they won those games against the Ravens and Chiefs early on... at least they would have been 16-0, right?

Schottenheimer would be fired less than a month after that playoff loss, on February 12, 2007.

Anyway, the point is, in those years, the Chargers, had they been as good all year long as their December records, the NFL might have seen a couple more 16-0 teams.

Just like the Rockies could have hosted a few more postseason and World Series contests.

Halladay > Lee

When the Philadelphia Phillies decided to bring in Roy Halladay from Toronto and ship Cliff Lee to the Mariners, there were all kinds of "experts" saying it was a mistake. Lee was 4-0 in the postseason in 2009, and Halladay had never pitched October baseball. Lee's numbers in the regular season were better than Halladay because he had more wins, and so on.

Well, after last Wednesday, when Halladay pitched a no-hitter, the second ever post-season no-no, hours after Lee beat the Rays in Game One, there can no longer be any debate.

And now, you have the Phillies already dispatching the Reds in three straight, and Texas having to go to a fifth game against Tampa Bay (this Tuesday), there really is no more debate.

Halladay's no-hitter set the tone for the Phils-Reds series and now the ace right-hander can come back to start Game One of the NLCS against either the Braves or Giants. He'll be well-rested going into the Championship Series.

Meanwhile, because the Lee, the Texas "ace," didn't pitch Game Four on short rest--and the Rangers lost--the series with the Rays is now 2-2. Think about that for a moment. A few days ago, the Rangers were up 2-0, and they were going home for the next two games with a chance to win their first postseason series ever.

In Game Three, the Rangers were five outs away from clinching, but collapsed. Then they lost Game Four, when the Rangers decided not to have Lee pitch. Now, Texas is 0-6 all-time in home postseason games. Wow. (They lost twice at home in the 1996 Division Series, once in 1998, once in 1999, all against the Yankees, and now twice in 2010.)

Sure, management didn't want Lee to pitch on short rest because he apparently has never done it in his career. But shouldn't an ace pitcher volunteer to pitch anyway, and say, "Give me the ball," the way a Jack Morris would?

By that definition, Cliff Lee is not an ace pitcher. He may have a lot of money, he may get a huge contract this off-season, but he's not a money pitcher, not a big-game pitcher.

And if Lee falters on regular rest on Tuesday and the Rangers lose, it'll be history for sure. The 2010 Rays will be the second team ever, following the 2001 Yankees, to lose the first two games of a division series at home and bounce back to win the series.

Hey, even if Lee goes out there and dominates the Rays and gives the Rangers the series victory, there's just no way Texas will beat the Yankees in the ALCS. He won't even be available for the first two games of the ALCS against New York, and sure, he'll probably beat Phil Hughes in a Game Three matchup... but do you really think C.J. Wilson and Colby Lewis will beat the Yankees? Or Tommy Hunter over the Yankees? Didn't think so...

So, when is Phillips getting fired?

There were plenty of upsets in the NFL on Sunday, with the Chargers falling to the Raiders and the Packers losing to the Redskins, among others. The 49ers dropped to 0-5 after losing to the Michael Vick-less Eagles on Sunday Night Football...

But the biggest one is probably the Dallas Cowboys losing at home to the Tennessee Titans, 34-27. The Cowboys, picked by many to be a force in the NFC this year, are dead last in the East with their 1-3 record.

They are winless at home. Sure, there's still plenty of time to turn it around, but take a look at their schedule. They've got the Vikings coming up next week, at Minnesota. Who knows which Brett Favre will show up?

Then at Green Bay in Week 9. The Super Bowl champion Saints come to town in Week 12. Then the Cowboys have to play in Indianapolis the week after. They still have the Eagles and Giants twice.

A pretty tough schedule.

So, when will head coach Wade Phillips take the fall? Shouldn't he get fired for such a lousy 1-3 start? It took him three years in Dallas before he actually won a playoff game, when the Cowboys beat the Eagles last year. Heck, it took him eight full seasons as an NFL head coach before he finally got his team a playoff win. He should have won at least one playoff game with the Buffalo Bills in 1999 but of course, he benched Doug Flutie in favor of Rob Johnson.

So, one playoff win in eight full years as a head football coach.

Sure, that might be good for teams such as the Texans or Titans or Lions. But we're talking about the Dallas Cowboys, one of the most successful franchises in NFL history. They might not even make the playoffs this year.

Shouldn't Phillips be responsible?

Really an ace?

Is Cliff Lee really an ace? Not when he won't pitch on three days' rest when his team needs him.

Last season for the Phillies in the World Series, he didn't say 'Give me the ball' the way a Jack Morris would. Though Lee won two games against the Yankees, the Bombers went on to win the Series.

This year, the Rangers decided before their Division Series against Tampa Bay that they wouldn't ask Lee to pitch on three days' rest. So, the lefty was dominant against the Rays in Game One. Texas won Game Two, and was just one win away from winning the first postseason series ever, in club history.

Game Three on Saturday saw the Rangers have a 2-1 lead, and they were just five outs away from advancing, before the Rays rallied.

Now, Game Four on Sunday isn't going to be Cliff Lee. It's going to be Tommy Hunter.

So, suppose Hunter doesn't beat the Rays. Then it's going to be 2-2 in the series going back to Tampa, with Cy Young candidate David Price going for the Rays in the finale.

No pressure on you, Tommy Hunter.

The bigger pressure is going to be on Cliff Lee, who doesn't want to pitch on three days' rest. If it goes to a fifth game, you better hope you bring your "A" game, or you'll be letting the whole franchise down. Might as well pitch a no-hitter, Cliff, to show your worth. Otherwise, it's going to be ugly...

Jack Morris wasn't perfect, and I'm not a fan of his, but you have to admit, the former Tigers and Twins World Series hero was one of the gutsiest pitchers of his era.

Seriously? No one noticed for three innings?

Now, the Pirates are the worst team in baseball. Worst-run franchise, worst team this year, worst team for the last 18 years. They can't seem to get anything right. Can't pitch. Can't field. Can't hit. Can't win.

And now they can't even get their uniforms right?

#100 for Seattle

Remember the beginning of the season, when the Seattle Mariners were supposed to challenge the Angels for the AL West title?

Well, they lost 5-3 to the A's at SAFECO Field on Saturday, giving them a 61-100 record. Weren't they supposed to be the team to beat in the division? After all, they were talking about having their two aces, Cliff Lee and Felix Hernandez, putting on pitching clinics every fifth day (as their promotional ads claimed). They just picked up Chone Figgins to join forces with Ichiro and Griffey. While Ichiro did his job by reaching 200+ hits for a major-league record 10th straight season, Figgins has been a bust with .259 average and lack of hustle. Griffey Jr. was a distraction from day one and decided to take a nap in the clubhouse, as a couple anonymous Mariners players told the media. He wisely retired soon after, but not before Mike Sweeney wanted to create a whole lot more drama by challenging the teammates that went to the media. Yawn.

Hernandez held up his end of the bargain and has an undeserving won-loss record (13-12, 2.27), but it's Doug Fister who's been screwed (6-14, 4.11) thanks to the poor run support he's gotten.

And Brandon League, brought to Seattle from Toronto in the Brandon Morrow deal, has been a disaster. It's funny hearing how the Blue Jays GM was saying on Fan 590 once that the Mariners got a good season out of League, probably because the reliever had a lot of wins. But if you actually listen to the Mariners' radio announcers, they don't like League because all he does is give up runs or let inherited runners score whenever he comes into a game. His record of 9-7 and a 3.46 ERA is totally misleading. (Shows how intelligent that Toronto GM Alex Anthopoulos is by making that idiotic remark.)

Well, the M's have lost 100 games again, the second time in three years. Maybe Anthopoulos thinks League will help them be a better team next year. At least they don't have Griffey Jr. sucking out of the DH spot any more.

What Cy Young?

There was a time this year when Tim Hudson was in the 2010 NL Cy Young discussion... put PUL-LEASE!

Hudson has been one of the luckiest pitchers in all of baseball. Back in his second year in 2000, he posted a 4.14 ERA for the A's, but won 20 games. He finished second in the AL Cy Young voting... incredible, given third-place finisher David Wells (20-8, 4.11, 166 Ks, 229.2) arguably had better numbers. (And for those who like to talk about East Coast bias, fourth-place finisher Andy Pettitte of the Yankees was 19-9 with a 4.36 ERA... and finished behind this Hudson kid from Oakland.)

(On a side note, it must have been an awful year for pitchers in 2000, as Todd Jones--Todd Jones!!!--was fifth, followed by Clemens--13-8--and Mussina--11-15--tied for sixth.)

Anyway, this year, he is 16-9 with a 2.76 ERA in 33 starts, but don't let the numbers fool you. If the Braves miss the postseason--can you believe they were seven games up on the Phillies in August but are now battling San Diego for the wild card?--it will be all on him.

Yes yes, he was 15-5 with a 2.24 ERA on August 28th, after beating the Marlins 12-3 with 13 strikeouts. (Anyone can beat the Marlins though...)

But the right-hander choked in September, as did the Braves, as he posted a 5.35 ERA with a 1-4 record in the month. Some of the 'highlights':
*losing to a Mets team trying to get to .500;
*losing 5-0 to Pittsburgh, a team that now has a record 18 straight seasons with a sub .500 record. (Not easy to win when you're not getting that run support, huh, Tim?)
*losing 7-3 at home to the Cardinals, who were pitching Kyle Lohse with his silly 2-7 record and 7.13 ERA... and Tim had the following beautiful line: 5 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 HR;
*losing 8-3 to the pathetic Washington Nationals (HAHA!) and featuring the following numbers: 5.2 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 HR... These are the NATIONALS, not the Phillies or Yankees!

So, a Cy Young contender loses to the Mets, Pirates, and Nationals. He loses to Kyle Lohse and a slumping Cardinals team. And his own team fades from contention.

It's safe to say Hudson is now out of the Cy Young talks... but you know a goofy voter or two will look at his 16 wins and give him votes.

Just like in 2000 with his silly 4.00+ ERA.

Hard-luck Pitchers

Which Giants pitcher started the season 5-0 with a 1.49 ERA through his first six starts? No, not Matt Cain, who went winless in April. No, not Tim Lincecum. (Yes, yes, Lincecum started the year well but was "only" 4-0 through six starts with a slighly higher 1.70 ERA.)

Nope. It was Barry Zito.

It looked like Zito was finally going to be a productive member of the Giants starting rotation. With a win against the Astros on May 16th, the left-hander improved to 6-1 with a 2.15 ERA. He didn't get his seventh win until a month later, when San Francisco beat Oakland 5-4 on June 12th. At that point, Zito was 7-2 with a respectable 3.10 ERA.

And then the wheels fell off.

He was winless in his next five starts with an ERA of 5.79, going 0-2. He could have beaten the Blue Jays in Toronto, when he tossed a complete-game four-hitter. He could have beaten the Dodgers when he pitched six innings of two-run ball. But the Giants offense didn't come through.

Zito then turned it around with a two-hit, 10-strikeout performance against the Mets to win 1-0 on July 16th, ending the five-start winless streak. His numbers were still respectable: 8-4, 3.51.

He was poised for his first winning season in a Giants uniform (he was 11-13, 10-17, and 10-13 in his first three seasons with 'Frisco)... but the offense completely fell apart.

To wit:

July 21st: 7.1 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 4 SO... but a 2-0 loss in Los Angeles to the Dodgers.
July 26th: 6.1 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 3 SO... but a 4-3 loss to the Marlins.
July 31st: 7 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 6 SO... but a no-decision as the Giants beat the Dodgers 2-1.
August 6th: 7 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 10 SO... but another no-decision as the Giants beat the Braves 3-2 in Atlanta.

Five straight quality starts (6+ IP, 3 ER or fewer), including the 1-0 win over the Mets, but four straight games without a win! So in the first week of August, Zito's ERA was 3.35 but he was only 8-6.

Six straight rough outings ensued--including a relief appearance against the Reds--as well as an 0-7 record (with a 6.88 ERA) in his next eight appearances, dropping Zito's season record to 8-13!

In the last two losses, he deserved a better fate:

September 8th: 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 7 SO - but a 3-1 loss in Arizona.
September 14th: 6.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 5 SO - but a 1-0 loss to the Dodgers.

So, 8-13 with a 4.02 ERA on the season.

This afternoon, with the Giants one win away from winning the NL West, they gave the ball to Zito against the second-place Padres in San Fran. The lefty, however, gave up consecutive bases-loaded walks in the first inning and was booed off the field when he left after three innings, as the Giants lost 4-2.

With one game left in the regular season, Zito will not pitch again and will thus finish a disappointing 9-14 with a 4.15 ERA. In his last 11 games, he was 1-8 with a 6.72 ERA.

Who would have thought, after such a promising 5-0 start?

But if you want to talk about hard luck, how about Colorado Rockies ace Ubaldo Jimenez?

At the All-Star break, Jimenez was the front-runner for the National League Cy Young with a 15-1 record and earned the start for the NL in the Midsummer Classic. When he was 10-1 with a 0.78 ERA after a 4-0 shutout over the Giants on May 31st, there was talk he was the second coming of Bob Gibson. (By then, he'd had six scoreless outings out of 11 starts.) He then gave up six runs, four runs, and seven runs, in three straight outings and his ERA went up to 2.27. Still, when he improved to 15-1 on July 8th, there was talk of 30 wins by season's end.

But Jimenez's season ended one win short of 20, as the Rockies lost 1-0 in St. Louis in 11 innings on Saturday. With the no-decision, he will finish 19-8 with a 2.88 ERA. Incredible. Only four wins in the second half?

As Jimenez himself said on Saturday, "Sometimes I pitched good and didn't get the runs and sometimes I got the runs and didn't pitch good. So it was kind of a crazy second half."

The Rockies pitcher, who pitched eight scoreless innings against the Cards, wanted to pitch the ninth, but manager Jim Tracy said no, according to Jimenez. "He [Tracy] was like, 'No, we're going to take care of you and it's not worth it,'" said Jimenez, referring to the fact his skipper didn't want to risk an injury. (Also, Felix Hernandez will not be pitching in the regular season finale for the Mariners on Sunday even though it will be his turn, because the Seattle management also doesn't want to risk their ace hurting his arm. Wonder what the old-school pitchers think about that, with teams babying their pitchers these days...)

Saturday's start was Jimenez's third attempt at win No. 20. He did his best, but the Rockies just couldn't score a run for him.

But what happened in the second half? If I told you Colorado would have a 10-game winning streak and Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez would enter the NL MVP discussion, you'd think Ubaldo would have at least 25 wins going into Saturday, right?

Sure, Ubaldo improved to 17-2 on August 4th win another win over San Francisco with the following line--7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 9 SO--but endured some hard luck after that:

August 10th: 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 8 SO. Almost an identical linescore, but he actually lost 1-0 to the Mets in New York. Record: 17-3, despite his ERA dropping to 2.55.

August 15th: 8 IP, 10 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 10 SO against the Brewers. Not a great outing, but at least a quality start... but not good enough for a win. He got a no-decision.

August 21st: 6 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 3 SO against the last-place D'Backs in Arizona. A great start, but also a loss as Colorado went down to a 3-1 defeat. Record: 17-4, 2.66 ERA.

August 27th: 7 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 4 SO against the Dodgers. Another quality start, but another loss, with the Rockies dropping a 6-2 decision. Record: 17-5, 2.71.

September 1st: 8 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 10 SO against the Giants in San Fran. A complete game, a quality start, 10 strikeouts... but a 2-1 loss to Tim Lincecum. Record: 17-6, 2.69.

Sept. 6th: 6 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 6 BB, 8 SO against the first-place Reds... ugly numbers against the NL Central leaders... but surprisingly, a win! 10-5 over Cincinnati. Record: 18-6, 2.79.

Sept. 11th: 6 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 8 SO against the D'Backs - but a no-decision as the Rockies won 2-1.

Sept. 17th: 6.1 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 6 SO in L.A. against the Dodgers - a bad start, but another win, as Colorado was victorious, 7-5. Record: 19-6, 2.84.

Sept. 22nd: 4 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 4 BB, 6 SO in Arizona. Loss. Record: 19-7, 3.00.

Sept. 27th: 7 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 4 BB, 6 SO against the Dodgers. Another quality start that ended up as a loss, with the Rockies losing 3-1. Record: 19-8, 2.99. Joe Torre and the Dodgers players said they wanted Ubaldo to win 20 games...but just not against them.

And then the tough no-decision Saturday in St. Louis, despite eight shutout innings. So, a 4-7 second half after that 15-1 beginning. He had 10 quality starts in the second half, enough to get him to 25 wins.

He didn't get there. He didn't even get to 20 wins, but he still broke the Rockies' single-season wins and strikeout records in 2010... small consolation prizes. He still pitched the first no-hitter in Colorado history, a 4-0 gem in Atlanta in April... but Roy Halladay, the probable Cy Young winner, topped him with a perfect game right after.

Jimenez had seven straight quality starts from July 29th to September 1st, but was only 2-4 in that span despite his 2.52 ERA. That's tough luck for you.