Baseball Reflections

2007 NLCS Preview

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2007 NLCS Preview

By Peter Schiller

**Playoff Note: The Rockies, as a team, voted that a share of the money they generate from the playoffs will go to Mandy Coolbaugh, the wife of the late Mike Coolbaugh a minor league coach in the Rox organization who died after being struck in the head with a lined foul ball while coaching a base earlier this year.**

Players to watch in this series: Arizona Diamondbacks

Starting Pitchers:

Brandon Webb: who had that long scoreless innings streak this year

Livan Hernandez: who always seems to come up big in the postseason & only allowed 1 run in 6 IP in the NLDS

Micah Owens: watch out boys, not only can this kid pitch (although he’s only a # 4 starter), but he can hit better than some position players on either side. This fact alone makes him dangerous in the playoffs!

Relief Pitchers:

Brandon Lyon: with 2 holds in 3 IP without allowing a run in the NLDS

Tony Pena: with 1 hold in 2 IP without allowing a run in the NLDS

Jose Valerde: with 1 save in 3 IP without allowing a run & striking out 6 Cubs in the NLDS

Position Players:

3B Mark Reynolds: a May call up that put up good rookie numbers & would have been a starter on most teams, plus he has some pop in his bat

SS Stephen Drew: is coming off a good NLDS where he was batting .500 with 2 HR’s, a double, & triple with 4 RBI’s, 16 total bases & a stolen base!

LF Eric Byrnes: is coming off of a year where he hit over .280 with an OBP of .353, 21 HR’s & stole 50 bases. He is also a run into the wall to make a catch outfielder!

CF Chris Young: is another rookie on this team. He’s their leadoff hitter, has a poor OBP (under .300), but stole 27 bases while hitting 32 HR’s. He hit 2 HR’s in the NLDS while stealing 1 bag in the process. He too is a highlight reel in CF! Look for him to shine in this series…

RF Justin Upton: a late season call up hit .600 with an OBP of .750 in the NLDS.

Players to watch in this series: Colorado Rockies

Starting Pitchers:

Jeff Francis: a 17 game winner & their ace who struck out 8 Phillies in 6 IP while giving up only 2 runs

Ubaldo Jimenez: pitched 6.1 innings in the NLDS giving up 1 run on a HR with 5 K’s

Relief Pitchers:

Manny Corpas: started out as a set up man to Fuentes & compiled 16 holds, then went on to accumulate 19 saves. In the NLDS he had a save in every game!

Brian Fuentes: had 20 saves before getting hurt, then upon coming back, lost his job to Corpas & went on to record 8 holds of his own!

Position Players:

1B Todd Helton: didn’t have a good NLDS, hitting under .200 after hitting .320 in the regular season, but he’s one of the stars on this team

2B Kazou Matsui: hit .417 with a .500 OBP & 1.083 SLG with 2 triples in the NLDS

SS Troy Tulowitzki: was probably the best all around rookie we saw this year hitting .291 with 24 HR’s, 99 RBI’s with an OBP of .359 & one of the better defensive SS’s: a great arm!

3B Garret Atkins: a solid year after a slow start, he finished hitting .301 with an OBP of .367, 25 HR’s & 111 RBI’s
LF Matt Holliday: 2007 NL batting champ with a .340 average with 36 HR’s & 137 RBI’s to go along with an OBP of .405; he had a low average in the NLDS (.231)My next post will cover the ALCS match up between the Red Sox & the Indians!

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