Bad Beat Story (Non-Poker Division)

Recently you registered at coloradorockies.com for the opportunity to purchase 2010 Division Series tickets for games to be played at Coors Field. Unfortunately, your entry was not selected.

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzt, you lose.

Do not pass go, do not collect $200, you are forced to watch WTBS and Skip Carey instead.

UPDATE: But for the ultimate post-river suckout, so to speak, a friend of mine got picked and gave me his code, so yay Mondo, and yay Rockies! First round playoff tix to be in the can in about 19.5 hours. Now, all we need to have happen is to actually make up that pesky 1.5 game deficit...

Rocktember is the Slow Time

For posting, and for poker. At least over here. After last weekend's session of 20-something tournies, 33% ITM, and yet still saw my bankroll drop....actually, finishing 16th in a 1000 player MTT sucks when you're out because AA < 44 and QQ < TT, both times losing to gutshots on the river. Shot in the gut, indeed. Woulda coulda shoulda been a very profitable day.

Well, let's just say it's time to refocus for a few weeks on something much more fun. The 2010 Colorado Rockies!!





Rocktember is a time when fresh players bloom by stealing their way to home plate and into your hearts.

Rocktember is a time when fans of the San Diego Padres begin quaking in their boots (a 2007 to remember, yo).

Rocktember is a time when the boys in purple just. can't. lose.

Rocktember is a time when the usual national media suspects begin diminishing the peformance of Rockies' hitters because they play 1/2 their games in Coors Field...and yet completely disregard the success of Rockies' pitchers who also have to play 1/2 their games in Coors Field. (Oh yeah, for the SABR nerds out there, the Colorado Rockies have the most valuable pitching staff in baseball, as measured by WAR, for the 2nd year running. Smoke that.)

Anyway, Rocktember is simply that month before Rocktober, and yeah, good things happen then, too. And it's hard to focus on recreational poker weekends when the boys are in town. Went to the game yesterday, going to the game tomorrow, and next Wednesday, and outta fairness to my one good half...well, there will be no poker this weekend, for sure. I'll just have to do with watching Troy Tulowitzki cross home plate after another game-tying dinger:



Best seat ever, thank you Stubhub.

And to the San Francisco Gints, your season is about to climb into a hot air balloon. Those who know me know where that's going...

Keep Hittin' It, Not Quittin' It (PLO8 Edition)

The horse, she will not be broken. Well, maybe a bit dinged, but sweet that sweet little PLO pony, well, geez. I have to continue to stay away from NLHE, I guess. Played three events on Thursday...well, one was NLHE, but it's the $3.30 triple shootout I love so much (lost HU in the first round for the third straight time).



Two Omaha events. One cash. Not a mincash, but soooo close. This was the Stars $4.44 4-max PLO8 event, so going out 12th wasn't exactly quite bubbling the final table. Now, had my hand been able to improve (or even hold) on the river, who knows? But given my relative chip position once we got to 24 players or so, I really can't complain, and won't. Just continue to ride that pony, is all.

Today?

Lotsa fun for the Good Doctor Mondo and I at the Colorado Irish Festival. Of course, I don't have a lick of Celtic in me, and she's got a lot more Scot than Irish in her (we'll avoid the jokes about when she's got a little German in her...). But I loves me some Celtic music, Gaelic football, and yeah, even pipe bands. Should be tons of fun.

Part of me will still wish we were at Coors Field tonight. After all, not only have the Rockies won five in a row for the first time this year (to climb into the wild card lead and within two games of the division), all but one of those games has involved wild comebacks from several runs down, dramatic home runs, and three were walkoffs. Naturally, the only game I've been able to attend of this run was a rather pedestrian 4-2 victory over the Cards. But thank you Saint Ubaldo, just the same.

Good luck on the felt, ya'll.

Avoiding NLHE, Part Deux....

...and the Fangraph from Heaven (below).

Last night, the Good Doctor Mondo and I were watching the Rockies fall to the Cardinals 9-3 in the bottom of the 8th inning (more on that later), when I cruised the 2+2 forums and found the magic words "Turbo Night". Wahoooo!!!

What is Turbo Night? Well, it's nothing official, but it represents a night where PokerStars (and probably FTP as well, for all I know) is getting ready to reset all their servers. In order to get things wound up, they replace a lot of their tourneys for a number of hours with turbo versions of the same (and replace turbos with super turbos). FAST FAST FAST action yeah.

Anyway, I'm hardly about to start increasing my overall volume, but as the beloved Rockies were on their way down (more on that later), I thought what the hell, sure, I'll jump into this $8.80 PLO8 tourney. Heck, it'll be over in like 90 minutes, right? At 1500 starting chips and five minute levels? Sure!

Well, I still don't know whether it's simply continued run hot, or choosing better spots than my opponents, or simply better play (considering I pulled off at least two successful semi-bluffs), but my streak of relative Omaha success continued, with a 3rd place finish in a field of 112:



No complaints there whatsoever. I came into the final table 7th in chips, and really didn't think I'd make it past 6th with my stack. Once we got down to 3-handed, things were desperate, with 4 big blinds and an M of 2, and I had no room to maneuver, needing a big hand and no time to wait for one:



I did manage to get as high as about 26k, but back down to 18k and with a halfway decent but hardly dominant combo draw (I believe it was something like ATT5 double suited), I potted preflop and lost out to MIXX. But as I suspected, my 3rd place exist was a mere 90 minutes after the tourney started, so I'll take that super-small-sample-size hourly rate, thanks to Turbo Night. And, I'll take my current ROI in Omaha-flavored tourneys, which I'm thinking must be around 280% over the last couple of weeks.

Yeah, now that's sustainable.

Of course, my deep tourney run did cause me to miss certain moments of only THE GREATEST 9TH INNING COMEBACK IN COLORADO ROCKIES HISTORY. As those who follow baseball probably know, we put up a 9-spot in the bottom of the 9th last night against the colossally overmanaging Tony LaRussa. This on a night when former Rockie Matt Holliday punished us with a three run bomb.

I saw the clock and knew it was time for Mr. Late Night (Seth Smith, whose nickname was well earned during many notable PH appearances over 2009 season). And he did not disappoint.

Really, better than all the highlights, all the ESPN-hyperventilation....oh, scratch that part, ESPN would run a LeBron James ass-picking story over a massive humongous 9th inning comeback even during Baseball Tonight....is this, the Fangraphs WPA graph of last night's game. Unbelievable:



Anyway, I probably won't play much (or at all) until this weekend, but yeah, I'mma gonna stick with this Omaha kick for a lil' while.

Good luck on the felt, ya'll.

Why A Stickshift?

Cause it's drivin' my nuts.

Not much reportage worth passing on these days...the 50-65 hour work weeks continue apace, which is well and truly cutting into this donkey's time at the virtual felt. I've only managed to play one MTT session since my last correspondence, with pretty miserable results not even worth mentioning.

What is worth mentioning is this...back in the long long ago, when my darling Good Doctor Mondo first woke from her coma, and had several months in the hospital still awaiting her, I made to her a promise. She *would* be going to Rockies Opening Day in 2010. The promise was probably really for both of us, after all, we were pretty much powered by nothing but hope at that time. It would be quite a while before she'd even take her first steps, much less contemplate actually going to a ballpark.

So...........



It was an adventure, to be sure, given the limited handicap parking at Coors, the fact our seats were on the opposite side of the stadium from said parking, and us being occasionally on edge as to the duration of the Good Doctor's O2 tanks. Well, everything actually went very smoothly -- not to mention the 7-0 spanking our Boys Of Purple put on those Padres. A great great day all around, and now I can promise it will not be the last game she'll see this year.

And this past Friday, by itself, makes everything else we're dealing with...crazy-making long work hours and absences from one another, rigorous physical therapy, all everything else...pretty insignificant in the moment.

Play ball!

The Winter Of Our Long Discontent...

....is over. Spring Training camps open today. Woot. Hell yeah, hope springs eternal. Yes, even for you Mets and Cubs fans.



Frankly, for the first time ever, the Colorado Rockies come into camp as legitimate contenders, or even favorites, to win their first ever NL West crown, and I couldn't be more thrilled. Questions abound, to be sure. Will Jeff Francis return to his pre-2008, pre-surgery form? Will Dexter Fowler and Carlos Gonzales continue to develop? Will the increased attendance after reaching the playoffs in two out of the last three seasons make the line at the garlic fries line intolerably long? Did Jason Giambi agree to share his golden thong to the team if it dips into a batting slump?

We shall see. But for now, PITCHERS AND CATCHERS REPORT. Hell yeah.

The Rockies are coming off a franchise-best 92 win season, with a roster not very much changed, and still quite young (if you don't count bench players Giambi and Melvin Mora).

Got my opening day club level tix for April 9th, just hope I can use them.

Finally got back to some tourney poker the other night, with only two mincashes to show for it. One of them hurt. After breaking the bubble in a $5 PLO8 with 500 or so runners, I was sitting okay in about 60th spot when my combo draws hit the flop for a nut flush, and then lost to runner runner QQ on the turn and river for a sick sick boat. Oh well. It was fun to actually donk around a bit, but overall, I didn't really have a lot of momentum on the night.

Tick Tock, Tick Tock - It's PLAYOFF TIME!!!

ZOMG, only 2.5 hours before the Colorado Rockies open up the 2009 National League Division Series against the World Champion Philadelphia Phillies.

Man, the excitement here at work is palpable, and yeah, I'm wearing a purple and black checked oxford to work. Gots ta support my boys. That said, I'm feeling rather skeptical about our chances this year. In the end, everything's going to come down to a couple of factors. First, how well can the Rockies' starting pitching keep Rollins & Victorino off the basepaths. After all, both Rockies catchers pretty much suck this year at throwing out runners.

Second, which Phillies' starting pitchers will show up? The Cliff Lee who handcuffed the Rox during one of his first National League starts? Or the very ordinary Cliff Lee from the past month? The Cole Hamels who shut down the world last post-season, or the current seemingly very ordinary Hamels?

A lot of writers talk about how the Rockies are much better against righties than they are against lefties, and this would be true. That said, the Rockies are a .500 club against left-handed starting pitching, so no, they are not ZOMG horrible in this department. The key will be whether or not Atkins and Barmes can avoid the punchouts and get on base. They've both had rough seasons at the plate (even though Barmes does have a couple dozen dingers), and the Phillies bullpen is fairly weak. So going deep into ABs will be critical.

I'll post more later on this....

The Good Doctor Mondo continues to improve. I haven't written much lately on this, because...well, I just don't blog much these days. Two weeks ago, we moved her to a Long Term Acute Care (LTAC) hospital down here in Denver, mostly because her insurance company would no longer cover a normal hospital ICU unit. That said, she is in the LTAC's ICU, and will probably be in there for another week or two. But she continues to make small strides every day in her recovery. We're hoping we can move her to a rehabilitation hospital in the next month or so. But as of now, we're at Day 107 of her hospital ordeal. And frankly, it's really fucking lonely living in a big house by yourself.

Poker continues to be a lollercoaster for me. A week ago Sunday was about the worst day ever. Bubbled *three* consecutive Bodog $100k satellites by one seat. Played about 20 tournies with no cashes...and just ran really really really bad. The worst part was that I had decided that if I could have hung on for two of the seats, I would have actually played one of them.

Results were a bit better this past Sunday, so perhaps I've stopped the bleeding a bit.

Clearing Out Some Cobwebs

(BANG BANG BANG)

There. That's better.

The more time passes, the more many things stay the same...and time continues to trudge forward, with good things on the horizon, but seemingly further and further out every day.

The Good Doctor Mondo continues to get better. As of two days ago, when she was fitted with one of these, she can actually speak for a few hours a day. This has probably been the single greatest heartwarming development of our entire ordeal. I have no idea who Passy and Muir are/were, but I thank them.

Still, we're on day 85 in the ICU, with what appears to be another week or two in front of us. Still, we progress. The Good Doctor now undergoes physical therapy twice a day, instead of once, and we can see the results in her movements, and feel the slow return of a certain level of muscle tone. She even wriggled her toes for the first time a couple of days ago. Her arms and hands have come much much further, though she's still extremely fatigued by the least amount of work.

But we move forward.

Poker's actually been pretty good to me lately. I've only played once or twice a week, but usually manage to get one nice outcome per session, whether it's turning $10 into $T109 in a Bodog satellite, or final tabling a $4 FLHE MTT...at least I've been able to stop the bankroll bleed and even get it back up to where it was around 3-4 months ago. Which still isn't much, every so barely into the 4-figures (of which FT is still at a rollicking $20, lol). Mostly, it's been fun to restore some confidence in my game.

I've really enjoyed the nightly $3 triple shootout NLHE at PokerStars. I think I've cashed five of the last eight times I've played this (including one 2nd place finish). And the last three times I didn't cash, I went out heads-up at the first shootout table. Last time, I ran a rivered set into a turned gutshot, oh well. But I seem to be either just running pretty well in the shoothouts, or getting a better handle on how to play them. Oddly enough, I can't seem to turn that into success at true single table SNGs.

One thing I haven't talked about much this year is my beloved Colorado Rockies. Probably mostly because I've been hanging out at Purple Row and getting internet-talkin'-'bout-baseball over there. And partly because of our medical situation, which has limited me to attending only six games this year, all but one prior to June 23rd. But we're having a hell of a year, and are currently 87% to make the playoffs.

Still, how many of you have had AA go down to 66 after an all paint flop multiple times. That's why we play the games.

I've got very mixed feelings about going to any playoff games this year without my Good Doctor. She tells me I should go, but it just doesn't feel right. I'll have to sit and dwell on this one.

Either fortunately, or unfortunately (depending on your perspective), I will likely have to once again miss the Winter Blogger Gathering, of which I have never ever ever made one. Why? Well, it's actually a reason I don't mind in the least...see, based on present developments, the Good Doctor should be home some time early Novemberish, and she's shooting for her first public outing to be my firm's annual holiday party, as it's one of her favorite dress-up events each year. Which just happens to fall on the Saturday of the....yup...Winter Blogger Gathering.

So if I'm not there this year, it's because she's home, she's healthy, and out on the town. That's okay by me. I was truly looking forward to trying to get there this year, though....

Felt Feels Good

In a virtual way, of course.

Finally got back to playing some online MTTs yesterday, with mixed results, but it felt good all the same. Managed to cash in three NLHE rebuy events, the huge $3r and a $5r on Stars, and a $12r on bodog. I don't know what attracts me to rebuys...perhaps is really a matter of being able to not have to exit after an early junk-kicking.

Came close to the final table in the bodog (there were only 131 runners), and took a terrible beat in the $3r which would have finally gotten me to average chips (60k or so), when my AK couldn't beat AQ. All in preflop, JT9 on the flop, I'm thinking "no K no K no K". The 3 on the turn was nice, but I couldn't fade the card I originally wanted on the flop.

Tried my hand at my first 8-game mixed tourney, and didn't play well. Will try again.

Ultimately, I managed to chip up my roll, but only a small bit, as my Stars cashes weren't much over my rebuys.

What truly jazzes me now, however, isn't poker. It's my Colorado Rockies. WTF, 15 wins in 16 games? That's a better run than our regular season ending in 2007. And the parallels are eerie:

In 2007, the Rox were 35-33 after 68 games.
In 2009, the Rox are 35-33 after 68 games.
In 2007, the Rox' longest winning streak was 11 games.
In 2009, the Rox' longest winning streak is 11 games.
The 2007 Rocktober run included a dramatic game ending HR by Todd Helton to cap a comeback.
The 2007 RockJuneber run now includes a dramatic game ending HR by the Toddfather to cap a comeback, his first walkoff home run since.....2007.

Anyway, the truth is that this team is actually a better team than that 2007 edition. They underperformed badly early, but some sabermetric numbers reveal some bad luck in there, too. They should end up with at least four (and possibly five) players at around 25 home runs, which is very respectable post-'roids. Overall, their starting pitching is a bit better.

Hopefully the run continues. Of course, there are still over 90 games to be played, but the upcoming trip against the Angels, Dodgers, and A's will go some way towards determining whether the 2009 Rockies are real or not.

Knock Knock

Your National Championship is knocking at the front door, and where's the mighty vaunted oh-so-much-better-than-any-other-conference Big East?

Oh, they're not invited.

Hell, they didn't even get three in the Final Four, which so many east coast bloggers was certain was a mere formality.

Sorry, Hoy. Maybe next year. Or not.

But hey, it's baseball time, enjoy your average $72 ticket cost in new Yankee Stadium on the way to another 3rd place finish.

At this point, the Rockies are a complete crapshoot. Offensively, the purple pinstripers should be much improved over 2008. Our bullpen is the best in the NL West. Our starting rotation? We have a #2 and #3 in the #1 and 2 slots, followed by three question marks. But that's why they play the games. You can find me next Friday in Section 145.

On the Subject of Man-Ram

Okay, so most of youse could give a crap about the Los Angeles Dodgers. And frankly, neither can I, other than the extent to which my beloved Colorado Rockies will pound them over the course of 18 games this year, but I digress...

But if you've been following this year's MLB free agent cycle at all, you may know that talented, yet petulant, aging, quit-on-his-team, general all around douchebag Manny Ramirez has, just since the end of last season:

a. Declined the $20 million option on his contract for 2009;
b. Turned down contract arbitration guaranteed in his case to net between $20m and $27 for 2009;
c. Turned down a 2-year, $45 million contract offer from the Dodgers;
d. Turned down a 1-year, $25 million contract offer from the Dodgers;
e. Turned down a revised 2-year, $45 million contract offer from the Dodgers that included a player option for the second year;
f. All of the above.

If you answered any of them, you are correct. If you answered "f", you were most correct. You see, Manny has turned down four separate contract proposals, all of which would have made him the highest paid player in baseball history not proven to have done steroids. In other words, the highest paid player in history for 2009 not named Alex Rodriguez.

But you see, he wants a six year contract. He's already nearly 37. He's already demonstrated his tendency to be a malingerer when he's not happy about his contract. Fuck him. I mean, he can still smack the cover off of a baseball, but his pissant pettiness and rampant narcissism, in an environment where no other team is even offering him a deal is beyond asinine. And given the current economic headlines, makes him look even more pathetique.

Still, the Dodgers would be well served to read this story I came across today (compliments of a fellow Purple Row reader):

The following is a very old story told by Cherokee, Seneca, Hindu, and many other people all around the world.

The little boy was walking down a path and he came across a rattlesnake. The rattlesnake was getting old. He asked, "Please little boy, can you take me to the top of the mountain? I hope to see the sunset one last time before I die." The little boy answered "No Mr. Rattlesnake. If I pick you up, you'll bite me and I'll die." The rattlesnake said, "No, I promise. I won't bite you. Just please take me up to the mountain." The little boy thought about it and finally picked up that rattlesnake and took it close to his chest and carried it up to the top of the mountain.

They sat there and watched the sunset together. It was so beautiful. Then after sunset the rattlesnake turned to the little boy and asked, "Can I go home now? I am tired, and I am old." The little boy picked up the rattlesnake and again took it to his chest and held it tightly and safely. He came all the way down the mountain holding the snake carefully and took it to his home to give him some food and a place to sleep. The next day the rattlesnake turned to the boy and asked, "Please little boy, will you take me back to my home now? It is time for me to leave this world, and I would like to be at my home now." The little boy felt he had been safe all this time and the snake had kept his word, so he would take it home as asked.

He carefully picked up the snake, took it close to his chest, and carried him back to the woods, to his home to die. Just before he laid the rattlesnake down, the rattlesnake turned and bit him in the chest. The little boy cried out and threw the snake upon the ground. "Mr. Snake, why did you do that? Now I will surely die!" The rattlesnake looked up at him and grinned, "You knew what I was when you picked me up."

The above story was compiled by Glenn Welker

We already have the Diamondbacks in our division; do we really need a rattlesnake to go along with it?

Into the Sunset

Photo by Chris Schneider © The Rocky Mountain News

Matty, we're going to miss you. But you sealed your fate when you signed on with Scott Boras. I'm not suggesting the 4-year $72 million contract extension (through 2013) you turned down last spring represented full market value. But when you sign on with Boras, you sign on to 100% hit your free agency, and not agree to any contract that buys out any free agent years prior to hitting the opon market. If you'll recall, your current deal only runs through arbitration years.

So when you picked up Boras a couple years ago, you had to know the ship was leaving the harbor, with regard to you staying with the Rockies. That's the part that makes me sad, that you pretty much decided two years ago that you would be leaving the club, even before leading us to the playoffs on your chin.

Here in Denver, most of the low-info types are having the predictable reactions on the Denver newspaper messageboards -- fire Dealin' Dan now! fire the Monforts!!!! we'll never go to another game!!!!

To you guys, I say, fine, better seats for me next year. Holliday getting traded became an eventual fait accompli two years ago, and to that end, what we got for what is essentially a one-year rental, is a pretty decent haul, with the chance to be even better. Carlos Gonzales is a stud with true All-Star potential. Above average speed, outstanding defense, and will hit for more power as he matures. He was a bit overmatched this year in his big league debut, but he was only 22. My only concern is sa lack of plate discipline, but that doesn't seem to hurt Vlad Guerrero, and I see similarities in the two players.

Huston Street? Well, we may spin him in a deal with Garret Atkins or Willie Taveras, for a real quality young pitcher (and by that, I mean a lot better than Greg Smith, the third piece in the Holliday deal). The Rockies may also keep Atkins for one more year, which would be my preference, depending on whether they make a move to sign Orlando Hudson or not. If they don't sign Hudson, I'm comfortable trying Ian Stewart at 2nd, and still leaving us with flexibility we need in the infield corners, given the inflexibility in Todd Helton's back.

As for Greg Smith, I'm not that familiar with him, except that I see he's a soft-tossing lefty who suffered the worst run support in the American League last year (contributing to his win-loss record, which is a meaningless stat in so many way), but that he walks too many hitters without striking out enough. He's probably a reasonable #4 or #5 starter, but if he can pitch to more groundballs and less walks, he may improve. He looks to be an innings-eater, but just had bone chips removed from his elbow. The Rockies have several young options for the bottom of the rotation, but they haven't proven themselves yet.

In a reasonably perfect world, we try to spin off some combination Garret Atkins and either Greg Smith or Huston Street for a better quality young starter (say, Kevin Slowey or Nick Blackburn), and then make free agent runs at Juan Cruz (as closer) and Orlando Hudson (at 2nd base). I'm also okay with plugging Street into our closer role for next year, given Brian Fuentes' imminent departure for $12m a year to the Mets.

If, in the end, it's effectively a trade of Matt Holliday and Garret Atkins, for Carlos Gonzales, Nick Blackburn, and one of Smith/Street, I'll actually be more than pleased. Ian Stewart is more than ready to take over the hot corner, and while it's unlikely to replace Holliday's production in full, Gonzales should be a big improvement over Taveras, and a combination of Ryan Spillborghs/Seth Smith will do a credible job in left -- at least until Dexter Fowler is truly ready, and Gonzales slides over to left or right field (I see Hawpe as Helton's eventual replacement at 1st base...)

I'm not going to make any excuses for the Monfort's, I think they're clearly in the bottom rung of major league owners, and I really wish they'd sell the team to someone like Mark Cuban. But I also recognize how badly they were burned by long term deals in the past for Todd Helton, Mike Hampton, and Denny Neagle. Signing a player to a 6- or 8-year guaranteed deal taking them into their late 30s is simply poor risk management. The Rockies said they would go higher on a per year basis for Holliday, but they weren't going to meet Boras' demands for a contract that runs through 2015, by which time Holliday would be two years older than Todd Helton is today.

I'm sad the parties couldn't meet in the middle, but again, Matt Holliday hoisted up that sail the day he signed on with Scott Boras.

Oh, Plz to be Re-signing One Time

Just when you least expect it, a post on my beloved Colorado Rockies. Sadly, not a good one.

Brian Fuentes, one of the finest closers in MLB (certainly in the National League) is an arbitration-eligible free agent. Millions of trades have been discussed, as has been the prospect of letting him walk for two sandwich draft picks. I've been advocating re-signing him to a 3-4 year deal all season long. Why? Because Manny Corpas just isn't a major league closer, and Taylor Buchholz doesn't have the killer instinct for it, imho. (I do think both are good to very good relievers, just not closer-quality.)

Well, waiting in the wings has been one Casey Weathers, our first round pick in the 2007 draft (from Vanderbilt, and part of the same staff as overall #1 pick David Price). He's been good enough to rocket through the system, to where he was not only in the Texas League All Star Game this year, he was a member of the U.S. Olympic Baseball Team in the Beijing Olympics. He was a definite invite to spring training, with a fair shot to be on the roster by the 2nd half, and our likely closer by 2011, at lastest.

That may still happen someday, but no time soon. Torn ligament in the elbow, suffered in the Arizona Fall League. Hellooooooooooo Tommy John surgery. Poor Casey likely won't see his first day of major league action until 2011, at least.

Maybe I'll end up getting my wish, but the facts remain that we now truly must re-sign Brian Fuentes, and at least through 2011.



Fingers crossed. ONE TIME!!

Meet the New Rox

Same as the old Rox.

Coming into September 6 games back, and the team may be catching fire once again. Of course, our record is about seven games worse than it was this time last year, but then, so are the records of the teams ahead of us in the division. Being able to soulcrush Tim Lincecum helped.

Anyway, it's been a very poker-lite week for me. Skipped the bloggerments for my anniversary, and was more than happy to do so.

One drawback of having pulled most of my roll off Bodog is that I'm playing at much lower limits, such that when I managed to take 4th place in a $2R MTT last weekend, it was only good for $30. Talk about playing small ball. My poker weekend consisted of winning a $4 SNG for a $12 score, the $2R MTT, and finishing up 20 big blinds at a cash table that was....drumroll......05/.10. Ha! At these levels, I can't even really get interested in hand analysis, as I'm a firm believer that most online donks don't actually put much thought into how they play buy-ins this small, such that the idea of making plays is lost on your opponents, for the most part. Just stick with solid TAG, saute with a few well-timed blind steals, and you'll do okay long term.

But that's okay, we can rebuild him, we have the technology.

Since then, all I've played is a pair of the superturbo chippies at Full Tilt, where I went out 3rd and 5th, respectively, for one mincash. Of course, when I went out 3rd, it was to a river 2-outer, but at these levels, I no longer care. It's pennant chase season!!

In fact, how can you tell your wife loves you as much as you love her? When she gives you a Jeff Francis-autographed ball for your anniversary.

In fact, I gotta start finding more topics to blog about, simply because I'm not playing a lot of poker these days. That's really just a phase, as my loves of baseball and music are taking center stage lately, and that's fine. It's allowed me to let the bad beats that still come, totally slide off my back now. This is one of those times when poker just isn't that important.

Monolith is coming up in a couple weeks, and while I'm still excited, I have to admit I'm not nearly as jazzed about my VIP passes now that Neko Case and The Black Angels no longer appear on the schedule. Those were the two artists I most wanted to see.

Still, Monolith is a great place to find some of what's likely to be the most interesting music of 2008-2009, and I'm really looking forward to seeing White Denim, Superdrag, Blitzen Trapper, and many more. Just not nearly as over the top excited.

Nevertheless, the weather's gorgeous here, and I've got a club-level seat for our sweep game against the Giants today, as Aaron Cook is about to lead us to a pounding over Barry Zito. I can't believe we haven't been fortunate enough to face Zito yet this year, as he's become as hittable as...well...as Leeeeeevan Hernandez. Bring your own broom!

Update: That game was fuckin' weaksauce. Still a nice day at the ballpark, but thanks for making Barry Zito look like CC Sabathia, boys.

Paen to Ernie Banks (Non-Poker Brag)

Let's play two.

Talk about lucksackery. Last night's Rockies game was rained out. No day/night doubleheader --- instead a two-fer-one, with Game 2 starting 25 minutes after the end of Game 1.

Slow day at work, was thinking of playing hooky and buyin a ticket.

Partner sends out firmwide blast, extra tix.

Wifey having light day and available to come to Denver.

The Good Doctor Mondo is currently on her way to join me at Coors Field, where we have two free tickets to a full doubleheader, with two of our best (Jeff Francis and Ubaldo Jimenez) on the hill against the bottom-feeding Nationals. And not only were the tickets free, they're awesome, 13 rows behind the visitor's dugout, even with the pitcher's mound.

Minor beat -- I don't have Screenhunter on my office computer, so I can't show you just how effin' awesome these seats are. But if'n any of you are curious, you can go here and click on Section 137 (the light green seats up the 3rd base line).

I'm outta here. Let's play two!

When Free is Just Not Good Enough

A friend of mine is singing the National Anthem today at the Rockies game. Sweet. The Cubs are in town, and the team's got a ticket for me at Will Call, thanks to the honey vocal stylings of El Guapo.

My favorite Rockies pitcher is starting today, and I even have his actual honest-to-goodness rookie season road jersey to wear to the game, to watch him sink sink sink the Cubbies.

Unfortunately, I can't go. Work is truly kicking me in the junk right now. A free ticket, a beautiful day, a businessman's special, and I simply can't be gone from the office for 3.5 hours today. So sick.

Rather feels like picking up pocket AA at a table when everyone else has 20x your chip stack, ya know?

At least I'm still hopeful I'll manage to get to these guys' CD release show tonight, if only because it's a lot easier for me to be somewhere late than somewhere early (but with my workload, I don't think I can be out until 1am watching live moozik). The Widowers are really one of the best things Denver's got going on musically these days, and that's saying a lot.

And Here Comes the Pitch

He swings, he misses, he folds.

I honestly do not know which is more exhausting, playing a large field MTT staring at 8pm and running deep, or sitting through every single pitch of a 22-inning marathon.

Every. Single. Pitch.

All 659 freaking one of them. Frankly, most of them were great, as there were nearly 40 strikeouts in the game, all told (even though the zone was a bit dodgy at times, it seemed.) Jeff Francis was....well, he was finally Jeff Francis.

Anyway, I can only say this...the only thing that sucks harder than having to play 22 innings and get on a plane for another road trip is, playing 22 innings and losing, and then having to get on a plan for another road trip. Sucks to be a Padre today, eh?

Kinda sucks to be me, too, in a small way. See, after I dunked and donked and won a Denver Poker Tour event last week, their annual semi-final is tonight. They're only playing down to top 20% or something similar, but honestely, I dunno how I'm going to be able to read cards by 10pm after watching every. single. pitch last night. Too bad, because if I can get over hundreds of semi-final players, and probably 80-100 final players, there's a WSOP seat with my name on it.

My Rox should have thought about that before torturing me so. But that's okay, the pain is good, even if it likely means the poker won't be.

And just in case anyone's wondering -- yeah, he touched it:

Appropos For Opening Day

From a Sporting News article a couple weeks back:

Hurdle calls the concept “showering well.” You go out, you prepare, you focus, you let it all out on the field. After the game, you honestly self-evaluate, then take a shower and go home. Don’t carry it with you, don’t wear it. Yes, there will be save opportunities blown; yes, there will be outs made with winning runs in scoring position. Yes, there will be managerial levers pulled that don’t work. No one is perfect. There are, Hurdle acknowledges, nights where you can’t help but wear it, individually or as a team. But the sooner you get rid of those things, the better to show up the next day with, as he says, good ears and fresh eyes and the freedom to let your skills play. “Patience,” Hurdle likes to say, in both the large and small scheme of things, “takes courage.”

Yes, there will be missed value bets, yes, you will have hands where you're 95% on the turn go down in flames. Yes, you will lose tourneys on the bubble where you were already in a safe $$$ position. Yes, you will run QQ into AA and get coolered. And yes, there are nights when you can't help but tilt.

"But the sooner you get rid of those things, the better to show up the next day with, as he says, good ears and fresh eyes and the freedom to let your skills play." - Clint Hurdle

I just can't emphasize that statement enough.

Much like the Rockies' 1-9 road trip from last June (once thought to be disasterous), where Brian Fuentes blew four save opportunities in a row (two on walkoffs), a bad run does not define you or your play, nor does it mean you've suddenly lost the ability to play poker. That is, not unless you let it. Maybe you have to drop back in levels, and play a bit more small ball, instead of swinging for the fences. But the game itself does not fundamentally change.

Another concept Clint Hurdle likes to talk about is "slowing the game down". Very very rarely in poker will you need to define your play in a session by a single hand. This is much more so in cash games than tournaments, of course. It's one thing to get a read on another player, but another thing to recognize the situation when to take advantage of that read. Stealing blinds/antes is important, but stopping to consider when you're most likely to be played back at is equally so.

Anyway, today is Opening Day, one of my favorite days of the entire year. We picked up snow last night, and it's cold, so I'm pretty pleased the Rockies are opening on the road. The home opener on Friday can't get here soon enough, though, especially given the quality of tickets the Good Doctor Mondo and I are holding. I'm sort of on work tilt, because I don't have an AM radio at the office, and I don't seem to have the bandwidth available to make buying MLB.com worthwhile today. But it's the start of defending our 2007 National League Championship, just the same, and I'm all decked out in purple and black.

Hopefully, I'll be able to take Hurdle's lessons to the tables later tonight, though.

It's Tooosday, not Blooosday

Tuesday, and you know what that means!

Yup, another edition of the wonderful Bodog Blogger Tournament Series, where those of you who like to write about chip-slinging can work your way into a 1 in 18 shot at a WSOP Main Event seat.



Anyway, the Tournament Leader Board is available at http://www.bodoglife.com/promotions/poker/blogger-tournament/ throughout the course of the Bodog Poker Blogger Tournament Series. It will provide the point totals for every player that has played in the qualifying tournaments. The top 30% of players in each tournament will receive points according to finish which at the end of the qualifying tournaments will ultimately determine who will move on to the Final Event. The top 18 players on the TLB at the end of the qualifiers will earn their way to the Final Event.

How To Register
To register for the Bodog Poker Blogger Tournament Series, poker bloggers must first go to http://www.bodoglife.com/promotions/poker/blogger-tournament/ and sign in with their Bodog account information in the upper right hand corner. Once this is completed, they then must click on "REGISTER NOW" to register themselves into the tournament series. Bloggers will each have to do this once in order to play in the series. Once this is done, they then need to find the "Online Poker Blogger Tournament" in the software and register as they normally would each and every week.


I finally managed to place in the points for the first time last week, and am hoping to build on that success. Of course, that could mean unseating this guy, who pulled down last week's top prize and overlay, to move deep into the points.

Yet he continues to whine about his bankroll. I have a feeling, however, that Drizztdj won't be wining after tonight's companion on the bloggerment schedule, Chad's Blogger (No) Skillz Series. Why am I confident in the far northerner? It's PLO, booyah!

Hmm...I might like this one, too. No more whining about Stud, Limit HE, or any of those fake-azz pokerz, this is Pot Limit Omaha, the real deal.



Even you donks out there can't fade me today -- it's 65 degrees, three weeks from PLAY BALL, and the real Purple Mountains' Majesties are rouding into form. The Ventures (one of my original inspirations to play music) are even finally in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Life is perfect.

Fun Times on the Rail - Weekend Recap

Played a bit of poker this weekend, but spend much more time railing PoWdA (a fellow poster on the Poker in Colorado forums), and good times were had by all.

Saturday was pretty much a non-factor poker-wise, though I managed to play about 50 hands of .50/1.00 limit 2-7 Triple Draw over at PokerStars, and ended up 1/2 a buy-in. Played about 100 more hands of it on Sunday, and between the sessions, I must have ended up with a winrate of maybe 3BB/100 hands. Nothing to speak of, but makes up for some small Razz losses. One of these days, I'll learn how to play 2-7 Triple Draw profitably, but right now, it's okay to essentially tread water. I've already tightened my game up enough to where I won't chase draws unless I'm dealt at least three to an 8, unless I'm in an unraised blind. That may be a bit nitty, but probably saves me a few big bets when I'm looking at a rough nine after two draws, and I'm in front of someone who stands pat.

Tournaments were a slightly better proposition, where I played two, and cashed in one fairly deeply. In a $3 KO tourney on FullTilt with 1100 runners, and me down to 600 chips by the 2nd blind level, I was able to marshall the forces of ninja poker to end up collecting three bounties and going out 24th. With the 23rd place stack and A9o on the button, shoving into a BB who is holding wired Jacks is not often a winning proposition.

Now what is ninja poker? I'm not sure this qualifies, but what the hell:



And yes, I waited until after the flop to shove. Ninja poker is putting him on a Q, and knowing your three outer won't hit until the river, for dramatic effect. Or something. A more typical example of ninja poker is here - let them bet into you when you're holding top two and nut flush draw. And then, send them home with a smile.

Unfortunately, my favorite Stars $100k donkey fest was full, and I was unable to register. Next time I satellite in, I should know better than to turn it into $Ts, until I'm sure I won't be around to play. In my other tourney, a 4/180, I again ran a bit short of the money, but played well, and was probably one double-up from a cash. Ironically, it was a typical Eurodonk betting A-rag into my JJ (all in preflop), but flopping the miracle trip aces. What's the lesson? If you have JJ, you beat me. If I have JJ, play ATC, because you beat me. I'd rather have AJ than JJ at this point. The end result of my weekend was very much bankroll neutrality.

The real fun was railing PoWdA, however, in the $10+1 Stars Deep Stack, that starts at 10am in this timezone. I've played this tournament a few times previous (though not in a while), but had never made it more than 4-5 hours in. Wow. I had no idea at all how long this took, but I swear the Sunday Million started later and ended earlier than this. Thanks for the lesson, PoWdA, as I will never play this tourney again. The only way to make this tournament worth anything in terms of hourly rate is to finish in the top six or seven spots, given the length. I just can't play 13.5 hours in one online tournament in one day. PoWdA, however, can -- finishing 4th for about $1200, with a good handful of Holla Colorada poker players on the rail. Very very well done. PoWdA has the PoWa!

As far as I know, PoWdA isn't a blogger (yet), but this guy is, and he's degenerate enough to be entertaining. It's a new blog, but Scrupboy is on his own Chris Ferguson-ish quest to restore his Stars bankroll from...drumroll, please...SIXTY CENTS, to respectabiliy. He's up to about $11.50 already, and well on his way.

Speaking of well done, please head over to LJ's blog and congratulate her on a very nice five figure score this weekend. If I knew I could increase my winrate proportionate to the number of beers I quaffed at a live tourney, I'd follow the green glass diet, too.

Oh, and this just in: The people's champ for National League Rookie of the Year is about to sign a six year extention with option year. Woohoo! Duh duh duh-duh-duh duh-duh duh-duh...TULO!



You, sir, are a shortstop stud.