Eleven

When I talk baseball, it's usually about the Boston Red Sox. It's natural, since I live in Boston and have season tickets (they're split with friends, though, or I'd be broke.) Plus, there's always plenty to write about the Sox. But my National League team is the Colorado Rockies. I can't watch them on television here in Boston (grrrrrr) but every night for the last month, while I've been typing away on the novella I have due on Sept. 30, I've had the ESPN live baseball scoreboard running in the background, letting me keep track of how my Rockies are doing. I've been cheering each run scored, hoping against hope that they'd stay above .500.

Now, not only are they going to finish the season well above .500, they just won their eleventh game in a row and are just-this-close to grabbing a spot in the playoffs. I'll be watching their remaining games closely...if they sweep the Diamondbacks, they'll either clinch a postseason berth or will have to play a tiebreaking game. I predict their win streak goes from eleven to fourteen, but even if it doesn't, I've loved watching them this summer. They've beaten preseason predictions (Google the words "national league 2007 preview" -- without the quotes -- and you'll see what I mean), and they and continue to ignore naysayers to play good, solid, optimistic ball.

There's always one team to watch during the last week of the regular season. This year, I'm thrilled that it's the Colorado Rockies.