Pedro Martinez and snow at Coors Field for NLDS Game 3
On what promises to be a frigid night in Denver, Pedro Martinez and the Philadelphia Phillies take on Jason Hammel and the Colorado Rockies with the NLDS tied 1-1.
What a great time to have the coffee and Bailey's concession at Coors Field.
Nope, not going to be a huge demand for ice cold beverages in Denver on Saturday night when the Rockies host the Phillies for Game 3 of their NLDS. Tied one apiece after Colorado's 5-4 win in Philadelphia on Thursday, it's almost going to be too cold for football with the thermometer forecast to be sitting right about freezing at first pitch with snow on the ground.
Betting lines were slow coming out on this one until Charlie Manuel made it official and named Pedro Martinez to be his starting pitcher. Jim Tracy and the Rockies will counter with Jason Hammel and after opening as a -115 favorite, Hammel and the Rocks have settled around -120 with the total set at 9 after a very quick opening at 8½.
Now my immediate reaction to hearing about the weather and Pedro being the starter for the Phillies was to think to myself, Martinez no se gusta tiempo frio, el es de las islas para gritar fuerte! Does that make me a racist, or did I commit profiling at the very least having that thought? After all, Hammel is white, in fact a lot of the Rockies are white. Bread reminded us of that earlier this year.
No, I don't think it's racist for one reason: my thoughts came to me in Español. If it would have been racist, the white half of me would've won out and blurted, That beaner won't like the cold weather, he's from the islands for crying out loud!
Martinez pitched pretty well this season in his limited role with the Phils. No, he's not going to go out there and dominate some game like he used to. If he works into the sixth, allows three runs and leaves with a 4-3 lead, TBS' talking heads will be calling it the greatest performances they have ever seen. Who knows? Maybe it will be one of his greatest in a great career.
His last appearance in this park suggests otherwise: June 21, 2008, 4.1 IP, 6 ER, the only start the past four seasons he's made in the Mile High confines.
Hammel also had a fine season after being dealt from the Rays to the Rockies just before Opening Day, a swap well below the radar on transaction pages that sent Aneury Rodriguez to Tampa. Hammel started 30 games and Colorado won 18 of them, including going 11-4 in his 15 starts at Coors Field despite his 5.73 ERA at the stadium this season.
Even with Pedro's last start here and Hammel's season-long ERA at Coors, I still like the Under 9. Hammel's first four starts in Denver this year resulted in an ERA over eight before he adjusted, and I like Pedro's chances to go five good frames. The key then becomes the Philadelphia bullpen. I'll just have to light a candle for that part.
STARTING PITCHERS
NLDS Game 3, Sat, Oct 10 - 9:37 p.m. (ET): Pedro Martinez (8-1, 3.63) vs. Jason Hammel (18-12, 4.33)
UMPIRE
Your plate arbiter on Saturday night will be 11-year veteran Jerry Meals who, oh by the way, hails from Pennsylvania though he more than likely grew up a Pirates fan coming from Butler. Meals' 2009 stats included a 16-18 Home/Visitor mark with a 17-15-2 O/U line. Looking closer at the moneyline stat, Meals gave the visitors an 8-3 edge when they were underdogs in the +100 to +140 range.
The last time Meals called a playoff game was Game 2 of the 2008 NLCS in Philadelphia. For those that don't remember that one, the Phils cruised past Chad Billingsley and the Dodgers, 8-5.
WEATHER
It's not exactly going to be conducive for a cold Coors beer with a game time temp at or just above the freezing mark. Rain mixed with snow tonight turns to a 40% chance of snow showers during the day Saturday before the chances dropping off in the early evening. The forecast high for Saturday is listed at 37ºF and it should be right at the freezing mark come game time. Winds South at 6-9 MPH (out to center).
NOTE: The W-L records shown for starting pitchers are their team's W-L mark when they start games. Statistical sources for this article were Retrosheet.org, Baseball-Reference.com and ESPN.com and of course, S-BEE-R-dot-com!
On what promises to be a frigid night in Denver, Pedro Martinez and the Philadelphia Phillies take on Jason Hammel and the Colorado Rockies with the NLDS tied 1-1.
What a great time to have the coffee and Bailey's concession at Coors Field.
Nope, not going to be a huge demand for ice cold beverages in Denver on Saturday night when the Rockies host the Phillies for Game 3 of their NLDS. Tied one apiece after Colorado's 5-4 win in Philadelphia on Thursday, it's almost going to be too cold for football with the thermometer forecast to be sitting right about freezing at first pitch with snow on the ground.
Betting lines were slow coming out on this one until Charlie Manuel made it official and named Pedro Martinez to be his starting pitcher. Jim Tracy and the Rockies will counter with Jason Hammel and after opening as a -115 favorite, Hammel and the Rocks have settled around -120 with the total set at 9 after a very quick opening at 8½.
Now my immediate reaction to hearing about the weather and Pedro being the starter for the Phillies was to think to myself, Martinez no se gusta tiempo frio, el es de las islas para gritar fuerte! Does that make me a racist, or did I commit profiling at the very least having that thought? After all, Hammel is white, in fact a lot of the Rockies are white. Bread reminded us of that earlier this year.
No, I don't think it's racist for one reason: my thoughts came to me in Español. If it would have been racist, the white half of me would've won out and blurted, That beaner won't like the cold weather, he's from the islands for crying out loud!
Martinez pitched pretty well this season in his limited role with the Phils. No, he's not going to go out there and dominate some game like he used to. If he works into the sixth, allows three runs and leaves with a 4-3 lead, TBS' talking heads will be calling it the greatest performances they have ever seen. Who knows? Maybe it will be one of his greatest in a great career.
His last appearance in this park suggests otherwise: June 21, 2008, 4.1 IP, 6 ER, the only start the past four seasons he's made in the Mile High confines.
Hammel also had a fine season after being dealt from the Rays to the Rockies just before Opening Day, a swap well below the radar on transaction pages that sent Aneury Rodriguez to Tampa. Hammel started 30 games and Colorado won 18 of them, including going 11-4 in his 15 starts at Coors Field despite his 5.73 ERA at the stadium this season.
Even with Pedro's last start here and Hammel's season-long ERA at Coors, I still like the Under 9. Hammel's first four starts in Denver this year resulted in an ERA over eight before he adjusted, and I like Pedro's chances to go five good frames. The key then becomes the Philadelphia bullpen. I'll just have to light a candle for that part.
STARTING PITCHERS
NLDS Game 3, Sat, Oct 10 - 9:37 p.m. (ET): Pedro Martinez (8-1, 3.63) vs. Jason Hammel (18-12, 4.33)
UMPIRE
Your plate arbiter on Saturday night will be 11-year veteran Jerry Meals who, oh by the way, hails from Pennsylvania though he more than likely grew up a Pirates fan coming from Butler. Meals' 2009 stats included a 16-18 Home/Visitor mark with a 17-15-2 O/U line. Looking closer at the moneyline stat, Meals gave the visitors an 8-3 edge when they were underdogs in the +100 to +140 range.
The last time Meals called a playoff game was Game 2 of the 2008 NLCS in Philadelphia. For those that don't remember that one, the Phils cruised past Chad Billingsley and the Dodgers, 8-5.
WEATHER
It's not exactly going to be conducive for a cold Coors beer with a game time temp at or just above the freezing mark. Rain mixed with snow tonight turns to a 40% chance of snow showers during the day Saturday before the chances dropping off in the early evening. The forecast high for Saturday is listed at 37ºF and it should be right at the freezing mark come game time. Winds South at 6-9 MPH (out to center).
NOTE: The W-L records shown for starting pitchers are their team's W-L mark when they start games. Statistical sources for this article were Retrosheet.org, Baseball-Reference.com and ESPN.com and of course, S-BEE-R-dot-com!
