By Gabe Stein | Saturday August 12th 2006, 5:14 pm
Update: Okay, the link should actually work now. Told you we’re new at this.
Well, we got really bored waiting for the Rockies game to start, so we decided to do our first DSZ podcast. Between ripping on Mark Kiszla, saying ‘jump the gun’ a lot, discussing the two Bells, making Todd Devoe jokes, mis-using preemptively, and discussing the future of Cutler and Scheffler, we think you’ll at least be entertained by the sheer stupidity of our foray into the world of podcasting. So without further adieu:
The First Ever Denver Sports Zone Podcast
Before you leave though, a quick post script from Sam:
Sorry for using preemptively wrong. I seriously need to get on top of learning the English language. www.swishahouse.biz. Leave comments as to whether or not we should continue this absurd endeavor. Also, I did the music, and if you want someone to make you a podcast intro, I’m your man. (or anything else).
By Gabe Stein | Saturday August 12th 2006, 2:43 pm
Clint Hurdle has finally taken the suggestion of the Rockies blogosphere and dropped Jorge Piedra from the lineup, calling up AAA star Ryan Spilborghs. This means the team will lose their best-dressed player (as voted by the players in the latest installment of ‘Rockies Weekly’ [if anybody can find a link to that, let me know]), but it’s okay, because that means the role of best-dressed will be taken by Choo ‘Besides me, Jorge Piedra’ Freeman, who is clearly the next-best-dressed on the team.
But apparently, Clint Hurdle should pay more attention to what bloggers say - because Ryan Spilborgh’s immediate impact was providing the catalyst for a 10-run effort to beat the Cubs in the first of three games. Way to go Clint! The main other suggestion I have to get this team back in track coincides with Mr. Mark Donohue’s comments a few nights ago.
Clint Hurdle is playing his starters way too long, and its cost us some ball-games. Granted, the starters have been nothing short of excellent of late - but that doesn’t mean a manager should ever be thinking twice about taking a starter out in the sixth or seventh inning if it seems batters are getting to him a little. Especially with the way the Rockies bullpen has been performing of late, and the way the offense has been not scoring, it makes no sense that Hurdle should be gun-shy about pulling his starters earlier than the eighth if they’re starting to be hit a little bit. And imagine the games we could have won if Hurdle had turned to the bullpen instead of allowing the starters to go too long - not to mention the wear and tear we could have saved the starters.
The moral of this story - don’t be afraid to make a good baseball move earlier than you’d like in the ballgame, even if Byung-Hyung ‘I was born to throw 127 every game’ Kim is on the mound.
By Gabe Stein | Saturday August 12th 2006, 1:21 pm
According to the Denver Post’s Mark Kizla, there is no quarterback controversy, because Jay Cutler has already won. Kizla then does what any columnist would do in a situation like this - he goes straight into prediction mode, and makes the following statements without reservation:
1. Jay Cutler will win the Broncos their next Super Bowl.
2. Jay Cutler will boost Mike Shanahan into the Hall of Fame.
3. Jay Cutler will be starting next season.
4. Jay Cutler will be the next Ben Roethlisberger.
To make it even more interesting, Kizla said all of this before Cutler even took a snap against the Lions. Now I’m not going to rain on anyone’s parade here - especially since I am myself still feeling a high after Cutler’s very good performance against the Lions. Jay Cutler is undoubtedly the future of this organization - but anyone who believes that Jay Cutler is ready to lead an NFL team is a chump.
Why? Because Cutler hasn’t won in a long time. Choosing a second-tier football school like Vanderbilt was almost certainly what landed Cutler in our lap, but it’s also the main reason why he won’t be playing this year, and maybe not even the first part of next year. Last year, the VU Commodores were 5-6 in the SEC, despite Cutler’s outstanding 3,000+ yard totals. Cutler is coming from a no-pressure environment where winning anything was an afterthought, and being dropped into one of the toughest markets in football to be a quarterback. And after an AFC Championship year, it’s Super Bowl or bust for this team and its fans. Think Cutler can handle that?
There’s no doubt that Cutler has the talent to take any team to a new level - but does he have the grit yet? Remember Brian Griese, who was asked to follow John Elway and a Super Bowl win? Remember how that turned out? And people said Griese had a great football mind…
My point is, if a Super Bowl is what you want, you won’t rush Cutler into the starting role. He’s got to spend a year or two remembering what it feels like to have something real to play for again. And with the Broncos looking like one of the AFC’s strongest teams, you can bet he’ll have a pretty good opportunity to do that even from the sidelines.
Meanwhile, I don’t feel it’s time to give up on Plummer. Jake brought us very close to a Super Bowl last year, and if he gets us even closer this year, it’ll be very hard to convince me that it’s time to let him go. Plummer’s youth may be behind him, but I believe that his best years are ahead of him, and that he’ll get better for each year he stays in the Broncos’ system. As long as Jake continues to lead this team deep into the post season, I won’t be ready to let him go no matter who’s set to fill his place.
