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I’m sad. I’m confused. I don’t know what to do. Do I root for the Phillies? Can I support a team whose fans represent the worst that professional sports has to offer? Do I root for the Yankees? Can I possibly turn to the dark side and cheer on a team that has done more to ruin baseball than any other? Does anyone out there have any advice?

It’s encouraging to see that, with each passing year, the tradition of the playoff beard seems to be catching on in sports besides hockey. As Kylie pointed out in the blog comments recently, even the Denver Post has noticed the trend in the Rockies’ clubhouse.  I was also pleased to see that the Wikipedia entry for Playoff Beard mentions Rockies fans.  And we all know everything on Wikipedia has to be based in objective fact.^{[citation needed]}

The obvious downside of the playoff beard is that previous facial hair growth, no matter how handsome, must be shorn when the playoffs begin in order to start a proper playoff beard from scratch. So, it was with heavy heart that I purged my face of my recent tribute to Ryan Spilborghs‘ award winning Time-Travelling Conquistador beard. Hard as it was to take the razor to my face, I have no regrets.  Playoff glory isn’t free (Rocktober costs a buck-o-five).  And I can always console myself knowing that while my Spilly tribute is gone from my face, it will always live on in photographic record. So, as promised, here is how awesome my face looked for one fleeting moment in time:

You don’t know me, but I’m your closer
I’m four and one with thirty-five saves
I came all the way from Oakland
Along with Carlos Gonzalez
You, telling me the things Fuentes would do for you
He aint bad but when you’ve got a lead you want to

Give the ball to the Street
Give the ball to the Street
Give the ball to the Street
Give the ball to the Street

Looking forward to Rocktober
I can’t wait to take the hill
I’ll take the ball, then it’s game over
Once again we’ll beat the Phils
You, telling me the things Fuentes would do for you
He aint bad but when you’ve got a lead you want to

Give the ball to the Street
Give the ball to the Street
Give the ball to the Street
Give the ball to the Street

Just a few days ago, I would have leaned towards the Cardinals’ Brendan Ryan for the September BotM. That would have been the second Cardinal this season to take home the much coveted title. Unfortunately for the young shortstop, there was some stiff competition for the September Beard of the Month.  Brendan “Old Timey” Ryan was just one of a trio of Cardinals, also including Jason LaRue Manchu and Ryan “June BotM” Franklin, that could have taken home the title.  There was a very solid, late effort put in by Joe Beimel.  When it comes to having awesome facial hair, as long as you are in the discussion you should consider yourself a winner, but alas, there can only be one Beard of the Month.

Not surprisingly, as he has been doing since joining the Rockies, Jason Giambi comes through with the game, or in this case the award, on the line. The Giambi Stache has proven to be a great compliment to Giambi Smash, a game that he likes to play when in the batter’s box. After time in the Yankees organization, where he was limited to a traditional (but still awesome) mustache, he has since passed through Oakland to ultimately make his way to a better place, where man and facial hair can live together in harmony. We certainly hope Jason will keep up the awesome work, both on his face and at the plate, as he helps pave the way to the best Rocktober yet.

Aaron Cook is on the mound lookin’ like the Cook of old
And Tulo’s got a bat you’d think was made of solid gold
Todd Helton’s got the goat again and he’s swingin’ like he means it
And EY’s running first to home so fast you barely see it
Yorvit has become Mr. Clutch, CarGonza’s bat goes “THUD!”
DLR is downright nasty and Ubaldo is a stud
It’s been a long, long season and the Rockies have fought hard
And now for all their effort they have clinched (at least) the Wild Card

Barmes with a crazy catch he maybe never made
Iannetta’s walk-off homer brought us a cheap taco day
Ian Stewart avoiding double plays, looking like an acrobat
Huston Street back to close games, how freakin’ sweet is that?
Now that we’ve clinched the Wild Card the journey doesn’t end
The Rockies still have one more important message left to send
The Wild Card is fine and good, but you know what would be best?
To bust out the brooms, sweep the boys in blue, and watch the Rockies take the west!

I shall do my part in getting the Rockies to the playoffs.
I will end this game now.
I will allow the good people of Denver to celebrate with cheap tacos.
I am Chris Iannetta.

That’s right, I give myself a C’mon Guy.  I really dropped the ball with my Cardinals preview in the latest episode.  It’s probably because we rushed the episode a bit to get it up before the start of tonight’s game, but that’s no excuse.  Earlier this month, I sent Ted a text telling him to turn on the Cardinals game to check out SS Brendan Ryan and his old-timey look.  He’s one of those Cardinals players that wears those awesome, striped high socks that would give any player that old school appearance.  But he takes it a step further and has a very old-timey looking mustache, the type wouldn’t look out of place on an old black and white photo of a boxer. 

If such an award existed, the Cards would be the leading contenders for the Beards of the Season - Team category.  With Brendan Ryan, Ryan Franklin, and Jason LaRue, they would be very tough to beat, especially considering Goose Gossage and Rollie Fingerswere on separate teams for the All-Star Celebrity softball game.  Perhaps the D-backs could put up a fight if they sign Salvador Dali to complement Clay Zavada.

As promised in Episode 111, here are some details on the San Diego State Sports MBA Program info session in Denver.  The event will take place Monday, September 21 at 7:30pm at Roo Bar, 3480 Park Avenue West in Denver (across the railroad tracks from Coors Field).  The event should last about an hour and basically will be a casual conversation with program director Scott Minto over appetizers.

Please e-mail smbainfo@SDSU.edu with any questions or to RSVP.  You can also RSVP for the session on the Sports MBA program’s Facebook page: www.Facebook.com/SDSUsportsMBA.

It’s an off-day for the Rockies, so what else could you possibly have going on?  You do not want to disappoint this man…

Just as a depressing week of Rockies baseball has fans’ spirits sinking, Jackie from Denver has pieced together a music video to remind us of the good times.  And it turns out there have been a lot of good times since June.  The first time I watched the video, I immediately felt a surge of pride and confidence in our precious ball club.  I’m sure a good deal of my reaction has to do with the way Jackie more-or-less bookended the video with showcases of why we love Ryan Spilborghs.  (Hint: it has to do with beards and walk-off grand slams.)

With last night’s awesome win, the Rox are 20 game above .500 for the first time in franchise history.  This will not be surprising to you if you already knew that coming into this game the Rox were at 19 games above .500 for the first time in franchise history.

Is it just me, or was Mr. Late Night doing his Todd Helton impression in that last at bat?  High-pressure situation, fouling off a lot of pitches with 2 strikes, finally putting the ball in play in just the right spot to win the game.  Six inches to the right and Brandon Phillips makes the play and the Rockies lose.

Joe Beimel should buy Matt Daley dinner, or maybe carry around his pink backpack for a week, for bailing him out last night.  A veteran pitcher should not come into the game, walk a guy on four pitches, and then rely on a rookie to get out of the jam.  Fortunately, Matt Daley is awesome.  I see a direct correlation between Beimel’s poor performance and his unfortunate lack of beard.

During the post-game interview with Smith, Spilly got him with a shaving cream pie to the face.  Sure it was funny, but Spilly should not be allowed anywhere near shaving cream until he grows his beard back.

Right after that happened, Alanna Rizzo totally ratted Spilly out.  Not cool Alanna.

I knew all along that the winning run in this game would be scored by Jason Marquis.  I swear.

If people can be awarded honorary degrees from universities, I see no reason why we can’t award Jason Hammel an honorary win for last night’s game.  I think I like him more and more every time he pitches.

Too bad Yorvit’s streak ahd to end, but at least it didn’t end ten days ago like I would have expected.

Thank you Ramon Troncoso.  The Dodger’s reliever started the 9th inning with a throwing error, allowing the lead-off man to get two second.  One sac bunt and two intentional walks later, the bases were loaded for Mark Reynolds.  Troncos proceeded to walk Reynolds to lose the game, bringing the Rox to within 2 1/2 games of the Dodgers.