Not for all the notes in China. …
Small ball in Denver? At Coors Field, the greatest hitter’s park this side of Williamsport, Pa.?
Well, yeah, now that you mention it. With Coors Canaveral having slipped well down the charts in home runs yielded, Clint Hurdle puts his team’s knack for playing small ball fifth on the short list – the only list, for that matter – of encouraging developments in 2005.
“The ability to execute and play small ball in this ballpark,” Hurdle said. “We’re doing it better than other teams, and that’s why we’ve been able to win more games. Who would have ever thought we’d be saying that? But the ballpark is playing different.”
No. 1 on Hurdle’s short list of encouraging developments?
“For me, it’s (Brian) Fuentes at closer,” Hurdle said. “We’ve reshuffled the deck and brought in some veteran arms for that bullpen, but everything starts with Fuentes. No. 2, (Matt) Holliday‘s emergence as a cleanup hitter. He’s not just hitting fourth anymore, he’s protecting (Todd) Helton.
“No. 3, the foundation our young players were able to establish. If you had said, going in, that seven of eight would have had above-average years from what we expected, we’d have been ga-ga. The only one of the eight that we expected more from, really, was (JD) Closser.
“No. 4, Aaron Cook‘s recovery as our staff ace. To do what he’s doing now is unbelievable. We hoped he could come back, but we didn’t expect him to be this good.” …
Al Wilson, on the Broncos’ rookie cornerbacks: “They’re not rookies anymore. Once you step on this field, you’re not a rookie. You’ve got to be a player. If something happens, we’re not going to go to them and say, ‘Aw, you’re a rookie, don’t worry about it.”‘…
There might be something to this a-man-can’t-go-home-again stuff. To wit: Dick Vermeil, 0-3 against the Eagles, his first NFL team. …
Broncos special-teams captain Keith Burns, when asked if rookie Darrent Williams had “it” as a kick returner: “He must, because I’m talking about it. The only time special teams is usually mentioned is when we do something bad.” …
Talk about a team on a roll. The Broncos not only won at Jacksonville, they got out of town without any new injuries. Not only that, a random check of their media corps didn’t turn up a single Monday morning hangover. …
The spread for Saturday’s Texas Tech-Nebraska game is Tech minus-4. Points or touchdowns? …
Ohio State this Saturday, at Michigan next Saturday. Moral to the story: Nice knowin’ ya, Penn State. …
John Lynch, when asked how today’s Broncos defensive line compares to the ones from the team’s earliest offseason camps: “It’s light years away. Just getting Trevor (Pryce) back was huge. Right there, that’s like getting a first-round draft choice when you get him healthy. It’s better than a first-rounder.” …
Add a fifth tool to Albert Pujols‘ repertoire. Dude led the Cardinals with 16 stolen bases. …
Happens every time. White Sox outfielder Scott Podsednik, no home runs in 502 official at-bats during the season, homers in his fourth AB of the playoffs. …
The gene pool runneth over: Virginia Tech’s Marcus Vick, second in the nation in passer rating. …
Bengals wideout Chad Johnson, when asked by the Houston Chronicle if anyone could cover him: “The IRS. They’ve been on me for quite a while.” …
All right, that’s it. One more ESPN promo about that Roger Bannister movie and I’m going to hurl my huevos. …
And finally, my favorite story about former Post sportswriter Frank Haraway, whose funeral was Tuesday. Haraway used crutches for most of his life after a bout with childhood tuberculosis. One day in the press box, he asked me if I was putting on a few pounds. Guilty, I replied, to which Haraway said, “You put on a few more and we’re going to have to have a race.”
Catch Jim Armstrong from 6-9 a.m. during “The Press Box” on ESPN 560 AM. He can be reached at 303-820-5452 or jmarmstrong@denverpost.com.
