Wind-blown notes. …
The Rockies knew the NL West was going to be improved. Little did they know it would prove to be baseball’s best division.*
(*-Well, by National League standards, anyway.)
The Mild, Mild West is anything but these days, sitting a combined 25 games over .500 through Tuesday. And it’s easy to see why. It’s called pitching, pitching and more pitching.
How stacked are the West’s pitching staffs? Consider this: Four of the five teams in the division have ERAs well under 4.00, with the exception being … oh, never mind.
Jake Peavy is the Cy Young favorite, and the rest of the Padres’ pitchers aren’t too shabby, either. To wit: San Diego, at 2.89, could become the first team since the 1989 Dodgers to finish with a staff ERA below 3.00.
The Dodgers, meanwhile, were at 3.60 and the Diamondbacks 3.64. That explains the logjam at the top of the division despite the Dodgers, Padres and D-backs ranking 20th, 21st and 22nd in runs scored in the big leagues. …
So what’s the worst division in baseball? Come on, like you really had to ask? The NL Central was a combined 38 games under .500 through Tuesday. …
Word out of Detroit is the Pistons want a pure scorer for their frontcourt, a player capable of carrying the team on his shoulders for weeks at a time. You know, somebody like Carmelo Anthony, passed over by the Pistons in the 2003 draft in favor of the immortal Darko Milicic. …
Apparently, I’m going to have to come up with a new hobby. The days of bashing the Huskers for their creampuff schedules are history. Fact: Each of Nebraska’s first three nonconference opponents – Nevada, Wake Forest and Southern Cal – played in a bowl game last season. …
What, you thought preseason college football rankings were an exact science? Phil Steele has Memphis ranked 32nd. Athlon has the same team ranked 92nd among 119 Division I-A teams. …
Add Huskers: Ex-Nebraska quarterback Zac Taylor is engaged to Sarah Sherman, daughter of former Packers head coach Mike Sherman. Taylor went undrafted and signed with Tampa Bay as a free agent. …
The rich keep gettin’ richer in the Big 12. According to, 16 of the top 20 incoming freshmen have committed to Big 12 South schools – nine to Texas alone. Nebraska and CU split the other four. CU tackle Ryan Miller was ranked third and wideout Markques Simas 17th. …
It was a great gesture, Mason Crosby returning to Boulder for his senior season. And it got his number honored at Folsom Field beside all those other big names in CU history. Make no doubt, though, it cost him some serious cash. Crosby is looking at a signing bonus of $70,000 to $80,000 after being selected by the Packers in the sixth round. If, as expected, he had gone in the second round in 2006, he would have pocketed upward of $1.4 million. …
From Mike Lupica, New York Post: “Think about the tips A-Rod’s friend the stripper is going to make if she gets Scott Boras as her agent.” …
Carlos Boozer looks like he could play tight end in the NFL. Then there’s Kevin Durant, who resembles a 1-iron. According to the Oregonian, Durant couldn’t bench-press 185 pounds at the Orlando, Fla., predraft camp. …
Bill Belichick and Billy Donovan are buddies. And what else do they have in common? Belichick once accepted the Jets’ head coaching job, only to change his mind the next day. …
I wonder if I quit The Post if I’d be welcomed back the next day. What’s that? OK, I’m done wondering. Look up “working stiff” in the dictionary and there’s a picture of me, Mr. Twin Chins.
Jim Armstrong can be reached at 303-954-1269 or jmarmstrong@denverpost.com.
