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Piniella likes what he sees of Rockies
Former manager Lou Piniella has been watching plenty of baseball on satellite television to get ready for his new role as a broadcast analyst on FOX’s coverage of Major League Baseball, which begins this weekend.
One of the teams Piniella hasn't seen much of is the Colorado Rockies. But he's seen just enough to know that the club's strategy to play its home-grown talent is working.
"They've tried the other approach and it certainly hasn't worked," Piniella said. "They've got a young, enthusiastic team that has really, really played hard. They've had some intensity. What I've really been impressed with, outside of the fact that they're winning ballgames, is they're getting low-pitched games in Colorado.
“And I haven't watched too many of their ballgames. I watched a little bit of the Dodgers game (Tuesday night). They're pitching really well in that ballpark. They've had a few shutouts in that ballpark, and that wasn't the case before.
"I've been impressed with the way they're playing. They're going to stick around in that division. That's no fluke."
Piniella said the National League's West Division likely would stay "crowded" for most of the summer. "I don't think there's anybody there that you can point to, that you can say they're going to run away with it," Piniella said.
“I think it’s good for baseball and I think it’s going to be an interesting summer in that division.”
NOTEWORTHY
Former Heritage High athlete Austin Krum is one of 20 college players invited to the 2006 USA Baseball National Team Trials that will be held June 22-July 1. Krum is a sophomore outfielder at Dallas Baptist University, batting .358 with 17 stolen bases. Several former Colorado prep athletes are on DBU's roster -- infielders Matt Tucker (Smoky Hill) and Cody Montgomery (Fairview), and pitchers Brice Wells (Columbine), Ricky Sparks (Hotchkiss), Eric Schaler (Cherry Creek), Tyler Rowland (Smoky Hill), Derek Roach (Green Mountain) and Wayne Dowling (Mountain View).
The Arena Football League announced its list of "20 Greatest Teams", with the 2005 league-champion Colorado Crush making the list tied with two other teams at No. 15. One of the teams tied with the Crush is the 1994 Albany Firebirds, whose lineup included former Denver South athlete Mike Perez at quarterback, and former Manual High and Western State athlete Freddie Gayles at receiver/linebacker.
An honorary marker will be placed on the gravesite of George Tebeau today (10 a.m.) at Olinger Crown Hill Cemetery in Wheat Ridge. Tebeau is known as the father of Colorado baseball.