Todd Helton is good

Todd Helton is a tremendous baseball player. This is like saying pizza tastes yummy. Regardless, Todd Helton is a great baseball player. I read something recently in which former Rockies’ and Royals’ manager Buddy Bell said that Helton understood the competitiveness of baseball better than anyone he had ever met. I don’t know what that statement means, but it’s quite a significant thing to say. For starters, it’s significant because there are more than a handful of guys in the big leagues that would thrash out their mother’s larynx if it gave them an edge in a game.

It’s also significant because Buddy Bell is a link to a baseball legacy. Buddy was an All-Star, his father was an All-Star, and his son, David, enjoyed a long career in the big leagues. This means that baseball isn’t just a game or a job to the Bells – it’s the familt business. It runs deep.

So yes, Todd Helton is a fantastic player. He is also appearing in the first post-season of his 11-year career, covering 1,578 games. That should worry Charlie Manuel and the Phillies a little bit, because Helton is not going to take his first-ever series lightly.

My guess is he attempts to thrash out a larynx if given the chance.

Hamels rebounded after his mulligan to retire the Rockies in order in the third. However, it took him 20 more pitches, which puts him at 71.

Be that as it may, Hamels got the Phillies first playoff hit in 14 seasons with one out in the third. Had Francis gotten two more outs without giving up a hit we would have opened up the no-hitter pool here in the press box. Earlier this summer I got my first-ever win in the no-hitter pool – that’s $55 coming back.

Yeah, boy.

Anyway, Jimmy Rollins took care of those last two outs by grounding into an around-the-horn double play.

10-4 Good Buddy

This blog sucks because I think I should save my really good stuff for the people who pay me to write. Besides, people aren't interested in reading long stories or fiction any more, are they? That aside, I actually read a story in Newsweek today that held my interest. Most times, that magazine is like the unabridged version of USA Today -- "sports" writer Mark Starr is agonizingly boring and trite -- however, I like Fareed Zakaria. I must admit, sadly, that he is so precise that I sometimes don't have the capabilities to understand what he's writing.

Yes, I'm dumb

That said, I enjoyed (and agreed with) his column in the latest issue of the magazine.

Other than that, the pictures and charts and maps all had really shiny colors.

Game 3 is tonight. The Cardinals could be in big trouble if they can't solve Pete Martinez.

*** Buddy Bell is my new choice to get the Phillies managerial opening. I doubt general manager Ed Wade and I share the same feeling on this matter, but Bell seems like a good choice to me. This afternoon, we got to listen to Bell talk about his interview for the job. I even wrote about it.

I also wrote about the ex-Phillies tearing it up in the playoffs and World Series. My lede zoomed in on Curt Schilling's blood-stained sock. Wade didn't seem too excited to offer up any type of analysis on the play of Curt Schilling or Scott Rolen.

I imagine if I screwed up I wouldn't be too excited to talk about how well the guys I let go were playing, either.

Anyway, when I was a kid and learning about all of the players through my card collection, Buddy Bell was one of my favorites. He had stark white blonde hair that resembled that of little Tanner Boyle in the Bad News Bears movies. He also played for the Indians during a time when they wore maroon uniforms. Later he was traded to the Rangers where he wore those goofy powder-blue unis with the state of Texas on the breast.

The fact that he was an All-Star and his son is currently one of the better guys to talk to in the Phils' clubhouse is just icing on the cake. Throw in the fact that he seems to be an easy-going guy with a good sense of humor and a friendly demeanor cinches it for me.

Hire that man now.