Ummm ... have you all figured out that I'm a serious Colorado Rockies fan yet? Yes, I know it's just a game, but here's what I love about this team:

They're all team players. It's not about any one player (no matter how talented) being the hero. My son was shocked several weeks ago to learn that the SF Giants weren't in the playoffs - not even close. "But they have Barry Bonds!" he said. Sure, they have the best home run hitter in baseball right now.  But it takes a whole team working together to be really successful, and that's why the Rockies are so awesome now. In their last 5 wins, you can't point to any individual player who keeps saving the game. Last night Jeremey Affeldt got the team out of the tightest spot all night. He threw one pitch. One pitch - and that's all he did in the game!

Their hearts are in the right place. I almost cried when I heard that the team had voted a share in their post-season earnings to the family of Mike Coolbaugh, a minor league coach who died last summer when hit by a batted ball. When they make it to the World Series, that could be as much as $300,000!

They love their fans as much as we love them. Read this from Todd Helton's blog. (And my kids have been falling asleep listening to the Rockies games on their radios.)

And finally, I love them because they remind me of "my" Orioles team in the '80s. A team that's come out of nowhere to roll through the postseason, surprising everyone. Frankly, I'm pulling for the Cleveland Indians to beat the Red Sox in the ALCS and have everyone who follows baseball scratching their heads, wondering where these teams came from to get into the World Series!