Without a hint of irony, the Associated Press reported that "Trailing by seven runs with seven outs left in their season, the Red Sox pulled off the biggest postseason rally since 1929. Boston staved off elimination in the AL championship series with an 8-7 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday night when J.D. Drew singled home the winning run with two outs in the ninth."

That's right: in the midst of a market meltdown, the Red Sox pulled off the greatest comeback in playoff history since 1929, and they did it on October 16th, just 13 days before the anniversary of Black Tuesday. Coincidence? Who knows?

But given that there are a lot of people making predictions about the future of the market -- and none of them really know what they're talking about -- I'm proposing a new method. If the Red Sox come back to win the next two games and shock the Tampa Bay Rays out of their first ALCS title, then the comeback is real -- and the markets have bottomed.

But if the Red Sox break their fans hearts by losing after such a glorious comeback, then we'll have to chalk the market's modest gains of the past week up to a bear rally -- sucking in optimists only to destroy still more wealth.

Was the Red Sox comeback just another bear rally? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 18 Oct 2008 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Baseball is heating up big-time, and the biggest story of the year, if not the decade, is the success of the streaking Colorado Rockies. A month ago -- a month ago! -- this team was in fourth place in its six-team division. They were given up for dead and out of the playoff hunt.

The Rockies went on to win 14 of their last 15 regular season games, and a one-game playoff versus the San Diego Padres to claim the National League wild-card in the playoffs. They beat San Diego to advance to the divisional series, and went on to sweep the Philadelphia Phillies in three games; then they swept the Arizona Diamondbacks, four games to none in the National League Championship series. They will face the winner of the Cleveland Indians-Boston Red Sox American League Championship series (Go Indians -- up 3 games to one!! My hometown team!!) in the World Series. The Rockies have won an unbelievable 21 of their last 22 games. But their greatest gesture was done with class and quietness.

Back on July 22, coach Mike Coolbaugh of the Rockies' Double AA minor league team, the Tulsa Drillers, was killed by a line drive to the head. It was a totally freak accident, as he was hit on exactly the right spot that could cause death. Its never happened in baseball before. Mike Coolbaugh was coaching first base when the tragic accident happened. Coolbaugh, only 32 years old, left behind a widow and two young sons. A revered coach with a passion for the game and its players was so senselessly lost.

Continue reading The Colorado Rockies' magnificent gesture

The Colorado Rockies' magnificent gesture originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 17 Oct 2007 17:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.