Welcome back Don.....

With the Baylor and J. Tracy hires, seems like the Rox are stocking the bench for the potential mid-season replacement for Hurdle as the club inevitably sits at 10+ games under .500.

In Other Off-Season Developments.....

....I was walking by Swanky's this afternoon (which, by the way, would've been perfect for a 1:05 pm business man special Rockies game) and noticed a banner outside Swanky's advertising Miller Lite draft beer. I know the Rockies aren't going to generate much excitement in their off-season moves, but this addition to the Swanky's beer list could prove to have a big impact next season. Good move.

Holliday's Departure Has Its Benefits

In the spirit of keeping a positive outlook in the aftermath of the Holliday trade, I want to point out a glaring silver lining. Matty always had the WORST fucking at-bat songs imaginable. This is especially notable in a lineup filled with the likes of Nickleback, Staind, and nameless country pop songs. It was so bad and tame it made Spilly's Gwen Stafani song from 2007 sound like Black Flag. Whatever that Creed/ex-Creed/Creed-clone music was that Matty had pumping through the PA at Coors 4-5 times a home game was enough to put a slight damper on any otherwise perfect day at the ball park. As ST once pondered, can you imagine how horrible it would be to have to sit shotgun on a long road trip with Matty driving and in complete control of the stereo the entire trip. If there is such a place as hell, that could be a decent approximation of what it will be like.

So, while we'll miss your offensive production Matty, the crew at BSB breathes a sigh of relief knowing that your music selections are now part of a bygone era.

This is what you need

Dear Mr. Colorado Rockies Management Guy/Gal,
Please visit this website for some ideas on players you should pursue. I know that it is scary but you must have these in order to win. Rarely does anyone win a World Series without one. You might even consider two. The way last season went you should definitely get two. Thanks for listening. Have a nice off season.
Love,
Steve

http://www.npbtracker.com/2009-npb-free-agents/

I Guess the Line Is....Boom, Outta Here!

This is still kind of sinking in, even with time to mentally prepare for the inevitable trade of Holliday. The twist that he will be going to the A's, a famously frugal and seemingly less-contending team than the Rockies, is also taking me a bit of time to get my head around. Gallego reunions aside, if Holliday had to go, I couldn't really have scripted a less damnable destination. One has to think that it is just Stop #1 for him before either a midseason or end of year trade to a team willing to invest more money in a single player. The A's certainly have been the anti-Boras among MLB teams.

If this hunch is incorrect, then, all the best Matty. I can understand to some degree being fed up with the cheap-ass Monforts. But, they did actually offer a decent deal last offseason that was probably as good as they were going to lay on the table at any point. Maybe this will lead to more post season appearances in Matty's career, maybe not. I still have to think he ends somewhere else before the '10 season. For a short period in Rockies history, he was the best player and a huge part of the '07 World Series. It's tough to think of how much more embarrassing that series with the Red Sox would've been without him in the lineup.

It will be interesting to see how he performs away from Coors. Not to say he was merely a beneficiary of Coors Field (if that can even be claimed anymore) or totally unclutch, but his numbers were better at home than on the road, and even then, much of his hitting seemed to come at inconsequential times (nobody on and two outs seemed to be a trademark). That said, I expect he will do well in Oakland and/or elsewhere if he doesn't stick in the East Bay. As much as it sucks to lose such a premier homegrown talent, part of me thinks getting saddled with a long term Boras contract probably isn't in the best interest of the Rockies. It's painful and if other teams can afford to do it (like say, the D-Bags), I think we should be able to as well. But, if it means we're handcuffed from signing other good players down the road, this might be the best choice. Good luck Matty! Say hi to Super Gallego for me!

So, where does that leave the Rockies? Unfortunately, I saw the stretch of games last year when Holliday was injured, and it wasn't real pretty. It's a big hole, for sure. I guess it means that if we are going to be decent next year, others are going to have to step it up bigtime (I'm looking at you Tulo and Hawpe), the pitching has to be way better (I'm looking at you Francis, Ubaldo, and Corpas), youngsters are going to have to ripen quickly (looking your way Morales, Stewbag, and maybe even Fowler), and management is going to have to either keep G-Dog, make a great trade for G-Dog, or acquire a free agent (Dan Uggla would do).

As far as who the Rocks picked up, it could've been worse. Street should help replace Fuentes in either a setup or closer role (depending on which Manny shows up this year) and I hear Gonzales has some hitting potential. Will it come close to replacing Matty in the short-term? Absolutely not.

The most painful part of this whole thing is that the Rockies tried selling fans on the notion that they had to grow their own talent and reap benefits later. Seems like if the talent blossoms too much, that promise is broken. If less than two of the three acquisitions turn out to be regular, productive players, then this deal is a net loss and strictly a money issue. However, you have to bear in mind, most people hated the Jennings deal when it went down too and that turned out to be a very good move by the Rockies. Wait, did I just defend Rockies management and cheapness. Better put down the crack pipe....

Keep the faith Blake Street brothers and sisters......

Hot Stove heating up and whatnot....

Some pretty crazy trade talks going on right now about the futures of some big name Rockies players...
Holliday, Atkins, Willie T. among others.

Holliday with supposed major interest from Philly, Oakland (!?! I thought they only got rid of good high-priced players) and St. Louis.

Atkins has pursuers in Minny and Cleveland. Chisox looking at Taveras.

It's a shame that it looks like there is no way that the current Rockies team will enter spring with the roster as it stands now.

I have no faith in O'Dowd doing the right thing with either Holliday or Atkins. Would love to be proven wrong but I can sense a 1st degree burn coming...

www.coloradorockies.com/springtravel