Wednesday Rockpile: Coors rep depends on Holliday; Rockies in it in '09; Atkins headed for hearing

Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post is reporting that how Matt Holliday does in Oakland determines the way people will look at the post humidor days of Coors Field.  Saunders dives into some stats that would suggest that the humidor is doing its job, such as three 1-0 games in 2008, something that never happened in the past.  I tend to disagree.  The reputation for Coors Field has been etched in stone and placed in the history books to stay.  Despite hitters parks like Great American and Citizen's Bank Park, Coors Field still comes into play as the more "hitter friendly" venue.  Don't believe me?   Ask Holliday and the MVP trophy he lost to Jimmy Rollins.  If Holliday does well in Oakland, he simply becomes a great hitter, and Coors Field remains an unfair advantage to the rest of the baseball world.

In another Denver Post article, Troy Renck tells fans to not write off the 2009 Rockies.  Renck mentions, among other reasons, that the rest of the N.L. West hasn't gotten any better. If the Dodgers can't pony up the money to sign Manny Ramirez, the Rockies, with the addition of Jason Marquis, may just have the ability to win the division, or at least make it close.  While I can be accused of being a hopeless romantic with this franchise, I believe there is some truth in this article.  Despite most fans opinion, Dan O'Dowd has done a good job this off season with what he has been forced to work with.  I believe that ownership told him to ship off Matt Holliday at all costs, they didn't want to spend $12 million on someone who wouldn't be around in 2010.  In that trade they received an extremely talented player in Carlos Gonzalez, and a closer with close to 100 career saves.  In addition, O'Dowd rid himself of his 2007 mistake in Luis Vizcaino, and landed a quality, experienced arm in Jason Marquis.  Marquis has won no less than 11 games in each of the last five seasons.  Essentially, he is a more talented Josh Fogg.  With this addition, and a return to form of Jeff Francis, the Rockies have every opportunity to be in the hunt come September.

The Rockies dealing with arbitration is usually a quick process, exchange numbers and meet in the middle.  The Rockies have only been to an arbitration hearing on three occasions, winning two of them.  Jack Etkin of the Rocky Mountain News is reporting that the Rox may be in line for their fourth hearing.  Apparently the Rockies and Garrett Atkins are $1.3 million apart.  That is a huge difference as far as arbitration is concerned.  Atkins is reportedly seeking $7.95 million, and the Rockies are offering $6.5 million.  Despite Atkins numbers going down in two consecutive seasons, Atkins has a strong case for his number.  With the loss of Holliday, he is now the teams power source.  Also, he showed his versatility by moving from third base to first base when Todd Helton went down with a back injury.  It almost seems as if the Rockies are preparing to say goodbye to Atkins by suggesting early on that they are not going to be shelling the money out for him.  Tracy Ringolsby suggests that he may already be gone, if not for the question of Helton's health going into '09.  If Helton returns to health, the Rockies may put Atkins on the trading block depending on where they sit in the standings come July 31st.