Tuesday Rockpile: Firin' up the hot....plate

by Andrew T. Fisher on Nov 10, 2009 7:28 AM MST in Rockpile Comment 47 comments

More photos » David Zalubowski - AP

It's okay, Bradley, you do a lot of little things well.

All (Relatively) Quiet on the Colorado Front

The Sporting News' choice for Executive of the Year has a lot of pans to juggle in the fire at this year's GM meetings, not that it is unusual. At least he won't be working out a blockbuster trade this year. In fact, O'Dowd figures to be far from the limelight as the Rockies, along with most other teams, deal with economics in free-agency market, writes Patrick Saunders.

The only probable trade of a prominent Rockie at this point is RF Brad Hawpe. When trying to raise Bradley's value, perhaps O'Dowd should read Beyond the Boxscore - Hawpe grades out at 2nd best in the major leagues since 2007 at some new-fangled stat called "Little Things" (defined as wRAA dividied by WPA/LI). Apparently Hawpe does those "little things" well that commentators love to mention, while Brian Roberts and Derek Jeter are terrible. Hmm...

Even though Rockies fans with a vague recollection of who Seth Smith is will be pining for O'Dowd to bring back Matt Holliday, the Rockies don't figure to fish in the big free agent pond. In fact, in MLBTradeRumor's Top 50 Free Agents, only one current Rockie or projected signee appears - at no. 50. For what it's worth, I agree with Tim Dierkes that No. 50 will wear purple pinstripes and sign on the dotted line rather soon.

Thomas Harding reported yesterday that Jose Contreras and Joe Beimel filed for free agency. Neither are favorites to return to Colorado, though Contreras is an intriguing wild card.

The Elias Free Agent rankings were released yesterday, and Tracy Ringolsby notes that Marquis, Beimel, and Torrealba are Type B Free Agents. Nothing surprising there. In light of the list's publication, Fangraphs notes the Elias rankings is Where Darren Oliver = Matt Holliday Happens. R.J. Anderson uses two former Rockies to illustrate the painfully incongruent draft pick compensation system.

If you missed it yesterday, Rowbot deacs posted a link in the Joel Sherman Fanshot that Torrealba turned down a 2yr/$4.5mil contract, according to Jon Heyman tweeter. I'm just fine with Paul Phillips being the backup to start the season, and I'm very intrigued to see what Michael McKenry could offer the big club eventually in 2010.

Arizona Fall League, and Dreams

Dan O'Dowd wasn't the only Rockie to be honored yesterday. After going 6-for-11 with 3 HR, 4 RBI, 6 runs and a stolen base last week for the Scottsdale Scorpions of the AFL, Wilin Rosario was named AFL Player of the Week. It's good to see the kid raking once again after he struggled with the large jump to Modesto to start the summer.

Another Rockies prospect has had more of a Greg Smith time in the AFL. Chaz Roe is dealing with the flu, part of his disappointing showing thus far. He is a candidate for Rule 5 protection, as he was drafted in 2005, with the Rockies next pick after Troy Tulowitzki.

PizzaCutter wrote a How To piece at BtB for anyone who wants to visit all 30 parks in a summer - on a budget.

0 recs | Comment 47 comments | Share

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Early rumors still seem to be indicating that the Dodgers don't have much money to spend

When Jason Marquis is out of their price range (Hernandez is a beat reporter for the LA Times), you have to figure they’re not going to be going after Rich Harden or Erik Bedard and certainly not John Lackey. This echoes what’s being said over at the TBLA blog, and you have to figure that as long as the McCourt’s divorce is up in the air, they aren’t going to spend a lot. Given that they have quite a few arb. eligible players, I really don’t seeing the Dodgers upgrading their personnel unless it’s via trade.

There’s still an issue of internal improvement, as young players like Clayton Kershaw and Chad Billingsley might be upgrades on their 2009 selves, but hopefully that’s balanced out by regressions off of career years for Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp and others and continued declines for Manny Ramirez and Casey Blake.

by Rox Girl on Nov 10, 2009 9:11 AM MST reply actions 0 recs

Just like

last winter with the Pads. I bet they sure wish they didn’t have Manny’s $20Mil handcuffing them right now. I certainly like the idea that they will have trouble getting better. Losing Randy Wolf is not going to help their cause out at all.

by Hizilla on Nov 10, 2009 9:30 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Agreed, but I suspect by the end of next season...

….2009 won’t be considered Ethier’s career year.

Still, absent another stay at a maternity ward, I have a hard time seeing Man-Ram doing any better than .280 with about 18-20 dingers, and LF defense that would make Brad Hawpe look like a Gold Glove candidate.

I like our chances going into next season, and think our biggest competition is more likely to come from the Bay Area. Time to send them a flotilla of balloons, I suppose.

Watching the purple row from high atop the big brown monolith on California Ave

by Mondogarage on Nov 10, 2009 9:40 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Andre Ethier is Brad Hawpe, just a younger version of him. Complete with the bad defense in right field.

Now Matt Kemp, I don’t think we’ve seen the best of him yet, but I am willing to go pretty far out on the limb in saying that Ethier likely had his best year in 2009. He might get close to it again, but I doubt very much that he will ever exceed it.

by Rox Girl on Nov 10, 2009 9:51 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

oh god Matt Kemp is good and is gonna get better

I wish we had Matt Kemp

Hope got in my eyes

by Andrew Martin on Nov 10, 2009 10:11 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Dexter Fowler is better

I couldn’t keep a straight face while typing that

Winners never quit, and quitters never win. But if you never quit *and* never win, you are an idiot

by squalene203 on Nov 10, 2009 1:19 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

i should say not!

Hope got in my eyes

by Andrew Martin on Nov 10, 2009 2:22 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

I would hope that you are right

A regressing Ethier would make me happy, and give the D’backs a legit shot at 3rd place…

Watching the purple row from high atop the big brown monolith on California Ave

by Mondogarage on Nov 10, 2009 10:23 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

The big problem

with Ethier is his platoon splits. RG mentioned above that he was basically a young Brad Hawpe…I think his struggles against LHP are much much worse. Matt Kemp scares me, as he is really still just learning to play baseball. I think it will be tough for LA to win as many games as they did this year. SF really needs to get some hitting, as it will be tough for their pitching to improve. I also think it would be unwise to write off SD, as many did last year. Their second half was pretty impressive.

by Hizilla on Nov 10, 2009 10:27 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

This is a good point, with Ethier's splits

they’re playing a shift on him anymore

Hope got in my eyes

by Andrew Martin on Nov 10, 2009 10:44 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

He was on my fantasy team all year

it got to the point where I was benching him against leftys toward the end of the year. He would either not play or suck.

by Hizilla on Nov 10, 2009 10:48 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Scoresheet?

Benching vs. L or R is one of the options in Scoresheet Baseball. Do you play this sim?

by patnkeren on Nov 10, 2009 6:59 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

The thing that scares me about San Fran is that hitting is much easier to get than pitching

I wonder if Bud Selig will give the Yankees a receipt with their World Series purchase

by RhodeIslandRoxfan on Nov 10, 2009 2:40 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

True. But are they able to outlay the kind of cash to get the "big hitters"?

People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring. ~Rogers Hornsby

by pedalpusher on Nov 10, 2009 2:47 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

It seems like every year they give a lot of money to somebody and thankfully they are usually wrong.

Barry Zito, Aaron Rowand, Edgar Rentaria. I don’t know if this means they are out of cash or if they have more and have a chance to guess right for once.

I wonder if Bud Selig will give the Yankees a receipt with their World Series purchase

by RhodeIslandRoxfan on Nov 10, 2009 2:51 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

I'm waiting to see what they do go after...

Assuming their pitching remains neutral to 2009, and despite the youth there’s not really any room for improvement there, they’d need about 75 more runs to really get in range of the division. Freddy Sanchez gives them a few, but if the downplaying of Posey that’s going on is correct, the loss of offensive production at catcher could make that a zero net gain. That’s why I think they still need two bats, I don’t think one, even if it’s Holliday, will be enough.

by Rox Girl on Nov 10, 2009 5:27 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Agree with that but consider...

lotta young talent in San Diego.

by Since1993 on Nov 10, 2009 12:23 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

I think the 2010 NL West division race will be the best in baseball when you consider the number of evenly matched teams and the talent involved

I wonder if Bud Selig will give the Yankees a receipt with their World Series purchase

by RhodeIslandRoxfan on Nov 10, 2009 2:39 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

have trouble getting better?

95 wins and a second straight trip to the NLCS was pretty good, no?
You can only hope Tracy can work his magic again in 2010.
Wolf is a type A free agent who will probably be offered arbitration, so the Dodgers will get picks of some team decides he’s worth the picks, or they sign him for another year.

raygu

by Ray Guilfoyle on Nov 10, 2009 10:40 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Or even maintaining status quo

Losing arguably their best pitcher from 2009 is not going to help their cause. Draft picks will help the organization, but not help the MLB club any time too soon. I wonder if being as strapped for cash as they are with the divorce, if they will risk offering him arbitration.

by Hizilla on Nov 10, 2009 10:47 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Exactly. I was being generous in saying they'd have trouble getting better

my real opinion (as things currently stand) is that the 2010 Dodger team will be coming in about five or six wins worse than the 2009 team did. Injuries, bad luck or accelerated declines from players could make next year very disappointing. The draft pick compensation they’ll receive for Wolfwill help for 2015, but not next year. It’s not like Dodger fans are quaking in their boots about Rex Brothers or Tim Wheeler (the comp picks we got for Fuentes last season) as Rockies fans, we’re not going to worry about those extra picks until they start getting close to contributing. Instead, we see what already was a hole for the team getting worse, and so far it doesn’t seem that the Dodgers are really looking for an upgrade beyond the hope that Kershaw and Billingsley improve. That would still leave three out of five vulnerable slots in the rotation, and I don’t think LA will be able to get away with that next season.

by Rox Girl on Nov 10, 2009 5:18 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Rox

I remember you saying the same last offseason, anyway…..couldn’t you see the same for the Rockies? Tulo certainly won’t duplicate his 2009 season. Hawpe regressed in 2009. CarGo-small sample size in 2009, can he continue to hit like he did in his 200+ ABs in 2009? DLR-fluke year or no. Stewart at 3b needs to improve at the plate.
Lots of questions for the Rockies as well.
Regarding the Dodgers pitching staff right now…we had the same concerns last offseason, and things turned out well. BTW-the Dodgers still have Kuroda in their rotation, so they only need tow more starters to go with Billz and Kershaw.

raygu

by Ray Guilfoyle on Nov 11, 2009 2:27 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Ha! Last offseason I said

1. That Manny wouldn’t play as well as he did with the Dodgers in 2008. He did not.
2. That Casey Blake wasn’t all that. He was. I got that one wrong.
3. That James McDonald wasn’t a really good option to rely on as a fifth starter. I got that right.
4. That Clayton Kershaw was too young and wild to really be a significant contributor either. I missed on that.
5. That the Rockies would be a lot closer to the Dodgers than anybody was giving them credit for. I got that one right also.

I don’t know, if you want to go back and look for some specific instances where I screwed up, go ahead, be my guest, I’m sure they’re there, but I don’t think I was as far off as you say, and I think I’m a lot closer than you on where I see the Dodgers in 2010.

by Rox Girl on Nov 11, 2009 6:56 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

not necessary

but one could see the Rockies not playing as well in 2010…..goes both ways.
keep up the good work here.

raygu

by Ray Guilfoyle on Nov 11, 2009 7:04 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

tulo wont duplicate his April and may either, hopefully

Until June, we were seriously discussing whether he was any better than bobby Crosby. Hawpe didn’t exactly regress. He was an all star, deservedly so, who fell off the map but his numbers evened out to be not too far off of recent years. Check the counting rocks link on the top left of the front page. Rmn recently scrutinized dlr’s and it most assuredly was not a fluke

"I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein

by Andrew T. Fisher on Nov 11, 2009 7:02 PM MST via mobile up reply actions 0 recs

so

tulo will go 40-30???

raygu

by Ray Guilfoyle on Nov 11, 2009 7:06 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

doubtful

I didn’t say he would have a 2010 season exactly projected as June-Sept09. But you make it sound as if he was so awesome there’s just no way to sustain it. He could have the same numbers even with a stark regression from 09 second half just by hitting worth a damn before June

"I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein

by Andrew T. Fisher on Nov 12, 2009 2:08 AM MST via mobile up reply actions 0 recs

best pitcher?

Wolf ws not their best pitcher….Kershaw was. check his stats…..and he;s only 21!!

raygu

by Ray Guilfoyle on Nov 11, 2009 2:21 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Saw some TV coverage of the McCourt divorce yesterday

Ugly, ugly, ugly. It’s not good when the franchise CEO position is being contested in the courts. I imgaine it will get worse before it gets better. Talk about a distraction.

"It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart." - A. Bartlett Giamatti

by Rawktober on Nov 10, 2009 11:26 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

As much as I dislike the Dodgers, it would be a shame if this divorce tore apart one of the most storied franchies in MLB

People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring. ~Rogers Hornsby

by pedalpusher on Nov 10, 2009 2:40 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

I know I should agree with this but I just can't

I wonder if Bud Selig will give the Yankees a receipt with their World Series purchase

by RhodeIslandRoxfan on Nov 10, 2009 2:43 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

apparently I don't know how to spell....franchises. And that still doesn't look right.

People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring. ~Rogers Hornsby

by pedalpusher on Nov 10, 2009 2:44 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

It won't tear apart the franchise, really

It will ultimately dictate the club is sold, and most likely, under community property laws, the proceeds split.

Watching the purple row from high atop the big brown monolith on California Ave

by Mondogarage on Nov 10, 2009 3:31 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Agree

But that could take a loooong time,especially if everything is contested etc.,right?

by butterfly on Nov 10, 2009 5:17 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Absolutely, and that could certainly affect any big FA signings

But it doesn’t mean they’re all of a sudden going to lose all their arb-eligible players

Watching the purple row from high atop the big brown monolith on California Ave

by Mondogarage on Nov 11, 2009 8:05 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

please God not to Mark Cuban

Hope got in my eyes

by Andrew Martin on Nov 10, 2009 6:46 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Aw, I think it would be kind of fun to watch him get run out of the stadium for getting on an ump.

People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring. ~Rogers Hornsby

by pedalpusher on Nov 10, 2009 6:56 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

well that part would be great

$189M payroll wouldn’t

wait ned colletti is an idiot

ok it’d be fun

Hope got in my eyes

by Andrew Martin on Nov 10, 2009 6:57 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

It's not like Cuban has exactly cornered the market on NBA championships.

People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring. ~Rogers Hornsby

by pedalpusher on Nov 10, 2009 6:59 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

hahah that's also very true

Hope got in my eyes

by Andrew Martin on Nov 10, 2009 7:09 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

colletti an idiot?

I seem to remember O’Dowd almost run out of town a few year ago,no?
Colletti has made some pretty good moves the last two years after having two bad years. Playoffs in 3 of last 4 isn;t too bad.

raygu

by Ray Guilfoyle on Nov 11, 2009 7:10 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

O'Dowd was almost run out of town around 2004ish, yes

Ned Colletti is an idiot.

Hope got in my eyes

by Andrew Martin on Nov 12, 2009 6:58 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

That's exactly what happened to the Padres

and now they have a 40 mill payroll….which is mostly going to AGon

Dear Rockies - Thank you for a wonderful rollercoaster of a season! NL Wild Card Champs. Best turnaround in MLB history for a team to win the Wild Card. Can't wait to do it again next year!

Troy Tulowitzki - MLB's BEST shortstop..nuff said
Yorvit Torrealba - Re-sign!! he's en Fuego!!
Brad Hawpe- I hope I get to see you in a Rockies uniform again!
Dexter Fowler - prowling CF, WC in his talons, leaping Utleys in a single bound!

by SDcat09 on Nov 10, 2009 7:29 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs