“An executive of one club wonders why the Rockies would even want to trade a pitcher like Marquis. ‘If you have a guy in Colorado who isn’t fazed by pitching at Coors and he’s having success at Coors, don’t you have to keep him?’”

Sure, maybe. I wonder if the Rockies have the budget, though.

It’s also worth noting Marquis has an ERA of 5.34 at home, 3.10 away, so the exec might not be looking at the stat sheet too closely.

What are we wanting from the trades, mostly? Good pitching, right? People that can pitch at Coors? So, the point of trading good pitchers (Street, Marquis) to get good pitchers is… yeah, there is none.

And, yes, Marquis isn’t exactly the greatest pitcher at home. With Coors, is anyone, really? Yes, yes, ok, so I know there’s the humidor and all, and the home stats really aren’t as jacked up from the thin air as everyone says, but it’s still a major hitters’ park. There’s no getting around that. But do we want to take the risk on someone who we can’t be quite sure is Coors-capable?

Maybe we wouldn’t be trying to get pitching. I don’t quite see another huge gap at this point, though. It just seems a bit pointless. Especially if we continue to play this well.

Perhaps I’m the only one who’s miffed by the “trade Hawpe” nonsense. It doesn’t make any sense to me. Sure, if you don’t think that this team is only one or two pieces away (which is a theory that I happen to subscribe to) then it may make sense to trade Hawpe. However, trading established All-Stars just because they’re the only “sure-thing” on your roster that isn’t “untouchable” is what makes losing franchises remain losing franchises, in my opinion. If you get good players, especially ones that want to stay long-term by all accounts, keep them.

A package of Spilly and Atkins could net a starting pitcher. It wouldn’t be a #1 by any means, but do the Rockies need a #1 in return? A #4 starter, which that package would command, would be plenty. Look at it this way. The Rockies are starting to play well. Assuming this isn’t a fluke, you have to consider two things with the pitching. First, with the starters – de la Rosa and Jimenez have a history of turning it on in the 2nd half. Who knows with Marquis, but he tends to fade. Cook is up and down, but more up. One more pitcher could give you 3 sure things and 2 wild cards. Second, the bullpen – Embree is experienced in playoff runs. Corpas has been nails in the 2nd half each of the last two years. I wouldn’t be so quick to trade big guns just because you can.