My Dinosaur Can Totally Beat Up Your Moose

Good look trying to stop us.

Especially with this devious Moose... 

Every off-season, any conversation ends with who was a winner and who was a loser.  Most of the reporter's attention will be spent the whole off season covering the big market teams and will keep shoving any new player on a Philadelphia/Boston/NYY/NYM jersey.  To any true fan that's not sucked in to the Big Money whirpool is fed up hearing about it by the end of the new year and this year has been no different with the possible exception of the lack of interest from big east teams in Holliday but around this site it's hard to find sympathy for Matt's off season "problems".

This offseason however the Marinersdecided throw their chips in to the frenzy, re-vamping their roster with the additions of Cliff Lee, Chone Figgins, and are set to soon acquire Casey Kotchman to become the full time starter at 1B.  This look like great pick ups in terms of acquire talent form a stronger team, rather then acquisitions that seem meant more to bring attention to a team.  And as the clock keeps counting down on Adrian Gonzalez time in SD, the Mariners looking to be sitting in a good position to possibly reel him during the season, which would easily throw them in the fire with the Beast of the East AL clubs in terms of talent.  There are still questions surround the back end of the rotation (what team doesn't usually though?), some bullpen help will be needed and injuries always play a factor, but the fact is now that it's looking like the Angels now will have to fight to keep up with the M's rather than the other way around for the first time since 2001.

Every off season the biggest stories will be what players are leaving where and which teams are acquiring who, but this off season it's hard pressed to argue that the Rockies are in the best position of any team to improve with little imports needed.  Obviously this isn't the place to try and point out every detail about what will make the Rockies in '10 better then '09, after all that's what Purple Row is all about.  But the possibilities of Dex, Cargo and Stew taking their games to the next level could prove to be much more important than 15 wins from John Lackey, or the 10-15 HR from Jason Bayat Citi Canyon or any value a player can give his team (with the exception maybe of Holliday but that also comes down more to the Cards being so thin behind Pujols and Holliday). 

This creates the scenario that the two most improved teams next season won't be the teams that played on the last game of the season like the press with emphasize so emphatically, it will be two West Coast franchises that won't truly get the attention they deserve unless they guy out and wipe the floor with a Media's Baby Team. 

So for all the fans who have had to put up with biasts and the overly-dramatic raves and hypes for players that are getting attention because of their big market destinations, I give you Dinger over the Moose in 2010.  Sit, back, kick your feet, grab a cold Coors Light and watch the game on mute for the first half inning so you can hear all the fair-weather-televisions across the east coast power off in misery.  Grab a couple dogs and watch and appreciate that you get to see Ken Griffey Jr. in his lone World Series (Let's just say he hits one Retro Jr. HR because he deserves it) go up against The Toddfather in what could be the last chance for both of them to get a ring in their HOF careers.  Enjoy hitting the "x" in the upper right corner of every article you read that talks about how awful the ratings are this year and get a good chuckle out of every rumor you hear start surfacing a week after the last game about the Yanks, Mets and BoSox desperate interest to acuqire Ubaldo Jimenezbecause now that their fan-base knows who this ace is and how for real he is now as they think their team can just find a way to bargain them in to their cart, kind of like a guy pulling up to K Mart in a Porsche and trying to negotiate a $2000 TV down to $1200.  But most importantly enjoy what should be a great series for Rockies fans (minus possibly a start from that Cliff Lee guy and a few swings from Adrain Gonzalez if he's in Teal and Blue) between two great teams who earned their right to be there rather then purchasing it in a November Fire-Sale.  But most importantly, enjoy a title celebration in LoDo!