Rockies 10, Athletics 4; Rockies reserves beat Oakland's travel squad

by Rox Girl on Mar 19, 2010 8:17 PM MDT in Rockies Game Wraps

Greg Smith showcased himself well, should the Rockies keep him as a sixth starter or decide to trade him (a possibility brought up by Jim Armstrong in the pre-game post at the Denver Post). Smith pitched five innings, allowing three hits and walking one while striking out six.

Jordan Pacheco (a catching prospect we don't talk about that often, third behind Wilin Rosario and Michael McKenry within the system at the position) led the Rockies with three hits, while Mike Paulk and Melvin Mora each contributed two apiece, both of Paulk's going for extra bases. The Rockies were using Pacheco and Paul Lo Duca to catch while Miguel Olivo worked with Ubaldo Jimenez in today's minor league contest.

The Rockies were generally ineffective against A's starter Trevor Cahill, who used his sinker to generate 12 ground-outs in five innings. Most of Colorado's scoring came against two pitchers that currently seem slated for Oakland's AAA affiliate rather than their MLB roster, but that's not supposed to be seen as an indication that the Rockies wouldn't beat Oakland more often than not at a neutral site as the preceding paragraphs should indicate to you that we didn't exactly have a full MLB contingent ourselves today. I'm just saying that as is often the case during the Spring, the scope of this victory may be a little misleading.

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this has nothing to do with anything

but i’m now on twitter. @owtsproductions. follow me. :)

"And I'm sick of all my judges/They're so scared of letting me shine/but I know that I can take it/So long as somebody takes me home every now and then" -- The Killers

by Squeaky on Mar 19, 2010 11:15 PM MDT reply actions

done

Donate to charity by shopping for Purple Row Merchandise at:
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by Charlie77 on Mar 19, 2010 11:43 PM MDT via mobile up reply actions

"We couldn't find anyone named owtsproductions."

;_;

It's my blog!

by biondino on Mar 20, 2010 2:48 AM MDT up reply actions

well that's weird, because i'm on there, and that is the username.

Try clicking on this link: http://www.twitter.com/owtsproductions

www.twitter.com/owtsproductions

by Squeaky on Mar 20, 2010 5:42 AM MDT up reply actions

Ah yes, that's better

I should probably have figured that out for myself :)

It's my blog!

by biondino on Mar 20, 2010 7:01 AM MDT up reply actions

I think there was a good mlb contingent..

Between Wolfmarauder, sdcat09, PF, Mondo and everyone that joined in we had a solid group of starters. Our production is just a little down right now. We’ll break 300 posts next time. This is just ST, you shouldnt get too worried yet.

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by Charlie77 on Mar 19, 2010 11:48 PM MDT via mobile reply actions

RG in yesterday's gt you mentioned..

A hypothetical trade with the dBacks for Greg Smith. Who would you trade for in that situation and do the snakes have anything left in the cupboards?

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by Charlie77 on Mar 20, 2010 12:00 AM MDT via mobile reply actions

I don't know, I've been looking at that this morning.

A fifth starter won’t have much MLB value, I’m guessing an affordable middle reliever like Clay Zavada or something. Same goes with the Royals, I’d speculate that the Juan Cruz rumor was what they would like to give up, but that the Rockies are more interested in younger and more affordable relievers. Usually starters are more valuable than relievers, but if it’s a starter that will have limited future use to the MLB club, it levels their value a bit.

It’s interesting to note that besides Smith, the Rockies seemingly showcased several other trade-bait players yesterday that have limited futures in the organization like LoDuca, Pacheco and Paulk.

by Rox Girl on Mar 20, 2010 6:59 AM MDT up reply actions

Fwiw, I asked DBS the same question

He felt Smith would top out in value as a decent 4th starter, so he wasn’t interested in trading anything for him. Could be sedona red glasses making him not panic about Buckner/Mulvey at the back end, but he also disagreed that Arizona is playing to contend now, thinking they’ll peak in a couple years.

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

by Andrew T. Fisher on Mar 20, 2010 10:41 AM MDT up reply actions

That's interesting, I could see why he'd feel that way, two years from now their projected starters would be:

C: Montero, 27
1B: Allen, 25
2B: Abreu?
3B: Reynolds, 27
SS: Drew?, 28
LF: Parra, 24
CF: Young, 27
RF: Upton, 23

That’s a pretty formidable group in their mid-20’s. For their rotation,

SP1: Haren, 30
SP2: ?
SP3: Parker, 22
SP4: Kennedy, 26
SP5: ?, it doesn’t really matter, I suppose.

The problem for both the Diamondbacks and Rockies (we have a similar core that will be in their prime in 2012) is getting to that point with enough money to keep these cores and a decent complementary squad in tact. Of these players, only Parker and Allen, possibly Parra, will be pre-arbitration, so the Diamondbacks would need additional revenue to make it happen given that they’re already overextended.

They have $35 million already committed to Haren, Upton, Young and Reynolds plus a buyout of Chris Snyder’s option that year (by comparison, the Rockies are under $30 million with commitments to five players, Helton, Tulo, U-ball, Iannetta and Street, plus a couple of buyouts) so the rest of Arizona’s 40 man roster needs to be relatively affordable. Montero and Drew will likely cost around $10 million combined as third time arb-eligible players, that would bump them up to around $45 million, and they would still likely need to obtain at least one more quality starter given the lack of polished mid-rotation candidates on their farm. I’m going to conservatively estimate $11 million as the salary for said starter, that’s $56 million for seven players, a decent bargain bullpen like the one they have now would cost $9 to $10 million, a good one could be a couple million more. A decent bench is likewise going to run around $10 million and you’re going to have to figure close to $5 million for sunk costs and a couple of quality AAA plan B’s on the 40 man roster.

I’m just guessing, adding in the minimum salaries for Allen, Parker, Parra and conservative first year arbitration estimates for Abreu and Kennedy, that keeping a contending caliber team with Arizona’s current core in tact in 2012 will cost north of $80 million, and that’s if all the young players pan out for them and they don’t have to dip into free agency to fill any starting holes besides the second starter. So, given what their ownership has said about being in the red already this season at an estimated $71.1 million for their opening day salary, I really have a hard time seeing them keep pouring that kind of money into this thing without revenues perking up, and in order for revenues to perk, Arizona really has to be a contender in the next year or two.

by Rox Girl on Mar 20, 2010 1:10 PM MDT up reply actions

All this said (sorry for the WALL OF TEXT), just because a team doesn't remain in tact

doesn’t necessarily mean that it will drop off in quality. If Byrnes is able to trade Haren or Drew for quality young MLB players that are ready to contribute (like O’Dowd did with Holliday), it would change my opinion of the situation.

by Rox Girl on Mar 20, 2010 1:18 PM MDT up reply actions