Response to Kiszla Article

http://www.denverpost.com/rockies/ci_15651356

There's no surprise that many of us disagree with Mark Kiszla, but his latest article on the Rockies was especially bad. I didn't think he could possibly anger me further, and I was extremely wrong.

My internet failed last night and I've been traveling all of today so I was unable to post it. However, the post that I was going to make was so impassioned that I felt the need to post it here. This is what I wrote:

Wow Mark, this is a slap in the face to true Rockies fans.

To be honest, I didn't think any of the Dodgers moves aside from acquiring Ted Lilly were of high impact--and if you want to convince yourself that Scott Podsednik is an upgrade over Dexter Fowler, go ahead. Theriot is probably a DOWNGRADE from Blake DeWitt, and Octavio Dotel has been having an overrated season. None of those players could have helped us. How about a guy like Jorge Cantu, you may ask? The guy plays awful defense at all 3 positions he plays and has been non-existent offensively since a scorching April. Additionally, if Aaron Cook continues to pitch poorly, we have an internal fix in Jhoulys Chacin. De La Rosa, Francis, and Hammel have been very, very good as of late, so wasting prospects on back end of the rotation starters is not worth it. This is how the Rockies have imploded in past seasons. Remember the acquisition of Jacob Cruz? We gave up a future rookie of the year in that deal (Jody Gerut). Remember Kimera Bartee? Of course not, but we traded for him in return for Chone Figgins. Essentially what you're suggesting is to make a deal JUST to make a deal. Get real Mark; these types of moves have destroyed the Rockies in the past. It doesn't have to do with a cheap front office (which is, by the way, paying the largest payroll in Rockies history this season), it is intelligent baseball management. Not to mention, if the need for a deal really does come up, don't forget about the existence of waiver deals.

Also, to address your criticisms of CF, catcher and 3B, let me feed you some numbers. Sure, Chris Iannetta hasn't hit for much average, but he has a phenomenal .820 OPS and has 2 walk off homers on the season--and he's our BACK up catcher this season. Ian Stewart hasn't been as bad as you seem to tell yourself with great defense at 3rd base, solid power production and most important of all: HE'S 25. Fowler also hasn't hit for much average this point, but actually gets on base at a similar clip to Carlos Gonzalez (fueled by an amazing 39 walks, a GREAT sign for a young player) and plays unreal defense. Also, he's 24 YEARS OLD. These are three players that you would probably give up for a relief pitcher or a 5th starter and regret deeply in a few years. You must think that the 2003 Expos acquisition of Cleveland ace Bartolo Colon was a smart move. Do the names Grady Sizemore, Brandon Phillips, and Cliff Lee ring any bells?

As for free agency, I can't believe that you can claim to follow the Rockies and still think free agency is the best way to build a team. What got us to our last two playoff berths? A big bopper like Adam Dunn? More DINGERZ and less defense for your pitchers? Didn't think so. Again, this still isn't about wallets, this is about intelligent decisions.

Finally, you say that people showing up to the ballpark even with a so called 'mediocre' team, which I still disagree with given that this nearly identical team with identical coaching won 93 games last season, is a bad thing. You know what that actually shows to me? A fan base. I've probably seen more Rockies hats and apparel in the last two years than I did in the last 8 years before that combined. But no, of course, that just shows that Denver fans are apathetic. SO apathetic that they show up in droves to the stadium. That makes a lot of sense, doesn't it?

Ultimately, the Rockies haven’t played up to their potential this season, there’s no doubt about that. But unless you’re a believer that making a trade jumpstarts a team, which is a very risky position to take, you’ll have a hard time convincing me that acquiring a player would have helped the Rockies substantially enough this season to warrant foregoing a potential decade of dominance. I hope young baseball fans in Colorado that weren’t around to see the folly of the early 2000s and late 1990s Rockies aren’t fooled by this article.

PS – Manny Corpas has given up one earned run in his last 10.2 IP. Not that you'd be paying attention anyways.