Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!

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We hung out a bit in the back fields this morning for about an hour, but there wasn't a whole lot going on back there.  I'll show a bit from that, but first, here's a pic of Jorge de la Rosa pitching from today's game.

It is marginally interesting I suppose.   But here's a good sign.  This pitch was a fastball.  I took two others at the same point of the delivery (one fastball, one curveball), and all three are completely indistinguishable based de la Rosa's delivery.  Duplicates.

More to follow.

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First things first: If you want a discounted CBS Commissioner League, sign up using this link. It's award-winning and I get money if you sign up.

CBSSports.com is an SB Nation partner and paying sponsor of the SB Nation baseball communities. This post is one of a series of sponsor endorsed posts related to the CBSSports.com Fantasy Baseball Commissioner League.

Here's what's happening with the league. The draft will be 22 March 2010 at 10 ET/8 MT. Draft picks can be traded, so use this thread if you want to discuss trades. The scoring will be a 6x6 roto league, with OPS added to the offensive categories and GO/AO added on the pitching side of things. I added two spots for minor league players.

1. Russ - The Fighting First
   
2. ATF - Big Bat Todd and the Monsters
   
3. Andrew/RMN - WAR SABR WOBA LOL
   
4. Jeff/Jabbs - Lords of the Diamond
   
5. Bryan - The Dudes
   
6. Resolution - this.machine.will.destroy.you!!1
   
7. arpagamos - Nickerbockers
   
8. tulolgit2quit - The A-Stan Bears
   
9. NZ314 - Los Pícaros
   
10. GoRockies!! - Central Cali Rockies
    
11. Muzia - Highway to Helton
    
12. Squab - Outcastes
    
13. Roxsucca - Rocky Mountain Bombers
    
14. Charlie 77 - Segway UZR

More photos » Ed Andrieski - AP

Okay, I didn't take this photo, but I couldn't resist including a picture of Francis trying to appear intimidating. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

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It was the best day of the spring.  Not just because it was the best of the three days I have been in Arizona, but the affirmative chorus from coaches confirmed it to be true.  About seventy degrees, a slight breeze, warm sun.  Perfect.  Plus, Jeff Francis looked better than a solid fifth starter.

He did get hit hard a little in the first two innings.  Our old friend below is less than a second away from lining a pitch to the wall in left field.  However, Francis retired the final seven he faced.

There is much more to come after the jump.

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Once again, if you're looking for an award-winning fantasy baseball league, use this link to get 50% off a CBSSports.com Fantasy Baseball Commissioner League.

CBSSports.com is an SB Nation partner and paying sponsor of the SB Nation baseball communities.
This post is one of a series of sponsor endorsed posts related to the CBSSports.com Fantasy Baseball Commissioner League.

Now that I have that out of the way, for those in the league let's use this to figure out how we want the league to be run. First, let's settle on draft time. I'm thinking of a draft time around 11 ET/9 MT. I can't do any drafts in the afternoon unless they are on a Monday or Wednesday. The draft must take place between the 18th and the 24th.

Scoring? Right now it's a standard 5x5 league, but I can add more categories. I can also create special categories out of the stats they use.

All other topics on the league are welcomed.

For those wondering who will compete:

1. Russ - The Fighting First
   
2. ATF - ATF
   
3. Andrew/RMN - WAR SABR WOBA LOL
   
4. Jeff/Jabbs - Lords of the Diamond
   
5. Bryan - BK
   
6. Resolution - this.machine.will.destroy.you!!1
   
7. arpagamos - Nickerbockers
   
8. tulolgit2quit - Team 8
   
9. NZ314 - Los Pícaros
   
10. GoRockies!! - Team 10
    
11. Muzia - Highway to Helton
    
12. Squab - Outcastes
    
13. Roxsucca - Rocky Mountain Bombers
    
14. Charlie 77 - Segway UZR
    

I expanded the league by two so everyone who expressed interest could play. If you haven't changed your team name yet, please do so.

For anyone who is not in the league, but wants to follow the standings you can check it out here.

First to get the legal stuff out of the way: CBSSports.com and SB Nation reached a sponsorship deal for this season, and to benefit readers across the SBN-Baseball sites, you can receive 50% off the price of a CBSSports.com Fantasy Baseball Commissioner League. Remember to use this link if you so choose to run a CBSSports.com Fantasy Baseball Commssioner League. (Whatever, you can choose any alternative out there if you want.)

Now to the main point of this entry: who wants to play? Remember, there is no fee to join this league, but there will be awards at the end of the season. Five spots are already taken up by myself, ATF, Andrew/RMN, Jeff, and Bryan. I want to keep this league to 12 participants. So from now until noon MT tomorrow, please post a short, very short reason on why you should be in this league (HINT: It might not be wise to tell us that you want to destroy the PR staff in baseball). Once the league is full, we'll have a post on rosters and scoring. And yes, the frequency of these posts discussing the league will diminish and wind up being once a month after the start of the regular season.

CBSSports.com is an SB Nation partner and paying sponsor of the SB Nation baseball communities. This post is one of a series of sponsor endorsed posts related to the CBSSports.com Fantasy Baseball Commissioner League.

CLOSED. I WILL ANNOUNCE THE PARTICIPANTS LATER TODAY.

SB Nation is pleased to announce a sponsorship with CBSSports.com and its Fantasy Baseball Commissioner League product. You will receive 50% off the price of a CBSSports.com Commissioner League if you use the following link:

http://baseball.cbssports.com/splash/baseball/spln/mgmt/offer/a?ttag=fbbc10_on_all_sbnat_os_iab_0026

Not only will you receive 50% off the original price, you will also be part of the web’s most powerful league manager that won 8 out of 9 Fantasy Sports Trade Association Awards for "Best Fantasy Baseball Commissioner League Management Product."

Several of the features you will have with CBSSports.com's Commissioner League:

• Customize entire league the way you want...rules, scores, teams + more
• LIVE scoring & stats so you can follow along as your teams rack up points
• Keeper league capability to carry on the tradition for many seasons to come
• Expert analysis provides up-to-date information on all players & teams
• Live chat/league messenger to trash talk with your competition
• 14-Day Free Trial included

Once again, if you would like to use CBSSports.com's Commissioner League for your fantasy baseball league this year, sign up for it at 50% off through this link.

CBSSports.com is an SB Nation partner and paying sponsor of the SB Nation baseball communities.
This post is one of a series of sponsor endorsed posts related to the CBSSports.com Fantasy Baseball
Commissioner League.

Join me after the jump for a bit more.

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More photos » Ed Andrieski - AP

Unlike the Rockies, Purple Row's staff doesn't have cards with their pictures on it. But we do have our avatars!

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Just like the Rockies and every other baseball team, Purple Row has its own rotation. Since we have new members all the time, this seems like a good time to go over what content this site puts out during the season.

No matter what's going on, there will always be a daily Rockpile. Andrew/RMN, as you noticed today, has taken over the Monday Rockpile (explanation later). We'll also give you the latest performances in a daily Pebble Report.

We also have our weekly features. On Mondays we'll have ATF's NL West Report. I will take over his other project from last year: Know Your Foe. Just to get into it, I will have KYF appear several times throughout Spring Training. During the regular season, KYF will appear the day before the series or the day of it. Andrew/RMN, who picked up a Rockpile so I could take KYF, will have his Counting Rocks on Wednesday as usual. Jeff/Jabbs will keep Purple Row Academy on Thursday. We don't have a weekly column on Saturday yet, but we'll see. Silverblood will have Rockies Review on Sunday nights.

Rowbot Radio will appear every Monday morning.

We have a game thread for all 162 games plus every playoff game, up to and including the one in which the guys win the World Series. After the game is over, we'll wrap it up in a separate thread. This applies to Spring Training for both game threads and game wraps. If you're new and haven't taken part in game threads or seen how a game wrap works, you can click on the links found at the top of the left sidebar to those sections.

Here's to an amazing 2010 season for Purple Row!

More photos » Ed Andrieski - AP

Juan Nicasio is intense, and maybe you'll actually see him during a ST game.

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I just received a press release from the MLB Network listing the 78 Spring Training games that will air over March and the beginning of April.

The Rockies will appear on the network six times, showing the local broadcast.

I can't wait to watch some Rockies baseball!