As sg8335aa points out in the comments a couple of threads down, the Denver Post this morning reports that the Rockies have initiated discussions with the agent of Dave Roberts in an effort to make some headway in our center field dilemma. In addition to providing speed and a pretty decent on-base percentage, Roberts figures to be less sought after (besides by the White Sox, as I mentioned yesterday) than other center fielders on the market. I like this move, with Roberts plus Kaz, the top of our lineup would have more speed than it has since the EY/Quentin McCracken season of 1997. Plus, as an added bonus, both Roberts and Kaz are smarter base runners then Q was, which would mean fewer outs given away at second. The article also mentions that the Rockies are working on a deal with Byung Hyun Kim, which is another smart move.
Now, speaking of Kim and other Rockies pitchers with tricky to catch stuff: as for finding a back-up stop gap catcher with experience to provide support for Torrealba and Iannetta, one potential bargain filed for free agency from the Red Sox yesterday in Doug Mirabelli (this despite the fact that they exercised their option on Tim Wakefield). Mirabelli holds the distinction of having the lowest batting average of any catcher in the majors to get at least 150 at bats and clocks in at a -7.6 VORP, which would have made him marginally better than Danny Ardoin. Seems perfect to me...
Update [2006-10-31 13:5:6 by Rox Girl]: Sorry, I didn't notice this Baseball America AFL update until today. It's got an interesting note on Troy Tulowitzki, after admitting how tired he is, he also adds:
[UPDATE II] I keep on finding more stuff that came out yesterday, whoops. Dan Szymborski at Baseball Think Factory did the 2007 Rockies ZiPS projections. In particular, check out the Hawpe + Baker line of 41 HR and 162 RBI as well as solid production from Tulo and Iannetta. As one of the commenters says, if this is at all accurate, we're contenders next season.