Although, I guess it's more a result of a bunch of Cubs and Dodgers fans smashing into a bunch of Reds, Cards and Astros fans than it is about a bunch of Rockies fans getting together.
First thing this morning, I want to thank reader Jason Green for compiling pitching stats for all the Rockies' minor leaguers, and putting them into Excel spreadsheets for each of these four categories:
Batting Average Against
ERA
WHIP
DIPS (Defense Independent Pitching)
I'm excited about this. Just a warning: I'm going to use a lot of coded acronyms in this next paragraph, so casual fans tune out everything but the name of the prospect I'm about to mention. Anyway, if you like digging for hidden gems and possible sleepers in the system, this is a fabulous resource just to be able to look at everything and try to pick out anomalies. For example, note the two run difference between Drew Shetrone's standard ERA (5.98) and his DIPS run average (3.87) at Casper this past season. He had a good K/BB ratio and a decent K/9 but his WHIP was fairly high at 1.64. That huge swing with the DIPS shows this last number was him being handicapped by a higher than normal BABIP from opposing hitters. I'm going to peg Shetrone right now for a 2007 breakout season. Later today I'll put these tables down in the Purple Row Extras section at the bottom of the left sidebar for a permanent resource. Thanks again Jason!
Alright, back to regular Rockies stuff. In announcing the coaching fills this morning, Troy Renck also says the Rox are confident in re-signing Matsui. Also he says that Dave Roberts isn't out of sight yet. Thanks to Ganesh for answering my pleas this past weekend.
Also, the Rocky Mountain News and Tracy Ringolsby let it be known that JJ and the Rox will likely be working on a multi-year extension. I think it's obvious the Rockies would like this to be true, and I as a fan would like it to be true, although Jennings himself needs to take that plunge as well.