Cold Kim-chee
Some good news by way of bad news on the trading BK front. Thanks to an injury to Freddy Garcia, oft speculated about Jon Lieber seems to be off the market for now. Not that Kim's in Lieber's class, but there are still teams in need of scrounging up starters, and one less available via trade might stoke some interest. interest in Kim is in serious need of stoking, according to Tracy Ringolsby, Jayson Stark and others. Today's start by BK against the Brewers as Ringolsby mentions in the linked article is take two of his audition for scouts of other teams, as the last take ended up on the blooper real.
Barmes Burning
Though the interest in Kim is minimal at best, the same can't be said of Clint Barmes, who's being sought by at least four teams, according to Ken Rosenthal, the Twins, Cubs, Marlins and Rangers, and you can add a fifth with Kansas City according to the Ringolsby article. The Rockies in return are looking for another "proven" bullpen arm according to Ringolsby, and Rosenthal implies that the arm also has to be pre-arbitration in service time. It seems the Rangers and Marlins are probably best able to meet that price, but all five teams have relievers on their rosters who would seemingly fit the bill. Both articles show that the Rockies have some pretty solid leverage in these talks, and it might take some convincing to pry Clint loose.
Ringolsby's article also brings up the possibility of trading for Jose Molina of the Angels as a backup catcher, although given the Halos' depth already in the middle of the infield, I would think those talks are separate from the Barmes rumors.
Rookie of the Year, I'm so calling it.
Finally. Thanks to yesterday's Saunders article, Chris Iannetta is getting attention outside of Denver, North Carolina, and Rhode Island. Now to start making it stick he just needs to go out and perform this season like he's capable of. While I'm certain of Chris performing at a high level for the Rockies, I, for one, am hoping his Tar Heel basketball team suffers a serious letdown tomorrow night.
Understate Much?
Clint Hurdle, on lefty reliever Tom Martin.
Update [2007-3-22 12:3:11 by Russ]: Baseball America's Jim Callis takes a shot at predicting how each division will shake out by the end of the season. The Rockies take the fifth spot since their youngsters aren't able to "win in the majors" yet. And he does this even after acknowledging that the fourth place Giants are basically Bonds and a bunch of old guys. I was expecting something a little better, Jim.