Dave Krieger wrote a column at the Denver Post picking out the Rockies starting nine for the first decade of the 2000's. I think I would agree on all of his choices for the position players with the exception that I'd pick Juan Pierre over Preston Wilson in center field, and I would have Torrealba and Iannetta split as catchers 1a and 1b just as the team itself has over the last four seasons. For the pitchers, I think Ubaldo Jimenez at the very least deserves some mention, and I'd personally go so far as to pick him over Cook for my right handed starter, although I'd probably try to waffle some way of including Aaron anyway, such as picking an all aught's starting five of Ubaldo Jimenez, Aaron Cook, Jeff Francis, Jason Jennings and...
Hmm... now there's where I run into an interesting question. Who should be the Rockies fifth starter for the all decade team? I think the four I mentioned are clear choices for slots one through four, but after that it gets tricky for me. Do I go with a guy who had one great season like Shawn Estes, Joe Kennedy or Jason Marquis, or somebody who quietly put in their yeoman's work over several years like Josh Fogg (I mean, really, when we think of the Rockies fifth starters during the 2000's who better epitomizes that role than Fogg?). Krieger mentions Denny Neagle and Mike Hampton, but I'm assuming (hoping) that this was with tongue firmly in cheek because Shawn Chacon probably made a stronger case for inclusion in the all decade team during the two or so disastrous seasons that pair spent with the Rockies.
Alright, so I think I've narrowed it down to six choices: Estes Marquis and Kennedy for their single season performances, Fogg and Chacon for their cumulative work, and the one I haven't mentioned yet: Jorge De La Rosa. Why JDLR? For starters, he has the most wins of any Rockies starter in the 2000's outside the four starters I've already deemed as locks. De La Rosa's 26 wins in two seasons beats the next best, Chacon at 24 (Chacon added a couple of those W's, not to mention quite a few L's, while he was the closer). For those that see the wins as meaningless, JDLR also has the best FIP of these candidates and all the peripherals to suggest that he's legit. He's sort of the perfect hybrid between the one season wonders and the guys that strung together several mediocre years for the team.
Okay, I've convinced myself, Jorge De La Rosa it is. I'll put a poll up, though, we'll see what everybody else thinks: