If it seems that the offseason has slowed to a crawl, it has. It isn't just you. It isn't just that the Rockies checked out from their 2010 season thirteen games before the end of the regular season rather than thirteen games after. Check out the Rockpile from a year ago today. 378 comments. We haven't reached that since December 9, ironic given the final comment in that thread.
So why is the Good Bad and Ugly theme running through my head every time I click Purple Row? Simply, Dan O'Dowd got a quick start on building the next season's roster this off-season. There isn't much to banter about, as the budget seems filled while the publicized targeted holes have been filled. Compare that to last offseason, when Miguel Olivo signed on January 4, resulting in the final chapter of the Catcher Wars. We are not likely to see any ground-breaking Rockies news in the coming weeks.
As a result, the staff has to get creative entertaining you folks until pitchers and catchers report in about fifty days. We have talked Hall of Fame. Written 1500 words about Cliff Lee. Reflected on this date in 2009. Created an xtranormal video. Now we are outright talking about the elephant in the room. Hmm...what's next? Hmm..anyone like Mad Libs?
Okay, so I won't resort to mad libs....yet.
NL West Team Needs: MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com
Good for a refresher on NL West teams this offseason, though I strongly disagree with Dierkes' first need for the Rockies: rotational depth. Granted, every team needs it, and Dan O'Dowd will indeed add someone, but I wouldn't single out the Rockies as having that need. Greg Smith was in the Opening Day rotation last season, and he is at best eighth on the depth chart right now. Esmil Rogers and Felipe Paulino are fine sixth starters.
Twitter / Ken Rosenthal: The Blue Jays are close to signing Octavio Dotel for $3.5million. That would complete a very strange cycle between the Rockies and Jays this offseason, as Colorado would be granted a supplemental draft choice in 2011's draft thanks to the very team who took one away from the Rockies in the Miguel Olivo trade. Bluebird Banter was not exactly excited about the possibility of inking Dotel.
In the Rockpile from last December 28, I linked a Hardball Times article by Mike Silver saying that
"(Tulo's) 18.5 percent HR/FB rate (in 2009) puts him right above Miguel Cabrera, Ryan Braun, Kendry Morales and Mark Teixeira. While it's certainly possible that Tulo carries that kind of thump in his bat, it may be a bit optimistic. Expect some regression in this category."
Give Silver credit. Tulo's HR/FB did regress in 2010....all the way down to 17.1%....still better than Mark Teixeira and Ryan Braun. Tulo is a freak.
Rockies experience season of ups, downs | ColoradoRockies.com: News
Thomas Harding wrote up a nice season in review complete with a Christmas bowtie. No arguments here.
Fantasy Baseball: 2011 Outfielder Rankings - FakeTeams. Ray Guilfoyle proclaims CarGo to be the #1 fantasy outfielder in 2011 in both leagues. That's some serious high praise, especially considering Guilfoyle did not even rank Tulowitzki as the top shortstop.
5th Annual Event | Power Showcase Home Run Derby In case you want to see the next Ian Stewart, the high school home run derby starts today in Phoenix.
Baseball Prospectus | The Week In Quotes: December 20-26. Alex Carnevale of BPro collected the most interested quotes from last week in MLB. One Rockies-related quote made the list. It came from a Jim Armstrong article Saturday that Bryan linked, a quote from Todd Helton about Carlos Gonzalez:
"I've been on him already about not getting fat and happy. When you're in the three hole, you're the focal point of the lineup. You're the guy they know they need to get out. You're going to get their best lefty when the situation calls for it. And a lot of those first-pitch fastballs are going to be sliders."
Good thing we have The Toddfather hanging around. There is no one I would rather the Little Pony took advice from about hitting in the three-hole.