The forecast may be bleak (for the Rockies' presence in the postseason, not the weather, as I quit enjoy the rain), but there are still several weeks of regular season baseball to be played. Some of us have given up, some refuse to give up and yet others don't know what to think. As for me, I'm just going to let the chips fall where they may. The Rockies return home today for a quick three games against the Milwaukee Brewers, before departing on yet another multiseries road trip.
Recently suspended infielder Omar Quintanilla released a statement to the Denver Post, as reported on the All Things Rockies blog by Troy Renck. Quintanilla claims that an over the counter product caused the positive test. You make the call whether to believe the story or not; either way, Q was irresponsible. This marks the first organizational PED catch since the new drug policies were implemented. Quintanilla's suspension will last him through the rest of the season, and approximately 25 days into 2011. Quintanilla is eligible to declare minor league free agency after this season.
Thomas Harding of MLB.com discusses some of the details involved in Aaron Cook's upcoming rehab stint with the AA Tulsa Drillers. Coaches Bryan Harvey and Marcel Lachemann will be taking charge in the effort to retool Cook into a workable starting pitcher. It is still incredibly likely that Cook will be back for the final year on his contract, as release is off the table and trade will be nothing more than luck of the draw when it comes to offseason interest. We need him to be working right, if not in September, then in March.
Jack Etkin of Inside the Rockies lists the categories in which Rockies team members were voted into the top 3 in a recent baseball America survey. Carlos Gonzalez beat Stephen Strasburg for the second most exciting player, behind Albert Pujols. Ubaldo Jimenez and Troy Tulowitzki both made their way into several categories. It is important to remember that all three of these key players cannot voluntarily leave our organization until after the 2014 season (Jimenez and Tulowitzki are contracted that far, with 2014 option years, and Gonzalez will not reach the service time benchmark to declare free agency on his own until after 2014). Anyone feeling down about 2010 just need remember that our core can easily hold steady for at least four more seasons.
There's no jump today; the Rockies news world seems as down as the fanbase is these days.