Troy Renck suggests that the Rockies need the kind of help that either Ty Wigginton or Jose Lopez can provide in 2011. I agree that Colorado could use another offensive threat, and a right handed hitting corner to fit into right field or first base would be ideal, but so far the candidates are unappealing and too close to the Melvin Mora/Ryan Spilborghs level of production on offense to be satisfactory. Obviously we're not going to be able to compete for Jayson Werth or Paul Konerko in the free agency market, but unless there's a suitable mid-tier alternative (like Pat Burrell, for instance) that's a clear upgrade on what the team already has on its bench, it's in the Rockies best interest to pass on the free agent market and look for a trade.
Lopez isn't too bad as a bounce back candidate, and his current home park obscures what he's really capable of (he's a career .280/.311/.413 hitter on the road) but his one significant drawback, lack of strike zone judgment, gives him a low OBP and has had him in the AL top ten in GIDP's the last two seasons. It also results in him not really hitting left handed pitchers much better than he hits RHP's. I say pass unless Rockies scouts feel they see an easy fix to the plate discipline issues.
MLB orders change in use of humidor - which is actually of course incorrect, the only change that's happening is in who sees the baseballs that are getting put into the bag from the humidor. Nothing else is different. Just as long as umpires remember which team it is that's making them jump through this extra hoop. Maybe Matt Cain doesn't really need that extra corner space off the plate that he gets.
Troy Tulowitzki chasing Babe Ruth - What's getting lost in this is that a big reason Tulowitzki has so many RBI (well, besides the 15 times he's knocked himself in) is because Carlos Gonzalez is hitting .427 so far this month. I don't know if the Rockies have ever had a tandem this productive at once. Of course, since we're talking about comparisons with Babe Ruth for one of them, we can probably safely assume that most non-Yankees teams haven't either. A real key for 2011 will be to get both players to click earlier in the season.
"I don't tip my cap," Wilson said. "They beat us. That's fine. It's 1-1. Tomorrow is the deciding factor."
There's a fairly heated rivalry that's developing between the Rockies and Giants, and it's unfortunate that Colorado has let poor performance against poor teams give San Francisco the likely end of year better record bragging rights. I firmly believe the Rockies have the better team, but the Giants have played the better season. The two teams are clearly the most talented in the division currently (and for next year) so don't expect the sniping and gamesmanship to end anytime soon.
The Rockies are going to Tulsa for an exhibition to conclude their 2011 Spring Training schedule. The visit to the Drillers new (as of 2010) ONEOK Field will be the team's first trip to Tulsa since 2003.