This upcoming week between Christmas and New Year's Day is typically among the quietest of the baseball calendar, but last year at this time, Rockies fans did get a bit of a present as the Carlos Gonzalez contract extension rumors heated up.
Thomas Harding reports that the Rockies talks with the Braves have gone cold regarding a Seth Smith for Martin Prado exchange. And that chilliness, for the moment, comes from the Rockies, who don't want to include "a young center fielder" along with Smith for Prado. Dave O'Brien (center fielder link) implies that with several other needs and only $10 million to spend, the Braves will have to trade either Prado or Jair Jurrjens before the season starts to get under budget restrictions. This lack of leverage for Atlanta will keep interested teams like the Rockies from going too far out on a limb in offering prospects for either of the Braves players. Prado's disappointing and possibly foreboding 2011 season and Jurrjens' lack of durability will also keep the interest from other teams down.
Harding indicates that the Rockies talks with the Seattle Mariners remain engaged, but is unclear what's being discussed at this point beyond the possibility of a reunion with Chone Figgins. While a Figgins acquisition makes sense on some levels (buying low on a player that's likely to rebound at Coors,) it would be a bit of a departure from the high contact, low K and low BB route the Rockies have been taking thus far. Figgins led the AL with 101 walks taken with the Angels in 2009, and last season's 6.7% BB rate was a career low. The Rockies would obviously want Seattle to eat most of his salary, but at around $4 million/season, he would be about as solid an add as Prado.
Rockies radio announcer Jerry Schemmel has gone to Kenya to help spread baseball and other of life's necessities among orphans who have lost parents to the country's devastating HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Rockies minor leaguer Kyle Hancock is a frequent Tweeter, and he helped turn on Tri-City Herald's Jack Millikin to the social networking medium.
Have a happy Christmas, to all those who celebrate today, and to all the rest of you heathens like me, have a healthy drink or two, anyway, because when in Rome... Anyway, Merry Christmas!