Mark Kiszla goes off about how important it is to keep Ubaldo Jimenez, but he's clearly no Jeff Aberle when it comes to making a case, among other things lumping catcher Chris Iannetta in with other disappointments this season as an evaluation of talent that "proved to be dead wrong." Guess who makes outs the least frequently when they come to the plate in 2011, Troy Tulowitzki, Carlos Gonzalez, or Chris Iannetta? 65.6% of the time when he comes to the plate, Tulo will get us a little closer to losing the game by turning around and going back to the dugout. Cargo's a little better getting out just 64.3% of the time. The guy who makes outs the least of the three this season is Iannetta, only 62.2% of the time. I know Kiszla has reading comprehension difficulties, but can the Post please just spring for him to watch the Moneyball movie this fall? The one real baseball lesson from that book isn't that difficult to comprehend and has become universal among contenders outside San Francisco: making outs on offense is bad, and all other things being equal, it's good to stick with players who don't as much as those that do.
Meanwhile, New York media figures are being just about as clueless, take Mike Silva as a case in point. The Rockies never once said they wanted to trade Jimenez. Not once. The Rockies said they would listen to offers and it's the Yankees, Reds, Rangers and others who are saying they want to trade for Jimenez. Guess who sets the price in this case? Buyer or seller? I don't care what some NL executive thinks how much Jimenez is worth, unless it's Dan O'Dowd, who gets to set the price here.
Kiszla's and Silva's schtick is to pander to the fans who wish to remain ignorant, because that's where the money's at, but obviously Purple Row panders to those who feel smug and superior over the plebes because of their vast baseball knowledge. So with that in mind, a better graphical look at Jimenez's many pitches and how unique he is among all MLB pitchers comes from the Hardball Times. Jimenez is a work of art, and if you have to ask how much he's going to cost in trade, you probably can't afford him.
Todd Helton wants to win, and Jorge De La Rosa (who's ahead of schedule in his recovery from elbow surgery) wants Ubaldo to stay are among the notes from Troy Renck.
Thomas Harding has notes on Tulo's post All-Star break resurgence, Matt Daley and Eliezer Alfonzo.
I remembered to look at SBNation Denver this morning for a new Dan Lucero article, but there's nothing new from Lucero there. Instead, this guy Russ Oates actually uses some reason and boring but intelligent historical stuff rather than the knee-jerk bloviations I've pointed out elsewhere. Oates will never make it in the media, or politics, I'm afraid, but he's right, despite what Kiszla and others say, there is a point of return on every player, regardless of how much surplus value they provide, where it would further the team's interest to move them. It's just a matter of knowing where those points are, and being able to deal with the backlash from fans if somebody's willing to offer that.
Rockies first base prospect Jordan Ribera is a long way away from the MLB in Pasco, Washington, but he's off to a solid start to his professional career. Ribera's the grandson of former Reds great Jim Maloney, and he talks about his grandfather and Tri-City baseball in a video interview here. Despite being a 21st round pick this year, Ribera's .320/.391/.553 as a 22 year old debut at that level does suggest big league possibilities, others who have hit about as well at that age and level include Charlie Blackmon and Mike Zuanich.
Despite all the links above, I actually hope we don't talk about a Jimenez trade scenario anymore today, but instead, discuss the interesting offshoot topic of what exactly this team needs to be competitive again in 2012 (for reals competitive and not the hope for a miracle, oh we're within ten games and still have eleven weeks stuff.) Who needs to get dumped, how much does their replacement need to produce, and how do you go about affording it? Keep in mind that Tulo, Cargo and supposedly Ubaldo will pretty much eat up salary outlays. Using free agency to fill major voids with known stars is virtually off the table with the revenue that the Rockies bring in. Your challenge is to figure out who those bargains are going to be that the Rockies can afford. How do the Rockies get a pitching staff that rivals the Giants, or soon the Diamondbacks without a major trade of a star player? How do we get an eventual Todd Helton replacement worthy of a contender?
The only rule today is that it can't involve an Ubaldo Jimenez deal. I want to see other creative, but realistic solutions.