Sunday Rockpile Links, March 9

Spring Training is great fodder for all kinds of conversation. Now is the time that all the talking can really heat up and there is a ton to evaluate and nothing on the line yet. The Rockies have their fair share of entertaining story-lines this Spring, some old and some new.

Troy Renck from the Denver post has a trio of entries in his blog covering the Rockies ST games down in Scottsdale. The first on covers yesterdays game and most specifically Brett Anderson's "surreal" feeling of pitching against his old team for the first time.

He also has some encouraging news from manager Walt Weiss regarding Boone Logan.Logan threw a bullpen session yesterday and Weiss hopes to have him available by opening day.

In the third and final piece from Renck, he explains why Ervin Santana won't be signing with the Rockies and also discusses a neck issue that has been bothering Justin Morneau.

That other Denver Post guy, Patrick Saunders, has some great stuff on Wilin Rosario's perpetual journey to grow as a defender. Will Rosario's dedication pay off and how long can the Rockies wait?

Around the MLB:

Don Mattingly discusses Matt Kemp's inevitable return to the Dodgers. He would of course complete an outfield that could start their own economy.

Fangraph's Jeff Sullivan has a neat graphic on teams strength of schedule this season. An aspect of the game I think people tend to forget about, the Rockies fall just under the medium average for expected strength of schedule. It could be a long year for Orioles and Astros fans again. And holy wow at the Nationals...how do we get in on that action?