Cleveland is considering trading a starting pitcher for a bat this offseason

Indians trade rumors: Cleveland wants to add a bat this offseason - MLB Daily Dish

It's trade rumor season. Scott Gelman at MLBDD discusses Cleveland's willingness to part with either Danny Salazar or Carlos Corrasco in return for a bat. Gelman notes that the Indians had shown interest in Miami's Marcell Ozuna.

From now until the Rockies 40-man roster is sufficiently altered, any trade speculation referring to a team searching for a bat will pique our collective interest. If the Rockies were to try and snag one of the Indians' pitchers, only Salazar, who is younger and much more affordable, would make sense. But aside from that, it's worthwhile to compare Ozuna's numbers, who evidently might be enough to yield an established but young starting pitcher, with a comparable Rockies player who is a good trade candidate, Charlie Blackmon.

Since 2012:

Via FanGraphs

Blackmon and Ozuna are similar players. The conceit, of course, is that Blackmon is about four years older. Still, if Ozuna can be the centerpiece of a trade for a starting pitcher of Salazar and Carrasco's caliber, especially to a team with aims to compete in 2016, then I see it as a recommendation of Blackmon's potential trade value.

Sunday Notes: Cubs, Pirates, Managers, more | FanGraphs Baseball

David Laurila's Sunday Notes column has a lot of interesting tidbits about managing. Given the recent news that Walt Weiss will be back in 2016, it's relevant. The many interviewees suggest that the manager is most important when it comes to managing individuals rather than tactics within the game. In particular, Jon Lester indicated that players "take on the persona of the manager."

In that respect, I can imagine Weiss being successful in the position. His failure leading the Rockies probably has more to do with timing than anything else. Yet, I still don't quite understand the rationale behind bringing him back for a lame duck season—maybe it's not.

On Fandom, Leverage, and Emotional Barometers | FanGraphs Baseball

In a couple of ways, this piece is about context. First, Owen Watson notes that his rooting interests have evolved. Once a Red Sox fan, he moved on after about 2007, when the Red Sox became the Red Sox, Perennial Contenders and Frequent Champions. The team's identity changed, so he moved on. Watson notes that he began supporting the A's after he moved to Oakland. But this, too, didn't last. He's been writing for FanGraphs during the 2015 season, and his team interests have waned altogether. It's a variation of the "writers cheer for the story" yarn.

The specific story Waton has found himself cheering for is the other part of context. Namely, he notes that he's found himself drifting toward high leverage situations, and the Leverage Index in particular, because they provide the emotional substance that the Red Sox and A's used to produce. He rightly notes that Leverage Index "measures the level that events in a game emotionally matter to us." This is another example that reveals the lie behind the supposed divide between "old school" and "new school" ways of consuming baseball.

Finally, I'd like to test Watson's claim about evolving team identity and fandom. I'm eager to find out whether or not I can remain a Rockies fan if they become the Colorado Rockies, Perennial Contender and Frequent Champion. It's for science.

Choose Your Rebuild: AL Playoff Edition - Rockies Zingers

Even though those responsible are loath to say it, the Rockies are in the midst of a rebuild. But there is no single model for turning a losing team into a winning one. Adam Peterson reviews the various approaches this year's American League postseason teams have taken to find one that might fit for the Rockies. While the emotional response might be the "burn it down" model deployed by the Astros (which would include trading Nolan Arenado) because it is the clearest expression of doing something, I think Peterson rightly notes that the Rockies are the process and the strong farm model, which is exemplified by the Royals.

Finally, Troy Tulowitzki did this in the Blue Jays' win at Texas yesterday:

<iframe src='http://m.mlb.com/shared/video/embed/embed.html?content_id=521982283&topic_id=11493214&width=400&height=224&property=mlb' width='400' height='224' frameborder='0'>Your browser does not support iframes.</iframe>

After the game, Ken Rosenthal for some reason asked Tulo about the trade from the Rockies to the Blue Jays. To the out of context question, he responded with the same sentiment he had after the trade took place:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Tulo, who homered tonight in Jays&#39; win at Texas, on his dissatisfaction with <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Rockies?src=hash">#Rockies</a> trade on FS1 postgame: <a href="http://t.co/bBQJvr1iol">pic.twitter.com/bBQJvr1iol</a></p>&mdash; Nick Groke (@nickgroke) <a href="https://twitter.com/nickgroke/status/653413323313037312">October 12, 2015</a></blockquote>

I can't imagine anyone around here has an opinion about this, but we'll leave the comments open anyhow.