This Week in Purple will be a weekly (naturally) feature on Purple Row this season. Every Friday, we’ll look back at what was bad and what was good for the Rockies during the week past. And because baseball is a lot of things to a lot of people — a distraction, a hobby, an obsession — that can’t always be decoupled from everyday life, we’ll also save some space to talk about what was good for us last week. The comments will also be open to drift off topic (but not too off-topic) so all community members can answer that same question.
What was good
For one, the Rockies locked up Nolan Arenado through at least the 2021 season and have set everything up for him to be a Rockies lifer. How good that is for the team really can’t be underestimated. I’m on record on this here website for making a fine distinction between Larry Walker and Todd Helton. Walker, I’ve argued, is the greatest player the Rockies have ever had, in that nobody to don a Rockies uniform was ever a better player for as long as Walker. Helton, the other hand, is the greatest Rockies player. He’s the guy who was in Colorado his entire career — it’s his only professional association.
If Arenado plays out his entire contract, he could very well be both the greatest player the Rockies have ever had as well as the greatest Rockies player. So, yeah, that was not a bad event this week.
Another highlight is that the Rockies have started to play real, live baseball again. You can catch most of the games on the radio, and starting March 15 AT&T SportsNet will start broadcasting games from Arizona. We have the full broadcast schedule here.
What was bad
The Rockies have started to play real, live baseball — but it’s not real enough to be that exciting. For me, the best day of Spring Training is the first exhibition game, and the worst day is all of the other ones. That first game is a simultaneous reminder of the fun that’s coming and the nearly month full of days until the fun really starts. But that’s just me, and I’ve never actually been to Spring Training, which is probably where the real fun is.
Jeff Hoffman has four innings pitched so far this spring, but they were four bad innings. He gave up four runs on four hits while walking two and striking out one. Spring Training stats don’t mean anything, and we should absolutely not take those four innings to draw conclusions about Hoffman. Still though, in a week of smaller than small samples, that one sticks out as not good, but bad.
What else was good?
For me, I’m still enjoying all the snow during my first winter in western New York, even though it’s rare to have snow on the ground and sun in the sky, unlike in Colorado. I don’t even mind shoveling because I can just put my head down and catch up on podcasts. Watching baseball on TV this time of year is like catching a glimpse of the future. Also, I’m thiiiiiiis close to finally being able to do a handstand without assistance (I still need a wall for balance though).
What was good for you this week?