The state of Rockies fandom: Nolan Arenado trade talk, lack of free-agent moves stirs frustration | The Denver Post ($)
Kyle Newman of the Denver Post spoke to a dozen Colorado Rockies season-ticket holders about the state of the team. The general consensus is the team’s most dedicated fans are not pleased with the direction the team has taken this offseason.
For one, the team has not signed a single free agent to a guaranteed major league contract. Another reason is trade rumors surrounding Nolan Arenado. One fan said he has attended every Opening Day in Rockies’ history, but would not be back for a 28th year if the team trades Arenado.
Some fans said they felt there wasn’t much pressure on the Rockies to improve because they tend to draw fans even when they struggle (they were sixth in MLB in attendance in 2019). The front office, meanwhile, believes the Rockies aren’t throwing away their shot because internal improvements are the way to go. To see if this pans out, fans need to be willing to wait for it. Still, to stay alive in the National League West race, the path to a division title still appears to run through Los Angeles.
But one thing’s for sure—Arenado will never be satisfied until he wins a World Series.
Purple Row’s Renee Dechert wrote about how she didn’t renew her Flex Ballpark Pass on Thursday.
Rockies Insider: Assessing the five worst free-agent contracts in franchise history | The Denver Post ($)
Newman also gives us a look at the worst free agent contracts in Rockies’ history. We find a couple members of the current roster in Ian Desmond and Bryan Shaw, but they don’t come out on top—that honor belongs to Mike Hampton.
These big contracts have reminded the Rockies’ front office that history has its eyes on you, so this may make them wary of continuing to hand out contracts with numbers that blow us all away.
Rockies pitching coach suggests Brewers may have stolen signs during 2018 NLDS | Brew Crew Ball
I know him! Rockies’ pitching coach Steve Foster told Wisconsin radio personality Tom King that he suspects the Milwaukee Brewers may have been cheating during the 2018 National League Division Series.
At Brew Crew Ball, Jaymes L looked back at PITCH f/x data from the series and didn’t find anything damning.
One thing’s for sure—the Rockies’ offense certainly wasn’t cheating in that series. Either that or someone was paid to give them the wrong signs.
I also recently stumbled upon this idea:
In light of the cheating scandals that have enveloped the Red Sox and Astros, three members of the LA City Council want MLB to retroactively award the 2017 and 2018 World Series trophies to the Dodgers pic.twitter.com/MgIeFnjl0J
— Steven Sharp (@EstebanCortante) January 15, 2020
There is sure to be rioting in the streets of Houston and Boston if this comes to fruition, so I must say no to this. This council does not speak for me because chaos and bloodshed are not a solution.
What comes next in the sign-stealing saga? It sounds as though MLB is still investigating the Boston Red Sox.
JD Martinez on 2018 Red Sox: “I’m excited for the investigation to be done so everyone can see there was nothing going on here.”
— Jason Mastrodonato (@JMastrodonato) January 18, 2020
That’s what they’ll find?
“I believe so, yes.”