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By Jeff Todd | at
Email a copy of 'West Notes: Wandy, Rosario, Rockies' to a friend
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Lefty_Orioles_Fan
The Rockies are a tough out and signing Kendrick was a good one.
Plus, they are still in it.
Seamaholic
For those unaware of who Mark Kiszla is, just imagine the worst of the worst of your local gasbag commentators, that’s him. He knows a bit about football, nothing else, and is unconcerned about being accurate.
Pete Harnisch
I don’t care about Kiszla’s reputation. He makes a point. The Rockies have a “losing psyche”. This is pretty obvious. They have a 277-374 record over the past four years.
What he fails to mention is that the Rockies need to acquire starting pitcher via trade, not free agency. Guys like Shane Greene, who are young, have a high ceiling, and are under team control.
No Soup For Yu!
Greene is 26. He’s young, but not that young. Also Greene’s floor is about as high as his ceiling. He looks like he’ll be a solid #4 starter, no more, no less. That’s not a bad thing, but he’s no future frontline pitcher, despite the numbers he’s put up for the Tigers so far this year.
Sleeper
The problem with that is you need to give talent to get talent, and the Rockies really need to hang onto any talent they develop in their system to have any success. What they really need to do better is start developing pitching from within. Same result as what you mentioned, without giving up pieces they need in the process.
Pete Harnisch
Developing pitchers from within hasn’t worked thus far (with a few exceptions). That’s why I think they need to acquire young pitchers via trade. Pitchers who have already developed in another organization.
I also don’t see why the Rockies need to hang on to any offensive talent. It seems like they can plug any average hitter in at Coors field and he will produce (at home at lease).
Ray Ray
Sure they will produce at home, but the road has always been the Rockies undoing. I think the biggest reason is that Rockies hitter only see breaking balls on the road. They can hit breaking balls, but they are not used to hitting breaking balls because they don’t work as well at altitude. Which is the real “Coors Effect.”
Pete Harnisch
That opens another can of worms. I was trying to isolate and only discuss the pitching issue, which is tough to do because the altitude affects everything.
Ray Ray
I agree that that needs fixing, but I was pointing out why the Rockies can’t really just trade away offensive talent for pitching. It would be nice to move a Charlie Blackmon for a really good starter, but then two problems pop up. First Blackmon is overly scrutinized due to hitting at Coors so the return wouldn’t really be equal to his value. Second, and more importantly, the pitcher acquired has to be able to pitch at Coors himself. Jeremy Guthrie was a solid pitcher until he got traded to the Rox, then he looked like a guy that could barely get out of AA. Now he again looks fairly solid with KC. It’s a total guessing game about whether a pitcher’s psyche can handle pitching there.
Pete Harnisch
Well, Jeremy Guthrie is a flyball pitcher. He also seems a little soft. I think you need tough, resilient pitchers at Coors. Not sure who thought he’d be able to pitch there.
But I agree with you regarding the scrutiny with Blackmon. However, what about Dickerson? Or Cargo 2-3 years ago at his peak? Like you mentioned above, the front office holds onto players way too long.
It is much easier to trade away offensive talent and replace it with something else (e.g. homegrown fringe regular with good defense or a free agent). Can you imagine Nelson Cruz playing 81 games in Coors Field?
Ray Ray
I would be somewhat horrified seeing Cruz in the vast Coors outfield for 81 games. He might hit 50-55 HRs, but he would probably give up twice as many runs on defense.
Pete Harnisch
My point is – unlike pitching, offense can be acquired through free agency. The Rockies should take greater risk and trade position players at their peak.
Ray Ray
Wilin Rosario is the latest name that the Rockies have held onto until past the point of having any real value. Garrett Atkins, Brad Hawpe, Ian Stewart, and several others were kept past the point they were needed in Denver just because the Rockies either asked too much in return or stubbornly held onto them out of a misguided sense of loyalty.
Cam
The first word that popped into my head when I read those names, was “nosedive”. Atkins, Hawpe and Stewart fell and fell hard.
Ray Ray
Yep. Hawpe went from All Star to quietly waived in less than a year. He was a reserve All Star and not the only Rockie that year, so you know he deserved the spot.