The T-Rex Era is Now Extinct

With Dealin' Dan O'Dowd more than willing to shake up the Rockies roster this offseason, the first word out of the GM meetings in California is that O'Dowd is already starting to make waves within his own organization.

The first move was made this morning when he placed a call to closer Brian Fuentes and told him any one of these three lines:

1. "It's not you, it's me."

2. "I like you, but I'm not in like with you."

3. "Though you are the Rockies' all-time saves leader and were lights-out for most of the season, never complained once about your demotion from the closer's role, nor became smug when you regained it successfully, we'd much rather not try to bring you back to the ballclub. Instead, we're going to replace you with a guy who just finished an inconsistent season while getting paid the money that should rightfully be yours."

Any one of those three lines would suffice.

This is a major mistake by Dealin' Dan and the Monfort brothers (team owners Charlie and Dick). Though much has been made about the true value of a closer in baseball's current sabermetric world, the bottom line is that Fuentes was nails for much of the year.

He saved 30 games, his fourth consecutive year with more than 20. At one point, he saved 17 consecutive games, including a stretch between Aug. 15 and Sept. 17 in which, in 13 innings, he gave up three hits and two walks and struck out 24. He was so unbelievably unhittable that he made Rockies fans forget his, ahem, "hiccup" on last year's disastrous 1-9 road trip at the end of June.

Though Fuentes could reportedly command a contract upwards of three years and $39 million, the Rockies should try to pony up the dough to bring back T-Rex. He's coming off a year in which he was as dominant as ever. His fastball had new life, frequently hitting the mid-90s on the radar gun, and his changeup and slider routinely baffled batters.

Fuentes, though 33, is an attractive piece on the free agent market; the Mets, Angels, and Indians, among others, have shown significant interest thus far. He's seen as a less-costly option to the market's marquee free-agent closer, the Angels' Francisco Rodriguez.

The Rockies are combing the free agent market for a shutdown arm to pick up the slack in the late innings, but what Dealin' Dan doesn't realize is that he already had one on his own roster. Come 2009, don't be surprised if Fuentes gets a phone call in the middle of the night from a sobbing Dan O'Dowd, crying about how he was the best the GM ever had.