Murton Added to Rockies Mix; Wimberly Subtracted From Equation

Unbeknownst to many baseball fans and highway architects alike, Oakland Athletics' general manager Billy Beane and Rockies' GM Dan O'Dowd went into the offseason with blueprints for a major project that could only be defined as "ambitious."

The plan? A pipeline that runs directly from McAfee Coliseum in Oakland, Calif. to Coors Field in Denver.

This proposed pipeline would transport not only automobiles, freight, and the occasional roadkill raccoon, but Major League Baseball players traveling between the two cities and teams behind the historic enterprise.

Alan Embree drew the short straw and took the initial trek from Cali to Colorado. Once Alan arrived safely in the Mile High City, both organizations knew their paved path was safe.

Then came the Matt Holliday deal, a 3-for-1 swap that sent relief pitcher Huston Street, starting pitcher Greg Smith, and hot-shot outfield prospect Carlos Gonzalez to the Rockies in exchange for the superstar slugger.

You thought they were done? Oh, no. The two trade-happy GMs had one more deal up their respective sleeves, finalizing a trade that sent reserve outfielder Matt Murton to Colorado for minor league speed demon Corey Wimberly.

The Rockies dealt from a position of strength within their minor league system. Wimberly was a solid young player and he led the Texas League in stolen bases. He could play a myriad of positions, but he also was stuck behind Clint Barmes and Ian Stewart at the Major League level and Eric Young Jr. and Chris Nelson in the minors.

Murton, a career .312 hitter against left-handed pitching, could form a productive platoon with Seth Smith, a career .314 hitter against righties. With Murton coming into the fold, he fills out the 40-man roster, but also adds to the slew of outfielders vying for a starting spot in 2009.

With Brad Hawpe fully entrenched in right field, there are now eight candidates for the other two positions. Ryan Spilborghs presumably has the upper hand in center with prospects Dexter Fowler and Gonzalez giving him stiff competition. Veteran Scott Podsednik was also invited to Spring Training as a non-roster player after hitting .253 in 93 games with the Rockies in 2008.

In left, Smith will have every opportunity to win the job in the spring, but if he falters in the Arizona sun, Gonzalez, Murton, and non-roster invitee Dan Ortmeier will push him for playing time.

In an effort to get Stewart consistent repetitions, he will also be put into the outfield mix to keep his thunderstick in the starting nine.

That is assuming, of course, that no more players will be making the trip down the Oakland-Denver pipeline between now and Feb. 17, when position players report to camp.

At this rate, it's anybody's guess.

Big Trade for Big Daddy

Wow, I'm like the Bill Paxton of Windows Paint.

As you, me and most indigenous tribes deep in the Amazon who have never spoken to the outside world have heard, Matt Holliday has been traded to the Oakland Athletics for Carlos Gonzalez, Greg Smith and Huston Street.

Allow me to preface this by saying that the Rockies are my #1 favorite baseball team. But... the A's are my #1a. I love them nearly as dearly as my beloved Rockies. So, I have watched, rooted for and read about all four players very extensively. Luckily for me, I can't lose here. For both teams, and their fans, there is plenty to lose. So, I will look at this trade as objectively as I can for both teams, player by player.

Matt Holliday

He's the face of the franchise and has been the team MVP for two years running (at least by my count). Losing him is not an easy thing for the Rockies. That being said, he was on his way to free agency and a contract that would exceed the GDP of every country in the European Union combined. Now, I think people realize the 2007 Disney movie that was the Rockies team is over and the credits are through rolling. It isn't financially viable for the Rockies to buy Scott Boras a new beach-front house with a Holliday contract. That's why the Holliday firesale occured and O'Dowd picked the highest bidder, which turned out to be the A's. What the A's get is an established right-handed bat in a heavily left-handed lineup. He has one year with the A's in 2009 and then heads into free agency. The A's aren't dumb enough to pay one corner outfielder $25 mil a year well into his mid-thirties, no matter how good he is. Billy Beane is essentially playing real estate agent here. He will probably leverage the crap out of Holliday and see if he can't Sabathia him into a greater return than what he gave to the Rockies. If he can't find a deal, he'll let Holliday go to the Yankees, Red Sox, Angels, Dodgers, Mets or anyone else who can overpay him, while Beane collects his two first round draft picks. There is, of course, a relatively decent chance that the A's (Holliday's Godzilla bat in tow) can overtake the overrated and aging Angels in the AL West and be a contender. If this is the case, they may pay Holliday to stick around and be their franchise as they finalize a move to Fremont, but this is very unlikely. Holliday is basically a new, and valuable, trading chip for Billy Beane, probably not much more.

Carlos Gonzalez

This guy craps talent and pisses ability. He can play average to decent center field right now (and exceptional right field when Dexter Fowler is ready) and he has the potential to hit 30 home runs. A good center fielder who can hit 30 home runs is about as common as a an uninjured Broncos running back. When you find a player with that ability, you grab on and hold tight. That being said, CarGon (or C-Gon) is very unrefined. He has suspect plate discipline (0.16 BB/K ratio in his major league stint), which is probably why Beane traded him. In the minors, he didn't consistently display his talent in the stat column (career .813 OPS in the minors). Still, his talent is hard to match. His speed, power and arm strength all grade as well above average and his arm is exceptional. What O'Dowd has gone for in CarGon is pure, unadulterated talent. He could be a better fielding Grady Sizemore, or he could be a talented bench player who can't seem to put it together. CarGon is by no means can't miss, but if he's a hit, he'll be an out of the parker. It is a ballsy move by the gambling O'Dowd.

Greg Smith

Nibbles, as he has been unaffectionately called, is a soft-tossing lefty that won't blow you away, but will be effective. His fastball averages 87.6 mph, but he can place it where he wants. Probably his best pitch is his cutter/slider that ranges from 80-86 mph. He'll also serve up a passable change-up and a pretty good hook. Nibbles has outstanding command of all of his pitches (except maybe the curve). His problem, though, is that he spends too much time trying to place each pitch on the black (hence the nickname). In the minors, he rarely walked people (2.64 BB/9), but in the majors he got preoccupied with nibbling at the corners and gave up 87 free passes in 190.1 innings. He can strike people out, but he's no Tim Lincecum, so he can't get to caught up placing everything right on the edge of the plate. At the same time, Coors Field is not going to keep balls in the park like the Coliseum. His 34.2% fly ball rate and 45.5% ground ball rate are not particularly good signs for Smith. He may be watching a lot of big flies from the mound. That being said, he is a much better back end of the rotation guy than Jason Hirsh and Franklin Morales. A rotation of Cook, Jimenez, Francis, Smith and De La Rosa/whoever wins the job is much improved over last year's. Smith won't be flashy or exceptional, but he will eat 190+ innings and give you a chance to win. Expect a 4.50 era out of him, but many a home run. P.S. Though it is not much more than ancillary, Greg Smith has one of the best pickoff moves in baseball.

Huston Street

The rumors are saying that O'Dowd wants to turn around and deal Street elsewhere. I'm inclined to agree. Streeter was a great pitcher. Was. And Buchholz and Corpas are capable late relievers. Let's play a game. It's called Fastball Velocity and Our Economy: Plummet Away...
2006 - 91.7 mph
2007 - 90.4 mph
2008 - 90.0 mph
Now let's play Walking Batters and NFL Fines: Soar to the Heavens...
2006 - 1.66 BB/9
2007 - 2.16 BB/9
2008 - 3.47 BB/9
Streeter is by no means a bad pitcher, but he is also showing signs of decline. O'Dowd more or less picked him up for his reputation. If that is the case, and he turns around and trades Street for something better but less reputable, then, for the first time in my life, I will commend Dan O'Dowd for his baseball intelligence (but it will probably be the only time). If the Rockies keep him, Streeter will be a functional but expensive (he has two years left of arbitration raises) reliever. If the Rockies trade him for good players, well done O'Dowd.

Conclusion

Basically, Billy Beane picked himself up a fancy and expensive house. He's going to paint it, maybe refurnish the kitchen, and pitch it to someone else for a higher price. Beane got O'Dowd to buy in on CarGon's potential and Streeter's reputation. Nibbles is a throw in that will hold a rotation spot, but not really excel. Holliday will net the A's either two first round picks or multiple prospects that will be as good (but at more needed positions) or better than CarGon, Streeter and Nibbles. This is probably a loss for the Rockies and a win for the A's. Who knows though? Perhaps CarGon will be the next Sizemore/Beltran and Smith will be the second coming of Tom Glavine, while Street picks up other good prospects. At this point, though, O'Dowd should put a for sale sign on Garrett Atkins and Todd Helton, and see what he can get. Helton would be salary dumping, while Koshansky fills his spot. Atkins and maybe Street could get a very good return package (obviously, it's time for Ian "Do You Think I'm Sexy" Stewart to play third). Maybe throw in Willy Taveras and the Rockies will have cleaned up a bit of a mess and moved on for their next push at a playoff run (maybe 2010). Hawper in left, D-Fowl in center, and CarGon in right could be quite an outfield. I guess we'll have to wait and see if O'Dowd didn't get fleeced.

Season Recap (Insert catchy title here (I’m exhausted and the Rockies only exhaust me further))

I’m going to do one of Master Masterson’s recaps, except for the whole Rockies season to this point…

So, Yorvit Torrealba is taking some Rockies on a clothes shopping trip; maybe he should take Dan O’Dowd on a players shopping trip. The ones Clint Hurdle throws out there everyday aren’t getting it done. Not even close.

Some of the players are talented, but talent doesn’t win games; I’m pretty sure hitting, pitching and defense win games; though I’m not positive. The Rockies can’t hit (20^th in team OPS). They can’t pitch (24^th in team WHIP). Ok, I guess they are alright at fielding, but certainly not great. Put that all together and 10-16 is almost decent.

Look at the starting lineup:

Willy Taveras – not very good, period

Todd Helton – doing decently

Matt Holliday – just murdering the ball right now (could improve his slugging)

Garrett Atkins – decent, but OBP needs work, big time

Brad Hawpe – what happened?

Troy Tulowitzki – what happened?—times infinity

Clint Barmes – overachievement is a pleasant surprise

Yorvit Torrealba – terrible hitter who shouldn’t start

The only way that lineup is going to put up any wins is if you have 12 Jake Peavy’s and Johan Santana’s pitching for you. Instead, the Rockies have a bunch of ‘07 Jeff Weaver’s. Jeff Francis must have been taken over by a T-1000, hell bent on destroying the Rockies (Terminator 2 shreds!). U-ball-four-do Jimenez has twice as many wild pitches as anyone in baseball and seems to believe that baserunners are a good thing. Franklin Delano Morales has more balks than strikeouts (untrue, but wouldn’t surprise me). Then there is Manny Corpas who seems to have been taken over by a T-2000 or something that can blow saves with its mind and telepathically communicate with a hitter, telling them exactly what it’s about to throw. The pitching staff looks replacement level right now—not good!

What do we do now? Scrap and rebuild? Billy Beane’s A’s have the best record in the AL in a “rebuilding” year. Sadly, comparing Billy Beane to Dan O’Dowd is illegal in most states, when it’s not a joke (please don’t tell the feds on me). The Rockies look destitute right now. What is more indicative of the year than Tulo slamming a bat or helmet and yelling after half of his plate appearances? All that slamming and yelling doesn’t seem to be helping anyone. I refuse to believe that my favorite baseball player is just acting. Winning must be more important to him than $31 mil over 6 years. Right?

Maybe I’m being pessimistic and premature. After all, the Rockies started out pretty poorly last year. I just don’t see the 21-1 fluke happening again; as much as I want it to. I feel like the old Rockies fan in me is coming back. I no longer turn on the TV expecting them to win. I turn it on in hopes of them maybe staving off their screw ups until at least the seventh inning. Where is Jamey Wright? Where is Choo Freeman? Danny Ardoin? If they are going to lose so much, at least they could have comically bad players. I feel like it is 2005 all over again. Will it be the eternal recurrence of the Rockies’ washout same? Pretty please, no. With sugar on top. And a cherry. Hell, I’ll throw in a fiver, nay, a twenty. Is that enough?

If I had a couple hundred million dollars, I would gladly give it to the Rockies. My only condition would be that they drop Dan O'Dowd and hire David Forst as GM.

This is turning into a Dan O'Dowd slander site.

Today’s Random Quote:

“Hell?!?!? (points to his head) This is hell. Right Here!” – Benicio Del Toro in 21 Grams

I just thought of the most depressing line from the most depressing movie that I could think of. Depression is apropos right now if you are a Colorado sports fan.