Townie's Take: Eric Young Jr. and the trade of Chris Iannetta

-- Should I apologize for my sorta harsh words about Eric Young Jr. and his odd dismissal from his Venezualan League team?

Young issued a statement over the weekend explaining that his team failed to provide a family member that flew in on Thanksigiving Day the proper transportation from the airport. Young then took matters into his owns hands, citing safety concerns after the kidnapping of Wilson Ramos, and drove to the airport himself. Of course the flight of his family member was delayed, which forced Young to miss the first four innings of the that day's scheduled game.

Strange story. I was admittedly too quick to pass judgment, but the whole thing still feels kinda weird. Not that I don't believe Young or all of the circumstances he explained, but seriously, what the hell? And what about an explanation for the other alleged late arrival to the ballpark?

Anyway, I apologize for not waiting for Young to explain himself and for calling his actions embarrassing. That's probably not true. However, I do not apologize for saying he was at least partially fired for being bad at baseball or that I'm not all that interested in watching him play for the Rockies again next season.

Sorry. Not sorry.

-- Fallout from the trade of Chris Iannetta.

I posted some extended thoughts on the trade for Big League Stew on Thursday morning.

To summarize: I like Chris Iannetta. I think he was an undervalued member of the team, but I also think he was an underwhelming member of the Rockies.

Yes, both undervalued and underwhelming. I swear it's possible, but only with the Colorado Rockies.

Listen, I'd never sit here and tell you Chris stinks or Chris is anything remotely close to what Rockies fans wrongly feel about Huston Street. He's not. He's a great on base guy, an improving catcher and an all around plus baseball player. I've just always felt like he could be more. That he could provide the Rockies with that third run producer they so desperately need. That he could become a perennial all-star.

The scary thing is... he's still young enough to be all of those things. He just never was with the Rockies, and now we know he never will be. It would have been nice if Jim Tracy had moved him up the order for like a week, just to see how that worked. It also would have been nice to see Chris change up his offensive game a bit and become more aggressive in game-changing situations.

There are a lot things you can point to as reasons he didn't reach the level I believed he could and still can, but it doesn't matter now. He's gone. 35-year-old Ramon Hernandez is in. You could do worse as a part-time catcher there. And Wilin Rosario is close to becoming the Rockies regular catcher.

As for the addition of Tyler Chatwood. I only saw bits and pieces of Chatwood in 2011, but looking over scouting reports and stats it's clear he's a two-pitch pitcher (fastball and curveball), and he struggled mightily with his command in his first big league.

Concerning? Absolutely. But at 21, there's obviously still time for him to improve and develop his game. If he ultimately fails to develop as a starter, he seems to possess the traits of a pitcher Colorado likes to groom for late inning relief roles. So he's definitely an interesting addition. Of course most of us are hoping for sure thing rather than interesting, but it's not exactly easy to find sure things.

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