Tuesday Links and Things: We say goodbye to Seth Smith

The trade winds keep on blowing in Colorado... along with a lot of snow I hear. This time the Rockies have parted with outfielder Seth Smith, shipping him to the Oakland A's for two pitchers who may or may not be good fits: Josh Outman and Guillermo Moscaso.

I wish I knew for sure how well they will fit, but any time you can get two pitchers - who are relatively young/cheap, have experienced the big leagues, and even enjoyed a degree of success in the big leagues - for at best a really good platoon corner outfielder, you pull the trigger and take your chances.

So Dan O'Dowd pulled the trigger and now we have about 15 pitchers battling for four starting rotation spots behind Jhoulys Chacin, maybe a couple of bullpen spots, and for the right to be the first starter/reliever recalled if a MLer is injured.

As Dan O'Dowd put it.

"It's a raging competition for spots."

I shortened the quote, but it still sounds awesome.

Honestly, the most likely outcome to this trade is maybe not that we forget it ever happened 2-3 years down the road, because we all respect Seth Smith and he was significant enough to not be forgotten that easily, but I doubt it'll register as more than a minor footnote. That said, I think the Rockies have a better chance to come out big winners if either pitcher is useful for any extended period of time. If both are, Dan O'Dowd can keep his job forever.

That's what I'm saying about the trade. Here's what a few other websites are saying.

• Rockies Review
• RoxPile
• Purple Row
• Blake Street Bulletin (Very interesting and thorough take on the entire Rockies offseason/game plan)

In other news, the Rockies have offered Jamie Moyer a minor league contract and an invitation to spring league. Moyer is 49, coming off Tommy John surgery, and possibly not human. But he has a good changeup, he's left-handed, and the Rockies probably value his mental toughness and leadership. I wouldn't blame them too much for that. 

It would be a really amazing story if Moyer pitched well enough to make the team (or, you know, if the Rockies other options suck more than him and he still made it). And could you imagine if he started alongside Juan Nicasio? That's enough feel good, inspirationalness to overwhelm even the biggest Tebow Crazy. And probably a lot of bad baseball if Moyer made too many starts. 

Let's see... anything else? 

How about a couple quick football picks? 

Prior to the season my Super Bowl was Green Bay over Baltimore. I then changed my pick to New Orleans over Pittsburgh when the playoffs arrived. I just really like how well New Orleans finished the season (and hated Green Bay's defense), and in an extremely weak AFC, I figured Pittsburgh would find their way through again.

Wrong.

So now I'm picking San Francisco over Baltimore. Why? Because I had my picture taken with Jim Harbaugh when I was 8 and I've never met John Harbaugh. My flawed logic makes more sense than a lot of what has actually taken place on the football field this season.

We'll see you again next Tuesday... unless something breaks sooner.