Missing out on Dan Uggla and other Rockies issues

With the Florida Marlins officially trading second baseman Dan Uggla to the Atlanta Braves for what even the most casual baseball fan would recognize as a weak return, Rockies fans are left to wonder how and why their team didn't get involved.

For the price the Atlanta Braves paid, yes, the Rockies could have easily topped that package without losing a truly meaningful piece to their present or future plan, and probably should have. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, the Rockies were not in on recent discussions.

I don't know why that is. But one thing we shouldn't discount is that the Florida Marlins are a pathetically run franchise. This isn't all about what the Rockies were willing to part with, it's also about who the Marlins valued in return. As Troy Renck pointed out on Twitter, the Rockies didn't have the pieces that would have satisfied Florida based on what they took.

It's also possible Marlins GM Larry Beinfest's demands during talks last off season led Dan O'Dowd to believe a deal would be impossible then and in the future. That could be BS in itself, but believe me, it's never as easy as we're led to believe by the armchair GMs with blogs and Twitter accounts.

I completely understand the frustration, though. I'm frustrated to see Uggla go elsewhere for such a lousy return, but again, there are a lot of factors involved. Of course you can put money at the top of that list.

Other Issues

I don't like the pattern developing with the Rockies roster. In the past 18 months we have seen once valuable trade pieces like Garrett Atkins, Brad Hawpe, Taylor Buchholz and now Manny Corpas unloaded from the squad with absolutely nothing in return.

It's concerning because the model for the franchise to stay competitive is never going to be excessive spending. I don't think it has to be or should be either, but they do need to stay ahead of the competition, evaluate their talent better and trade out pieces before they lose value. That's why I've always been big on the idea of dealing Ryan Spilborghs and Clint Barmes the past two off seasons. Their value will never get that high again.

The Rockies also stand to lose Jeff Francis for nothing in the coming weeks as we're hearing up to five teams have interest. His case is a little different though with the injury bug having bitten him repeatedly.

I've stated many times this is the most important off season for Dan O'Dowd as Rockies GM. It's off to a quiet start. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it's understandable that many fans will start getting antsy. Hopefully we'll see something worthwhile develop in the next couple of weeks so he's not left scrambling to fill several roles in February.

Thoughts on Miguel Olivo being traded to Toronto

It's Official: The Colorado Rockies have traded Miguel Olivo to the Toronto Blue Jays for a guy not yet identified and/or cash money.

There had been at least two incorrect reports from Tracy Ringolsby leading up to the official announcement of the trade. Sloppy reporting on his end, no question about that. But all reporters get caught with bad information from time to time. I don't think it makes him any less the credible source. Though you give credit to Thomas Harding and Troy Renck for sticking to their guns here.

Anywho... a lot of Rockies fans seem disappointed by the news, which I guess I expected, though not to the extent I've seen on Twitter.

Unfortunately the arguments for Olivo staying mostly center around him fitting in, being a nice guy, always smiling, wanting to be a Rockie, so on. All nice things, but things that play little part in winning a championship.

Really all you need to know is that Toronto will be Olivo's 7th different team since 2004.

• Chicago White Sox 
• Seattle Mariners 
• San Diego Padres 
• Florida Marlins 
• Kansas City Royals 
• Colorado Rockies 
• Toronto Blue Jays

Not to rip on the guy, but this isn't a monumental loss from any baseball standpoint. In fact, that Dan O'Dowd was able to swing a last minute deal is a pretty nice piece of GMing on his part. It saved the team a $500,000 buyout, which could be signficant in making another signing down the road.

Also, Olivo wasn't brought in to be a long term solution. He was brought in to play a backup role to Chris Iannetta for a year or two while the Rockies young catching talent developed.

It turned out he had an amazing start to the season, very likely all-star worthy, took the job, and then he regressed back into being the guy he's been his entire career -- an okay backup catcher that moves around a lot like all backup catchers do.

Unfortunately Chris Iannetta never got into a rhythm, so the Rockies had a gaping hole behind the plate the last three months of the season, but the way it was designed made sense.

I know names like Mike Napoli and Victor Martinez are being tossed around. I'm sure a couple more names will be thrown in that mix. We'll see what happens. There are many factors involved here including how the Rockies want to spend their money, roster flexibility, and how they view their catchers behind Iannetta.

It's a process and it's impossible to predict which way they'll go until some chips start falling around the league.

Also, in case you haven't heard.

The Rockies declined the option on Jeff Francis. They will attempt to re-sign him for far less money.

They also declined the option on Octavio Dotel, which had to be one of the easiest decisions O'Dowd has ever made.

And finally, O'Dowd declined the option of fries with his sandwich at lunch today. By my count he's 4-for-4 so far in the offseason.

Welcome Aboard Carney Lansford!

I've been having a lot of fun helping the folks over at Big League Stew cover the baseball playoffs this month.  Certainly that pitching matchup tonight in Philadelphia is shaping up to be something historic... or a big letdown.  

All that aside, I must take a step back from that task to comment on the Rockies removal of Don Baylor as hitting coach, and the announcement that Carney Lansford will be replacing him.

My comment: Hell yes!

The Rockies desperately needed this switch. It's not a matter of what Don Baylor knows, doesn't know, how he communicates, what his experience is, what his past credentials are, blah blah. This is about results.

SEVERAL key Rockies players entering, or about to enter, the primes of their careers took major steps backwards offensively in 2010. Chris Iannetta, Ian Stewart, Dexter Fowler, Seth Smith. All backwards.

Then you had professional hitters like Garrett Atkins and Brad Hawpe, guys in their prime, falling completely off the face of the earth under Baylor's watch. That's a problem.

I know Troy Renck of the Denver Post will continue telling us how well Baylor worked with these hitters. Then he'll cite the development of Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez as feathers in Baylor's cap.

Fine. Great. I'm sure he had sound wisdom for them at times, but come on, those two would hit if I was the hitting coach. If that's all you can give me on the positive side, then you've actually made more of a case against the guy you're defending than for him.

As for Lansford, his experience in the Rockies organization is certainly a plus. The comfort level already exists between him and a number of the Rockies players already mentioned in this article. They know his message and his style. There's no guarantee it'll work for them at this level, obviously, but there's just as much chance it'll be precisely what the doctor ordered.

That's why you have to make the move.

I applaud the Rockies -- Dan O'Dowd and Jim Tracy especially -- for stepping up here to make the change. It's never easy to tell a guy his services are no longer required, but it's necessary to be constantly evaluating your team, your coaches, your situation, how your organization is evolving, and what pieces may or may not be helping you reach a championship level.

I'm happy to see that process taking place.

It's very early still in what I perceive to be the most important off-season in the Dan O'Dowd regime, but I'm encouraged by the events of yesterday and optimistic that honest assessments will be taking place across the board in attempt to correct the problems of 2010. There's a long way to go. There's a lot of work to be done. But it's a damn good start.

Rock Solid Recrap: I Preferred The 2007 Finish

You know, the season the Rockies WON 13 of their last 14. I liked that one

This losing 13 out of 14 stuff (I don't care about the circumstances) is no fun at all!

Cardinals 6, Rockies 1

Today was not a day about padding stats or even winning. Today was a day of opportunity.

-- Esmil Rogers was given an audition as a starter after a rough couple of weeks in the bullpen.

The final line wasn't exactly pretty or efficient (4 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 1 BB 2 K), but you can point directly at some more sloppy Rockies defense as the main culprit for that. And results aside, the minimal experience gained is more valuable to the Rockies than throwing Jeff Francis out there for another start.

-- Francis did work two innings of relief that were mostly unimpressive for him.

-- Jim Tracy wanted to give Mike McKenry a good opportunity to notch his first career hit today. Unfortunately, McKenry wore the golden sombrero (four strikeouts) in four at-bats.

-- Chris Nelson received the start at 2B. He want 1-for-3 with two errors in the field.

-- Clint Barmes returned from spending time with his ailing father and looked good at the plate with two hits, but booted a key grounder as SS.

-- Chris Iannetta got the start at 1B for Todd Helton. He did some nice things around the bag and with the glove, but would go 0-for-4 and see his season average finish at .197. This was a completely wasted season for Chris after getting the new contract. What his future holds in the organization is any one's guess.

-- Strong finish to the season for Dexter Fowler. I wish I could say that about more Rockies, but, as it is, it actually made Fowler's fantastic play stand out even more. Good for Dexter. I hope whatever confidence he has gained will carry over into the offseason, but I also hope he continues working hard in the offseason. This offense needs him to take a big step forward next year.

Well... that puts a wrap on the 2010 regular season. Heaven & Helton will continue covering Rockies news and things throughout the offseason, but there will be a slight hiatus as I will be contributing my playoffs thoughts and quips to Bugs & Cranks and Yahoo's Big League Stew.

Hopefully you'll follow me over there and check it out.

Only 178 days until Opening Day!

Lineup Card: Rockies @ Cardinals

Jim Tracy is waving the white flag!  

Of course that actually makes sense since today is the final day of the season and a lot of his players seemingly waved the white flag the minute they boarded the plane to St. Louis.

Rockies Lineup (83-78)

1. CF  Fowler
2. 2B  Barmes
3. C    McKenry
4. 3B  Stewart
5. 1B  Iannetta
6. RF  Smith
7. LF  Payton
8. 2B  Nelson
9. P    Rogers

A Rockies catcher hitting third?  Has that ever happened?  Barmes is back with the team and gets one last start for the Rockies at the position he came up playing.  Esmil Rogers gets a chance to impress.  Chris Iannetta gets a full game at 1B.  There are enough interesting things here to make the game worth paying attention to.  

Well, maybe not for you, but definitely enough for me.   

Cardinals Lineup (85-76)

1. 2B  Schumaker
2. RF  Winn
3. 1B  Pujols
4. LF  Holliday
5. CF  Rasmus
6. 3B  Descalso
7. C    Pagnozzi
8. SS  Ryan
9. P    Suppan

LaRussa decides to go with most of the regulars in the home/season finale.  I almost feel like guaranteeing a Rockies win.  I won't though.