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To keep or not to keep: the Brian Fuentes enigma

By Drew Bienhoff | December 1, 2008 | Up in the Rockies

My title for this article is a little bit misleading because I don't actually believe there is an enigma regarding Brian Fuentes. If it were up to me, I'd just pull out the checkbook and sign the guy! As of this moment, the Rockies have just over 24 hours to decide whether or not to offer salary arbitration to Fuentes. If they choose to do so and Fuentes accepts, the two sides will begin the long process until they reach an agreement. If Fuentes declines, he'll immediately become a Type A free agent and the Rox will be rewarded with a first round compensation pick (in the "sandwich" round). Either way, I believe Colorado turns up a winner, but I'd much prefer to see the former scenario unfold.If Colorado is planning on making a run at contention in 2009, they need to look at the blueprint laid out before them...

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Brian Fuentes, Colorado Rockies

The Not Necessarily Incorrect Daily Update News Vol. 14

By LDizzle | November 12, 2008 | Thoughts from the Dark Side: An independent Oakland Raiders news, commentary, and media site

Good day ladies and gents, It's the Sinister Denizen of the Darkside LDizzle here to bring you the news from around the sports world. As always, we bring it to you unfiltered and fair and balanced. That means equal opportunity offending with some less equal offending reserved for certain teams and individuals as I see fit. Tonight! Mormons hate gay people. Could you be next? Moron that later. Does Hockey still exist? We will check in with several historians to find out. Are the Raiders going to the Superbowl this year? And can Al Davis can afford all of the tickets? Can the Raiders reconstruct their 4th quarter preseason roster? Greyson Gunheim says "Yes". If my Viagra pen ran out of ink, would that be the definition of irony? THIS is The Not Necessarily Incorrect Daily Update News!...

Read more | 4 Comments | Tags: Al Davis, Arizona Cardinals, Billy Bean, Brandon Marshall, Brandon Stokley, Carolina Panthers, Colorado Rockies, Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions, Greyson Gunheim, Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Warner, Matt Holliday, Memphis Grizzlies, MLB, NASCAR, NBA, NCAA, NFL, Nnamdi Asomugha, Oakland A's, Oakland Athletics, Oakland Raiders, OJ Mayo, Rudi Johnson, Ryan Leaf, Ryan Torain, Seattle Seahawks, Sprint Cup, Stanford University, Tatum Bell, Tiger Woods, University of Oregon, Universtiy of Kentucky, West Texas A&M

Reds Looking To Aquire Atkins?

By Erik | November 12, 2008 | Redlegs Rundown

The Reds have been involved in some heavy conversations with the Rockies today (and probably the last week at the meetings). Garrett Atkins seems to be their main target, with some mild interest in Willy Taveras and Yorvit Torrealba depending on the article you read.Links (via mlbtraderumors.com) most recent ones on top:John Fay has a blog post up with some quotes from JockettyThe Reds interest in Atkins but not Taveras/Torrealba from the Rocky Mountain News Confirmation of interest in the 3 aforementioned players from The Denver PostThe Reds interested in Taveras/Atkins and slightly Torrealba from Ken RosenthalAtkins is intriguing. I'm not sure if that would mean moving EE to LF, putting Atkins in LF, or dealing EE to the Rockies (an unlikely scenario). Any of those options I would be fine with, another option I like a lot less would be putting EE at 1B and moving Votto to LF. Yet another option would be Atkins at 1B and Votto in LF which I wouldnt suggest because that might make us weak at 1B and 3B, assuming that Votto is better at 1B than Atkins, thruthfully I have no idea how Atkins is defensively and am too "stat-dumb" to look anything up. Anyone who could shed some light on how Atkins is in the field (*ahem*...Doug) it would much appreciated.Garrett Atkins is an interesting player. He had a down year of sorts, partly because he had a below average finish. But the basic numbers you like to see, AVG/RBI/OBP/OPS, are there. I have heard from John Fay that his home/road splits are atrocious (.342 with a .903 OPS at homeand .233, .661 OPS on the road) though that was only last year, something I'm not a fan of is looking at things like this for only one year, especially a down year. He had 99 RBI last year even with a .225 RISP (also a horrible stat to look at per year, something Baker placed Keppinger in RBI spots because of, and that was only after a month of play...sad really). Overall I think he'd be a useful piece to balance our lineup with. And being that last season was a down year you could expect his numbers to come up to around his career averages, and they are fairly good for a RH major league hitter. If you are not a fan of this signing, well I simply ask you to submit a better option, and I will tell you...

Read more | 3 Comments | Tags: Atkins, Cincinnati Reds, Rockies

Out for Holliday: It's official

By Tom Stephenson | November 11, 2008 | Up in the Rockies

Holliday is so. bored -- uploaded on April 27, 2008 by sekhmet1776

We reported yesterday that the Rockies were close to a deal that would send Matt Holliday to Oakland.Now, as we wake up this morning, it's official.Holliday was shipped to Oakland last night, with LHP Greg Smith, RHP Huston Street, and OF Carlos Gonzalez coming to Colorado. It's a pretty sad day for Rockies fans as the player who's become the face of the franchise over the last couple of years is now gone, but the players coming back aren't anything to sneeze at, so this shouldn't wind up being too bad.Gonzalez was Baseball America's #22 prospect in all of baseball entering 2008. But he struggled mightily in the majors this year, to the tune of .242/.273/.361, before getting sent back to AAA. But he's only 23, so there's plenty of time still for him to develop. More than likely, he'll replace Holliday directly in left, unless the Rockies decide to...

Read more | 2 Comments | Tags: Colorado Rockies, Matt Holliday, MLB, Oakland Athletics

Billy Beane's Holliday

By Brandon H | November 11, 2008 | Community

The Oakland Athletics have reportedly agreed to acquire Matt Holliday from the Colorado Rockies in exchange for Carlos Gonzalez, Houston Street, and Greg Smith. The deal has yet to be finalized, and there certainly could be changes, but for now...

Read more | 7 Comments | Tags: Billy Beane, Carlos Gonzalez, Colorado Rockies, Houston Street, Matt Holliday, MLB, Oakland Athletics

Early Holliday for the A's: Matt headed to Oakland

By Drew Bienhoff | November 10, 2008 | Up in the Rockies

According to ESPN's Buster Olney and Jerry Crasnick, Matt Holliday will be donning the green and gold of Oakland in 2009. Unfortunately, no word yet on what is coming back to the Rockies, but Greg Smith has been mentioned. Also rumored are Carlos Gonzalez and Huston Street, but not necessarily all three. Just players that have been thrown around in connection with the deal.Stay tuned....

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Colorado Rockies, Matt Holliday, Oakland Athletics

Holliday to the Cardinals dead. For now.

By Tom Stephenson | November 10, 2008 | Up in the Rockies

Well, that was fun while it lasted.The Rockies and Cardinals were apparently in some pretty hot trade talks for a deal that would have sent Matt Holliday to the Cardinals for some combination of Ryan Ludwick and/or Skip Schumaker, plus a prospect or two. That was the deal that was rumored, but it ultimately fell through.And it's pretty easy to see why. The deal doesn't make sense for either team. For the Cardinals, assuming Ludwick isn't a one-year fluke, acquiring Holliday doesn't really do much for them. Holliday is a better hitter than Ludwick, but he's not so much better that he's really worth the additional salary -- and the Rockies were apparently demanding more in return for Holliday than just Ludwick. The Cardinals have greater needs than acquiring a left fielder.From the Rockies' perspective, I didn't like the various deals that were being floated around. There's the possibility that...

Read more | 1 Comment | Tags: Colorado Rockies, Matt Holliday, MLB, St. Louis Cardinals

No Holliday for Sox; Slugger heads to A's

By Ryne Crabb | November 10, 2008 | Fire Brand of the American League

According to SI.com, the Colorado Rockies have traded their All-Star outfielder, Matt Holliday, to the Oakland A's. It is not known at this time who Colorado will receive in the trade.

Read more | 19 Comments | Tags: Colorado Rockies, MLB, Oakland A's

Friday's Hot Stove Dishes - November 7, 2008

By Brian Joseph | November 7, 2008 | MVN Outsider

Check MVN Outsider ever Friday for the ten hottest rumors during the Hot Stove League and a recap of all of the latest moves in Major League Baseball: Peavy's days numbered in San Diego. Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves highlight possible destinations. As San Diego Padres GM has stated, the Jake Peavy "train has kind of left the station." Since the Peavy rumors started, he has informed the Padres that he will lift his no-trade clause for seven teams -- the Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees. Of that group, the Braves and Cubs have emerged as the front-runners. The Braves seem to be dangling Yunel Escobar and young pitching but not prospect Tommy Hanson who the Padres have been rumored to be interested in. Also, the talk of Escobar being part of the deal has Peavy concerned about Atlanta's...Read more

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Andy Sonnanstine, Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Coco Crisp, Colorado Rockies, Edwin Jackson, Hot Stove, Jake Peavy, Jason Varitek, Junichi Tazawa, Matt Holliday, MLB, New York Mets, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers

How Do You Raise a Relief Prospect?

By EJ Fagan | November 2, 2008 | MVN Outsider

Teams generally have the same plan for raising a starting pitcher through the minor leagues. They let him pitch at a level for a prescribed period of time every 5 days, evaluate him, and determine whether or not he has learned enough to be promoted to the next level. The criteria that they use to determine how long a pitcher has to spend at a level or for how he has learned varies from team to team, but the overall strategy is pretty static.Relief pitchers are a whole different animal. The emergence of the closer position in college has put Major League organizations into a bind. They are not sure how to take these relief pitchers and make them into major league assets. In the old days, relief pitchers generally emerged from failed starting pitchers. Guys like Mariano Rivera and Eric Gagne were bad starters, but electric relievers, due to...Read more

Read more | 2 Comments | Tags: Baseball Theory, Colorado Rockies, Milb, MLB, New York Yankees, Player Development, Relief Pitching

Being the GM: 2009 Colorado Rockies

By Evan | October 31, 2008 | MVN Outsider

Ryan Dempster - edorf81

This series is predicated on educated guesses, past history of the team/general manager, rumors that have been out there for a while, and actions that I feel could be taken. This exercise is me playing GM to inspire conversation and a new way of approaching things. Moves that I complete as previous GMs of teams will carry over here. Trades only include principal, significant players. The Colorado Rockies followed up a magical 2008 season by regressing to the mean in 2008. It was expected, at least by every non-Rockie fan, and the club now has a far better grip on what they need to ascend to the World Series again.Colorado Rockies trade first-baseman/third-baseman Garrett Atkins to the Milwaukee Brewers for Rickie Weeks and a prospect.The Rockies are in need of a second baseman (Jayson Nix isn't cutting it) and Rickie Weeks needs a change of scenery. It's very apparent that...Read more

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