Unlike the unceremonious dumping of Ian Stewart to Chicago, this move has as much to do with roster building and economics. Smith hadn’t been quite the underperformer that Stewart was, nor the unpredictable hitter that Iannetta was. He figured to be penciled in as the fourth outfielder, his starting spot taken by the acquisition of Michael Cuddyer last month. With several guys available to jump into the fourth outfielder spot, the Rockies clearly wanted to unload Smith’s contract more than Smith himself ($2.4M, which avoided arbitration).

While this deal will not approach the Holliday to Oakland deal in terms of return, the Rockies got what they were after – unloaded a replaceable expense in exchange for pitching. At this point, it seems the Rockies are looking for any arm they can get. Both Moscoso and Outman were likely candidates for Oakland’s starting rotation, but that rotation was already weakened by the injuries, especially to Dallas Braden. At least one of these guys, probably Moscoso, will push Hammel for a rotation spot, and should be at the very least a good placeholder for Jorge de la Rosa, who will still be rehabbing from Tommy John surgery throughout the spring.

In the end, it’s probably a good deal for the Rockies, though Seth Smith is another one of the high character guys that just couldn’t make the case for a permanent roster spot. Time will tell if this all-out rebuild of the pitching staff, and the resulting shakeup that extends up and down the entire lineup, is successful. One thing is certain – just like every year, with San Francisco and Arizona sitting atop the division, and Los Angeles not far behind, solid pitching will be imperative for the Rockies to make a run at the NL West – slugging won’t win a title.

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The Colorado Rockies have proven this if nothing else: they like to build from within. So you know when they finally let go a hometown prospect, they’ve given up on the development and are looking for a change. Year in, year out, Chris Iannetta is the proclaimed “catcher in waiting”. O’Dowd and the Rockies have finally tired of waiting. We’ve watched Iannetta lose his job to Yorvit Torrealba, then to Miguel Olivo. Then as the Rockies faded into obscurity at the end of the 2011 season, minor league phenom Wilin Rosario stepped in and proved that for all intents and purposes, the Iannetta experiment is over in Denver, made official by the trade yesterday that sent Iannetta to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of Orange County of California in exchange for Tyler Chatwood, a young hard throwing lefty that projects to compete for the back end of the rotation.

It’s not like the Rockies didn’t try with Chris. After Torrealba did the bulk of the catching leading up to the World Series run in 2007, and was willing to stay, the Rockies made the choice that the potential in Iannetta was greater than the exhibited skill of anyone else on the roster, and told Chris the job was his to lose. This happened in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011. Five straight years, with a hefty contract in the middle of it all, and while he showed flashes of brilliance, he never solidified himself as THE catcher in Colorado. Even Dan O’Dowd and the Rockies management, with their almost blinding loyalty to homegrown talent, had to concede the move that needed to be made. Of all the Kid Rocks that graced the field in LoDo, now Holliday is gone, Hawpe is gone, Jimenez is gone, and Iannetta is gone. And for all the criticism, each of these moves could turn out for the best. Holliday brought us Gonzales, Jimenez brought us White and Pomeranz (effect remaining to be seen), and now Iannetta brings us Chatwood, and opens a spot to bring in a new veteran catcher to hold down the fort while Rosario gets ready for the big show.

Chatwood is a young, hard-throwing lefty. While he doesn’t remind anyone of Pomeranz, he can hit 95 on his fastball, and as long as Apodaca doesn’t screw him up, has lots of years left on his arm. He’ll struggle with control, and as such will either compete for the 5th spot in the rotation, or find himself throwing setup relief, perhaps to fill the 8th inning spot left by Betancourt’s move to closer. We won’t even get into the whole Huston Street thing today.

All in all — probably a good move for the Rockies. We hate to see the good guys go. We all loved Atkins, and Hawpe, and Iannetta. Colorado is the home of the true character guys in baseball… but even the character guys have to produce, and the Rockies are slipping ever further from the glory of 2007 into the mediocrity of their past, and management would do well to continue to make moves to avoid such an ungraceful fall. Speaking of moves, any takers for Ian Stewart? Eh, didn’t think so.

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Even though the Broncos season ended effectively before the Rockies had even let the ink dry on the 2010 season, we can’t help but immerse ourlselves in the drama that is the current Denver Broncos for a while. While the crisp chill of Colorado winter still hangs in the air, the looming approach of the Super Bowl (am I allowed to say that, or will I get sued?) can mean only one thing – spring training is right around the corner. The Rockies had some definite ups and downs in the 2010 campaign, with a couple brief pushes towards a playoff spot in August and September, but the inconsistency that plagued them in the second half was too much for even a monstrous September for Tulowitzki to overcome. As Tulo came back from injury and put up numbers that rivaled Babe Ruth himself, the rest of the team (with a few exceptions) couldn’t find the groove that eluded them all year and left the Rockies just short of October baseball. Here’s hoping the odd-year season brings another run at October. This year figures to have some pretty stiff challenges within the division, starting with the World Series champion San Francisco Giants. How do the Rockies of 2011 look to stack up? There have been a few departures (Barmes, Francis, Mora, Olivo), and a few additions (Wigginton, Lindstrom). None of the transactions have shaken the boat – it’s the new contracts to current players that have made noise in the baseball world. First Tulowitzki signs a long-term deal, and right on his heels Scott Boras client Carlos Gonzales inks and extension to stick around for the long haul. Here’s the first part in a series looking at how the Rocks 2011 roster is shaping up.

Catcher

We’ll start with an easy one. It’s clear what Rockies management is communicating with this move. They let Olivo go, declined to resign Torrealba, who had departed to the Padres after a good run with the Rockies through 2009. A year ago this month, the Rockies signed Chris Iannetta, the perennial “future talent”, to an extension through 2012, with a club option for 2013. Iannetta will make $2.5M this year, and $3.5M next. Make no mistake – this is his last chance. Iannetta has been given  the catching job, and it’s his to lose. Of course, the last couple years, he’s done just that. But the refusal of Rockies management to sign a veteran catcher is a clear signal to Iannetta that this is his time to become the solid starting catcher, otherwise the franchise is ready to move on. Youngsters Jordan Pacheco and Mike McKenry figure to be the backups.

Third Base

Another position where the Rockies are heading into the season with a high-potential young player who needs to make a play for his job is third base. Ian Stewart figures to be the penciled in starter, although his contract status is still uncertain. Stewart, who made just under $500,000 last season, is asking for $2.6M, according to the Denver Post. The team has offered $2.15M to the arbitration-eligible Stewart, and will likely find a middle ground on a one-year deal. Clearly, the Rockies aren’t all that excited about increasing Stewart’s salary by over 4 times, based on the inconsistency that plagued Stewart at the plate last season. However, he’ll show flashes of brilliance that, like Iannetta, make you want to see him succeed because you know he could be an anchor if you could just get some more solid production out of him. Stewart is your classic power-hitter though, complete with the astronomical strikeout rates. Unlike the Iannetta situation, the Rockies have a more developed contingency plan here. While of course they hope for the resurgence of Stewart, they did sign infielder Ty Wigginton for $8M over two years, who will be much more useful on the first base side, could fill in at third where needed. With the departure of Mora, if Stewart falters it will fall to Wigginton. The Rockies also made another move to shore up that corner by signing former All-Star Joe Crede to a minor league deal today. That signing just smacks of ‘contingency plan’ – something the Rockies may well need at third base if the last two years are any indication.

Up next – a look at the rest of the infield. And for the record – pitchers and catchers report to the Rockies brand spanking new spring training facility on February 14th – let the countdown begin!

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Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez is on the verge of signing a contract extension with Colorado according to multiple sources.  A pending physical will confirm the deal.

Troy E. Renck of The Denver Post reported (and Carlos Gonzalez’ media team confirmed) a 7-year $80 million contract extension for last year’s breakout slugger.  Reports of the long-term extension originally surfaced in CarGo’s home country of Venezuela a month ago, but the Rockies denied each new report immediately.

Now it looks like the small-market Rockies have locked up their two biggest bats for most of the next decade.  Colorado signed shortstop Troy Tulowitzki through the 2020 season with a $160 million extension dealt at the end of November.

While Tulowitzki’s 10-year contract was the eighth largest in baseball history, Gonzalez bucked some trends with his relatively inexpensive signing.

Carlos is represented by super-agent Scott Boras, who has never given up potential free-agent market-mauling in favor of an extension.  Gonzalez could have waited until 2014 to hit free agency, considerably driving up his price tag on the open market.

However, Carlos was making so little on his existing contract that this extension through 2017 will pay him considerably more through 2014 than he would have otherwise made.  Boras made Gonzalez an exception to his rule as a result, and the Rockies made an exception to a rule of their own by taking on twin long-term deals for position players.

Now, with shortstop and left field locked up, the Rockies can focus on filling holes at catcher (barring a resurgence from disappointing farm product Chris Iannetta) and first base (after the inevitable exit of veteran Todd Helton.)

At the very least, Colorado fans can rest assured that the formerly frugal Monfort brothers are willing to stake their ownership of the Rockies on two productive young hitters that may form the best 1-2 punch in baseball for years to come.

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Aaron Cook pitched 6 solid innings, and added a couple hits, but the night belonged to Chris Iannetta. After the Rockies bullpen let a 5-3 lead slip away, Iannetta, who went 3 for 5 on the night, stepped up and slammed the first pitch he saw from Jennry Mejia over the center field wall.

Cook’s night had a couple rough spots, as he allowed two home runs – but to be fair, the homerun pitch he delivered to Wright was a mistake, but the pitch that Francouer hit out was a good pitch, a sinkerball tailing in low. Francouer simply powered the ball over the fence. Cook helped out at the plate, adding two hits of his own, contributing to the 12 hits the Rockies managed throughout the game. Colorado first got on the board with a Spilborghs 3-run blast in the second inning.

It was Iannetta’s breakthrough night that must make Jim Tracy happy – he’s struggled to get started at the plate, and with Olivo hitting well, the Rockies now have a tandem at catcher that has the potential to put up some serious numbers. Iannetta’s homer was the first walk-off for the Rockies this season, coming in their second extra-innings game of the season.

The Rockies go for the sweep with the hard-throwing Jorge De la Rosa taking the mound at 1:10 tomorrow afternoon.

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This was a winnable game for the Colorado Rockies, despite starter Greg Smith giving up a 3-run home run in the 1st and a solo shot in the 5th.  The Rockies led 1-0 coming out of the top of the opening inning.  Unfortunately Smith, who was starting in place of injured lefty Jeff Francis, was overrun by the meat of the Milwaukee lineup.

Colorado played chase the rest of the game, matching Milwaukee most of the way until the Brewers opened up a 3-run lead in the bottom of the 8th.  The Rockies got one back in the 9th, but Jason Giambi struck out to closer Trevor Hoffman with Carlos Gonzalez stranded on first.

Jim Tracy said it best… this was an acceptable loss for a team taking the long view.  “We were never out of the game. And that’s all you can ask for day in and day out.”

That is the Colorado Mantra moving forward.   Get wins where you can, fight hard to the final pitch, and don’t sweat the small stuff this early.  A lot was made of Chris Iannetta’s struggles at the plate, but Tracy has no intention of tweaking his swing.  Jim’s patience with his hitters paid off in a big way with Carlos Gonzalez last season, and Cargo came through with two ribbies on two hits tonight.  Chris Stewart was 3 for 4 with an RBI.

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Yorvit Torrealba is staying the NL West, agreeing to a $1.25M deal. Torrealba couldn’t come to terms with the Rockies on a new deal, which led to the Rockies moving away from the catcher who was well-known to be instrumental in handling the young pitching staff, and signing Miguel Olivo to backup Chris Ianetta. Torrealba figures to be a backup in San Diego as well, but if history is any indication, at the first sign of a misstep by starter Hundley, he’ll be ready to step in and make the management take notice. Yorvit’s time in Denver was marked by clutch hits and fierce competitiveness day in and day out.

The deal with the Padres includes a $750K salary this year, with a guaranteed buyout for next year of $500K, which could possibly be overridden by a club option of $3.5M. Either way, the Padres got what looks to be a sweet deal on a solid backup.

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