Before his team was a winner, Rockies manager Clint Hurdle had a sense of humor. On his Coors Field office desk, among the bobbleheads and books, has long sat a Staples Easy Button.
If only solving every nine-inning question was as simple as pushing a big red ornament. Nothing has come easily for the Rockies during the past decade, but what happened in September and October has created a path of less resistance this winter.
The Rockies will arrive at the winter meetings tonight in Nashville, Tenn., with their name on agents’ speed-dials. Once an Ellis Island for refugees and reclamation projects who couldn’t find a better offer, Colorado has become desirable after claiming its first National League pennant.
“It is different now. We aren’t just filling out a roster. When you talk to a player, they always say they want to play for a winner,” Hurdle said this weekend.
“Well, we’ve done that. Now I ask them, ‘How can you make us better?’ ”
Their success is why Mark Loretta doesn’t want to sign elsewhere until he knows where he stands with the Rockies. It’s why Brett Tomko has told his agent to keep calling Colorado. And it’s the reason the Rockies are firmly in the mix for Japanese reliever Kazuo Fukumori.
The Rockies aren’t going to reinvent themselves, and start spending like Disneyland dads, even if it understandably frustrates fans. They are committed to a modest budget that centers on grooming prospects.
Still, they have issues to address this winter if they are going to advance to the playoffs in consecutive seasons for the first time in their history.
A restocking is necessary in the bullpen, even with the return of Matt Herges and the continued pursuit of LaTroy Hawkins, who would like to come back if Colorado can make a competitive offer.
The boldest stroke is obvious: shop setup man Brian Fuentes.
There has been surprisingly little activity on Fuentes this winter from other teams. Multiple general managers have told me that while they like Fuentes, they wonder if the Rockies could get more for him at the trading deadline. Possibly.
But with Mariano Rivera, Francisco Cordero, Brad Lidge and Troy Percival no longer in play, the Rockies should and will listen this week on Fuentes for the same reason the Washington Nationals will have open ears on Chad Cordero.
Moving Fuentes could net a No. 3-type starter, a move that only makes sense if the Rockies can find a free-agent veteran replacement who could keep the seat warm until Casey Weathers bursts onto the scene. If nothing else, expect general manager Dan O’Dowd to get creative with his excess middle infielders.
It would be a surprise if Jamey Carroll, Jeff Baker and Clint Barmes aren’t involved in trade talks. If a package of a utility infielder and a prospect can net a proven arm, O’Dowd can pull it off. Carroll, in the mix at second base, has fans in the Pittsburgh organization.
The worst mistake of the 1995 playoff team is that it remained in neutral, still good, but passed by other contenders.
Success should embolden these Rockies, whose farm system is deep enough to spin a few players to get better.
Footnotes. Concerns over Kazuo Matsui’s troublesome back kept Colorado from going higher than $10 million over two years to try to keep the second baseman. The Rockies offered Mark Redman a minor-league deal. Ex-Rockies pitcher Denny Stark is attempting a comeback after two elbow surgeries.
