Denver Post sports writer Troy E. Renck posts his Rockies Mailbag every other Wednesday during the 2010 MLB season. The next installment is slated for April 28.
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as a reward for a solid spring training. Then he’s benched after one bad game? I don’t get it. Thoughts?
–Steve, Longmont
Steve – The idea behind the start was to get him in against a right-handed pitcher. The next two games featured left-handers, so Dexter Fowler was back in the lineup. It’s no secret that Fowler is a work in progress as a left-handed hitter. He entered Tuesday’s game 1-for-9 as a left-handed batter. Last season, he hit .240 as a left-handed batter and .321 from the right side.
Smith, however, also struggled in the first series, so it wasn’t as if manager Jim Tracy was keeping a hot hitter on the bench. Finding playing time for all of the outfielders and maximizing their production will remain one of Tracy’s biggest challenges this season.
Troy – Who is in charge of the Rockies’ baserunners? It appears they may be on pace to set records for baserunners picked off and caught stealing!
–Cal, Morrison
Cal – It’s funny you bring that up. I had that conversation with Dodgers manager Joe Torre last season. He was lamenting poor baserunning around in the big leagues and provided an explanation as to why: It’s one of the areas where players are on their own, especially when they are at second base.
To your question, the Rockies’ first-base and third-base coaches, Glenallen Hill and Rich Dauer, act as air-traffic controllers. But ultimately the players are accountable on pickoffs and stolen-base attempts.
A third-base coach wears it if he gets a runner thrown out at third or home. But when it comes to straight steals, this isn’t Little League with a coach screaming, “Go!” The players study film and pick moves. They have all the information available to get good jumps.
I believe this team has the makings to become what the Atlanta Braves were of the ’90s, just more World Series championships. If they win the World Series this year, do you think the Rockies will trade off and sell their talent similar to what the Marlins did after their first World Series?
–Anthony, Denver
Take a few deep breaths there, Anthony. They have to reach the playoffs. And beating the Phillies or Cardinals to advance to the World Series — that’s how I see it — won’t be easy. But I love your passion and you pose an interesting question. The Rockies aren’t going to conduct a fire sale because they have created cost certainty with so many multi-year contracts awarded to the likes of Ubaldo Jimenez, Troy Tulowitzki, Huston Street, Aaron Cook and Rafael Betancourt.
The Rockies basically operate on the premise that their payroll is half of their income. So it has crept up to roughly $83 million this year. A World Series title would make it easy to justify a $90 million payroll. The key to winning on a moderate payroll is producing waves of talent in the minor leagues. The Rockies have followed the Twins’ business model in this regard.
I can see why , with Chris Iannetta getting the contract he did. Do you think the Rockies made a mistake signing the wrong catcher to a long-term deal? Seems to me they let a leader AND a better player leave and gave too much money to a guy who has never proven he can hit in the big leagues.
–Steve, Denver
Steve – Chris Iannetta was going to make a chunk of the $8.35 million anyway as long as he was with the team. The team tried to minimize its risk and save money with a long-term deal. It’s great when it works. But for every Troy Tulowitzki and Ubaldo Jimenez contract, there’s a Manuel Corpas deal. Corpas is showing signs of improvement, but has not lived up to his contract.
The deal is this: Iannetta has to hit. He knows it. And if he can make consistent contact, the contract could be a steal because of his power. If he doesn’t hit, well, then, it will have been a mistake.
Troy – Has anyone identified what Tulo’s “L” and “W” letters mean in the black eye-glare shading under his right and left eyes? I heard one of the announcers wonder about it during preseason games but never heard an answer. Thanks.
–Judd, Ouray
Judd – Troy Tulowitzki wears the letters on his eye black to honor his cousin Lexy Winters, who died of skin cancer during spring training. Tulo and his father Ken were close to Winters. Winters worked out at the same gym as the shortstop. Tulowitzki would visit him after chemotherapy treatments and tell him he was doing double-time at the gym for him.
I’m going to the Rockies-Braves game in Atlanta on April 17, and I was wondering when would be a better time to get autographs/pictures with/of them: before or after the game?
–Sharon, Chattanooga, Tenn.
Sharon – It’s actually often easier to get autographs of the visiting team. There are fewer fans competing for the signatures. The best time is during batting practice before the game. Now, if you were asking for Jason Heyward’s autograph, good luck.
Hey, Troy. At the risk of putting the cart before the horse, if the Rockies are in contention deep into July, could this finally be the year they make a big Cliff Lee-esque type of move at the trade deadline? Bold prediction: Carlos Zambrano?
—Chris, Seaview, Wash.
Chris – The way it sets up now, I could see them getting a reliever before a starter. But they definitely have the minor-league prospects to land a big arm. Zambrano doesn’t make a lot of sense on the surface. Zambrano has $36 million remaining on his contract in 2011 and 2012 with a $19.25 million vesting option for 2013. That’s a lot of coin for a pitcher who has been trending downward. I would look for a guy on the last year of his deal — Toronto will be movers at the deadline — that the Rockies would have a realistic chance of re-signing.
The Rockies, in my opinion, won the division last year when they landed Rafael Betancourt from Cleveland.
Denver Post sports writer Troy E. Renck is in his 15th season of covering the Colorado Rockies, his ninth for The Denver Post. for the Rockies Mailbag.
