Discussion

• December 13, 2006

  9:47 AM

  Mark Auten writes:

  Great great trade for the Rockies. Hated to loose Jennings, but he was gone after this year.

  We got Huston's "Jeff Francis" along with a guy who will remind a lot of people of Juan Pierre, and a guy who has been compared to Daryl Kile.

  I think this is a great trade, and I hope fans can see that.

• December 13, 2006

  9:58 AM

  Ken writes:

  Nice trade, real value for real value.
  Jason will be missed, but at least we got something in return instead of just watching him leave after the season.

  Question now is who will step forward as our Number 1 guy?

• December 13, 2006

  10:47 AM

  jay writes:

  Agreed. The fans need to realize that we were losing JJ either way. Great trade...can't wait for opening day.

• December 13, 2006

  10:48 AM

  chris writes:

  I hate to see Jennings go, but I think we got a lot of value in return. We got a highly-touted young pitcher who's going to make an immediate major-league impact (Jason Hirsh) and a starting center fielder (Willy Taveras). I think that if we had to trade Jennings, which it seems like we did, this was about as good a trade that we could get for him.

• December 13, 2006

  10:55 AM

  larry writes:

  I read something about the Rockies turning around and trading Taveras? I don't see that happening. I like the top of our order now, with he and Matsui in front of Atkins/Holliday/Helton. I also hope they let Baker be the full-time starter in right and bat 6th. trade hawpe for bullpen help.

• December 13, 2006

  11:02 AM

  larry writes:

  who knows, maybe lighting will strike and somebody from the prospect group of Hirsh/Morillo/Jimenez will become a rookie of the year type to solidify the rotation behind Cook and Francis. I'd rather go with an inconsistent rookie at the back of the rotation than a consistently mediocre Fogg.

• December 13, 2006

  11:09 AM

  neil writes:

  All I know is that there are more Rockies' alumni (like a certain former centerfielder) playing for World Series rings than any other team. I think Jennings will look good in one of those rings.

• December 13, 2006

  11:11 AM

  benn writes:

  I disagree with all of your comments, and am more in line with Woody Paige's article this morning.

  JJ was the best pitcher we could hope for at Coors. He was clearly a better pitcher then both of the guys we got. You are all so high on them, yet they still haven't proven anything.

  And JJ didn't have to leave the Rockies, all we had to do was PAY HIM WHAT HE DESERVES. We didn't want to even pay him market value. I was all for the rebuilding and nice contracts, but when your prospects get good, then you need to pay them. If you don't then you will always be trading them away for more cheap prospects and you will never reach the big one.

  This isn't a great trade. Willy Taveras is fast, but overall mediocre, and both the pitchers put up poor numbers. Hopefully they improve, but we shouldn't have given up JJ.

• December 13, 2006

  11:32 AM

  Dave Johnson writes:

  Can I just say,why aren't the rockies management tired of only being farms system for all the other major league teams. They sure do a good job of trading talent for potential. Every team in the leaque gets excited when the rockies want to trade. They give us their could be's and we give them our will be's.

  I don't want to knock the new players coming in but I think the rockies could have made a better play to keep JJ. I think JJ will do very well in Houston. But I fear that the same fate of JJ will happen for Holliday and Adkins. Good for them, bad for us.

  Yet again we pretend, while others contend.

• December 13, 2006

  12:17 PM

  Pat writes:

  Rule #1 of championship baseball: NEVER TRADE A PROVEN PITCHER FOR POTENTIAL. Pitching is THE most difficult thing to find in baseball. Why do you think the market is so crazy with the likes of Gil Mesche getting $10 million a year? The Rockies low-balled JJ with a poor offer. When the first absurd deal went down for a pitcher, they should have ponyed up $9 - 10 mil a year to lock him up. These two new pitchers will not make up for losing Jennings. He will be an above average pitcher for 5-10 more years and the Rockies should have never let him go.

• December 13, 2006

  12:23 PM

  Joe Linton writes:

  You cannot overlook that this trade was correctly based on the certainty Jennings was going to be a Rockie for one season maximand most likely four months until the trading deadline. That's reality, folks, and they turned those four months into one of the best prospects in MLB, another live young arm AND a starting CF to fill a spot that desperately needed filling. I am no fan of O'Dowd or Monfort and would love to see new ownership, but this looks like a good trade to me based on what, sadly, is the reality this cut-rate team faces.

• December 13, 2006

  12:38 PM

  Julie writes:

  I hate to see JJ go; time will tell whether it was a good trade. The Rockies talk big about "building with homegrown talent," and in fact I'm excited about how many of the guys have indeed blossomed, but if they're all going to leave as soon as free agency looms, then those are hollow words. And the Rockies' ownership shows no signs that they're ever going to play with the big boys in the (admittedly insane) market. So I guess we prepare to say so long to Matty, Garrett, Brad, Cookie and any others who become solid players or even stars. How do the fans ever hope to see our team win the World Series in this fashion?

  I am sorry to say that Jerry Seinfeld was correct when he quipped years ago that all fans really can do is "root for the laundry." Don't get attached to many players (Helton is the exception, having signed what is now a dinosaur of a contract, and thank God for that because he has stayed around and provided ONE to give our hearts to; Francis is another welcome exception, and hooray for him), because in the current baseball world, they'll be gone as soon as they mature and find their footing as solid players.

• December 13, 2006

  12:52 PM

  Jeff writes:

  If ownership can't afford to play the game, sell the team. We can watch triple A baseball in Colorado Springs for $7/ticket.

• December 13, 2006

  1:02 PM

  Anonymous writes:

  The Rockies should hire illegal Aliens, they can run faster, work cheaper, and cook better food. Down with the Rockies

• December 13, 2006

  1:13 PM

  Anonymous writes:

  Not only will they bat better and run faster, they can mow the grass before and after the games

• December 13, 2006

  1:37 PM

  Anonymous writes:

  Good for JJ, I feel bad for Todd Helton having to stick around Denver with a bunch of losers for Management.

• December 13, 2006

  2:19 PM

  Dave writes:

  Monford's took a diamond and have turned it into a chunk of coal! The Rockies will be loser's again next year.

• December 13, 2006

  2:22 PM

  Anonymous writes:

  Thank you Rockies management!

  for reminding me why I don't buy tickets anymore.

• December 13, 2006

  2:35 PM

  Gary writes:

  I am tired of the Rockies getting players with "potential". They should have paid JJ and kept him. He was a consistant pitcher. They would be better trading Helton than JJ. They are not going to win or even come close. Tired of waiting for improvements when they keep taking a step back.

• December 13, 2006

  3:05 PM

  Tim writes:

  Is this a great trade? Can't see how it is at this point - they traded a known quantity for potential. But with finances in baseball being what they are, I'm not sure I can blame the Rockies management.

  If it makes you all feel better to bash O'Dowd or Monfort for this, fire away.

  But have you paid any attention - at all - to this off-season's FA market? Mediocre pitchers like Meche and Lilly are getting $10mill per of guaranteed money. JJ would easily be worth $15mill in this market.

  A team with a payroll of, at most, $70 million simply can't play that game.

  If you want to blame something, blame the lack of a salary cap. Until there's a cap, the small-market teams will simply be AAAA teams for the big boys.

• December 13, 2006

  3:21 PM

  B.B. writes:

  Dear Rockies Fans,
  As a Houstonian I would like to say that you guys got the better end of this trade! Willy T is an awesome player who jumped from AA straight to the big leagues and helped the Astros forget about the Beltran debacle. Hirsch and Buckholtz are potential indeed but, Hirsch will be a quality #2 with the potential of being an Ace in any staff in the near future. Buckholtz is a future #2 or #3. In fact Hirsch was our #1 rated Prospect. They both pitched last year for a team that obviously was chasing a pennant therefore the pressure on them both was great to come in and have instant success, especially with the pitching staff consisting of Roger, Andy, and Roy. Trust me in saying that this was a great trade for you guys! There won't be as much pressure on these guys now because the Rockies are still about 2-3 years away from making the jump to "pennant chaser's". You will Love each of them, if you are truly a fan, as we did here in Houston!

• December 13, 2006

  3:45 PM

  benn writes:

  Thank you for the comment B.B.

  I hope you are correct. Maybe this trade will work out perfect for the Rox. The problem is that we have a history of trading away proven players for crap. So, many fans, such as myself, are tired of waiting around for the team to pony up to the players who have given a lot to the team. They just don't show any signs of doing it.

  Some of you are also making the case that JJ was going to be an FA after next year. He would only be an FA if we didn't offer him a real contract. We certainly low-balled him, and he deserves to go find a team that will pay him market value. The Rox don't need to be a low-budget team. If they can keep fan favorites and produce some hype in the town, then maybe ticket purchases would begin to rise again... as it stands now however, there is nothing for us fans to hold onto an be hopefuly for, except another rebuilding year.

• December 13, 2006

  4:03 PM

  Anonymous writes:

  Benn,
  I saw Willie T play every day and with the thin air in Colorado his batting avg. will go up. Look at his OBP too! I promise that Hirsch will be in your starting rotation this year. Buckholtz has another year to go before that happens but, he has an awesome curve that even in Colorado will blow away batters. Both Pitchers are low to mid 90's fastball and both have great Curves. The future with these 3 are very bright for you guys! They aren't "crap" I assure you! The Rox are building toward the future and the future looks good for you guys. We are in a bind because we need to win now!

• December 13, 2006

  4:31 PM

  Jim writes:

  It is hard to see a quality player like Jennings go, but this is a good trade. They turned one above average pitcher into a young starting CF and two young and talented pitchers. If even one of the two pitchers they got from Houston can win 10 games, he's filled the whole left by Jennings.

  Folks are saying the Rockies should have paid what Jennings is worth, but If the Rockies are going to pay $15 million a year for a pitcher, they should spend it on a clear-cut ace, not a #2 guy like Jennings who was only our #1 starter by default. Sometimes building a winning team means bringing up quality young players and then trading them for what you need... and that's what the Rockies did. I applaud the Rockies for ignoring the naysayers and making a good baseball move.

• December 13, 2006

  4:41 PM

  Kip Mathison writes:

  A quality number 1 young pitcher able to handle Coor's field and you trade him for anyone. Bet their are more acceptable center fielders available in the majors or minors for way less than JJ. You boys need to switch beer brands cause Coors sure isn't working.

• December 13, 2006

  5:21 PM

  Steve writes:

  Remember Dikembe, Colorado fans? He walked without any compensation to the Nuggets. How long did it take the Nuggets to recover from that? Years!

  JJ would have walked, too. There had to be something at the base of what Monfort spoke last week; negotiations were going nowhere.

  This was a good baseball deal. A proven center fielder with speed who plays every day. Two potential starters, both highly rated, with at least one ready to step into the rotation today. So, we get an every day player and a starter at the expense of a guy who plays once every five days. This deal makes baseball sense.

• December 13, 2006

  7:10 PM

  B.B. writes:

  Hey guys,
  You know what's funny? I guess it's true that a good trade hurts both way's. Although I believe this was a good trade for both parties, most of Houston's Bloggers are saying we got the short end of the stick. I'm amazed!

• December 13, 2006

  9:05 PM

  noone writes:

  if you can't spell the names of the players involved then you probably don't know their full potential.

  willy t. makes up for his mistakes with his speed. he never got the attention needed to be a decent hitter. Regardless of what he becomes he's a Boras agent and neither team will have him down the road. he was thrown into the deal to because houston didn't want him and the Rox thought he'd fill a hole for the time being.

  hir(sh)(sch) and buc(holtz)(cholz) have been been highly touted along with numerous others in the Stros system. Neither produced last year which still sets them both as potential. They aren't immediate impact players unless a 5+ ERA is good for your club(neither team is the CWS). If one pans out to be on par with JJ then it was an even trade. If neither does then Stros got a steal. If both do then it's still the Rockies with 2 good pitchers and nothing else. Regardless, Houston has Patton, Albers, Sampson, etc that could easily become what little both involved were. Potential means nothing in baseball. Future eventually becomes now. Astros don't have time to wait. Rockies have all the time in the world to do nothing.

• December 14, 2006

  8:00 AM

  Tim writes:

  Benn...

  Ticket sales are a small percentage of a MLB team's income. They could sell out every game and still would not even be close to NY (both teams), the Red Sox, Dodgers, etc, etc. Local TV revenue is the lion's share, and small markets simply can't compete.

  Steinbrenner may be shelling out $200 million plus for his payroll - but he's still *making* money off the Yankees. This is not...repeat...not Monfort's fault.

  Got more bad news for ya...there's NO WAY that Holliday will be here after his contract runs out. With Boras as his agent, he'll be wearing pinstrips or guarding the Big Green Monster very soon. Enjoy him while he's here.

  Until there's a cap, there's really very little hope. My advice is to just have a beer and a dog at the games, cheer the home runs, and not worry too much about who wins.

• December 14, 2006

  8:48 AM

  benn writes:

  As I said, I really do hope this trade works out. I am just sad to see JJ go for some potential. That is my personal opinion and I hope I am wrong.

  Tim, you are correct about ticket sales. But what ticket sales also do is they produce hype. While the Rox will never be as big-market as the Yankees, they could still produce enough interest and love from the fans to up their local sales of team items. It would also increase some of their national exposure to some extent.

• December 14, 2006

  9:14 AM

  Anonymous writes:

  Benn...

  Oh, I'm with you. I hate to see proven production traded for potential also - but I just don't see the logic of losing JJ for nothing in a year, OR paying him what will be 1/4 or 1/5 of your payroll. In this market JJ, Francis, Cook, Holiday, Atkins, Fuentes, and probably Hawpe are all $8-15 million guys. There's no way w/o a cap they will be able to keep this team together.

  If I was runnin' the team I'd:
  1) Get rid of the humidor.
  2) Trade any starting pitcher with value.
  3) Get a HR hitter at every position. If you're not worth at least 20 bombs a year, yer outta here.

  I'd try to recreate the Bombers days and go back to 10-9 games, win or lose. Fans would clap like seals watching all the balls go out of the yard, and you'd probably get more fannies in the seats too.

  It's too darn difficult to compete in baseball's current environment, so I'd go for pleasing the masses.

  It's just going to be supremely frustrating to watch the players developed here go on to play for the real major leagues.

• December 14, 2006

  3:40 PM

  Mojo writes:

  this really was a no-win situation for us..truth is the Monforts could have ante up 15mil/year and JJ wouldn't sign.. He wanted out of here and knew one of the Texas teams would pay big $$ for him next year anyway. So for what it's worth this was a decent trade for the ROX...although it makes you wonder if Dan will turn Willy T around for Rocco?!

  Bottom line, will someone please beg Stan the Man Kroenke to buy the ROX?