Ubaldo Jimenez was traded on July 30, 2011, and the unthinkable became reality for Rockies fans.
Rockies’ management must have rocks in their heads.
In Ubaldo, you found your man.
He was one of the most loyal players in Colorado Rockies history, taking a low salary compared to other pitchers at his level, yet he was happy to be with the team that gave him his first chance.
In Ubaldo Jimenez, the Rockies found their ace, the guy with insanely nasty overpowering stuff that could buckle the knees of the most accomplished of hitters.
For their first decade and a half of existence, the Rockies searched for their ace; someone, anyone that could not only survive in the rareified air of Coors Field, but thrive at a mile high.
Colorado found that ace in Ubaldo, and he finally emerged as one of the best pitchers in baseball in 2010, when he won a franchise record 19 games, even though he stumbled down the stretch. Make no doubt about it, Jimenez’s 2010 campaign was the best single season pitching performance in Colorado Rockies history.
Ubaldo’s wins (19), Strikeouts (214), WAR (7.2), Walks and Hits per IP (1.155), Hits per 9 IP (6.659), Shutouts (2), and Hrs per 9 IP (.406) were all franchise records, while his 2010 season ranked him 2nd in ERA (2.88), 5th in Strikeouts per 9 IP (8.69), and 6th in winning percentage (.704) in Rockies history.
There’s a reason why Ubaldo Jimenez was the starting pitcher of the 2010 All Star Game, at 15-1 at that point, and he was the first Rockies’ starter in an All Star Game in the franchise’s history.
But all that is in the past now.
Ubaldo Jimenez has pitched his last game in the Rockies purple pinstripes.
And what a game it was. Colorado threw him out onto the mound expecting him to throw strikes even though everyone in the Rockies’ dugout knew he had already been traded.
Ubaldo said himself, “I was very surprised because before the game, everybody knew it (the trade already happened), even me.”
He was lit up and it was a dastardly disheartening way to send off the greatest pitcher in franchise history, but that’s just the business of baseball I suppose.
Ubaldo went on to say, “It’s really hard to get traded,” traded from the team he saw himself retiring with one day.
The adopted hometown hero is gone forever, we can only remember his perplexing pitching prowess, his simple style but above all, his humility and warm, broad smile.
Yes, the Rockies got a whole heap of prospects (three pitchers and a first baseman/outfielder as explained by my colleague Travis Lay), but will any of them make the Rockies roar?
The best player in the deal, Drew Pomeranz, relies on an above-average curveball, but will it break in the mile high thin air?
This deal stinks.
Not just in the eyes of Rockies fans as they lose their beloved Ubaldo, but on a deeper level.
It stinks because in the last two years, the team has taken a step backwards. The Rockies have fallen off a precipice and into a deep abyss, from the face of a new generation to a team that has turned an about face.
Jim Tracy was the feel-good story of 2009.
He stepped in and admirably befriended his team as brethren, winning over their trust (as evidenced by many a late game embrace with a player), and he won over fans by just winning at all costs.
Dominant, disciplined defense, amazingly aggressive base running and hitting in the clutch were on the ’09 Rockies’ resume. Colorado ran off 74 wins (compared to 42 losses) under Tracy that year, and they made the wildcard with another wild finish out West.
Since then, Tracy’s Rockies are a mere mediocre 133-135 and the manager has seemingly lost his team; those two team meetings called earlier in the year were a red flag that the captain had been walked off the plank.
Let’s face it, Tracy wasn’t the greatest replacement manager after Clint Hurdle (who wasn’t that great in his own respect), but Dan O’ Dowd and the Monforts stuck with him after his historic run to the postseason in 2009.
Now O’ Dowd has to save his own skin once again.
Dan O’ Dowd’s fake facade of a strong farm team is falling in front of him (as seen this year) and this move was made in desperation.
In O’ Dowd’s nearly 13 years as the Rockies’ General Manager the team is a less than mediocre 902-987 with two playoff appearances birthed by breathtaking runs.
A look at O’ Dowd’s first round draft picks is a small window into what’s wrong with the Rockies.
Matt Harrington, Jeff Francis, Ian Stewart, Chris Nelson, Troy Tulowitzki, Gregory Reynolds, Casey Weathers, Christian Friedrich, Tyler Matzek, Tim Wheeler, Peter Tago, Kyle Parker and Tyler Anderson are the names on that list, only three of which have truly made an impact on the organization.
Is getting great talent from the first round less than 25 percent of the time a good goal?
Of course not.
But O’ Dowd knew that if he could turn Ubaldo into four prospects, immediately bolstering his failing farm system that he would buy himself some more time, even if that means sacrificing another manager in Tracy.
The bottom line?
The Rockies are destined for the bottom of the division for years to come with O’ Dowd running the show, and Colorado’s fans deserve better.
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10 comments
Adam
July 31, 2011 at 10:06 AM (UTC -6)
Major bummer.
Ken
July 31, 2011 at 11:46 AM (UTC -6)
I’m slowly starting to accept this trade. I hate the way it was executed, but there may have been a motive behind sending Ubaldo out to pitch, which may have landed us Gardner (http://tinyurl.com/3pl6lqv). But, we may never really know whether it was shrewd negotiating or sloppy handling of personnel. Whatever the real reason, it was incredibly painful to watch and a sad way to send off a well-liked and admired pitcher.
With the current configuration of ownership and management, there are two things that a Rockies fan needs to know.
1. The Rockies have an institutional aversion to free agency, and tend to make moves only with players that have been vetted through their system.
2. The draft and the trade are the primary means by which the Rockies introduce new players into the system. Short term rental situations, where the Rockies bring a player in to make a run for the playoffs, are frowned upon. Trades that yield players with institutional longevity (regardless of impact) take priority.
So, in my mind, forearmed with this knowledge, management is making a statement with the Ubaldo trade: management no longer believes that it can win with the player configuration it has in Denver and on the farm. Since free agency isn’t really an option, given their conservative constraint, the Trade is the only tool that management is willing to use. And no combination of Cook, Wiggy, Stewart, and (insert name of favorite troubled player) is going to bring about positive change.
Here are the Rockies players that could strip a team’s top prospects: Troy Tulowitzki, Carlos Gonzales, Ubaldo Jimenez. Can you think of others? Out of those three, Ubaldo was the only real trade chip that O’Dowd had. Given Ubaldo’s 3-4 mile drop in velocity over this year and the need for fresh talent, I think that the trade was actually pretty good. But only time will confirm or reject my opinion.
I think the bigger picture in all of this is to ask the ownership and management to clear up some mysteries about this team. Are we truly locked out of the free agency system? Given that the Danny Neagle/Mike Hampton fiasco is a decade old, can we find a way to fit free agency into our goal of winning a World Series? If we don’t start to use free agency again, how long do we have to wait to see our holes at 3rd, in the outfield, and on the bench filled? Are we eventually going to trade Tulo and Cargo away to fill our position player needs? And what about our scouts; why are we having such a difficult time finding draft choices that make an immediate impact? And one last question… would you consider hiring me and Logan Burdine as scouts in your South American program? Hey, may as well ask…
Rich Kurtzman
July 31, 2011 at 1:43 PM (UTC -6)
Ken,
Great points made here. When will the Rockies start playing in free agency more? Even the greatest farm system (which it appears more and more that Colorado’s isn’t) can’t grow every single player that a franchise needs to compete for a championship.
And you and Logan have my recommendation for scouting, good luck with that.
CodenameDuchess
July 31, 2011 at 3:07 PM (UTC -6)
Mark Cuban to the rescue!!
I know that’s a pipe dream and that the Monfort’s would never sell but it would be nice to have an owner with a build a winner and the profit will come mentality.
Kevin fitzgibbons
July 31, 2011 at 4:06 PM (UTC -6)
Does anyone else feel like the people at root sports are trying to brain wash us into thinking that the entire Rockies organization eats their wheaties with a golden spoon. Let there be no mistake as to who signs drew goodmans paycheck. They honestly just spoke of Dan O’dowd for ten minutes as though he were the next coming of Christ. I think somebody needs to tell them the rocks record during his tenure. Bottom line. If the rocked had played well, as everyone assured us they would, ubaldo is still wearing purple. The did not, however, and as a result, we lost the best pitcher in the history of the organization. So, who was it that assembled this awful group of bad news bears. I do believe t was mr. O’dowd. Where is the accountability from his office. Where! He would not have lasted two years in a city like Boston, new York, or Philadelphia. Fortunately for him, Rockies fans take the same approach to their baseball team as they do their free time. Way too relaxed, and way too forgiving. If one more person mentions the ’07 run, which was truthfully rooted more in luck than anything Dan did, or the Holliday trade, which only proves that everyone gets it right once in a while, I may just knock them out right where they stand. The rockies ar flat-out bad, and drew goodman will not ever convince me otherwise. What a shame!!
Rich Kurtzman
July 31, 2011 at 9:43 PM (UTC -6)
Where is the accountability?
Forsythe P Jones
July 31, 2011 at 5:02 PM (UTC -6)
I get people’s feelings, but I do think that the only way to judge these kinds of trades is time. I’m still not convinced that the Chief, as much as we love him, is much of a presence in the AL. I hope, for his sake, that he is, but when I compare him to others of his stripe ( if people seriously rate him as an ‘Ace’ ), he really comes up lacking.
In defense of the Root sports guys…well, they aren’t paid to rip the team, or to start questioning moves that some fans might like. They are there to sell the product. If you want ‘hard-hitting analysis’ as to whether Dan O’Dowd is a failure or not, or why Ian Stewart and others are busts, don’t look to the guys covering the team. I’m sure that Goodman has his opinions, but, as I’m sure he loves his job, he knows that he should keep them to himself. I don’t blame him. Otherwise, you need to question why he wasn’t calling out Ubaldo for his too-frequent meltdowns on the mound, as well. I’m as disappointed as anybody by the season this team has had, but there are some things that management can’t control. I’m also not defending O’Dowd, but, eventually, players got to play. I definitely would like to see a new manager in town, as I just don’t think Tracy is the guy to lead this bunch. He’s too stuck in the ‘veteran goodness’ school, and needs to just make up his goddam mind once in a whle.
Kevin fitzgibbons
July 31, 2011 at 6:39 PM (UTC -6)
Well said. However, when a team does well, managers and executive offices are all too quick to be lavished with praise and recognition, but when a team underperforms, it is somehow “fair” to say tracy or Dan cannot make the players get a two-out hit? It is a double standard t say the least. Professional sports are a bottom line business. And the bottom line is neither O’dowd or Tracy have held up their end of the deal, but they both live to screw up another series. O’dowd’s entire plan was for us to all be patient while he fortified our minor league system. This season is an adamant indictment that his plan has failed. Consequences? Anyone? As far as root sports is concerned, I am not an idiot. I realize what they are obligated to do. I simply am tired of their bs! Plain and simple. If they had their way, we would all believe that Huston street was up for a cy young this season. Are they watching the same guy I am?
Simone
August 1, 2011 at 6:30 AM (UTC -6)
Who knows…maybe Ubaldo will be a complete bust in Cleveland the next 2 years and we’ll get him back at a discount price?
Montana Steve
August 1, 2011 at 11:02 AM (UTC -6)
Here’s my attempt to put lipstick on a pig. I think all of us had the instant gut reaction that this was a horrible trade for us. Now that the dust has settled a bit and reality has set in, I’m starting to re-think my position on this. True, we’re giving away an ace for prospects with no Major League experience but I think it’s way too soon to grade this deal. I remember going through the same thing when Holliday was traded, but we ended up with CarGo and that’s really hard to argue against, now that we can look back. Who’s to say that these kids we’re picking up won’t pan out? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not giving O’Dowd my stamp of approval. I’m just saying that maybe we need a little patience here before we completely write off this trade.
But you know what they say about putting lipstick on a pig…