Meet the new Rockies second baseman
These players could be on the Rockies Opening Day roster:
SP: Jamie Moyer (49 years old): career ERA+ of 104. ERA+ of 84 and 85 in his most two recent seasons or below average.
C: Ramon Hernandez (36): Quality OPS+ of 112 and 113 in his past two seasons.
1B: Todd Helton (38): Rockies all-time everything but if recent trends continue the even seasons are not quality for the Toddfather (OPS+ of 99 in 2008 and 87 in 2010).
3B: Casey Blake (38): Has not had an OPS+ above 100 since 2009.
LF: Michael Cuddyer (33): OPS+ of 121 last year was nice, let’s hope he can replicate.
I know all the talk on the Internet is that Dan O’Dowd was looking to make a culture change in the Rockies clubhouse but I didn’t realize he wanted to clubhouse to be a competitive environment of Bridge and Bingo.
We can add another geriatric player to the Rockies roster: Marco Scutaro. The Rockies made a deal today with the Boston Red Sox. The Rox sent Clayton Mortensen to the Red Sox in return for Scutaro. Scutaro will be 36 years old in 2012 and fit right in with the rest of the Rockies when they hit the YMCA for their bi-weekly water aerobics class.
Scutaro has a career OPS+ of 93 and only in 2009 (OPS+ of 108) and last season (OPS+ of 110) has he finished better than your average MLB’er in OPS when park factors and league averages are taken into account. Scutaro’s career triple slash of .270/.338/.389 is not really all that spectacular but in ’11 he did finish with a .299/.358/.423 line in 113 games with the SAWKS! His BABIP was a bit higher than normal in 2011 but nothing to be concerned of and while I know there have been quite a few studies saying that other players in a batting order do not impact any other player I would have to say that batting in front of or near the likes of Ortiz, Youk, Pedroia and Ellsbury has to help in some way.
I think this is a good trade for the Rockies because Mortensen is nothing more than a middle reliever but I am concerned that knowing Jim Tracy there is no way guys like Eric Young Jr., Jonathan Herrera and newly acquire D.J. LeMahieu get a shot at the second base job in the coming season. Tracy always prefers veterans over anyone under the age of 30.
I am very excited for baseball to start again but it is growing increasingly difficult to see the Rockies finishing above .500 in 2012.
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15 comments
1 ping
R17
January 22, 2012 at 2:20 AM (UTC -6)
I admit that I laughed at the “bridge” and “bingo” comment, but exaggeration for humor and reality are not the same things.
Adding a couple proven middle 30′s players who had very solid seasons last year (both Cuddyer and Scutaro) are pickups that will absolutely help the team out.
You don’t call Scutaro a “geriatric” player – that’s Jamie Moyer…. And barring some miraculous turnaround from Nelson or Herrera or LeMahieu, I think we should all hope Tracy plays him over our bastion of younger mediocre players who never seem to pan out. And EY2 is not a starting player. He can’t play defense. He is only valuable as the pinch-hitting / pinch-running reserve.
1. Fowler
2. Scutaro
3. Gonzalez
4. Tulowitzki
5. Cuddyer
6. Helton
7. Hernandez
8. Blake/Nelson/Arenado (if he impresses)
This is by far the deepest Rockies lineup since 2007, and with some luck (maybe a career year or two), it could be our strongest lineup since the Bombers.
Our pitching is still an issue – mainly the mental toughness of our very young staff. But after we have De La Rosa back, we have a solid 1-2 with him and Chacin, and if Pomeranz or White end up being the real deal, we may be fine there, or at least no worse than we’ve ever been.
So I really don’t see how you think it’s so implausible we finish above .500… I think our hitting may be a breath of fresh air this year, and it comes down to our pitching.
Travis Lay
January 22, 2012 at 7:06 AM (UTC -6)
I hope you are right. I just don’t see any value in bringing in older guys for 2 simple reasons:
1. They are way past their prime and all but Cuddyer are well into their declining years. Expecting Scutaro to match 2011 this year with the Rockies doesn’t make a lot of sense – he has his career season at the age of 35 and I don’t hold out hope he can copy that at the age of 36.
2. They are old and are all probably bigger injury risks than younger players. Old guys get hurt more often, I can attest to that.
I dont think Cuddyer and Scutaro will produce more at their position than the guys they are replacing. Hard for Blake to NOT produce better than the Rox did at 3rd in ’11 because they were by far the worst in the league at the position in ’11.
And putting the under .500 season on these guys probably isn’t fair, it will be the Rockies pitching that does them in this year. Beyond Chacin who can really be counted on? REALLY be counted on??
CodenameDuchess
January 22, 2012 at 1:20 PM (UTC -6)
I think Scutaro/Cuddyer/Blake will all hit. Cuddyer is still young enough that we shouldn’t expect a massive downturn and hitting at Coors is a lot easier than hitting in Minnesota’s new park. I also think Scutaro will enjoy swinging against the NL West vs. the AL East so a fall off might not happen and if it does it may be negligible.
Point #2 is what I’m really concerned about. Blake always seems to be hurt and outside of nice little run between ’08 and ’10 Scutaro has been a bit injury prone as well.
That said you are certainly right about the pitching staff. My fingers are crossed that DLR and Nicasio come back strong but like you said nobody can really count on that. Right now I think the Rockies ceiling is a 3rd place finish in the NL West and could very likely be battling to avoid the cellar.
At this point I’ll be tuning in to watch Tulo and Cargo. Kind of like the Wade Phillips years when the only reason to watch the Broncos was John Elway.
R17
January 22, 2012 at 2:33 PM (UTC -6)
Proven 28 year old players are pretty much impossible to get. Why? Because obviously no club wants to trade them.
So you either have to go with the solid veterans who pose an injury/decline risk or young players who pose a maturity/skills not translating to MLB risk.
The Rockies are over-flowing with the latter, so they got some of the former, and I think that’s a great idea.
If Scutaro gets injured or declines, we sitll have the likes EY2, Nelson, Herrera, LeMahieu…. None of them have been traded.
So how could this trade be possibly negative for the team?
Our position players have maturity since our rotation doesn’t. Are you telling me you’d honestly rather have both immature young players at 2B, 3B and RF in addition to 4/5 SP spots?
Quentin
January 22, 2012 at 12:02 PM (UTC -6)
Travis, were not depending on these “OLDIES” to carry the lineup, were depending on them to lead and provide the concrete behind three young studs that go by Carlos Gonzalez, Troy Tulowitzki, and Dexter Fowler.
Travis Lay
January 22, 2012 at 12:11 PM (UTC -6)
I read this as saying that Tulo and Cargo cannot lead. Maybe that is true?
Also, let’s not drink the Fowler Koolaid yet, he has been good but I wouldn’t call him a young stud yet. I have my hopes, as many Rox fans do, but he hasn’t been a “stud” so far.
R17
January 22, 2012 at 2:36 PM (UTC -6)
I don’t read it that Tulo/Cargo can’t lead – I read it that there was a culture (embodied by Stewart) of players who really didn’t have the motivation to become excellent, and it really killed the team last year.
And yes, we should be cautious with the Fowler stories. We’ve heard this for two years now. I really am hoping as well; when Fowler is on, he’s like a Jose Reyes with more power, and the thought of that is ridiculously exciting. But we must wait to see it starting in April to believe it.
Travis Lay
January 22, 2012 at 2:47 PM (UTC -6)
I wouldn’t even go as far as to put Fowler in the same sentence as Reyes. Fowler can hardly steal one base while Reyes steals 30 a season in his sleep.
Reyes also has a higher career slugging and average more home runs per PA than Fowler (60:1 for Reyes vs 100+:1 for Fowler).
R17
January 22, 2012 at 6:41 PM (UTC -6)
I said “when he’s on” (e.g. his July of 2011), when he had an OPS of 1.000 and 4 SB in the month.
(And remember when he had 4 SB in a game before the 5th inning??)
And even in the second half of the year, he had a an OPS of .880.
Obviously he’s no Reyes yet, but he flashes that potential, so I would definitely put him in the same sentence as Reyes.
Travis Lay
January 22, 2012 at 12:04 PM (UTC -6)
I keep reading that Scutaro is a “winner”. What makes a baseball player a “winner”?
In Scutaro’s 10 seasons he has been on one – ONE – team that won their division: the 2006 A’s in the AL West.
Scutaro was even on a Boston team that finished THIRD in the AL East last year – a year the Red Sox were picked by many to win the division and even the World Series. Why is Scutaro considered a “winner”??
R17
January 22, 2012 at 2:38 PM (UTC -6)
He is a winner just like good ol’ Ty Wigginton was a “gamer.”
I always laughed when Drew would go on rampages in the booth about how Ty just “shows up and wants to play the game! He says ‘put me in coach!’”
Some players get these ridiculous labels attached to them, but I guess the point is, he’s not Ian Stewart.
Travis Lay
January 22, 2012 at 2:48 PM (UTC -6)
The gamer comments are brutal. So are the “never seen anyone as competitive”.
Jacob
January 22, 2012 at 2:12 PM (UTC -6)
I understand some of the concern’s presented in the article, but I think they are a little harsh. Hernandez can do the same thing as Iannetta, or at least close too it. The Moyer signing was laughable, but I don’t think he stands much of a shot of breaking the big league roster at the start of the year. Cuddyear isn’t as old as some people are making it seem. While he is past his prime and we likely gave him too much money, he can contribute. And Scutaro/Blake are improvements over what we have at their positions right now. While that isn’t saying much its better than sticking with what we had. What makes me mad about the offseason moves is piling up back of the rotation starters. Moscoso will turn games into home run derby’s. Same goes for Outman, but he probably won’t make the rotation unless there are a lot of injuries. Things aren’t looking good for a playoffs bid this year, but we can break .500
Jacob
January 22, 2012 at 2:17 PM (UTC -6)
And I agree with you on people arguing for Scutaro being a “winner”. That is a terrible argument in any case really as usually whether or not a team wins has to do with the whole team not just one “winner” on the roster.
Jim
February 3, 2012 at 2:35 PM (UTC -6)
We have to face the facts, the Rockies overall draft choices the past 5 to 8 years (Tulo and perhaps Fowler excepted) have not panned out. The Rockies brass has been to concerned with drafting pitchers. I know that free agents Hampton and Neagle did not pan out but that was pre Humidor. I think they need to pick up the best available player in the draft especially in the first couple of rounds. My gosh we could of had Evan Longoria but instead we take a pitcher who is not even with the organization anymore. The team consequently has buried itself, and god forbid if a starter goes down there is not much backing him up. There is no way that our geriatric group (Helton, Scutaro, Hernandez or Blake) will make it through the season unscathed, in fact I believe the Rox could lead the NL West in time on the disabled list this year.
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