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BigRapidsJackass · June 6th, 2007, 05:25 PM

I listened to a bit of the AM 950 rantings about the Rockies this morning.

Clough had a good point: Rockies ownership (and management) keeps saying that this club is very close. This year, Monfort suggested that the NL West title could be within reach. And every year these predictions are laughable when made, and are revealed as utterly ridiculous by the end of the season.

OK, big deal. It's what lawyers call "mere puffery" by a salesman. "You won't find a better small SUV than the RAV4." You can't turn around and sue the dealer when Consumer Reports decides that the Honda CRV is better all around.

So this kind of talk is harmless. Except for one thing: the Monforts, and maybe even O'Dowd, and especially Hurdle, actually believe it. They seem to have no idea of where the club really stands in the competitive cycle. That's why roster spots (active and 40-man) are made available for available for guys like Mabry and Martin, as if this club is so solid and ready to compete that 2 or 3 timely pinch hits could push them over the top and into the playoffs, or as if a veteran lefthanded reliever might just be that tiny edge they need.

And as a result "there's just no room on the roster right now" for Chin-Hui Tsao or even Justin Hampson. They aren't thought of as guys who can help you win now. John Mabry and Steve Finley and Tom Martin and Jose Mesa and Ray King and LaTroy Hawkins? Those are the kind of guys who, if everything works out just right, might squeeze that extra 2-3 wins out of this club and be the difference between playing baseball in October vs. going hunting with Todd in October.

And so the same pattern is repeated, in infuriating Ground Hog Day style, every offseason after every offseason. Another veteran bat or two off the bench; another washed-up reliever. All in service to the grand illusion that this team is right there, ready to win big at long last.

That's why dumping guys like Tsao is inexcusable. I don't care whether his arm falls off. A club that isn't going to beat out the Dodgers, Padres, or D'backs this year, under almost any plausible scenario, isn't a club that ought to be dumping real talent to make room for Finley, Mabry and Martin.

But just watch. It'll happen all over again starting in October. Who will be 2008's version of John Mabry? I can hardly wait ...

June 6th, 2007, 05:25 PM	#100 (permalink)
BigRapidsJackass Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 1,176	I listened to a bit of the AM 950 rantings about the Rockies this morning. Clough had a good point: Rockies ownership (and management) keeps saying that this club is very close. This year, Monfort suggested that the NL West title could be within reach. And every year these predictions are laughable when made, and are revealed as utterly ridiculous by the end of the season. OK, big deal. It's what lawyers call "mere puffery" by a salesman. "You won't find a better small SUV than the RAV4." You can't turn around and sue the dealer when Consumer Reports decides that the Honda CRV is better all around. So this kind of talk is harmless. Except for one thing: the Monforts, and maybe even O'Dowd, and especially Hurdle, actually believe it. They seem to have no idea of where the club really stands in the competitive cycle. That's why roster spots (active and 40-man) are made available for available for guys like Mabry and Martin, as if this club is so solid and ready to compete that 2 or 3 timely pinch hits could push them over the top and into the playoffs, or as if a veteran lefthanded reliever might just be that tiny edge they need. And as a result "there's just no room on the roster right now" for Chin-Hui Tsao or even Justin Hampson. They aren't thought of as guys who can help you win now. John Mabry and Steve Finley and Tom Martin and Jose Mesa and Ray King and LaTroy Hawkins? Those are the kind of guys who, if everything works out just right, might squeeze that extra 2-3 wins out of this club and be the difference between playing baseball in October vs. going hunting with Todd in October. And so the same pattern is repeated, in infuriating Ground Hog Day style, every offseason after every offseason. Another veteran bat or two off the bench; another washed-up reliever. All in service to the grand illusion that this team is right there, ready to win big at long last. That's why dumping guys like Tsao is inexcusable. I don't care whether his arm falls off. A club that isn't going to beat out the Dodgers, Padres, or D'backs this year, under almost any plausible scenario, isn't a club that ought to be dumping real talent to make room for Finley, Mabry and Martin. But just watch. It'll happen all over again starting in October. Who will be 2008's version of John Mabry? I can hardly wait ...