Complacency

[HoyaRoxFan]

Don't get me wrong: I'm not saying I want to see Garrett Atkins as your everyday second baseman. I'm saying it's not likely that the Rockies would have four MLB-ready/MLB-worthy middle infielders at the top of the organization all at the same time - they don't - and that therefore instead of throwing in the towel, instead of having Herrera eat innings, I might prefer to see Ian Stewart out there.

Herrera is good, no doubt, but he's making not-ready-for-prime-time decisions in the field and he's been good for three singles... Why is he learning at the MLB level? Why is he here?

Just as Hurdle is attempting to do with our surplus of center fielders, there would be PT to be had - even if that meant mixing Stewart and Atkins in at 2nd so that you could have both bats in the lineup. Surely... surely they would be better than the PT being given to Jeff Baker and/or Herrera...

[BigRapidsJackass]

OK, HF, you've convinced me on the Ronny Cedeno thing. That says more about my modest dreams than it does about the value of Ronny. Maybe Roger Cedeno's available too. Maybe Cesar Cedeno will come back.

Taveras has value, and right now he's the guy we'd least miss if he were traded. Torrealba will probably have more value if/when somebody else's catcher goes down, so I'd hold onto him for a bit. Fuentes? The time is now. If Eric Gagne keeps going the way he is we might be able to steal something valuable from the Brew Crew.

Juan Castro is interesting because it shows how much clubs seem to hate Marcus Giles. Giles just must be a grade A jackass.

[TheIncredibleRox]

I think everyone knows the story with Giles... jackass or not, he just lost the ability to 'inject' power/offense into his game after they started testing for such things.

[indianadrew]

ouch! that kinda stings. say hi to roxpert.

[TheIncredibleRox]

say hi to roxpert.

Talked to him a week or so ago. He is well. Said he still lurks and reads some. He is watching!

[Dante Bichette]

This is the perfect time for this organization to "think outside of the box" and heavily explore possible trades and other unconventional ideas. I love the idea of bringing up Stewart and letting him or Atkins play 2B from time to time. The extra bat in the lineup would be worth it, and either can always be replaced late in a game in favor of Barmes or Q. Can't really make us any worse, can it?

Instead, though, what does O'Dowd do? Juan Castro. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

[BigRapidsJackass]

My favorite theory of what drives complacency: "regret avoidance."

“It is an irony of the post-Enlightenment world,” they conclude, “that so many people who don’t believe in fate refuse to tempt it.” The psychologists first identified this reluctance last year by reconsidering a well-known superstition about lottery tickets. Experimenters had repeatedly found that once people were given a lottery ticket, they would refuse to trade it for another ticket despite being offered a cash bonus and reassured that the other ticket was just as likely to win.

This superstitious behavior had been explained with the theory of “anticipated regret”: Even though the people realized the odds were no different for any ticket, they anticipated feeling especially stupid if they traded away a winner, so they held on to their ticket just to avoid that regret.

Read the whole article. I find stuff like this fascinating.

Travel Insurance - Magical Thinking - Appeasing the Gods, With Insurance - John Tierney - New York Times

When I think about the state of baseball, I can only think of one GM who seems to be so coldly analytical that he exhibits zero "regret anticipation."
Kevin Towers in San Diego. Maybe Billy Beane, too, but Towers seems to take it to a new level. Almost a Heltonfan-ian level.

O'Dowd, on the other hand, is probably pretty typical. He'll hold onto his Choos and Jaysons and Jeff (Bakers) till the bitter end of their prospect status. Really, it would've made perfect sense in, say, the post-2006 offseason to swap an aging prospect who's out of options like Baker to a young team with an immediate need for a third baseman in exchange for a lower level prospect. Then you wouldn't have to worry about carving out roster space for a guy who's out of options but is blocked at his position from above (Atkins) and below (Stewart). You take your out-of-options/no space on the roster 1-in-5 shot of being a solid roleplayer 25 year old and swap him for someone else's 18 year old 1-in-40 shot of being a star.

But what if Baker becomes an All Star for somebody else? I can't possibly trade my lottery ticket for someone else's, even if you sweeten the deal with 20 bucks!

[TheIncredibleRox]

Chris Ianetta is on fire, and I'm loving it. Is there any doubt at all who our starting catcher should be?

If only he was a fiery, animated, latin guy with 'leadership' qualities and 'clutch' ability, we'd really have something here.

[BigRapidsJackass]

Ahh, but he is white, slow, and not a gifted athlete in the traditional sense.

That means he's "gritty."

Yeah, he's hitting great; must mean his defense sucks.

Nichols Law Of Catcher Defense - BR Bullpen

[BigRapidsJackass]

Another note: after 35 games, Chris Iannetta has more RBIs that Todd Helton.

Clint Barmes has the same number as Todd.

(Yes, I know RBI is a junk stat, but Todd has to start producing)