Rockies fans need to brush up on how baseball works in the 21st century. Most of those claiming allegiance to the purple pinstripes have no appreciation for what Todd Helton has done throughout his career in Colorado (see my buddy’s write-up at Mile High Sports for the details). Even after connecting on double #500 last night there are still fans and media talking heads that question his contribution to salary ratio. As a future Hall of Famer it still blows my mind that people don’t understand what a complete game and the leadership qualities he brings to the team. San Francisco treated Barry Bonds better than Rox fans treat Helton and at a much high price tag on and off the field.
Don’t get me wrong, I think fans of Colorado sports teams are extremely loyal and the metro area leads the nation in number of professional sporting organizations it supports per capita, but most haven’t yet figured out how baseball works. Let’s break it down to the basic realities.
First rule of thumbis that each year the Yankees will out spend all other MLB teams by a ridiculous margin (approximately $65m more than their cross town rival in 2009). The next break in payroll is at +$122m and includes other huge major metro areas with long big league histories (in descending order: the Mets, Cubs and Bosox). So, if you want to freeze your baseballs off in the winter and deal with humidity and large bugs in the summer go right ahead and move to the northeast or Chicago. If you like it here in the beautiful Rocky Mountains you’ll have to deal with the reality that the Rockies are a mid-market team (ranked #18 in payroll), and will never be able to throw cash around like the big dogs. Besides, high payrolls don’t translate to winning championships (see 2008 Yankees). Florida has the lowest payroll in the Majors at $36,814m and is only 6 games back in the NL East.
Second rule of thumbis that no team in professional baseball signs every single one of its free agent each off-season. Also, there is a trade deadline for a reason. Sometimes a team has depth at a position, but needs help somewhere else to make a postseason run so a popular player is traded. Of course, the opposite can happen where a team ignites a fire sale to cut payroll in anticipation of having the budget to make moves in the off-season. I can’t think of one player that the Rockies have waved goodbye to over the last 10 years that has turned into an Albert Pujols for another team. Good GM’s make trades and sign deals to make a team better not to keep superstars at the expense of winning – except the Yankees.
The third rule of thumbis slumps, injuries and roid suspensions happen to every team. Okay, the “roid suspension” comment was directed at ManRam and the Dodgers, but you’re living in a fantasy world if you think there won’t be some shuffling going on during the season. The teams that can best deal with these in-season adjustments are the ones that have the best shot at playing in October.
Fourth rule of thumb is that every winning team has some lucky bounces at key points in games throughout the season and playoffs. Playing in the elements and on grass/dirt fields provides ample opportunity for funny things to happen to both players and the ball. When a team is winning the ball seems to bounce their way and when a team is losing the ball seems to be rolling in the opposite direction.
Fifth and last rule of thumb is that winning teams in baseball are strong in all three facets of the game. If a team is weak in pitching, hitting or defense there is little chance that it will be playing in the postseason. Good pitchers must have a solid defense behind them or they won’t be good pitchers for long. And on the other side, if a team is holding opponents to low run totals then it still has to have the bats working to win. There are no ties in baseball so someone has to step-up to the plate. The challenge for the Rockies is to plug the right players into the key positions all within a budget that is less than 17 other teams in the league to win.
So the bottom line is everyone should enjoy watching Helton play and appreciate the fact you get to watch the Rockies first entry into Cooperstown. Quit pining over Holliday, Matsui and Jennings, and get excited over this young squad looking at another Rocktober run.
CO Sports Chick 