We as fans have spent most of the last several months on the ITR and RWO dissecting and analyzing all the players the Rockies have added over the off season. However before actual spring training games start, I thought it would be appropriate to take one last look at the players that have been erased from the Rockies roster since the end of last season.
Several of them frankly will not be missed (Stewart, Wigginton, etc), but there are some fan favorites (Iannetta, Street, etc) on the lists below as well:
First the players that were free agents and lost to the free agent process. Other than Cook and Spilborghs, the rest of these guys were short term rentals so not much attachment there:
1. Aaron Cook – SP Long time Rockie but it was time.
2. Mark Ellis – 2B Nice player but Scutaro makes me forget Ellis quickly.
3. Kevin Kousmanoff – 3B Never really got the bat or glove going.
4. Kevin Millwood – SP Nice veteran starter surprised he left.
5. JC Romero – RP Veteran lefty that seemed to fit the bull pen.
6. Ryan Spilborghs – OF Fan favorite hurt by the injuries.
In addition to the free agents we also lost the players that were traded. In these cases the Rockies made specific decisions that they either had better options, cheaper options, or it was simply time to acknowledge that things were not working out here in Denver :
7. Jason Hammel – SP Had some good starts but also bad ones too.
8. Chris Iannetta – C You likely either loved him or hated him.
9. Matt Lindstrom – RP Veteran releiver that wanted to play in CO?
10. Clay Mortensen – SP Original A;s pitcher – Moscoso? Outman?
11. Kevin Slowey – SP Never threw a pitch as a Rockie!
12. Seth Smith – OF This one could come back to haunt DanO.
13. Ian Stewart – 3B High #1 draft picks don’t always work out.
14. Houston Street – RP See Iannetta (Love him or hate him)!
15. Ty Wigginton – IF There just are no words printable.
My nominees for the “can’t you get out of Denver faster” award would be Wigginton and Slowey (although leaving the Rockies without a pitch ever thrown a pitch is pretty darn impressive!)
Finally for this fan I really am going to really miss Houston Street and Seth Smith. Not great players for sure, but solid MLB ball players none the less.
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One can take the tack that the Rox were getting rid of players, but, you could also view this as giving many of those guys the opportunity to find themselves as ML players. Hammel, Iannetta, Smith, Stewart and Spilborghs needed the wakeup call.
Mitch Williams makes the constant observation that closers don’t necessarily have to be flamethrowers. The key to closing in getting that first pitch, strike one. Then play with hitters’ egos in the ninth inning. See ya soon Huston.
Whether the slap in the face (or on the back) will produce results remains to be seen.
Huston Street’s problem was the out pitch. He always got to two strikes quickly and then for some mysterious reasons, they hit him hard with two strikes. I’m not a researcher, but my eyes told me nearly all the HRs came with two strikes??
As I remember it, Street was great early in the ’09 season. Then he had some type of injury mid to late in the ’09 season. He was never the same since.
I do think that Street had the stuff to close with, but he (like most closers) succeeded or failed on confidence…in 2009 during the regular season he had only 2 blown saves (35 for 37) – one in June and one in September…So, enter the post season and we all know what happened – he blew the save in game 3 and in game 4…2 blown saves back to back…it isn’t that he doesn’t have the stuff (if he wasn’t talented he never would have pitched that well), it is more that he is human and was rattled (in my opinion) by the bad call of the ball going off the foot, bad call at 1st with Todd, etc…he got rattled, blew the save, etc…
I do wish Street well and will miss him (especially seeing him on the side always talking to whoever was near him) as well as Spilly (he was amazing with the fans), Iannetta (so much potential, so little confidence) and Smith (i will miss him the most)…i think Seth, again, needs to be in every day to get work against LHP – make him your starter no matter what and he will prove me right (or wrong
)…
Thanks for fixing the post Jared – between my poor wording, spelilng, great picture and poll at the bottom. You are the best – thanks!
So maybe I’m mean…but I only voted for Smith. In my opinion, he should have been given everyday AB’s for an extended period of time.
Otherwise, it was time for the others to go.
I am going to miss Stewart. I still think he’s going to have a very nice career in MLB. For whatever reason things just did not work out here. I’m watching the Cubbies this year to see how he does.
And of course the Indians for U and Spilly.
Interesting on Stewart. A little too strange for a freak collission on day one of ST end yer career.
We’ll see. I’ll be watching too.
I also think Stewart is going to have a good career and probably a really good season with the Cubs. I think he was sorely mishandled last year, but it was time for him to get a new start. Anyone feeling Stewart separation anxiety might take solace in Brandon Wood. Same round, Same draft, Same position, Same minor league stats, Same major league results. Rox have him on a minor league deal. There is no reason to expect a breakout, but if we think Stewart is going to breakout, why not Wood?
My vote: None of the above. Lots of potential, but no heart, in most cases. I liked Ellis, but think we’re better off with Scutaro.
I’m afraid we’re going to miss Iannetta. The problem here is how many games can Hernandez catch? Who will catch the remainder? I’m guessing Iannetta has his typical productive yet somewhat frustrating season, and that when you lick at the overall productivity out of the catcher position for the Angels vs. The Rockies over the next couple years, you’ll see the Angels come out on top by a pretty significant margin. I also agree that Seth Smith will be missed
There are like 8 catchers in camp. Plus, let’s not forgot comments from Mr. O’Dowd. He has stated he is not ready to give up on Pacheco being a catcher. Too much invested I believe he added.
Agbayani,
What sort of production from Hernandez/Rosario would allow you to forget your love for Iannetta? Would 25 HRs, .255 average, and 70 RBIs between the Hernandez/Rosario catching tandem do it? That’s what I predict (hope?) we’ll get from the two. I can live with that from the catching position. Will that work for you?
My guess is that after talking to his buddy Holliday about the perils of playing in Oakland, Smith will do what he can to get the heck out of there. Unfortunately, he quite doesn’t have the leverage that Holliday had.
I have little doubt Iannetta is going to look great in the AL. He can sit there all day and draw walks in the 8th or 9th spot and be driven in by the likes of Abreu, Morales, Bourjas, Pujols or whatever VERY GOOD players the Angels have in the 1st-4th position.
Its quite different than batting 8th for the Rockies with a pitcher, Fowler, Ellis, and finally Cargo.
The Rockies needed Iannetta to swing the damn bat. Not sit there and draw walks. Considering his talent to drive in runs when he swung the bat I can’t help but thinking the organization was flabergasted by his hesitance to do it more often.
Iannetta will probably come out of the AL as an all-star…but what could the Rockies do with a talent who doesn’t use it right?
Maybe the Rockies should have used Iannetta as the lead off man? I’m serious.
How interesting is this, the only player in the poll of players that will be missed, the one drawing exactly zero votes = Ty Wigginton. Sorry Ty there is no love here at the RWO!
thanks Rich for starting a good discussion.
Obviously we all have had our favorites(I forgave Helton for replacing Big Cat cause it was Todd’s time) and I think lots of those who are gone have had the opportunity to produce. Some have failed when they either couldn’t get it done any longer (Cook, Spilly) or offered up while some value still existed (Street, Innanetta) to get something in return.
Will keep hoping Stewart shines. He was one of the best defensive 3rd baseman…just couldn’t get it done. While many of us think Smith should have gotten a ton more opportunities as an everyday player but it is about stats and Seth started to slide, including his defense for some reason. He was never stellar but seemed to struggle reacting to balls to him last year.
It is all about performance and this team jells right out of ST, those who left will be out of site, out of mind. the Rox struggle, we’ll be having this same conversation in a few months!
Go Rox. Get my beer ordered EdtheUmp…5 more days!
Haven’t you heard the news? You’re not going anywhere. :>)
I picked Street, that is it. I liked most of the people on that list, but think it was definately time for them to go. Stewart and Smith drove me crazy, so much talent but they just could not capitalize on opportunity.
I was nice reading about the fond memories of Street’s blown saves in 09. I can still see the slight outline of the drywall patchwork in my mancave after a hole mysteriously appeared after the second blown save.
Quality Control ALERT for those of you wanting to vote for Millwood as the player you will miss the most, as he made initial list but failed to make the ballot – oops!
HA! Well, no use adding him now…I guess if he was one of the more missed then his name would have come up sooner than this