From the Clubhouse
I’m going to start by a tweet I mentioned to Bert:
@bertjanb Right. So far, instead of playing Texas Hold ‘em, it’s more like O’Dowd’s playing “Go Fish”
— Frank ? druid (@druidlove) January 22, 2012
I’ll put this into perspective: I can’t wait until Spring Training starts. This signifies to me that we’re ready for baseball, and that our roster is pretty much set. (Actually, it’s hardly set at this point, but this is the set of players we’ll get a better look, and see if they really pan out, or are on the 25 or 40-man rosters.) The hot stove league does make me nervous. But it makes me more nervous when a GM is in his contract year after having a team with high expectations bite the dust. Just when I think something is set, I turn my back and something changes. This happened with Seth Smith last week, and then Slowey was traded on Saturday.
So, let me make a list of our current Rockies roster, and Spring Training invites updated as of Sunday. I’ll put them in 4 groups:
Veteran Rox not moving:
Carlos Gonzalez, Troy Tulowitzki (locked into long term)
Matt Belisle (Good Ol’ Mr. Reliable relief)
Rafael Betancourt (Closer or setup pitcher)
Jhoulys Chacin (has Ace material)
Jorge De La Rosa (on DL, but will be back)
Jason Hammel (likely 5th starter)
Matt Lindstrom (p)
Juan Nicasio (I know he is well enough to make it),
Drew Pomeranz (p)
Matt Reynolds (p)
Alex White (more likely taking JDLR’s spot)
Jordan Pacheco (his role either super utility or catcher is undefined, but he will be there)
Jason Giambi (will be riding the pine)
Todd Helton (1b)
Jonathan Herrera ( likely backup INF/PH)
Charlie Blackmon (OF)
Dexter Fowler (starting CF)
New Rox staying
Michael Cuddyer (starting RF)
Tyler Colvin (He took Spilborghs’ place in OF)
Casey Blake (3B)
Ramon Hernandez (starting C)
Veteran Rox status unknown:
Eric Young, Chris Nelson (Both of these players have no options left and while they may start on the bench, they may have a better future on another team.)
Hector Gomez, Tommy Field, Josh Roenicke, Edgmer Escalona, Christian Friedrich (starting in AAA)
Willin Rosario (he may get a few cracks at the bat in AAA-Springs to start, depends on how Spring Training goes)
Esmil Rogers (Out of options, may be traded or with the team depending on ST)
Rex Brothers (he may be closing with the Rox, or starting the year in AAA)
Other players status unknown: (from the trades)
Tyler Chatwood (He may be in relief, or on opening day in AAA)
Zach Putnam (Our trade from the brief Slowey trade, likely starting with the Rox in relief)
Josh Outman (likely starting in AAA)
Guillermo Moscoso (Trade from Oakland for Smith, likely taking a 4th spot in rotation)
DJ LeMahieu *
Jamie Hoffmann *
Edwar Cabrera *
Eliezer Alfonzo (on restricted list, will be serving a 100-game suspension for drugs)
Mike Ekstrom (NRI)*
Jamie Moyer (NRI)*
Wil Nieves (NRI)*
Chad Tracy (NRI)*
* all likely to open in AAA-Colorado Springs, depends on spring training results.
We now have a lot of pitching depth, in starting, and possibly relief. I do believe we have enough that Dealin’ Dan deals these cards into a game of War.
Okay, I’ll stop the card puns before I talk about Crazy 8′s and Rum(my)… 
This post contributed to Mark (@townie813), Sackor (@supahfly328), Ed (@edwscott), Krista (@astoria922), Christina (@cjensen23), Jan (@bertjanb)
Want to see your name here? Get involved! Start a conversation–on Twitter with @druidlove– on Rockies, or a sports-related topic. If I use an idea or tweet for my blog posts (Monday/Thursdays), I’ll be sure to credit you like these fine people did.
Sliding home Today’s final quote comes from Christina, who has ultimate optimism for the Rox this year, and I like it:
@druidlove I may be in the minority but I have all the faith in Dan and Jim. This season will be better than expected.
— Christina Jensen (@cjensen23) January 23, 2012