Saturday, July 2, 2011

Make Up Your Mind, Already

The trade for Mark Ellis was probably overdue, given that the Rockies' second base situation has been in such disarray for so long. Consider that of the four players who've seen significant time at second for the Rox this year, three are no longer with the team, including Jose Lopez, who was released, and Eric Young Jr. and Chris Nelson, who are now in AAA. The sole survivor of that unholy tetrad, Jonathan Herrera, has an OPS of .624.

So Ellis' arrival was welcome, but that wasn't the only thing to like about the move. What impressed me was that the Rockies immediately demoted both Nelson AND Young. They could have farted around with this a little, said they'd give Nelson some time behind Ellis to try to break him in. But no, they were very definitive about it: Mark Ellis is our second baseman. (It helps that he started out as a Rockie, as I write this, at 6 for 9 with four doubles and a homer.)

That's the way to run a team. You decide who the best players are, and you put them in the lineup. Of course, sometimes you make a mistake, and convince yourself that Charlie Blackmon is one of your best players, and then you got trouble. But in this instance, well done, boys.

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