The response both in the thread and in e-mails I have received has been enormous. I know I haven't responded to every e-mail that was sent to me. So let this be a response to all of them:

Thank you for the interest. We'll have more information regarding the search this weekend, when we officially start it.

via assets.sbnation.com

SB Nation's Nuggets blog, Pickaxe and Roll, is in search of a new blogger to take over the day-to-day operations of the site. To borrow the words my friend over at Mile High Report used to also help in this search:

Let's face it, SBNation has the best blogging platform known to man, and gives bloggers every opportunity to succeed.  So, if you enjoy Nuggets basketball, enjoy writing, and want to take your  fandom to the next level, send me an email at [jedicore9@gmail.com].

Just like the Colorado Rockies, Purple Row is looking to acquire some offseason talent right now. Only we have even less of a budget than the Colorado Rockies (read: zero) and offer no perks (I'm still waiting on the scores of women I was promised when I hopped on board a few years ago). We're looking for two new writers to come on board and help take over some of the duties Rox Girl and I have jealously guarded with our dictatorial powers over the last four seasons.

Baseball is a long season, and while blogging an entire baseball season is not as demanding as playing one, we've both often felt rushed or not been able to provide all the analysis or attention to detail that we've wanted to. Don't let our combined total of over 3000 front-page posts deceive you; we would have more if only we had more time. So, this is a move to help diversify the personalities appearing on the front page and to allow us to write more of the stuff that we've wanted to but haven't been able to.

We want to have the new writers in place before Spring Training games start (they just appeared in my dashboard to be scheduled), but earlier is always better. Today, however, does not mark the start of the search, but it will commence soon. Rox Girl, who should have some thoughts to offer as an addendum to this piece, and I do want to provide some idea as to what we're looking for before we open the search:

1. Considering that  Rox Girl and I are both East Coasters, we'd like the writer(s) to be Western-based, closer to Denver the better. 
2. Will be able to cover Rockpiles, Pebble Reports, Game Threads, and 2009's new feature, game wraps. Not all in one day like Rox Girl and I have done each season; there's a mock schedule worked outright now that doles out responsbility each day.
3. Will be more MLB-oriented. That should be defined a bit. The current staple of writers covers the minors and the draft quite well. We want someone (or someones) who can focus on what is happening in Denver.
4. It's a labor of love, so the commitment must be there to meet quotas.
5. Doesn't matter if you want to be humorous, go the SABR route, or offer some other tone. The field is wide open.

So, that's it. We'll come back soon with how we're going to choose the new writers, but use this as a forum to ask questions.

[UPDATE] I've already received several e-mails regarding interest in this. If you are interested and do e-mail me to express your interest in the position, please do provide your Purple Row user name. I do have the ability to find it out, but providing it would save me time.

Jack Etkin chimed in with two blog entries last night. The first entry offers several scouts' views on Jason Marquis.

The second one is about Scott Podsednik's status with the Rockies, or, really, non-status. What once seemed like a sure thing after Willy Taveras was non-tendered, signing Podsednik hasn't happened. Dan O'Dowd is quoted as saying this in the entry:

"I can't say that he is [coming back] at this time. I haven't had a lot of positive feedback from (agent) Kenny Felder on Scott. So I don't know really where that one is at this point in time."

Eh. Not much of a loss if he goes elsewhere.

The Dodgers have recently joined the Milwaukee Brewers in the pursuit of Trevor Hoffman.

Troy Renck makes another one of those statements that really means nothing, this time in regard to Jason Marquis' acquisition:

He’s a winner, having gone to the playoffs every season of his career.

Now, let's make this clear. From the year Jason Marquis started his career (2000 with the Braves) to this past season (2008 with the Cubs), the team he has been on has made the playoffs. But I'm not sure how that makes him a winner. You can say he is a winner because his career record stands at 79-70, but because he's made the playoffs every season?

And if he was such a winner, I'd expect him to, you know, pitch in the playoffs. As a rookie in 2000, he didn't make it. I won't fault him for that, pitching in only 15 games that season. He pitched two innings of relief over two games during the 2001 NLCS. He was left off the Braves' roster for the next two postseasons before moving to St. Louis. He saw action in the 2004 and 2005 postseasons for the Cardinals, and he even made the 2006 postseason roster for the NLDS, somehow, but did not pitch. But he didn't make the NLCS and WS rosters (let's remember that 2006 was really bad for Marquis). Moving to the Cubs in 2007, Lou Piniella went with a three-man rotation in the playoffs, leaving Marquis out of the rotation. And lest we forget, Marquis pitched the ninth inning of the first game in the 2008 NLDS against the Dodgers.

So, let's be clear. Jason Marquis is a winner in the sense that he has a winning record. But he is not a winner because he went to the playoffs every season. It's simply not true. Even if he did go to the postseason every season, there's a reason why over the last few seasons his managers didn't want to use him.

Borrowing an idea from Bleed Cubbie Blue, let's play a little game: Name that Rockie.

via i225.photobucket.com

And with that 2008 has closed and 2009 starts. May 2009 be better than 2008 for the Colorado Rockies!

Purple Row will, as always, look forward to the new year. In 2008, Purple Row and the rest of the SB Nation network of blogs underwent the transition to the new platform we all enjoy (I hope) today. It's onward and upward for the entire network. With a seven-figure investment sum announced back in October, SB Nation is committed to providing the resources to offer the best coverage for every team on the network. SB Nation is a network of, for, and by fans. Without you, we wouldn't be where we are today. Thank you all!

There might even be few new things for Purple Row in the coming weeks, if that person ever gets back to me with thoughts on the subject that were promised a few weeks ago (hint, hint).

Happy New Year!

First, the Denver Post obtained details on Willy Taveras' contract with the Reds. He signed for $6.25M. Yes, that $6,250,000. The $2.25M for the 2009 season can be defended, but $4M in 2010? The Reds better hope there's a new rule in baseball that allows a player to steal first base.

With the expected announcement of the Jason Marquis trade next week, let's pull together some thoughts from the reactions to this trade.

If the season started today, the rotation would likely be Aaron Cook, Ubaldo Jimenez, Jeff Francis, Jason Marquis, and Jorge De La Rosa. The first three starters aren't in question, but the fourth and fifth starters can be flipped with each other (I list it that way in order to break up the lefties). And there's always a chance that one of the other pitchers on the periphery for the rotation could enter into the equation: Greg Smith, Franklin Morales, Greg Reynolds, and Jason Hirsh. I can see Smith or Hirsh winding up in the bullpen, but since he has an option year left, Hirsh would be better off starting for the Sky Sox. Oh, and the ever-present Glendon Rusch is an option.

Does this move make the Rockies' rotation appreciably better? No. This is more of a lateral move, but the Rockies certainly have depth. And as Rox Girl wrote in a comment to her FanShot on the trade as I typed this up:

There are a couple of Yogi Berra-esque principles involved with young pitchers that you usually have to take into account:

1. You never know if they’ll really be good (until they are).
2. You never get as many innings from them as you hope you will (until you do).

The Rockies now have both principles adequately covered.

Now youth is the fallback option.

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Memo to the Monfort Brothers: If Broncos' owner Pat Bowlen can (and did) fire Mike Shanahan after years of mediocrity, disappointment, and sheer ineptitude in some areas for the Denver Broncos, you two can fire or let go of Clint Hurdle, who is in the last year of his contract. Granted, Mike Shanahan had a few more responsibilities with the Broncos in addition to being the head coach, but Pat Bowlen extirpated a Broncos institution. Clint Hurdle is the closest thing to an institution the Rockies have--but without the accomplishments. One winning record in seven seasons is not good. Period.

And maybe you two have seen the writing on the wall that Clint Hurdle can't stick around forever. The additions of Jim Tracy as the bench coach and Don Baylor as the hitting coach, both former major league managers, would certainly seem to indicate that. So, here's a final thought for 2008: If the Rockies aren't close to .500 (I'll leave that vague enough for me to later interpret it as I want) by June, Clint Hurdle should no longer be the manager of the Rockies (as well as Bob Apodaca as pitching coach).

Pat Bowlen got rid of a coach he once called "coach for life." Surely, you two can let go of a coach who has done far less for his team.