Brown: How Michael Cuddyer’s chase of the NL batting title made him a better player

My 1969 Macmillan shocker: Debs Garms.

He batted .370 the rest of the way. Turned out, he batted .385 in September. He finished at .331, 10 points ahead of Johnson, 60 points higher than his career average, 47 points better than he’d ever hit. On the final day of the season, he could let it go again, free of the drama, the thrill, the achievement, the bouts of weirdness in the batter’s box. And it could just be glorious.

“Oh, it’s extremely special,” he said. “To have your name in the history books as a batting champion, it’s just extremely special.”

He loved the other names on the list. His boyhood hero, Don Mattingly, is on there. And his former teammate, Joe Mauer. Lots of Rockies, of course.

“And there’s names that aren’t on the list,” Cuddyer said, “that give you chills.”

That the batting title came from nowhere, and in the months after he turned 34, when it seemed we all had a pretty good notion of the ballplayer Michael Cuddyer was, seemed particularly satisfying to Cuddyer. He’d worked hard for this, and grew a little more into the game when he changed to a more aggressive two-strike approach, and started last season hot. Yes, it’s almost strange when a Rockie doesn’t win the batting title. And it was interesting that when one did, it wasn’t Carlos Gonzalez or Troy Tulowitzki. While the natural assumption may be that Cuddyer’s season was created by Coors Field, he did hit .311 on the road. Of the eight batting titles won by Rockies (Andres Galarraga at Mile High Stadium, Todd Helton, Matt Holliday, Gonzalez, Cuddyer and three by Larry Walker at Coors Field), Cuddyer’s home batting average (.356) is the lowest by 20 points.

Hey, it’s better to hit there. Just is. But it’s not everything.

“I didn’t hit .500 at home,” Cuddyer said with a smile.

Denver Post: Spilborghs Retires, Returns to Rockies as a Broadcaster.

The decision wasn’t easy for Spilborghs. He considered resuming his career with the Rockies on a minor-league contract, but he couldn’t pass up this opportunity. He played last year for Japan’s Seibu Lions, chronicling his experience for The Denver Post in a series of popular blogs.

Spilborghs, 34, has a variety of media experience, including appearing in car commercials and hosting “Spillin’ The Beans,” a comedy short for the Rockies’ website.

Spilborghs played seven seasons with the Rockies, last in 2011, hitting .272 with a .345 on-base percentage, 42 home runs and 218 RBIs.

Ryan Spilborghs was a pretty good part-timer for a while there. I had kind of forgotten.

Red Sox trade Franklin Morales, minor leaguer to Rockies for utility infielder

The Red Sox have traded left-hander Franklin Morales and minor-league right-hander Chris Martin to the Rockies in exchange for infielder Jonathan Herrera, a switch-hitter without much offense but considered a decent defensive player who can play second base, shortstop and third base.

Tribe sends Stubbs to Rox for Outman

Rockies Trade Josh Outman For Drew Stubbs

Outman! Fighter of the day-man! Champion of the sun!

Cleveland acquired Josh Outman on Wednesday from the Colorado Rockies in a trade for outfielder Drew Stubbs. The left-handed Outman is the newest member to Cleveland’s revamped bullpen, which has seen All-Star closer Chris Perez released and free agent right-handers Joe Smith and Matt Albers sign elsewhere this offseason.

The 29-year-old Outman spent most of last season with the Rockies, going 3-0 with a 4.33 ERA in 61 relief appearances. Outman limited left-handed hitters to a .198 average and had a 3.41 ERA in hitter-friendly Coors Field….

Stubbs, who came to Cleveland in last December’s trade with Cincinnati for Shin-Soo Choo, batted .233 with 10 homers and 17 steals in 146 games for the Indians. The Indians valued Stubbs – especially for his versatility and speed – but Cleveland’s signing of free agent David Murphy to a two-year, $12 million contract made him expendable. Murphy is projected to get most of the playing time in right field next season.

Colorado Rockies acquire pitcher Brett Anderson from A’s | MLB.com

The Rockies acquired left-handed starting pitcher Brett Anderson and cash considerations from the Athletics on Tuesday for lefty starter Drew Pomeranz and Minor League righty Chris Jensen, the teams announced.

Rockies To Sign Justin Morneau

In the tradition of “Dumping Doug Fister So You Can Afford Joe Nathan” comes “Dumping Dexter Fowler So You Can…”

The Rockies have agreed to sign Justin Morneau to a two-year deal worth roughly $13MM, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter).

Morneau hit .259/.323/.411 with 17 homers in 2013, a slash line is a slight improvement over that of a league-average hitter, and his .152 isolated power mark is also slightly above the league average of .146.

Rockies trade Dexter Fowler to Astros for Jordan Lyles, Brandon Barnes

The Astros have acquired center fielder Dexter Fowler and a player to be named later from the Rockies in exchange for right-hander Jordan Lyles and outfielder Brandon Barnes, both teams announced.

Thanks to JJ.

Rockies owner provides detailed look at team’s budget

[Monfort] also explained why he isn’t about to spend all that new TV money next year. He said he is planning to receive $8 million less, or $19 million, believing a chunk will be kept for baseball’s central fund to compensate for last season

...The $18 million is additionally siphoned, Monfort explained, to pay $5.5 million to the MLB credit line for past loans, $5 million for player raises and $3.5 million to cover projected revenue loss from not having the Yankees and the Red Sox play at Coors Field, series that drew huge crowds this past summer at inflated ticket prices. That leaves approximately $4 million to $5 million in “new” money, and the ability to add about $11 million to the payroll, he said.

There’s a lot of information in the article including Monfort’s outline of the Rockies’ expenses (see chart at the end of the article).

Rockies fans were already a bit upset by the announcement of plans to build a restaurant deck in right field. The thinking was that the Rockies were using the windfall from the new national TV contracts on the stadium rather than new players.  However, the article says the funds for the stadium are coming from other sources.

Monfort also says the Rockies’ revenue is at $170 million and his rule of thumb is to spend 50% on payroll.  Forbes most recent valuation article had the Rockies’ revenue at $199 million, and Bloomberg’s (the one with the fancy interactive chart) had it at $195 million.

Baseball America: 2014 Colorado Rockies Top 10 Prospects

Dahl: Powertrip.

TOP 10 PROSPECTS

1. Jonathan Gray, rhp
2. Eddie Butler, rhp
3. Rosell Herrera, ss
4. Kyle Parker, 1b/of
5. Chad Bettis, rhp
6. David Dahl, of
7. Tom Murphy, c
8. Ryan McMahon, 3b
9. Trevor Story, ss
10. Raimel Tapia, of

The Rockies have continued to develop solid role players around star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and left fielder Carlos Gonzalez. In 2013, Nolan Arenado led the way as he became the first NL rookie third baseman to win a Gold Glove award, and he kept his head above water offensively.

Injuries in the final two months provided playing time for outfielders Charlie Blackmon and Corey Dickerson, with Blackmon hitting .309/.336/.467 in his longest stint in the majors, while rookie Dickerson played with hustle and energy and thrived offensively at Coors Field, where he posted a 1.003 OPS. Rookie righthander Chad Bettis also showed a power arm over the final two months and likely will fill a late-inning role in the 2014 bullpen.

Blackmon is a product of the 2008 draft and rivals Jordan Pacheco as Colorado’s best player from the 2006 through ’08 draft classes, which have proved very unproductive. The Rockies have rebuilt their depth with more success in recent drafts, though highly regarded 2012 first-round outfielder David Dahl essentially had a lost year due to disciplinary issues and injuries.

Cardinals expected to discuss possible Troy Tulowitzki trade at GM meetings - Yahoo Sports

The Cardinals surely have the pieces to make this deal work.

Certainly the Cardinals have the pieces to land him – or, if the Rockies balk, one of the Rangers’ shortstops. Between a logjam at first base and a surplus of hard-throwing, young arms, St. Louis has stockpiled the sort of talent to pull off a 3- or 4-for-1 deal. In a previous conversation between the teams about a possible Tulowitzki deal, first baseman Matt Adams’ name surfaced, with Colorado needing a long-term replacement for the retiring Todd Helton and St. Louis unlikely to trade Allen Craig because his team-friendly contract keeps him under control as long as Adams.
.
In addition, the Rockies would like to add at least one young starter to a pair of promising right-handed prospects: Jonathan Gray, the No. 3 overall pick in last year’s draft, and Eddie Butler, who blew away scouts at the Futures Game with a power sinker that topped out at 98 mph. Shelby Miller especially would fit that slot, with Lance Lynn a less-desirable option; the Cardinals, sources said, would not entertain a deal that includes rookie Michael Wacha. St. Louis likely would need to include either lefty flamethrower Kevin Siegrist or closer Trevor Rosenthal, and perhaps one more piece, depending on how hard a bargain Colorado plans on driving.

Charlie Monfort, Rockies owner, arrested on DUI charges

This is our beer (or whatever)...loving owner!

Charlie Monfort, co-owner of the Rockies, on Monday was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence in Windsor, according to court records.

The 54-year-old Monfort was released Tuesday afternoon on a $2,500 bond. He is scheduled to be arraigned in Weld County court Nov. 19.

Monfort was also cited for driving 10-19 miles per hour over the speed limit, court records reveal.

Monfort, who lives in Greeley, has been the Rockies’ managing general partner since 1992.

“I’m extremely disappointed in myself for the decision I made to drink and drive and the potential risk I caused to other innocent people,” Monfort said in a statement released by the Rockies. “I want to apologize to my family, the Colorado Rockies staff, players, Major League Baseball and, of course, our fans for the embarrassment I have caused by my actions.

“I do understand the seriousness of my behavior and the issues that I am facing and I’m committed to do what’s necessary to deal with my problem.

The drunken-driving arrest is familiar territory for Monfort. In 1999, he was also arrested for DUI in Greeley. Police in that case said Monfort’s blood alcohol content was .209, well over the then-legal limit of .10.

Dick Monfort says Rockies all-stars Troy Tulowitzki, Carlos Gonzalez staying put

Load up the HST cannon!

Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez aren’t going anywhere this winter. Rockies owner Dick Monfort said Wednesday he does not intend to trade either all-star.

“The plan is to keep them. Next year, yes. And my plan is to always keep them,” Monfort said. “Is that the smartest thing in the world to do? I don’t know. But for our fans I think it’s the best thing to do.”

In a wide-ranging interview at Coors Field, Monfort addressed the team’s front-office structure, a planned player payroll increase to between $90 million and $95 million next year and his desire to add a starting pitcher and big bat to a team that has had three straight losing seasons.

Despite consecutive last-place finishes, Monfort said he will not alter the structure that has assistant general manager Bill Geivett in charge of day-to-day major-league operations and reporting to Dan O’Dowd, who is in charge of the Rockies’ player development but is also the boss of the front office.

“I really don’t think either one has done a poor job,” Monfort said.

...The immediate plan to get the Rockies out of the National League West basement and into the postseason revolves around Tulowitzki, their all-star shortstop, and Gonzalez, their all-star left fielder.

“I love those two guys,” Monfort said. “And if they ever get on a tear ... In Tampa Bay, every once in a while, Evan Longoria just carries them and we have two guys who can carry a team.”

Denver Post: Todd Helton Greek-fantasy centaur fan painting

Someone needs to look into these side effects:

We’re not sure what exactly is happening in this fan’s painting of Todd Helton as a half-man, half-horse centaur hybrid carrying a baseball bat in a mythical highland swamp at the foot of a soaring mountain range.

But we’re pretty sure it’s not accurate. The 40-year-old Todd Helton hasn’t been in that kind of shape in awhile.

There’s a photo in the link.

Dave Krieger: Rockies review: Should they trade one (or more) of the big three?

As Marcus Aurelios Rodríguez once said: “Reject your sense of baseball injury and the baseball injury itself disappears.”

So here’s the question, and I don’t know a delicate way to phrase it: Are the Rockies’ stars wimpier than their rivals’ stars?

Tulo hasn’t played in 150 games since 2009, the last time the Rocks made the playoffs. He’s played as many as 140 once in the four intervening seasons. And he’s in his prime, weeks from his 29th birthday. One would have to assume he gets more fragile, not less, from here.

CarGo has never played 150 games in a season. He played 145 once and 135 once in a six-year career. In five big-league seasons, Fowler’s high is 143.

...Can the Rockies build a contender around Tulowitzki, Gonzalez and Fowler? Or do they need one of them to be more like Hunter Pence — someone who crashes into walls, shakes it off and stays in the game . . . and plays the next day . . . and the next . . . and the next. Are the last few years too small a sample size upon which to judge the Rockies’ core, or do they have too many high-strung thoroughbreds and not enough plow horses?

Much as I like the big three as players when they’re healthy, I’m coming around to the idea that the Rocks need to get tougher, and that one of the big three may have to go to make it happen.

Renck: Todd Helton to retire after 17 seasons with Colorado Rockies

Todd Helton paused, as if stepping out of the batter’s box, and confidently addressed his future after months of uncertainty. The greatest player in Rockies history will retire at the end of the season, he told The Denver Post on Saturday.

“Yes, this is it. It just seems like it’s time. It’s a young man’s game. I am 40 years old. I am looking forward to doing something else besides baseball. Whatever that may be. I am not sure yet,” said Helton, sitting next to his wife, Christy. “I am going to start a new chapter not only in my life but our lives. It will be different. It will be difficult, but it will be exciting.”

...Entering spring training, he was convinced 17 seasons would be enough, but his body sent him mixed signals. He felt better than he had for years after back, hip and knee surgeries.

“During the season I definitely wavered. It usually wasn’t from having a great game. I just enjoyed the competition, and I felt like I had bat speed. That’s what I will miss. The competition. I don’t know how I will replace that yet. There were days, I thought, ‘Maybe I can do this one year,’ ” Helton said. “Then ultimately, it’s the travel, being away from the family. It is just time.”

Thanks to FrankC.

Bill James Mailbag - 9/12/13

And sometimes you draft a guy who strikes out 37 times in 39 at-bats.

Bill, Is there any good reason for umpires to have a rotation? Doesn’t it seem more likely that having the best ball-strike umpires always do the plate and the best base umpires at 1st, etc., would lead to more calls being made correctly?

... It was done that way long before the umpires were unionized.   The problems inherent in the other alternative would seem to me to be almost limitless.   Umpires rotate not merely from position to position but also from crew to crew, the crews re-forming constantly during the season with the goal of getting uniformity—and anonymity—in the umpiring.   Since umpires change crews all the time, the guy who was the third-best ball-and-strike umpire on one crew would be the best ball-and-strike umpire on another crew, and the guy who was the best first-base umpire on one crew would be the fourth-best first-base umpire on another.   You’d have to maintain a monster chart to figure out who should be positioned where.

The bigger issue, though, is skills development… If each umpire was “locked” at a position, what happens when an umpire retires, or is sick and injured and misses a game?   Then you have to promote somebody who hasn’t been umpiring the plate to become a home plate umpire.   This seems to me, frankly, about a thousand times worse than the current system.

I’m curious as to your views on what factors we should or shouldn’t adjust for when calculating a time line adjustment to rate old-time players against modern players…

My perception, before I worked for the Red Sox, was that process of trying to improve teams was offset by natural aging/breakage, keeping the game essentially on a treadmill.   My perception NOW is that teams work so hard to improve constantly that they DO improve constantly—all of them.  There have been a thousand little innovations in the game in the last ten years, innovations that spread rapidly from one team to another, so that a team that doesn’t work hard to keep up would get very rapidly left behind.  

These innovations occur so rapidly and yet so gradually that they’re virtually impossible to document.   We just do a lot of things differently—and better—now as opposed to 2003.   Everybody does.   Some of those things could be grafted onto Home Run Baker; others couldn’t. 

I guess what I am saying is that accurate generalization requires clarity, and I just don’t have enough clarity on this issue to generalize about it in a way that would be useful.

Would Denver still have been chosen for an MLB expansion team if the effects of altitude were known (or at least more widely understood) 25 years ago?

... It takes 40 years to build a (reasonably) mature fan base, and there are dry patches in those 40 years when it looks like nothing is growing.

We haven’t expanded now in a long time, and baseball is getting kind of behind the curve with the population.   San Antonio is now the 7th largest city in the country or something like that, and. . .no baseball.   It’s a problem.  

Let us say that baseball were to expand into San Antonio.   First of all, you’d have to make some sort of local deal to get a stadium built, and then you’d have two bursts of interest/attendance:   1)  When the team started to play, and 2)  When the new stadium opened two to five years later.   When those bursts of interest/attendance passed, then you’d have some dry years when the attendance was poor and interest lagged, because the San Antonio team—despite the population of the area—just would not have what the old, established teams have.   People in Boston grew up going to opening day games with their grandpa.   People in Kansas City now grew up going to Royals games with their grandpa.   It takes a long time to establish that.

The Rockies now are kind of half-way through that process, and they’re in a little bit of a dry spell—but in the big picture, the organization has done well and the organization has been successful.

... Could you give some examples of ways teams have improved in the last ten years?

Ten years ago teams had a training staff of one or two people.   Now we have staffs of people. . .trainers who speak Japanese and double as interpretors.   The trainers are half doctors now, some of them.   They’re veteran people who know the athlete’s body better than a doctor does.  
 
We’re much more aggressive in using the options process to keep 25 players on the major league roster who are ready to play.   Ten years ago if you had a reliever who had a tired arm, you’d wait it out.   Now you DL him, call up somebody else and let the other guys’ arm come back.   
 
All of the information that is produced by our field is mined by the operations guys and put to practical use pretty much immediately.  Ten years ago we knew SOMETHING about where each hitter was likely to hit the ball.   We know a lot more now.   
 
Ten years ago we’d have a scouting report that said “Will use the change to RHB on occasion.”   Now we know how many changeups and sliders and cutters and curves the pitcher throws to right-handers and left-handers.
 
Ten years ago we hardly scouted the Far East.   Now we’ve got scouts everywhere checking out rumors of a baseball player.   The Dodgers got Ryu out of some league that hardly existed ten years ago.  
 
Ten years ago the Dominican Development Leagues were just getting started.

Do teams do continuous review of their scouting?

... I don’t know that we have systematic, organized review.   I do remember Theo trying to organize a systematic, organized review of our scouting a couple of times, but I don’t know that anything ever came of it. 

In a less organized fashion, we do a lot of that.   During draft meetings we’ll start talking about old drafts, past drafts… We talk through those issues at great length (and with great frequency) after the fact, so that the mistakes we’ve made in the past become a part of our organizational DNA.

One thing you kind of missed on. . .when a draft goes wrong, you generally KNOW why it went wrong.   Sometimes we read a guy as a great kid, and he turns out to be not such a great kid.   A kid stalls out at High A; the scouts will know why he stalled out at a level that somebody else would miss. . .his swing path was too rigid, locked him out of certain zones and made him vulnerable, whatever.   Sometimes you write a guy off because you don’t like his work habits, and he turns out to be one of those guys who is just a natural.

Deal revived, Rockies acquire 2B Marco Scutaro from Red Sox

Il Milione Man March heads west…

The Rockies have agreed in principle on a deal to acquire Boston infielder Marco Scutaro for pitcher Clayton Mortensen, according to a source with direct knowledge of the talks.

The Rockies’ earmarked Scutaro as a target when the offseason began, seeing him as a starting second baseman and potential No. 2 hitter in the lineup. The deal went on life support Friday, but was revived today when the Rockies were able to work through some financial issues to take on Scutaro’s $6 million contract.

It will become official shortly as the players involved are notified.

...Mortensen is an extreme groundball pitcher, relying heavily on a sinker. He went 2-4 with a 3.86 ERA, splitting between between the bullpen and rotation.

With Scutaro in the fold, the Rockies will enter spring training with one of their deepest lineups in franchise history. He will join outfielder Michael Cuddyer and catcher Ramon Hernandez as key acquisitions, completely reshaping the lineup around Carlos Gonzalez and all-star cleanup hitter Troy Tulowitzki.

Plain Dealer | Cleveland Indians acquire Kevin Slowey

The Indians acquired Slowey and a reported $1.25 million from the Rockies for right-hander Zach Putnam.

SI.com: Economic considerations at heart of Carmona’s decision

An interesting analysis of signing ages, signing bonuses, and success rates in the Dominican Republic, by Melissa Segura of Sports Illustrated ...

Teams pay premiums for 16-year-olds for two primary reasons: One, because teams often want to be the first to sign a promising player and, thus, avoid bidding wars with other teams; and two, clubs prefer to develop their players’ skills under the watchful eyes of their own club personnel rather than under those of unqualified and unaffiliated coaches or trainers.

But are 18-year-old Latin American players really worth 70 percent less than their 16-year-old counterparts? Here’s another data analysis that calls into question the industry practice of placing a premium on youth. Let’s assume the most basic marker of a successful signing is making it to the majors. We’ll make it simple and look at the 79 players who have made their major league debuts from 2008-2011 from Carmona’s Dominican Republic. Of those 79, only six were signed as 16-year-olds. The debuts suggest older players were more likely to advance to the majors. ...

[...]

What’s more, SI tracked down the bonus data for 60 of the 79 players. Fernando Martinez, signed by the Mets in 2005 for $1.3 million, was the only one to receive a seven-figure bonus. Only nine others signed for six figures and one — the Rockies’ Juan Nicasio — received nada to sign, according to the data obtained by SI. The median signing bonus among them tallied a paltry $35,000.

Q&A: Larry Walker on his Hall of Fame snub

“Mr. Walker is not a suspect…We don’t know if the person was killed at the site or if his body was dumped there.”

CBCSports.ca: Who’s more upset about your low vote total in the second year of your 15 years of eligibility: you or your family, friends and former teammates with Colorado and Montreal?

LW: I don’t think it bothers me a lot. Why am I going to get my feathers all ruffled over something that’s out of my control? Obviously, it would be an amazing honour.

Some people have pointed some things out to me that made me wonder. [Designated hitter] Edgar Martinez [only played 592 of his 2,055 career games in the field] and he’s getting twice as many votes as me [36.5 per cent to Walker’s 22.9 per cent]. Is Edgar Martinez twice the better player than me?

Not to pat myself on the back but I think I was as good as Edgar Martinez.

But I’m not going to rack my brain. I’m sure there’s people that are in the Hall of Fame that a lot people think shouldn’t be there or some that should be there and aren’t.

CBCSports.ca: The knock against you when people say Larry Walker shouldn’t be in the Hall of Fame is that you played 10 of your 17 seasons at hitter-friendly Coors Field in Colorado. But a lot of times players can’t control where they play, right?

LW: I was in the big leagues, man. Are you she—-in me? You can’t always pick where you go or what happens. You just roll with the friggin’ punches. I was in the dugout trying to beat the other 25 guys in the dugout beside us. That’s all I tried to do. I can’t control where I’m at and the numbers that go up. Every ballpark has its quirks.

If you read something in the paper or a magazine or hear something on TV, whether it’s negative or positive, people tend to want to go that way with it. If what was being printed all this time was ‘Walker deserves the [Hall of Fame nod], he’s going to make it,’ I bet my percentage would be a lot higher. But all you hear about is Coors Field. That’s all I’ve heard since my first game in Denver [in 1995].

Rox sign Jaime Moyer to Minor League deal

Fun fact: When the Rockies came into existence, Jaime Moyer was in his eighth Major League season.

The Rockies’ search for a veteran for the starting rotation could take them to the ultimate veteran, 49-year-old left-hander Jamie Moyer.

Colorado and Moyer have agreed to a Minor League deal that includes an invitation to Spring Training, the club announced on Wednesday. The agreement is pending a physical.

Moyer underwent Tommy John surgery on his throwing elbow in 2010 and didn’t pitch last season. The lefty worked as an analyst for ESPN in 2011 but stated that he intended to try to pitch again in ‘12.

Moyer went 9-9 with a 4.84 ERA for the Phillies in 2010.

L.A. Times: The Dodgers, Clayton Kershaw, Tim Tebow and Jesus Christ

Kershaw is a devout Christian, though unlike Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow, he is hardly in your face about it. Kershaw and Tebow are two highly famous young professional athletes who outwardly approach their strong faith in markedly different ways.

If there is a showy, look-at-me aspect to Tebow and his kneeling in prayer on the football field and near zeal off it, Kershaw is more understated in his approach, if no less sincere.

I’ve never heard him bring up God in postgame interviews or seen him point to the sky after a big strikeout. Yet, I still have a clear understanding of his commitment.

“I think everybody has different approaches to it,” Kershaw said. “For me, everything I do has a purpose to it beyond what’s in this lifetime. At the same time, on the field I have a job to do and that’s what I’m focused on.

“I guess you could say I’m a little more understated than Tim is. Not to say either one is wrong, that’s just kind of my personality a little bit.”

Indeed, even if it’s not exactly his way, Kershaw admires Tebow for using his high-profile platform to bring attention to his faith.

“I have a lot of respect for Tim,” Kershaw said. “I don’t know him personally, but I think what he’s doing is special. I think what he’s trying to do should be recognized, in whatever way that you try to do it. He’s playing football but I think there’s more to it than that.

A’s trade Moscoso, Outman for Seth Smith

#### THE GOLDEN GLOBES!

Billy Beane’s Oakland A’s continued their extreme offseason makeover Monday with yet another trade. This time Beane shipped pitchers Josh Outman and Guillermo Moscoso to the Rockies for outfielder Seth Smith—who has been involved in trade rumors throughout the offseason.

Smith, 29, has served mostly as a fourth outfielder type for the Rockies since 2008, but he got a career high 533 plate appearances last season. He hit .284/.347/.483 with 15 homers, 32 doubles and 10 stolen bases. He hasn’t played center field since 2008, so he’s best used as a corner outfielder. He’ll likely be the starter in left field with Coco Crisp in center and Josh Reddick in right. Of course, prospect Michael Taylor is going to figure in the mix at some point.

One item of note: Smith’s career splits indicate he was hugely helped by Coors Field. He’s hit .296/.366/.559 at home and .257/.332/.418 on the road. And Oakland plays in one of the worst hitters’ parks in the majors.

Moscoso, 28, was 8-10 with a 3.38 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 74 strikeouts in 128 innings last season. Outman, 27, was 3-5 with a 3.70 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and 35 strikeouts in 58 1/3 innings. And, again, we’ll note that these two pitchers are going from having a very pitcher-friendly home park to one of the most hitter-friendly yards in the bigs.

MLB.com: Wainwright expresses admiration for Tebow

ST. LOUIS—Hours before taking the field against the New England Patriots on Saturday night, Tim Tebow found himself the center of discussion in the Cardinals’ interview room. Yes, these days it seems as if there is no setting that the Broncos quarterback can’t effectively infiltrate.

Putting his Southeastern Conference allegiance aside, Adam Wainwright spent several minutes expressing his admiration for Tebow, particularly for the fearless the University of Florida product shows in expressing his religious faith in a public forum.

“I am obsessed with Tim Tebow,” Wainwright said. “I’m not afraid to say it. It’s almost embarrassing to us athletes that this much emphasis is put on Tim Tebow because that means we aren’t living our lives as we should. If we did that more often, the way he is living wouldn’t be as big a story. I’m so proud of him for living out his faith.”