The quandary that is the Colorado Rockies

In the 2000 MLB season, the Colorado Rockies finished a promising 82-80 and young superstar Todd Helton was robbed the NL MVP by Jeff "Reno 911" Kent. It was also the debut season for GM Dan O'Dowd. In the offseason, O'Dowd and Co. decided to ship off fan favorites Dante Bichette and Vinny Castilla and concentrate on pitching. A bold idea, considering the recently failed Darryl Kile experiment in Denver.

They first went after Denny Neagle and landed a good pitcher to a hefty contract (5 years, $51 million). Then they loaded a fleet of dump trucks full of the Benjamins and parked them in the driveway of Mike Hampton, having hardly enough time to mention the great Denver schools before Hampton had Hancocked the contract (8 years, $121 million, the largest ever for a pitcher at the time). The two pitchers were coming off successful seasons and had just faced eachother in the Subway Series, Neagle for the Yankees and Hampton for the Mets. Both were former 20 game winners. Both were southpaws. They appeared to be good signings, albeit expensive, and maybe it was a sign that the Rockies could be a contender with their seemingly deepened pockets. And even after offloading two of the original Blake Street Bombers they still had Helton and former MVP Larry Walker in the lineup

In hindsight they probably should have left one or two of the dumptrucks parked back home at Coors Field.

It was a dream start to the 2001 season for Hampton and the Rockies - an opening-day shutout in front of over 50000 at Coors Field, followed by a win by Neagle and a sweep of the Cardinals. Hampton was even a deserved All-Star that year. But then things went south. The struggles of the two new pitchers were well documented. Hampton was gone after two seasons and Neagle after three. (Hampton would, however, go on to steal more money as a Brave than Carl Pavano stole from the Yankees.)

The Rockies gambled by placing over $170 million in chips on two pitchers on the Pass Line, and when a 7 was rolled found themselves wishing they'd put their money onto the Come Line instead (or perhaps they should have just spread the money over several different bets).

Though Hampton and Neagle were certain busts, The Rockies did receive a number of good, productive seasons out of Helton and Walker, each of whom signed massive deals of their own with Colorado. Walker (6 years, $76 million) would, however, battle Ken Griffey Jr for baseball's version of Marcus "The Glass House" Camby, as stars continually sidelined by new injuries. Toward they end of his deal, the Rockies had to dump him to Saint Louis and eat his salary. Now the team is stuck in the same situation with Helton and his 9 year, $141.5 million deal: aging, damaged goods with a lot of money tied in for another couple of seasons.

Colorado's days of offering such Ruthian contracts are certainly over.

Why do I bring up this bit of Rockies personnel history? It foreshadows the day's big news from the world of Major League Baseball: Matt Holliday being traded to Oakland, a team so frugal they wear white cleats.

Colorado will repeortedly receive three players in return, none of whom qualifies as an 'ace' or a 'star.' The big name is closer Huston Street, who could just be dealt again by the Rocks. Also included are pitcher Greg Smith, fresh off a 7-16 season, and outfielder Carlos Gonzalez (who?).

Holliday was reported to have rejected the Rockies' offer of five years, $85 million. That's a lot of money, though for just five seasons. Holliday and his agent, Scott "Used Car Salesman" Boras, want a longer max deal.

The Rockies have shown that they will still sign a guy for six years - Troy Tulowitzki at 6 years, $31 million. But that was following Tulo's rookie campaign; he's now signed before he enters his prime, and he'll be just 30 when the contract has expired. Holliday is 28 now and definitely at the top of his game, and arguably should have won the 2007 NL MVP award ahead of Jimmy Rollins. Colorado locked in Tulowitzki early and got him for probably a lot cheaper than if they'd waited until a few years from now, to when he's Holliday's age and an established superstar.

Rockies' owners Chuck and Dick Monfort aren't afraid Holliday will turn into Hampton/Neagle and flush his performance down a truck stop urinal after signing a monster contract. They're afraid that his skills will diminish, he'll get old and brittle, and he'll become Walker/Helton, and they'll be stuck with his guaranteed money.

I can understand the Rockies' concerns considering how they've lost the contract game time and time again. But most of the young players that led them to the 2007 NL Pennant are signed to multi-year deals - Tulowitzki, Brad Hawpe, Aaron Cook, Jeff Francis, and Manuel Corpas. Garrett Atkins (who could find himself changing area codes, as well) remains the only major piece from the team yet to be locked down.

Except for Matt Holliday.

If the Rockies' brass wants to move forward and get back to the World Series they have to keep their players in town after they've reached their potential, both for the sake of their play on the field and for the sake of their loyal fans in the seats. They cannot revert back to a feeder team for baseball's rich clubs, selling off the players they develop for handfulls of prospects.

Leave that to the Oakland A's (see Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder, Barry Zito, Dan Haren, and Rich Harden). I hope Matt Holliday doesn't get too attached to the white cleats - he won't be wearing them for long.