Kuzul

As the persistent Arizona sun beats down on the backs of the 2011 Seattle Mariners, the biggest question in the minds of fans—besides "when oh when will we be relevant again­?"—is when Dustin Ackley will be ready for the Show.  The Mariners’ offseason middle infield moves say a great deal about the timetable for their biggest prospect since King Felix matriculated. With Jack and Josh Wilson already on the roster and able to man any of the infield spots, the Mariners were able to compensate for the loss of Jose Lopez—albeit with a pair of bats that would fit in better in Everett than Seattle.  Chone Figgins is set to slide back to the hot corner, where he is not only a better fielder, but also a drastically better hitter. (That is, assuming he is not traded). The Mariners also traded for Brendan Ryan, one of the best defensive shortstops in baseball, ...

For years, the California-Anaheim-Los Angeles Angels were said to be cursed because their stadium was built on an ancient Indian burial ground. Before the first at-bat at the new Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, it appeared that the field (the first ever opened on Native American land) may be cursed as well. When the Diamondbacks' Kelly Johnson hit a soft fly ball into foul territory down the third base line, nothing seemed out of sorts. Not until the trio of Ian Stewart, Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki continued running full-steam at the pop-up, all three with their heads looking up. Rockies fans excited to see the new stomping grounds on TV quickly felt their hearts sink as Stewart, who is the size of a middle linebacker, knocked Gonzalez on the shoulder with his knee before flipping over. Clearly the collision hurt, but replays showed that Stewart's knee missed the Rockies $80 ...

Baseball fans have their own version of Christmas. It is called Opening Day. However, Christmas wouldn't be the same without the holiday season. That is called Spring Training for the baseball fan. On Monday, Colorado Rockies pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report to their new Scottsdale home. As far as baseball action, that doesn't mean much. As far as excitement levels, it means everything. The Rockies are coming off of a shocking offseason. One in which they defied the stereotypical viewpoint of the team by signing Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez to long-term deals, something that nearly everyone thought would be impossible. Especially in the case of Gonzalez, who is represented by Scott Boras. The club also was able to re-sign lefty starter Jorge De La Rosa, lure free agent infielder Ty Wiggington to Denver, and trade for second baseman Jose Lopez. Most fans in Denver are ecstatic with the club's offseason. ...

The Colorado Rockies hold nearly every attendance record in Major League Baseball. For the first five years of their existence, scalping Rockies tickets may have been the most lucrative business in the state. The honeymoon ended, and reality set in. Instead of fans packing the seats at Coors Field, season after season of losing 90 games or more started to wear on the fans. Management had a plan, but many in Rockies nation didn't have the patience to wait out a generation of minor leaguers that the front office insisted would propel the club to contention. The Rockies were an afterthought in Denver. The town's darling, the Denver Broncos, were still the most important news topic. Fans crammed into Invesco Field regardless of the fact that the team was largely mediocre. Even a surprise appearance in the World Series couldn't sway fans to spend their summer nights at 20th and Blake. The ...

The winter meetings are usually a pretty dull period of time for the Colorado Rockies. They are not the type of team that is going to throw around huge money to big-name free agents. That's why it was such a big surprise when the Rockies name was linked to reports that the team might be interested in the Texas Rangers' Michael Young. The rumors were quickly dispelled when experts suggested the Rockies wouldn't be very interested in taking on a three-year deal with $48 million left on it. Especially considering Young is 34 years old. However, it seems that those rumors had legs. Reports said that the talks were far enough along that the Rockies had Eric Young Jr. take a physical in order to complete the deal. The Rangers backed out from concerns over a stress fracture Eric Young suffered in May. If Colorado could find a way to get Michael Young in ...

Most Colorado Rockies fans have heard the news. Jeff Francis signed a one-year deal with the Kansas City Royals. He will receive $2 million guaranteed, with incentives that can double his earnings. It was inevitable. The Rockies turned down the lefties option early in the offseason, but said that they would like to have him back. The only problem was that they never offered him more than a minor league contract. While very few fans would argue that having Francis back makes the Rockies a better team in 2011, the news shouldn't be easy to take for any fan of the team. Keep in mind, this is the same Jeff Francis whose domination of the minor leagues helped Rockies fans through the 2003 and 2004 seasons in which the only debate at Coors Field was whether the Rockies would keep their loss total below 95. This is the same Francis who stepped into the ...

The Colorado Rockies have played baseball for 18 seasons. There were the honeymoon years, when crowds filled up Mile High Stadium or Coors Field, simply because baseball had arrived. There were the early successes that saw the likes of Larry Walker, Dante Bichette, Vinny Castilla and Andres Galarraga bash their way into the playoffs. There were the big-spending years, in which the Rockies pretended they were a large-market team and signed big-name free agents. First it was Darryl Kile, then came the real debacles, the Mike Hampton and Denny Neagle deals. It seemed the product on the field couldn't get any worse, but it did. The Rockies finally understood that they were not cut out for spending big money on the cream of the free agent crop every year. They needed to build from within. Many Rockies fans who packed the seats in the '90s jumped off of the bandwagon. ...

On Wednesday, the Baseball Writers Association of America announced the 2011 class of Hall of Famers. After spending 14 years of being denied, Bert Blyleven made it in, along with perhaps the best second baseman of all time, Roberto Alomar. Both, in my mind, are worthy candidates. However, much of the talk around Colorado was about how first-time-eligible Larry Walker received close to 20 percent of the vote, a number that suggests he might be able to sneak in somewhere before his eligibility is up. If Walker eventually gets in, the Rockies will celebrate their first hall of famer. However, perhaps the most talented man to don purple pinstripes does not belong in Cooperstown. There is no denying that Walker had the talent. He hit for average, he hit for power, he had a great arm, and he did all of the little things nearly perfectly. Walker ran the bases better than ...

Who would have thought that the best thing Matt Holliday could have done for the Colorado Rockies would be to leave? One of the guys who came over in that deal just so happened to be Carlos Gonzalez. At the time of the deal, Gonzalez was a 22-year-old player who had lost his prospect status after being given up on by the Diamondbacks and written off by the Athletics. To say that Gonzalez blossomed in a Rockies uniform would be a huge understatement. On Monday, Gonzalez's publicist confirmed that the five-tool player is on the brink of signing a seven-year, $80 million extension with the Rockies. The move completes an offseason in which the Rockies locked up All-Star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki through 2020, re-signed Jorge De La Rosa for at least two more seasons, and now signed perhaps the most talented player to wear purple pinstripes well into his free-agent years. For years, fans, ...

Colorado Rockies fans everywhere are currently pinching themselves. According to multiple reports, including from his own publicist, the Rockies have signed five-tool player Carlos Gonzalez to a seven-year, $80 million deal. There has been noise out of Venezuela throughout the offseason that the Rockies were in talks with Gonzalez about signing a long-term deal. However, excitement about signing any deal that took the 24-year-old beyond his arbitration years was tempered due to the fact the center fielder is represented by super-agent Scott Boras. Boras is well known for waiting until his clients have hit the free-agent market, allowing them to maximize their dollar amount when every team can compete for their services. However, it appears that the appeal of the Rockies commitment to winning, despite playing in a medium-market, won Gonzalez over. The deal is pending a physical that Gonzalez will reportedly take on Wednesday in Denver. With Troy Tulowitzki signed through 2020, ...