The Colorado Rockies Are Too Stupid To Deserve Nolan Arendo's Apology
Nolan Arenado came out very hard the other night telling the world that the Rockies disrespect him and the place sucks. The $260,000,000 superstar trashing his own franchise 1 year into his long-term deal. I said in the blog instantly that this was great for anyone trying to trade for him because obviously he wants the fuck out of Dodge
More specifically:
“There’s a lot of disrespect from people there that I don’t want to be a part of. You can quote that.”
The "you can quote that" takes it to the next level because he knows he's being a dick. It's out of character to say the least and a driving reason behind everyone's surprise and then alas we get a NA28 iPhone note. Thank God.
Now here's the rare moment where I actually sympathize with a guy taking home over a quarter billion of dollars gross taxes. And that's because he's legitimately on a motherfucking island as a human being. The Rockies front office is a steadfast joke. Less than a year ago he was CRYING over his excitement to be a Rockie for life
And now you're on the sidelines with your agent getting fed stories that the Rockies can't compete even though they just made you one of the richest 3rd baseman in the game. And now, even though you're one of the best players in the universe, you don't even know where you're living in April. You don't know where you're going to Spring Training. You're just
Before you guys say Who Cares - He's A Pro Athlete - I want to remind the world this is a guy who regularly has his mom stay with him on road trips because he's a well-rounded young man who loves his mother. He's not some arrogant Me First douchebag. He's very much a 15 year old boy in a grown man's body out there playing a game for a living. That's his essence, and you can easily imagine that vague trade talk would drive a character like that insane.
It makes sense though that he'd issue some blanket statement like this. He doesn't want to play the next 7 years in Denver out of spite. You don't want the image that you're willing to publicly trash the team while you're on the trade market. And you also don't want the Rockies to be a bunch of salty cunts and not get a deal done. So be the bigger man and move on. Classic Nolan.
So with all that said, now is the time I remind you that the Giancarlo Stanton deal wasn't for much because the contract was so big. And then there's the A-Rod for Soriano deal that strikes similar notes here of a larger mid-market team having a huge contract that they know will bring them down. So the motivation changes completely vs. trading a guy at the deadline because he's a free agent at the end of the year. That's when you have crazy leverage to go after a playoff team's prospects.
But in this case, Nolan is still owed a fuck ton. That means the Rockies are never going to see the major haul you associate with a player like Arenado. Personally, I think Willson Contreras with Heyward and some pitching prospects could be interesting to the Rockies. I break it down here:
My biggest takeaway right now is the Rockies are fucking stupid. They're holding everything up because they think they can get several high-end players in return and that's wrong. He's owed $32M+ a year til nearly the end of the decade. That's 20-25% of most team's payrolls, so get your fucking head checked Colorado on your potential suitors.
In other news, now is a good time to remember that the Cubs #1 offseason move has been bringing back Lou Piniella for the Marquee Network. #2 would be hiring David Ross.
Welcome home sweet Lou