Disrupted By The Pull of Contrary Forces on Opening Day

1.
The tingle of anticipation upon seeing NL MVP McCutchen take the field vs. the Cubs.

The vitriolic hatred swelling within me upon realizing that the singing of "God Bless America" will persist for another season, sung by a bunch of flag-waving militants at an event that has NOTHING to do with the armed forces. Baseball players have not "served" time like prisoners, nor does their playing career deserve the term "service time" -- they are athletes making millions of dollars playing a kid's game.

2.
Speaking of kids, seeing the little ones in the stands anxiously awaiting the beginning of a baseball season under the blue skies and sunshine of a gorgeous spring day in Pittsburgh, after a brutal winter.

Being constantly reminded by writers and announcers that "instant replay will be good for baseball", deployed in full force this season, eliminating the possibility of manager vs. umpire confrontations -- an integral part of the game (like fighting in hockey) which would seem to be an unnecessary element, but adds so much character and personality to the game; two most important qualities which the MLB may be completely bereft of in a few years.

3.
Kansas City vs. Detroit -- This could be the beginning of a beautiful rivalry.

Strasburg gives up an opening day three-run jack to the Mets' Andrew Brown...!?

Ozzie Smith was right: Opening Day should be a national holiday

Who Will Play Center Field in Colorado?

Trading Dexter Fowler for jack shit still boils my blood despite the trade having occurred several months ago. Rox brass claimed they had to get rid of Fowler to free up some cash. Bullshit. Fowler would only make $7mill this coming season and slightly more in 2015, which is very reasonable for an above-average lead-off hitter and above-average center fielder. Furthermore, the Rox immediately turned around and signed Justin Morneau to the same money over two years!

Fangraphs listed the Fowler trade as one of the top 10 worst transactions this off-season, observing how Fowler is 

"...still a quality player, in the prime of his career, and the Rockies basically gave him to the Astros in order to free up enough room in the budget to sign Justin Morneau, who is older, worse, and not really much cheaper. Moving Michael Cuddyer to first base would have freed up playing time for Dickerson or Blackmon in the same way that trading Fowler did, and the team would have been better off for it. Lyles and Barnes are unlikely to ever make any real contribution in Colorado, and it’s hard to see this series of moves actually paying off for the Rockies."

On the flipside, the Fowler trade made their list of the ten BEST off-season moves from the Astros' perspective, as

"...Fowler has been an above average outfielder for the last three years running, and is just 28 years old, so a short term spike can’t be ruled out. In exchange for two reasonably priced arbitration years of a quality player with remaining upside, the Astros gave up two fringe talents that they won’t miss in any real way. This move flew under the radar because it was completed during the busiest day of the off-season, but the Astros picked up a ton of value in this deal."

And when Rockies brass came out in favor of moving perennial Gold Glover, Carlos Gonzalez, to center field the acquisition of Brandon Barnes -- a center fielder -- looked even more idiotic than before. While Cargo is probably an upgrade over Fowler in center, for sure, who would the Rox play in left field? 

Once the club decided to pay over $4 to get Drew Stubbs for one year, also a center fielder, the Rox brass sheepishly shied away from allowing their most prized "investment" (read: the human being named Carlos Gonzalez) the opporunity to flash his leather in center field, where it's needed most, and instead assured us and him that he'd remain in left, lollygagging after base hits and rarely getting the chance to show off that canon of an arm. Is it for fear of an injury? It's not like Cargo plays as hard as Pete Reiser, for christsake.

Anyway, I'd written some other stuff here about all our outfield options (Blackmon, Dickerson, Stubbs, Barnes) but forgot to save it and now it's gone. Screw it. Nothing about how the Rockies organization is run inspires any hope or excitement anymore. Especially after giving up on our center fielder for no fucking reason.