Eric_Goodman's Blog

Matt Holliday isn’t going anywhere this season, unless the Colorado Rockies get a blockbuster deal at the deadline.

Holliday is their best player and their best poker chip. One player recently told me that fans would be outraged if the team traded Holliday later this month. Dealing Holliday would be a public relations disaster, after all of the goodwill that was built up last season.

If the Rockies trade him, it’ll likely be after the season or right before next year’s deadline. The problem is—Holliday has the most trade value right now with one year left on his deal.
 
Unless the Rockies meet his contract demands, which the team is currently unwilling to do, other teams can lowball an offer because he’ll likely test free agency at the end of next season.

The Rockies need this guy for a number of reasons, and I think they’ll want him around for another playoff push. The Rockies have played poorly this season, but they have little or no shot next season without their best and most consistent player.

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Aaron Cook deserves to be an all-star. He’s battled to become one of the top pitchers in the National League and he’s battled for his life. 

Cook didn’t pitch for nearly a year, after under going two surgeries to remove blood clots in his lungs. He suffered an oblique injury last August—missing the Rockies run to the playoffs, but he did get activated to pitch in the World Series.  

Cook credits his one start against the Red Sox for his career year. He’s been one of the few reasons to watch the Rockies this season—especially if you think baseball is long and boring. 

His 79 pitch masterpiece last night took less than two hours.  Six of his starts have gone two and a half hours or less. 

He pitches quickly and the wins are quickly adding up. His 11 wins are a third of the Rockies wins this season. Fans can’t vote pitchers into the all-star game, but if they could, he’d get my vote.

 

The Rockies have given their two week notice. If they don’t turn it around before the All-Star break, it’ll be open season on the Rockies roster. 

Matt Holliday, Brian Fuentes, and Willy Tavares have been targeted by playoff contenders. Clint Hurdle has been the target by the fans and media. The Rockies are on pace to lose 100 games, but Hurdle shouldn’t take all of the blame. 

Jeff Francis and Ubaldo Jiminez have won a combined five games. Manny Corpas can’t close the deal in the 9th—or for that matter the sixth, seventh or eighth. 

Troy Tulowitzki has put so much pressure on himself that Aaron Cook has a higher batting average. Willy Tavares, whose on base percentage is hovering at .300, can steal second and third but he hasn’t figured out that you can’t steal first. 

And Todd Helton has been so inconsistent he can’t find a consistent spot in the batting order. We’re not going to get an encore of Rocktober. It’s rockover, but it will officially end at the trade deadline.

The Avalanche have signed forward Darcy Tucker to a two year, $4.5 million deal. Tucker scored 34 points last season to go with 100 penalty minutes. 

The 12 year veteran has played the last seven plus seasons in Toronto. The Avalanche also signed goaltender Andrew Raycroft to a one year, $800,000 deal. He’ll back up Peter Budaj.   

Jose Theodore signed with Washington earlier on Tuesday.

Andrew Brunette has signed a multi-year deal with the Minnesota Wild. Brunette joined the Avalanche after the lockout and played the best hockey of his career. 

He shattered a career high with 83 points during the 2006-2007 season. Brunette, who was one of the Avs most consistent players during his three years with Colorado, is going back to one of his former teams. Brunette played three seasons in Minnesota before coming to Colorado.

Also Tuesday, Kurt Sauer signed a four year deal with the Phoenix Coyotes. Jeff Finger signed a four year, $14 million deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Jose Theodore has signed a 2 year 9-million dollar deal with the Washington Capitals.   Theodore won’t be replaced by free agent Christobal Huet. 

He’s widely considered the best available goalie still left on the market. Christobal’s agent told Fox 31 sports today, he’s had no direct contact with the Avalanche and expects his client to sign with another team.

There are a lot of teams who should be interested in signing Eddie Najera. He won’t fill up a box score, but he’s a terrific team player.

He plays the game the right way. He plays hard every night, and he’s willing to sacrifice his own game for the team. Taking this a step further, Najera told me Monday that he’s not looking to break the bank on a new deal.

How’s that for refreshing? The NBA has become the Narcissist Basketball Association, but Najera is an exception. His attitude is refreshing and his hustle is a pleasure to watch. He won’t lead a team to a championship, but he’s the type of role player that every team needs to win a title.

The Nuggets could use a few more Eddie Najera’s. I hope they don’t lose the only one they had.

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The Avalanche have locked up a pair of their own defensemen less than 24 hours before the NHL's free agent deadline. Veteran Adam Foote signed a 2 year deal and John Michael Liles got a 4 year deal worth a reported $16.8 million.

 "When they came to me with that offer and the opportunity to sign for 4 years, there's no where else that I would want to be."  Liles almost didn't make it to this point. He struggled to start the season, and there were trade rumors at the deadline. 

Many months later, the 27-year-old who has played his entire career with the Avalanche, is relieved and thrilled to be staying in Denver. 

"Being around my family when it happened and agreeing to it, I think some of the neighbors from across the lake definitely heard me screaming after it was all confirmed."

Eduardo Najera will become a free agent at Monday's deadline. “My agent and I haven’t talked to anybody in the Nuggets front office,” said Najera from his home in Oklahoma. “I have talked to George Karl. He told me that he wants me back.” 

Najera, who made nearly 5 million dollars last season, says he’s only looking for a fair deal. “I want to come back to the Nuggets, but I understand this is a business. Money isn’t an issue. I’m not looking to break the bank.”  

Najera says that Dallas and New Jersey are interested in signing him as an unrestricted free agent. A deal with the Nets would reunite Najera with former Nuggets General Manager KiKi Vandeweghe, who brought him to Denver during the middle of the 2005 season. 

Najera, who improved his 3 point shooting during this past season, averaged 6 points and 4 rebounds a game.

 

DENVER (MyFoxColorado.com) - Nuggets forward Eduardo Najera told Fox 31 Sports on Saturday that he expects to become a free agent at Tuesday’s deadline.

“Nothing is going on.  I don’t have a clue on what’s going on with the Nuggets,” said Najera from his home in Oklahoma, “George Karl told me that he wants me back, but it’s up in the air.  I want to come back.” 

Najera, who averaged 6-points and 4 rebounds last season, has been a key bench player since he joined the team in 2005. 

He hasn’t ruled out staying with the team, but he will explore his options once he becomes a free agent.

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Avalanche Goalie Jose Theodore is expected to exercise his option to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

Theodore’s agent, Don Meehan, says they have declined the Avs latest offer. Theodore was one of the best goaltenders in hockey after January 1 of last season and led the Avs to an opening round playoff win over the Minnesota Wild.

The Avalanche lost to the eventual champion Detroit Red Wings in the second round. Theodore was traded to the Avalanche in March of 2006 for goalie David Aebischer.

Theodore was expected to be their goalie for the future. It appear his future will be some place else. The Avalanche still have goalie Peter Budaj on the roster.

The Nuggets have come a long way since winning 17 games in 2003. They’ve been to the post season five years in a row, and have earned the right to be called a perennial playoff team. 

The problem is--this franchise should no longer consider making the playoffs an accomplishment. This should be a given. Great teams don’t win championships right away, but they do take small steps to get there. 

The Nuggets are stuck in neutral. They’ve won a total of four playoff games in five years.  There are a number of intangibles to winning a title.

Two of them are respecting the game and playing it hard every night. This has been missing from this franchise for years. They need guys who are committed to winning and playing together as a team. 

Until that happens, the Nuggets roster will look good on paper, but it’ll burn up like flash paper when the games really count.

Greeley native Shawn Chacon has been released by the Houston Astros. This comes a day after he grabbed General Manager Ed Wade by the neck and threw him to the ground.

Chacon, who has struggled as starter, wanted to stay in the rotation. The Astros demoted him to the bullpen over the weekend.

The incident happened during a heated exchange between the two men before Wednesday’s game against the Texas Rangers. Chacon was originally drafted by the Rockies. He played in Denver from 2001 to 2004. He also played part of 2005 with the Rockies as well.

When the Broncos put together their media guide, they won’t need to waste a snapshot on Brandon Marshall. They can choose from his 3 different mug shots over the last year.

The most updated photo comes from a March 3 arrest for battery in Atlanta. These pictures are starting to make up a sorry scrapbook of Marshall’s off the field issues. 

If Marshall were on the game show, “This is your life,” it would feature his friends, family, teammates, and a paddy wagon of police officers. Police have been involved in 6 separate incidents involving Marshall over the last 2 years. 

One more will match the number of wins the Broncos had last season. Marshall keeps saying, he’s learned his lesson—but he’s sounding like the little boy who cried wolf.  

The problem for Marshall is that wolf is the NFL, who is one step away from chewing him up and spitting him out of the league with a suspension.

The Nuggets have traded their first round draft pick (20th overall) to the Charlotte Bobcats for a future protected first round pick.

This marks the second year in a row that the Nuggets haven’t had a pick in the draft.  They haven’t had a first round pick since 2005. Carmelo Anthony is the only drafted player on the roster.