Just a Note on Troy Tulowitzki's Comments

Troy Tulowitzki of the Colorado Rockies made some waves this week with some comments that he made during batting practice. This is what he was quoted as saying in the article Troy Tulowitzki says "something needs to change" with Rockies before 2015 by Nick Groke from the Denver Post dated August 8, 2012:

"I think that's why I came out numerous times and said I want to win," Tulowitzki said. "It doesn't mean I want out of here. It means I'm sick and tired of losing.
"Something needs to change. Hopefully that comes fairly quickly. You can't force it. But at the same time, we're all frustrated with this year — especially me."

While I see his point, here is what I think. How about Tulo look at not only himself but his teammate Carlos Gonzalez for where the problem lies. How about both of those players put together a COMPLETE season of playing with each other before he complains that he's tired of losing. Both of these players, if healthy (and that's a BIG if) can dominate the entire league.

There might not be a better 3-4 combination in the league but its hard to tell because both of them spend so much time on the disabled list. Its hard for the team because both of those players are so injury prone that even if the team plays good ball, its hard to maintain that because their presence in the lineup is missed.

Not counting his rookie season of 2006, since 2007 Tulowitzki has only had three seasons where he's played in more than 140 games AND had more than 600 at-bats. That came in 2007, 2009, 2011. In the other four seasons, Tulowitzki has played in 101 games in 2008, 122 games in 2010, 47 games in 2012 and 91 games this season.

Add to this that Carlos Gonzalez while playing in Colorado with Tulowitzki hasn't had a season with more than 150 games. He's played in 89 games in 2009, 145 games in 2010, 127 games in 2011, 135 games in 2012, 110 games in 2013 and 70 games this season.

At least Gonzalez is a bit more consistent in games played season to season. It seems that Tulowitzki has longer, less injured seasons on odd numbered years. Go figure.

Can the Rockies management continue to improve the team? Absolutely. But when you have a sizable investment in your two best players and year in and year out they are missed due to injury, shouldn't some of the blame lie on them as well for the losing?

Let me know what you think. Agree? Disagree? Don't care, LOL?

Until Then Keep Playing Ball,
Baseball Sisco
#baseballsisco
#baseballsiscokidstyle

For Further Reading:
- Click Here to access Troy Tulowitzki's career statistics from Baseball Reference.com
- Click Here to access Carlos Gonzalez's career statistics from Baseball Reference.com

NL Triple Crown and MVP Races

Pete and I were working together this past Thursday evening when he asked me who I thought was going to win the NL Triple Crown. He caught me off guard by his question. Then I realized that I never noticed the NL Triple Crown race. Back in July I highlighted the possible AL Triple Crown winners in my post called Possible AL Triple Crown and NL ERA Dominance, which to be honest none of the players I profiled will win this year's Triple Crown. On the other hand, the NL is another story. It would be the first time in 73 years that a National League player has won the Triple Crown since Joe Medwick achieved the feat for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1937. Let's see who's who in the NL Triple Crown race.

- Carlos Gonzalez
The man affectionately known as "CarGo" in Denver seems to have come out of nowhere for the Colorado Rockies this season. In his first full season (he played in 85 games with the Oakland A's in 2008 and 89 games with the Rockies in 2009), Gonzalez has exploded at the plate. He leads the NL with a .332 batting average, is currently fifth in hommers with 31 (four behind leader Albert Pujols) and is third with 93 RBI (four behind the leader Joey Votto). Having watched some of the Rockies games while at work, I can tell you that Carlos Gonzalez is an amazing player. Not only has he emerged as a potential Triple Crown winner, but he has also played himself into potential MVP consideration.

- Joey Votto
Building upon the success of the last two seasons, Votto has shown that he is only getting better with each passing year. In his fourth season Votto is currently second in batting with a .325 average (seven points behind Carlos Gonzalez), tied for third in homers with 32 (three behind Albert Pujols) and is the league leader with 97 RBI. Votto is one of the main reasons why the Cincinnati Reds are the NL Central Division leaders with an eight game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals.

- Albert Pujols
Perennial NL MVP is the odds on favorite to qualify for the Triple Crown each season though I have to say that he is the longshot to win the award. Pujols is currently fifth in league batting .313 average (nineteen points behind leader Carlos Gonzalez), he leads the league with 35 homers and is second in the league with 95 RBI (two behind Joey Votto). Though it would take Pujols to go on a major tear to reach both Gonzalez and Votto in terms of average. It can be done. Pujols is like a machine when it comes to his at-bats and he is only getting better as he enters his prime years.

I believe that one of these three players will also win the NL MVP. Maybe whomever wins the Triple Crown will take both awards home. September will prove to be an interesting month in Baseball.

FH