Perhaps no team has had a more radical reconstruction this offseason as the Colorado Rockies.
It started when they dealt ace Ubaldo Jimenez to the Cleveland Indians last summer, and continued Monday when they traded for the Orioles' Jeremy Guthrie, who fits as an innings-eater in a rotation that is very young. Except for the pitching staff, the Rockies aren't going younger, though.
How much have the Rockies changed in one year? Here's last year's opening day lineup:
- CF Dexter Fowler
- RF Seth Smith
- LF Carlos Gonzalez
- SS Troy Tulowitzki
- 1B Todd Helton
- 3B Ty Wigginton
- 2B Jose Lopez
- C Chris Iannetta
- P Jimenez
And a projected one for 2012:
- CF Fowler
- 2B Marco Scutaro
- LF Gonzalez
- SS Tulowitzki
- RF Michael Cuddyer
- 1B Helton
- 3B Casey Blake
- C Ramon Hernandez
- P Jorge De La Rosa
Scutaro is 36, Blake is 38 and Hernandez is 35. With Helton (38), it will be the oldest infield in baseball, by far, in 2012. So with pitching that's probably too young to contend this year (but with plenty of prospects), the Rockies are in a nurturing phase.
"You've got to build a championship culture," Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd said recently to MLB.com. "The sum of the parts has to be greater than any one part. Players have to have a mind-set that it's not about them; it's about the team."
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