Interesting to note that Smith tied the major league record for pickoffs last season with 16.

They either keep Holliday with a long-term deal and have a marquee player in his prime to open up their new stadium with, or they get a year of Holliday and two first round picks next year. Or, should they struggle out of the gate, they can flip him to someone else at the deadline for more prospects. The move leaves Billy B with a lot of options, in my opinion.

But yes, I do agree that Holliday has inflated numbers due to Coors. Coors light I mean, not Coors Field. I shared a few with him, Podsednik and Spilbourghs one night on Sunset Boulevard this summer (the most random night of my life, let me tell you).

(not to be confused with the publication) should help Colorado’s staff some, but swapping out the division’s best hitter for CarGo ( 2008 ops+ 72) appears to signal Rocky Mountain Rebuilding at the expense of genuinely competing in 2009. I guess they can start Spilborghs and put CarGo in CF for Taveras, but it’s still hard for me to picture Colorado as a better team without Holliday. Maybe a couple years down the road, but not next year, not assuming the various pieces play anywhere near expectations.

Holliday’s .382 home BABIP is a little high, but after 1500 PAs I’m not sure I’d declare it “unsustainable” either. Helton, Galarraga and Burks all hovered around .360 BABIP at Coors, and Larry Walker was .385 over 2500 PAs.

Is Holliday as good as “advertised”? I dont know what ads you’re referring to, but seeing as there’s thirty teams, with three starting OFers each, I’d say he wasnt half bad:

Top 10 OF Win Shares (2006-2008)
Beltran 98
Sizemore 84
Vladdy 80
Manny 78
Ichiro 77
Holliday 75
Ordonez 73
Soriano 69
Cameron 69
Granderson 67