O'Dowd plays deal or no deal

General manager passes on trades that 'don't fit'

Tracy Ringolsby, Rocky Mountain News

Published July 31, 2007 at midnight

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Dealin' Dan O'Dowd has gotten dull -- by design.

"The biggest thing I've learned is that things that are supposed to happen are going to happen and you can't force them," said O'Dowd, the Rockies general manager.

As a rookie running the Rockies eight years ago, O'Dowd wasready to wheel and deal, looking for ways to shake up a roster that was lethargic, trying to meet an ownership desire for a quick fix.

The end result was a mess. O'Dowd still is looking for something to make the Rockies better every waking moment - and there are questions about how much he sleeps - but his vision has become more focused.

Today is the final day for teams to make a trade without having to get a player through waivers.

While the Rockies are opening a three-game series in Florida, O'Dowd remained at Coors Field, working the phones, trying to find something that will perk up the Rockies roster but willing to do nothing if "the right deal doesn't come along."

After the sticker shock for starting pitchers - the White Sox wanted Ian Stewart and Franklin Morales for Jose Contreras - O'Dowd checked into the asking price of Matt Morris of the Giants but focused on relievers.

He checked in with the Kansas City Royals on Octavio Dotel, the New York Yankees on Kyle Farnsworth, the Boston Red Sox on Julian Tavarez, and first the Houston Astros then the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on Dan Wheeler, wanting to see if the Devil Rays acquired Wheeler as a keeper or to spin in another deal.

Detroit called about infielder Clint Barmes, the Tigers preparing themselves to move current shortstop Carlos Guillen to first base because of growing frustrations with his lack of range.

And the Rockies have a couple of valuable assets if a major deal should develop, but the value of third baseman Garrett Atkins or left-handed reliever Brian Fuentes likely will only increase in the offseason when the number of interested teams would increase.

It takes patience.

That was in short supply when O'Dowd first took over in September 1999.

In his first three years on the job, O'Dowd made 39 trades involving 128 players. The past five, he has made 31 trades involving 79 players, but only seven trades involving 20 players since the end of the 2005 season.

"With trades and free agents, we are always in conversation, looking to see if we can make something fit, trying to come up with a package that is fair, but if things don't fit instead of trying to force them, we've learned to move along," O'Dowd said.

There is one obvious reason O'Dowd's roster shuffling has been tempered.

The Rockies have a farm system that is developing talent. Since he became general manager, O'Dowd has made sure there was a strong enough budget to sign players and money available for proper development.

Just as important, though, O'Dowd has matured, learning from what went wrong in the past.

If there was a watershed moment, it was the signing of free- agent pitchers Denny Neagle and Mike Hampton in December 2000. The Rockies were excited about an 82-80 finish in 2000 and wanted to jump-start the franchise into contention.

Not only did Neagle and Hampton struggle, but their contracts set in motion massive payroll slashing that gutted a roster that finally started to be rebuilt out of the farm system three years ago.

"That was brutal, and let's not forget, we lost draft choices out of that," O'Dowd said. "There was a tremendous push within the organization to win and win right away.

"There was some enthusiasm about 82-80, but there also was a sense that we were losing season-ticket holders and we have to have a team on the field that would bring them back."

The struggles that followed the signings got the organization focused on a plan to get better - and forced everyone to accept the fact it was going to require patience to develop from within and self-control to avoid temptations to get caught up in the frenzy of other teams, such as what happened with Neagle.

When negotiations began, the Rockies were thinking he would sign for $16 million for three years.

He wound up with a five-year, $51 million deal, and the Rockies actually offered a bit less than the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets.

"There was a long-range benefit, but I can't say I enjoyed going through it," O'Dowd said. "It was a humbling experience for me, too. It changed me as a person.

"It helped me set my priorities and helped me come to grip with the fact that a good leader has to have the people in place to be a good team for decision-making, and they all have to be able to work together."

2000 season

The scoreboard: 12 trades involving 43 players.

The keeper: LHP Gabe White, who had a career year in 2000, from Cincinnati for RHP Manny Aybar, who didn't fit.

Mulligan: 3B Jeff Cirillo had good years with the Rockies but couldn't deal with expectations created by statistical projections of Coors Field.

In-season adjustment: Tried to clean out attitude problems with deal that sent RHP Rolando Arrojo and 2B Mike Lansing to Red Sox.

Key free agents: C Brent Mayne and CFs Brian Hunter and Tom Goodwin.

Bargain basement: RHP Julian Tavarez was a waiver claim from the Giants.

Key draft picks: 3B Garrett Atkins (fifth round), SS Clint Barmes (10th round), RF Brad Hawpe (11th round).

Summary: New GM wanted to make immediate impact. Lot of players coming and going creates uncertainty about direction.

Grade: C.

Key deals made in preparation for and during the 2000 season:

Nov. 16, 1999: Traded Darryl Kile, Luther Hackman, and Dave Veres to St. Louis. Received Manuel Aybar, Brent Butler, Rich Croushore, and Jose Jimenez.

Nov. 17, 1999: Traded Curtis Leskanic to the Milwaukee Brewers. Received Mike Myers.

Dec. 13, 1999: Traded Justin Miller to Oakland and Henry Blanco and Jamey Wright to Milwaukee for the Brewers' Jeff Cirillo and Scott Karl. Traded Vinny Castilla to Tampa Bay for Rolando Arrojo, Aaron Ledesma.

Jan. 14, 2000: Traded Lariel Gonzalez and Bobby Jones to Mets. Received Masato Yoshii.

April 7, 2000: Traded Manny Aybar to Cincinnati for Gabe White.

July 16, 2000: Traded Todd Sears and cash to Minnesota for Butch Huskey and Todd Walker.

July 27, 2000: Traded Rolando Arrojo, Rich Croushore, Mike Lansing and cash to Boston for Jeff Frye, Brian Rose, John Wasdin, and Jeff Taglienti.

July 31, 2000: Traded Tom Goodwin and cash to Dodgers for Todd Hollandsworth, Kevin Gibbs and Randey Dorame.

2001 season

The scoreboard: 16 trades involving 43 players.

The keeper: None.

Mulligan: Sending SS Neifi Perez to Kansas City for three players from Oakland was a deal that had no redeeming qualities. None of the three players the Rockies received became regulars.

In-season adjustment: Payroll slashing hit hard when it became apparent the Rockies weren't building off 82-80 of previous year and fans weren't buying tickets.

Key free agents: LHPs Denny Neagle and Mike Hampton.

Bargain basement: RHP Ryan Speier was waiver claim from the Mets.

Key draft picks: 2B Jayson Nix (supplemental choice after the first round), OF Cory Sullivan (seventh round).

Summary: Rockies got a lesson in reality. Throwing money at free agents led to a major in-season dismantling.

Grade: F.

Key deals made in preparation for, and during, the 2001 season:

Nov. 8, 2000: Received Ron Villone from the Cincinnati Reds for Justin Carter and Jeff Taglienti.

March 26, 2001: Traded Brian Rose to the New York Mets for Mark Leiter.

April 4, 2001: Traded Mark Leiter, Mike DeJean and Elvis Peña to the Milwaukee Brewers for Juan Acevedo, Kane Davis and Jose Flores.

June 2, 2001: Traded Josh Bard and Jody Gerut to the Cleveland Indians for Jacob Cruz.

June 24, 2001: Traded Brent Mayne to the Kansas City Royals for Sal Fasano and Mac Suzuki.

June 27, 2001: Traded Ron Villone to the Houston Astros for Jay Powell.

July 3, 2001: Traded Ron Gant to the Oakland Athletics for Robin Jennings.

July 13, 2001: Traded Chone Figgins to the Anaheim Angels for Kimera Bartee.

July 19, 2001: Traded Robin Jennings and Todd Walker to the Cincinnati Reds for Alex Ochoa.

July 25, 2001: Traded Neifi Perez to Kansas City for Todd Belitz, Mario Encarnacion and Jose Ortiz from Oakland Athletics.

July 31, 2001: Traded Pedro Astacio and cash to the Houston Astros for Scott Elarton.

2002 season

The scoreboard: 11 trades involving 42 players.

The keeper: LHP Brian Fuentes was the "other" player from Seattle in the Jeff Cirillo deal.

Mulligan: Acquiring Pokey Reese, who declined to agree to a contract before tender date so he was dealt to Boston for Shea Hillenbrand, who also turned down signing offer.

In-season adjustment: None.

Key free agent: RH closer Todd Jones.

Bargain basement: LHP Kent Mercker was out of baseball, but the Rockies gave him a look.

Key draft picks: LHP Jeff Francis (first round), 3B Jeff Baker (third round), OF Ryan Spilborghs (seventh round), 1B Ryan Shealy (11th round).

Summary: Reality set in the budget was tight and farm system bare, forcing O'Dowd to redesign the long-term plan.

Grade: C.

Key deals made in preparation for, and during, the 2002 season:

Dec. 16, 2001: Traded Jeff Cirillo to Seattle for Jose Paniagua, Denny Stark and Brian Fuentes.

Dec. 18, 2001: Traded Gabe White and Luke Hudson to Cincinnati for Pokey Reese and Dennys Reyes.

Jan. 7, 2002: Traded Mike Myers to Arizona for Jack Cust and J.D. Closser.

Jan. 21, 2002: Traded Craig House to Mets and Alex Ochoa to Milwaukee for Benny Agbayani, Todd Zeile and cash from Mets.

July 31, 2002: Traded Mark Little and John Thomson to Mets for Jay Payton, Mark Corey and Robert Stratton. Traded Dennys Reyes and Todd Hollandsworth to Texas for Gabe Kapler, Jason Romano and cash.

2003 season

The scoreboard: 11 trades involving 24 players.

The keeper: LHP Javier Lopez was an effective left-handed situational reliever and came at good price.

Mulligan: Tony Womack came from Arizona in July, and a month later had been shipped to the Cubs.

In-season adjustment: None. The change in attitude came in the offseason with the challenge of moving contracts. O'Dowd didn't get an immediate savings with the deal that eventually sent Mike Hampton to Atlanta, but the length of obligation was diminished.

Key free agents: 3B Chris Stynes, RHP Steve Reed, SS Jose Hernandez, 1B/OF Mark Sweeney, 2B Ronnie Belliard, LHP Darren Oliver.

Bargain basement: Oliver signed for $350,000 and led team with 13 victories.

Key draft picks: 3B Ian Stewart (first round), OF Joe Gaetti (12th round), OF Cole Garner (26th round).

Summary: Rockies made commitment to homegrown plan, but this was a transition year. One-year bargains had to be found on free-agent market.

Grade: C.

Key deals O'Dowd made in preparation for, and during, the 2003 season:

Nov. 16, 2002: Traded Juan Pierre, Mike Hampton and cash to Florida for Charles Johnson, Preston Wilson, Vic Darensbourg and Pablo Ozuna.

Dec. 17, 2002: Traded Victor Hall to Houston for Nelson Cruz.

March 18, 2003: Traded Ryan Cameron to Boston for Javier Lopez.

June 20, 2003: Traded Jose Hernandez to Cubs for Mark Bellhorn.

July 13, 2003: Traded Ben Petrick to Detroit for Adam Bernero.

July 18, 2003: Traded Mike Watson to Arizona for Tony Womack.

2004 season

The scoreboard: Five trades involving 14 players.

The keeper: OF Dexter Fowler was a draft gamble; Rockies wound up with the money to sign him when they dealt Larry Walker to St. Louis.

Mulligan: Justin Speier became one of the more reliable setup men in the game.

In-season adjustment: Walker was given a chance to play in the postseason with a deal that sent him to St. Louis in August.

Key free agents: 3B Vinny Castilla, OF Jeromy Burnitz, SS Royce Clayton, LHPs Shawn Estes and Jeff Fassero.

Bargain basement: Spring training already had started when the Rockies signed Estes for $600,000. He led team with 15 victories.

Key draft picks: SS Chris Nelson (first round), OF Seth Smith (second round), C Chris Iannetta (fourth round), 1B Joe Koshansky (sixth round), OF Dexter Fowler (14th round).

Summary: This was the second year of a two-year wait for impact from the farm system.

Grade: C-minus.

Key deals made in preparation for, and during, the 2004 season:

Dec. 2, 2003: Traded Juan Uribe to White Sox for Aaron Miles.

Dec. 14, 2003: Traded Justin Speier to Toronto for Joe Kennedy from Tampa Bay and Sandy Nin from Toronto.

Dec. 15, 2003: Traded Chris Buglovsky to Seattle for Allan Simpson.

Aug. 6, 2004: Traded Larry Walker to St. Louis for Jason Burch, Luis Martinez and Chris Narveson.

2005 season

The scoreboard: Eight trades involving 21 players.

The keeper: RHP Byung-Hyun Kim gave rotation innings and allowed the Rockies to move C Charles Johnson's contract.

Mulligan: OF Larry Bigbie was acquired to be dealt to Boston, but the Red Sox reneged on a deal that would have sent C Kelly Shoppach and others to Colorado.

In-season adjustment: Veterans were moved to free up payroll and open spots for homegrown talent.

Key free agents: C Danny Ardoin and OF Dustan Mohr.

Bargain basement: Ardoin signed for minimum and was best defensive catcher in franchise history.

Key draft picks: SS Troy Tulowitzki (first round), RHP Chaz Roe (supplemental choice after first round), 2B Corey Wimberly (sixth round).

Summary: Payroll purge continued. No immediate impact from additions outside the organization.

Grade: C.

Key deals made in preparation for, and during, the 2005 season:

March 30, 2005: Traded Charles Johnson and Chris Narveson to Boston for Byung-Hyun Kim and cash.

April 8, 2005: Traded Reggie Taylor to Tampa Bay for Bobby Seay.

July 13, 2005: Traded Joe Kennedy and Jay Witasick to Oakland for Eric Byrnes and Omar Quintanilla. Traded Preston Wilson to Washington for Zach Day, J.J. Davis and cash.

July 28, 2005: Traded Shawn Chacon to Yankees for Ramon Ramirez and Eduardo Sierra.

July 30, 2005: Traded Eric Byrnes to Baltimore for Larry Bigbie.

2006 season

The scoreboard: Four trades involving 11 players.

The keeper: C Yorvit Torrealba has shown the potential to be a solid 100-game starter, and the Rockies acquired him for Marcos Carvajal.

Mulligan: None.

In-season adjustment: Rockies needed some life at top of the order and found it with Kazuo Matsui. The Mets picked up salary difference between Matsui and Eli Marrero, who was then released.

Key free agents: RHPs Josh Fogg and Jose Mesa, LHP Tom Martin and OF Eli Marrero.

Bargain basement: Fogg filled the fifth starter role well, with the team winning 16 of his 30 starts.

Key draft picks: RHP Greg Reynolds (first round), SS Hector Velazquez (fifth round), RHP Brandon Hynick (eighth round), SS Zack Murry (19th round).

Summary: O'Dowd made trades to fill needs, giving up players who didn't fit into organizational plans, and also found a bargain with the purchase of INF Jamey Carroll from Washington for $300,000.

Grade: B.

Key deals made in preparation for, and during, the 2006 season:

Dec. 7, 2005: Traded Larry Bigbie and Aaron Miles to St. Louis for Ray King. Traded Marcos Carvajal to Seattle for Yorvit Torrealba.

June 9, 2006: Traded Eli Marrero to the New York Mets for Kazuo Matsui and cash.

July 31, 2006: Traded Ryan Shealy and Scott Dohmann to Kansas City for Jeremy Affeldt, Denny Bautista.

2007 season

The scoreboard: Three trades involving nine players.

The keeper: CF Willy Taveras has provided the Rockies with solid defense and, more important, a top-of-the-lineup catalyst. The Rockies also received two arms with potential, Jason Hirsh and Taylor Buchholz, in exchange for Jason Jennings.

Mulligan: Steve Finley and John Mabry were being counted on to provide veteran presence off bench.

In-season adjustment: Rockies released Finley and Mabry and replaced them by promoting Ryan Spilborghs and Cory Sullivan from the minors. Change brought improved offense and defense.

Key free agents: RHP LaTroy Hawkins, OFs Steve Finley and John Mabry.

Bargain basement: RHP Manny Corpas is making $382,000 - $2,000 above the minimum - but has stepped into closer role without hesitation.

Key draft picks: RHP Casey Weathers (first round), OF Brian Rike (second round), C Lars Davis (third round).

Summary: Key now is filling holes without blowing the payroll out or mortgaging the future and O'Dowd has mastered that by creating a strategic plan and not letting daily emotions interfere.

Grade: B-plus.

Key deals made in preparation for, and during, the 2007 season:

Dec. 12, 2006: Acquired Jason Hirsh, Taylor Buchholz and Willy Taveras from Houston for Jason Jennings and Miguel Asencio.

Jan. 12, 2007: Acquired Rodrigo Lopez from Baltimore for Jim Miller and Jason Burch.

May 13, 2007: Acquired RHP Jorge Julio from Florida for RHP Byung-Hyun Kim.

ringolsbyt@RockyMountainNews.com

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