Normandin: Did The Rockies Forget About Coors Field?

Might be a little unorthodox to quote something written for this very site, but it beats what I was planning on doing: adding Jeremy Guthrie's name, posting the article again, and hoping that no one would notice. The Rockies' acquisition of Guthrie is part of an offseason strategy that already caused Marc Normandin to wonder what the Rockies were up to:

To bring it back to the Rockies' off-season, context seems to be what's missing in these moves. In this massive ballpark, where the combination of dimensions and thin, dry air is out to hinder pitching and help hitting, there are two routes to go that can make for decent pitching: the ability to strike hitters out, and a tendency to induce groundballs...

The Rockies have basically avoided both strikeouts and groundballs this winter.

Kevin Slowey, we hardly knew ye, was traded to the Indians, but the Rockies kept the strategy intact by getting Guthrie. Dave Cameron thinks that the Rockies are intentionally acquiring pitchers with low BABIPs, and hoping that it's a skill that the pitchers can control, which would help them counteract the gigantic outfield of Coors Field. That would certainly be ... a theory, alright. Looks like someone signed Dan O'Dowd up for the Organizational Philosophy of the Month Club again.