"I'm Happy To Be Here"

Really, Todd Helton? Because while I understand you have to take the company line and act like you're still excited about the upcoming season in Colorado (and likely out of contention by mid-season), I bet a part of you, no matter how small, is really bummed that you're not headed to Beantown.

C'mon, would you rather have David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez protecting you or Matt Holiday and Garret Atkins? Would you rather have Curt Schilling and Josh Beckett pitching your first two games of the season, or Jeff Francis and Aaron Cook? Would you rather have to play a meaningful game in September against a division rival (either at home, or in a hostile environment) or just play to pad your stats the last 8 weeks of the season?

Helton appears to be a stand-up guy. You never hear a bad word about him. He doesn't get hurt, he's still a great hitter, and I admire the fact that he wants to play his whole career with one team. That's a true rarity these days. But playing on the same team and losing, year, after year, after year, after year, despite your best efforts (.333, 286 HR, 996 RBI career) has to be frustrating. I don't want to come across as constantly bashing the Rockies. I think they are headed in the right direction, and I'm not surprised they improved last year. It's just that their pitching isn't going to take them very far and for the first time in a while, the NL West may be one of the best divisions in baseball.

So in short, I know Helton has to say he's happy to be a Rockie, I'm just not sure if I believe him completely.