Rockies third-base prospect Nolan Arenado, 20, who drove in 122 runs for the High-A Modesto Nuts last season and was the MVP of the Arizona Fall League, takes a practice cut Tuesday as spring training ratchets up at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick in Scottsdale, Ariz. AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post <\/p>\n
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. A change of culture, better team chemistry and authentic relationships between the players. <\/p>\n
Those are the catchphrases of the Rockies' 2012 spring training. Dan O'Dowd uses them, Jim Tracy uses them, even some of the players use them. <\/p>\n
The professional cynic in me rolls his eyes and wonders how a change in philosophy and the addition of a bunch of 30-something ballplayers can transform the Rockies from a 73-89 ballclub into a contender. <\/p>\n
It seems too touchy-feely. <\/p>\n
Yet I have already seen some tangible changes on a team that was so out of sync last season. <\/p>\n
For instance, Jamie Moyer, a 49-year-old lefty hoping for one more season, was given a locker next to prospects Tyler Chatwood and Drew Pomeranz. As the Rockies hoped, the youngsters are asking for advice from Moyer, who's happy to provide it. <\/p>\n
As part of the culture-building concept, the players were each given a homework assignment. They drew the name of a teammate and are then required to present a biography of that player in front of the rest of the team. Moyer began it with a 20-minute dissertation on newcomer Jeremy Guthrie. The players loved the needling, the jokes and the inside information. <\/p>\n
Monday, Tracy briefly addressed the team before handing things over to veterans including Troy Tulowitzki, Todd Helton, Jason Giambi and Carlos Gonzalez. The impressive thing, to me: It was the players who asked Tracy if they could lay out the expectations for 2012. <\/p>\n
I asked Giambi, a 17-year veteran, about all this clubhouse culture stuff. He told me that it's real and it's important, explaining that when he played for the successful Oakland A's teams from 1995-2001, the A's had a homegrown family atmosphere. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
See the rest here: Rockies third-base prospect Nolan Arenado, 20, who drove in 122 runs for the High-A Modesto Nuts last season and was the MVP of the Arizona Fall League, takes a practice cut Tuesday as spring training ratchets up at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick in Scottsdale, Ariz. AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. A change of culture, better team chemistry and authentic relationships between the players. Continue reading
\nSaunders: Rockies ready to react as far as good team chemistry will take them<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"