Troy Tulowitzki

We should all be so lucky to make the league minimum. Before we go feeling sorry for the (relatively) underpaid workhorses of baseball, it helps to remember how much $400,000 is. That said, there are some players that represent the antithesis of the bloated big league albatross.

It has been a big week for the Colorado Rockies as they have extended Troy Tulowitzki through 2020 (for $157M, no less) and resigned free agent Jorge de la Rosa.  

It seems painfully obvious that staying in Denver is ideal for Tulo and not so much so for de la Rosa, but these are two players worth examining further heading into 2011.

The Colorado Rockies have 20/20 vision. They see what they have and want to make sure they keep it.

What do they have?

They have Troy Tulowitzki.

The Colorado Rockies and Tulowitzki have agreed on a new seven-year, $134 million contract which will lock up their star shortstop through the 2020 season.

"I'm really lucky," Tulowitzki said. "I can't wait to be here my entire career."

The Colorado Rockies didn’t want to have another young star slip through their fingers and end up being traded away like Matt Holliday. That is why the Rockies gave All-Star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki a seven-year, $134 million contract extension.

Two Thumbs Up

The Colorado Rockies locked up Troy Tulowitzki through the 2020 season with the announcing of a seven-year, $134 million contract earlier today.

Basically, Tulowitzki is going to be a member of the Rockies for the majority of his playing career. He'll be 36 when his current contract is up.

You can't blame the Rockies for this one. The 25-year old shortstop is quickly developing into one of the best shortstops in the game, if he isn't already.

It would be interesting to know what Derek Jeter thinks of today's news with Troy Tulowitzki.

The Colorado Rockies' All-Star shortstop is reportedly set to sign a seven-year, $134 million extension through the 2020 season, according to the Denver Post.

Tulowitzki, 26, has already distinguished himself as one of the game's bright young talents. He was second in the 2007 National League Rookie of the Year balloting, with a .291 average, 24 home runs and 99 RBI. Last season, he hit .315 in 122 games, and also won his first Gold Glove award.

The Colorado Rockies watched the San Francisco Giants celebrate a World Series championship, then watched the Los Angeles Dodgers solidify their pitching staff and second base spot within the month since the season ended. Now, they are doing their own moving and shaking.

With the looming mega deal proposed by the Colorado Rockies to Troy Tulowitzki and a press conference scheduled for later in the day to make the formal announcement, it is interesting to consider the precedent this contract could set.

Rocktober has never felt so far away.

The Rockies fell to the Los Angeles Dodgers by the score of 3-1 on Monday night, losing their second straight and their seventh in their past eight games. 

The Rockies won ten in a row earlier this month, but never were able to eclipse or tie the teams that were in their playoff path.  Now, with just six games remaining, the Rockies sit four games out of the Wild Card, and five out of the top spot in the National League West.

After dropping two of three from the Giants in Colorado, the Rockies are likely out of playoff contention.

Frankly, after the season the Rockies had, they are lucky to still be in playoff conversation. At the All-Star Break, they were 49-39. Just 15 days later, on July 28, they were 51-50.

From then until late August and early September, they were simply a mediocre team. They then went on a conveniently placed 10-game winning streak which put them right back into playoff contention.