Morning Dump — Thursday, February 24th

It’s a quiet morning on the Rockies’ front. The team’s beat writers must’ve been busy last night. Regardless, the Morning Dump is here for you. Let’s talk about gambling. What do you say?

The Hilton sports book predicts 86 wins for the Rox this year. I’m not a big sports bettor, but I’m thinking about taking the overs. Injuries are the only thing that can keep this team from winning over 90 games.

Clipped from: www.denverpost.com (share this clip)

"“Maybe they’ve got a crystal ball and they’ve got somebody following us around during the year and figuring out who’s taking care of himself and who isn’t, but I don’t care, we should win more than 86 games. Compared to last year, we’re three games better? No.” — Jason Giambi"

Speaking of injuries, Rockies’ players spent a combined 833 days on the DL last season. Jim Tracy is issuing a challenge to the team. They must learn to deal with adversity. I’d take it a step further and use the Green Bay Packers as an example. Some of their best players went down with injuries last year, but they obviously overcame their problems. So that’s my message to the 2011 Rox; play like the 2010 Green Bay Packers.

Clipped from: colorado.rockies.mlb.com (share this clip)

"“There’s an air about them, the way they go about their business, that strongly suggests to me they realize some very special places we’ve been together over the past few years. Basically, the bottom line is this: What we’ve done and what this organization has accomplished over the last four years with a National League championship, a Wild Card championship and three winning seasons over the last four years, two of which we’ve won 90 to 90-plus games, we know how to be good. The challenge that was set forth today was, are we willing to make the commitment to be great?” — Jim Tracy"

Will this be the year that Dexter Fowler finally lives up to his immense potential? Let’s hope so.

Clipped from: colorado.rockies.mlb.com (share this clip)

"“I always see myself as being a dominant player, trying to go out and just turn the game up a little bit. Whether it’s hitting a triple, hitting a double, stealing a base, running down fly balls, robbing home runs, doing all that stuff.” —Dexter Fowler"

Yahoo discusses the Rockies’ first day.

Yesterday, news came out that St. Louis Cardinals ace, Adam Wainwright, is done for the year. Losing a 20 game winner and Cy Young runner up is not a good thing for baseball, but it might ruin the Cardinals. Dave Cameron at Fangraphs takes a very interesting look at the situation.

Carl Crawford tried to date the Angels this off-season, but they didn’t make him feel loved.

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