Morning Links: Rockies News, 10/8

Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

The Colorado Rockies had connections to a number of players who came through in big spots in yesterday’s divisional round action. Seth Smith gave the A’s a boost as they took a 2-1 series lead. Matt Holliday helped the St. Louis Cardinals force a 5th game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. And none other than Juan Uribe came through in the biggest way possible as the Dodgers defeated the Braves and moved on to the NLCS. Here’s what else is happening with the Rockies and around the rest of the league:

From Patrick Saunders: Rockies Mailbag: Trade Tulowitzki and Gonzalez? Would the Rockies do it? (Denver Post)

"In light of his injury history, Tulo made a concerted effort to be open and honest this season as he came back from his leg injury.“For those fans waiting for Tulo to become a smiling, effervescent kind of player, don’t hold your breath. That’s never going to happen. It’s just not who he is — a man very serious about his profession.“But Tulo has matured and become a leader by example. If Nolan Arenado blossoms into a star, Tulo will deserve a lot of credit.”"

From Jeff Aberle: Mock GM Update: Comparing this year’s Rockies to a mock GM simulation (Purple Row)

"This was the moment I really got excited about these fake Rockies – getting three years of a cost-controlled young starter that could slot near the top of the rotation was great. Yes, I had to give up a good player in Dex and a top pitching prospect to get him, but sometimes that’s what you have to do to get talent.“This one worked out pretty well even though Medlen started slowly. He tossed 197 innings of 3.11 ERA ball, good for 3.3 rWAR on the year. Meanwhile, Fowler started off gangbusters but injuries got to him in the second half – he finished with 2.0 rWAR. While Bettis showed flashes of potential this year, his overall contributions were deemed to be below replacement level (-0.5 rWAR).”"

From Craig Calcaterra: Don’t blame Fredi Gonzalez for last night’s loss. Blame the Braves culture. (HardBall Talk)

"Fredi Gonzalez learned this way of thinking from Bobby Cox and had it reinforced in a thousand ways by an organization which always has and, until there is new leadership, always will value and reward people who do things in painfully conventional ways. Doing things the right way, as Brian McCann might say. Indeed, if you don’t see a thread connecting all of that unwritten rules stuff from September and what led Fredi Gonzalez to use his setup man in the eighth and save Kimbrel for a bit, you haven’t been paying attention to the Atlanta Braves very long. It extends to their offseason moves and payroll decisions and everything else.”"