Morning Links: Rockies News 12/2

Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

I was fortunate enough to have an adviser in school with whom I could talk about sports. One time I had a fascinating conversation with him in which he pointed out that many 21st century sports fans identify with management much more than they do players. We debate what will be a good business decision, how best to manage the team’s assets, and sometimes pride ourselves in the cool objectivity that accompanies that mindset.

That mode of thinking is front and center for Colorado Rockies fans at the moment thanks to the fact that Dick Monfort released his team budget to the Denver Post yesterday. You might find the transparency refreshing but find the content of the article maddening. Such is the theme of your Rockies news on this Monday morning:

From Terry Frei: Smarts can make up for lack of money in pro sports (Denver Post)

"Contrast that with Rockies owner Dick Monfort, who to his credit took the time to “open the books” for The Denver Post’s Troy E. Renck and outline his financial model, which includes a self-imposed salary cap set at 50 percent of revenues. Monfort essentially waved off a considerable part of the upcoming increased television revenue — there’s not enough room here to explain the technicalities and his reasoning — and he said a realistic goal for the Rockies is to make the playoffs ‘twice every five years.’“That is not a Stanley Cup attitude.”"

From Phil Miller: Morneau doesn’t rule out his return to Twins – but not now (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

"Justin Morneau sounded pretty certain Saturday that he will return to the Twins.“Just not necessarily next year. For that matter, not necessarily as a player……’I’m open to anything,’ said Morneau, the 2006 AL MVP. ‘We’ve been talking to a few teams. There are great opportunities out there.’He’s had conversations lately with former Twins Joe Nathan, Nick Punto and Michael Cuddyer, he said, the latter putting in a word for the Colorado Rockies, rumored to be in pursuit of Minnesota’s third-leading career home-run leader.”"

From Craig Calcaterra: The non-tender deadline is midnight tonight (HardBall Talk)

"If the team non-tenders a player, that player immediately becomes a free agent. Basically, the calculus is whether or not the team thinks the guy is worth the low end of what he might receive in arbitration. Or, put differently, if the guy isn’t worth what he made in 2013, he’s probably going to be non-tendered. Not that there are a lot of those guys, as most arbitration-eligible players are young and have just recently made the minimum or something close to it.”"