Morning Links: Rockies News 1/11

Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

As we hit the dead of January just before the hopefulness of February when Spring Training is finally in sight, the Colorado Rockies are left to watch as their counterparts in the NL West (Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Dodgers) compete to make another splashy move or two in free agency.

In the meantime Rockies fans can start to wonder about position battles, consider whether or not we want Rafael Betancourt to return to Colorado, and dream about Tony La Russa as club president.

Here’s what else is happening with the Rockies:

From Jay Blue: Colorado Rockies Winter League Report (Grading on the Curve)

"Jordan Pacheco, 27, also went down to the Dominican Republic after splitting 2013 between the Rockies and their Triple-A affiliate in Colorado Springs. Pacheco couldn’t follow up his strong 2012 and hit .239/.276/.312 in the majors. In the Dominican, he hit .274/.354/.370 in 20 games with four doubles and one home run."

From MLB Network Radio: Walt Weiss breaks down Brett Anderson and new rotation

From Thomas Harding: Stubbs eager to play up to potential in new spot (MLB.com)

"The Rockies have plans for Stubbs, but it’s a different situation than with the Reds, who tried for years to mold the speedster into a leadoff hitter, or with the Indians, who brought him in last year as their everyday right fielder.The Rockies have Carlos Gonzalez, Troy Tulowitzki, Michael Cuddyer and Wilin Rosario in place, and with veteran Justin Morneau as a power-hitting addition, Stubbs is being asked to earn his status. In addition to Blackmon and Dickerson competing with Stubbs, former Astros center fielderBrandon Barnes also is pushing for at-bats.”"