Do a Little Doublethink on Big Brother Dan

Throughout all of the trade talk and rumors, all of the coverage of what most have called the awful Chacon move, I think we've all felt that something's just not right. And it's probably struck us all by now, the questions we've been dying to ask: Wait a minute, weren't the Rockies building a homemade, Colorado dugout? These kids, who have been pitching in Colorado all of their lives, are the only way to win, right Dan? Apparently not. In a stunning move, Dealin' Dan O'Dowd pulled one right out of Orwell's pocket and asked us all to do a bit of doublethink in a press conference yesterday. The Rocky's Dave Krieger puts it well:

And so the faces keep changing. One day you are part of the building process and the next day you're not. Remember when Chacon and Scott Elarton were part of the grow-'em-at-home plan? These were Colorado kids who had always pitched at altitude.

That was the secret.

For about a minute and a half.

Somebody asked general manager Dan O'Dowd about the homegrown thing and he immediately veered off into his rap about kids the Rockies have drafted. He didn't even remember the grow-'em-at-home plan. No wonder. There have been so many plans.

From Rockies' newest profile: Kiss hope goodbye in Saturday's Rocky

Quite frankly, this is an insult to the intelligence of Rockies fans everywhere. We remember when a slightly more chipper Dan told us that homegrown was the way to go, and asked us to stay the course for a few years as we built a bullpen that would know how to pitch in Coors Field. So we did. But now, it seems, all hope of building some kind of Colorado Dream Team has gone down the drain, because the GM doesn't even recognize the plan anymore. For years, we've been told that we're building and building, getting better and getting there, but every year since the Bichette and the rest of the bombers left, the team has been completely different. Hopefully, this is the last straw for Dealin' Dan. Too long, we've been asked to wait patiently as year after year of "rebuilding" goes by, with a completely different core in every "phase" of rebuilding.

The entire situation is beginning to show what it has always really been: not an effort to put together an attractive product, but an effort to cut salary and make as much money as possible. I wouldn't be this pissed if they had told me the truth from the outset - but year after year we've been told of the comittment and dedication to a good franchise, and year after year it's looked more and more like a pipe dream.

The Rockies have enjoyed a pretty decent following for their level of incompetence - the blog community proves that, but I'm thinking that's about to change. I'll continue to be a fan of the team, but I don't have to be a fan of the management. I hope you'll all join me in my campaign to Deal Dan Out. And while we're at it, let's fold with a pair of Monforts. When the day comes that we have real management in town, hopefully we can laugh at all of this - but right now, I can't wait to say "good riddance".

-Gabe