Purple Dinosaur Podcast

Less than a month remains until pitchers and catchers report to spring training, and YOUR Colorado Rockies have made one big (?) offseason move in signing noted controversy-free second baseman Daniel Murphy. In addition to not being a polarizing guy at all, he's going to be asked to play first base in Colorado, apparently, a position where he doesn't have aw hole ton of experience. So that's a thing that's gone on this offseason.

We'll break down the Murphy signing in baseball and non-baseball terms and attempt to put into perspective what the last couple of offseasons in baseball say about the free agent market as a whole.

Plus, the Rockies are headed for arbitration with Nolan Arenado. Is that a bad sign for his future with the organization or just the way this thing was probably headed all along.

Finally, we field a bunch of #AskPDPs and try to imagine all kinds of dystopian futures where Adam Ottavino is a Yankee and Nolan is a Dodger and life is rendered meaningless. It's the 155th episode of the Purple Dinosaur Podcast. Keep it under the tarp in your shopping cart for sustenance while traversing The Road!

You, the loyal PDP fan, have been clamoring for a new episode in recent weeks, so here we are. And it's great to be here to talk about...??????? The Rockies have done nothing but hire a hitting coach and acquire a couple of minor league catchers so far this offseason, so we'll attempt to make some lemonade out of those lemons.

But really though, what is the plan for this offseason? Will Jeff Bridich finally decide he's ready to trade prospects for established big league talent to fill yawing chasms of productivity in his lineup? Or will he stick with his young guys and maybe -- wait for it -- actually give Bud Black the go-ahead to play them in 2019? They've gotta do something! Plus, what does the Rockies' reluctance to discuss dealing Brendan Rodgers say about Nolan Arenado's possible future in purple pinstripes?

Plus Larry Walker's Hall of Fame candidacy is finally getting its moment in the spotlight. While Walker might not make it into the Hall this year, his support is skyrocketing. We'll take a look at what that means for his chances going forward.

It's the 154th episode of the Purple Dinosaur Podcast. Wrap it up and toss it under the tree to be underwhelmed with it come Christmas morn'!

The 2018 Rockies season came to an end in disappointing fashion last week, and after taking some time to cool down, the PDP returns for its annual postmortem. We'll look back on the National League Division Series and try to dissect what went wrong against the Milwaukee Brewers.

There isn't much left to discuss about the NLDS, though, so this episode is a forward-looking one. The 2018 Rockies season was a success. It didn't end the way any of us wanted, but there's no other way to look at it than another step in the right direction. Even with that, the Rockies have many pressing issues heading into the offseason. We'll look ahead at some of the biggest decisions that are coming over the next several months before another big season opens in Colorado.

All that and more is here in the 153rd episode of the Purple Dinosaur Podcast. Weave it into a nice pair of socks for the cold winter ahead!

Welp, here we are again. Come Sunday afternoon, the Colorado Rockies will -- yet again -- be playing for their 2018 lives after dropping their first two games of the National League Division Series in Milwaukee.

To get you set for Game 3 at Coors Field, we've got a fiery PDP. It'll start with us yelling to (and with...and at) you about some of the terrible takes regarding this Rockies offense. Colorado's bats have been nonexistent during the playoffs so far. Is that all Nolan Arenado's fault because he said in June that he wanted to play in big games and that's the one thing Denver sports radio has clung to from this season? No. Is it symptomatic of a mediocre offense with long-problematic fault lines that are being exposed on baseball's biggest stage? Yeah, that's probably more accurate.

After we yell for a while, we attempt to get down to some facts and rational explanation as to why things could -- and should -- get better starting with Game 3. The Rockies won 36 of their final 50 games at Coors Field this year. They'll be throwing their two best pitchers in Games 3 and 4, and if they win Game 3, that includes their homegrown Denver native ace in Game 4 with a chance to even the series. If you're the Milwaukee Brewers, do you feel good about that matchup if you're unable to close this series out in three? We wouldn't.

Finally, we give you some crazy predictions and try to laugh with you and get ourselves a little closer to yet another day watching baseball with our hearts in our stomachs and our stomachs in our throats and whatever else happens when you're watching what feels like the 1,000th elimination game in the last two weeks.

It's the 152nd episode of the Purple Dinosaur Podcast. Let's do some more of these in 2018.

For the first time in the PDP Era, as all things are and should be measured, the Rockies are on to a real postseason series, and what a way to get here. Kyle Freeland starred for 6 2/3 innings, Tony Wolters (!) (!!!) (Tony Wolters!) came through with a two-out, go-ahead single in the top of the 13th, and the Rockies took down the Chicago Cubs in Wrigley Field to punch their tickets to the National League Division Series.

We look back at an absolutely insane game, some of its most crucial moments, some of its most pivotal decisions, and just how the Rockies made the impossible happen. Kyle Freeland announced his status as the Rockies' emotional rock with his dominant performance, but for the Denver kid and his childhood team, it meant more than even that. We'll discuss. Plus, just how and why did Nolan Arenado and Javier Baez end up hugging at third base?! (Aaaaaadorable.)

With the win, the Rockies move on to play more meaningful baseball in 2018. The Milwaukee Brewers finished the season with the best record in the National League, including wins in five of their seven matchups with the Rockies. What does that mean heading into the best-of-5 series? It's Antonio Senzatela in Game 1 followed by Tyler Anderson in Game 2. Presumably German Marquez and Freeland will get nods in some order in Games 3 and 4. What will the rest of the staff look like?

Plus there's just some general elation and babbling and honestly we blacked out from happiness for most of it, so who knows what else is in there. It's the 151st episode (and first playoff edition) of the Purple Dinosaur Podcast! Frame it and hang it above your fireplace!

And it all comes down to this. After faltering in their pursuit of a division title this weekend and coming up short in yesterday's tiebreaker game in Los Angeles, the Rockies are once more relegated to fighting for their playoff lives in the Wild Card Game. We'll look back on what went wrong against the Dodgers, why Dodgers fans are so cocky despite needing a 163rd game to fend off the Rockies for the division crown, and what it means for the division.

Tonight, Colorado visits Chicago for a matchup with the surprisingly-non-division-champion Cubs at Wrigley Field. Denver's own Kyle Freeland (he's from Denver, had you heard that before?) goes to the hill with his hometown team's season on the line. The Rockies have fared well at Wrigley in recent years. What has to go right tonight to save the season?

There isn't much else to say for this one. Just try to enjoy the moment. It's sudden death baseball, and it's an EMERGENCY WILD CARD GAME FREAKOUT episode of the Purple Dinosaur Podcast. Swig some down to alleviate your nausea!

Last week, after the Rockies were swept in Los Angeles and looked to be on death's doorstep in 2018, we hosted a show that featured a comedian and a whole lot of #AskPDPs so we didn't have to think much about how bad that series was and what it could have meant for this season. This week, things are just about as different as they could possibly be.

The Rockies head into the final series of the season on a seven-game winning streak, with a magic number of 3 to clinch the division title, and facing a Washington Nationals team that is no longer in contention this year. More than that, they hold their postseason destiny in their own hands which is something we've not often said about the Rockies heading into the last weekend of any year. Sweep the Nationals, and you've won the division. Win two out of three from the Nationals and, if the Dodgers drop one game in San Francisco, you're division champions. Win *one* from the Nationals and, if the Dodgers drop two...well you get the point. It's all out there to be had.

How did we get here from last week? What has clicked in this Rockies team? Just how scary are the Rockies going forward? What could a collapse that results in possibly missing the playoffs entirely (an actual possibility) mean for the Dodgers? We'll discuss.

Plus we take some #AskPDPs because things are so dang fun lately. All that and more on the 150th episode of the Purple Dinosaur Podcast. Breathe deep. It's going to be a fun weekend.

Ah well, this sucks. The Rockies are 1-5 to start the biggest road trip in recent memory including a three-game sweep in Los Angeles that took them from a half-game lead in the National League West to a 2.5-game deficit. There's really no sugarcoating the fact that All Things Are Bad Again And Nothing Is Good. But while things are terrible for the moment, the season is somehow far from over. This Rockies team has been left for dead no fewer than a dozen times only to rally and shock us all, so do they have more left in them? We'll see.

We attempt to help you forget your frustration this week by bringing on Andrew Orvedahl as our guest. One of the legendary Denver comedy trio The Grawlix as well as Coach Fairbell on TruTV's "Those Who Can't" attempts to keep us on the ledge by, you know, reminding us that the world will still exist even if the Rockies don't make the playoffs. Actually we don't really get that far into justifying a continued reason for existence as Rockies fans. Mostly we just joke around and try to laugh through our baseball-induced tears.

This week brings some #AskPDP queries mostly around the tenor of "Why do we do this to ourselves?" which is a valid query and one for which we don't have a very good answer. But if the Rockies rip off an 8-2 finish to the season and run down the Dodgers somehow, you'll know. By god, you'll know.

All that and more on the 149th episode of the Purple Dinosaur Podcast. The Spokane Spokesman Review called it "a true thrill ride!" while the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said, "It kept me on the edge of my seat until the end!"

Kyle Freeland's brilliant 2018 season continues bringing people back to maybe its only historical comparison in Rockies history: that of 1994 starter Marvin Freeman. Well do we have a treat for you on Episode 148 of the Purple Dinosaur Podcast. The one and only Marvin Freeman himself joins the show to look back on his sterling, strike-shortened '94 season that saw him place fourth in National League Cy Young voting and do things most people would now regard as impossible in the early days of the Rockies franchise. We'll rap with Marvin about that year, the Rockies' playoff squad in '95, his time learning from Greg Maddux and the rest of the '90s Braves, his reputation as a glue guy in the clubhouse, today's Rockies, what young pitchers need to know to be successful, the state of baseball in 2018, and a whole lot more. There's even a story in there about an $80,000 violin bow you don't want to miss. (Really.)

After Marvin, we catch up with one of the unlikeliest Rockies in recent memory, reliever D.J. Johnson. After stops in four different Major League organizations and two stints in independent ball, Johnson made his big league debut this year. We'll discuss what it felt like to get the call and run in from an MLB bullpen for the first time.

The Rockies are in control of their own destiny as we hit the stretch run in 2018. Kyle Freeland, German Marquez, and Jon Gray have been a large reason why, as have Trevor Story and Nolan Arenado. We'll talk about their terrific second halves but also dive into some resurgent Rockies like Scott Oberg and Wade Davis who have likewise been keys to the Rockies' first-place push.

It's the 148th episode of the Purple Dinosaur Podcast! Take a little velocity off and hit your spots with it!

This weekend is the series you've always dreamed of. It's the final full month of the regular season, and your, my, and our Colorado Rockies are in first place and welcoming the Los Angeles Dodgers to town for the first of a three-game set. The Dodgers pushed back Clayton Kershaw's start to Friday to line up with Jon Gray. This is it. Everything is on the line over the next three weeks. This is the whole point of your fandom, so GET EXCITED, KIDDIES.

We'll discuss Trevor Story's insane Wednesday night game, what's made him so good this season, and where the Rockies would be without him this year. Plus, German Marquez continues to be a star in the making and a worthy component in a potential postseason rotation along with Kyle Freeland and Jon Gray.

Since we missed last week, we try to make it up to you in a weak way by answering a rash of #AskPDP queries from what times of day are sufficient to call "brunch" and what the most nerve-wracking games have been for fans in franchise history. All that and more on the 147th episode of the Purple Dinosaur Podcast! Crack it open and sit poolside with it because summer ain't over yet!