Purple Dinosaur Podcast

On the verge of an unbelievably perplexing and frustrating series loss to the San Diego Padres, the Rockies had their week saved by none other than Ian Desmond on Thursday. Desmond belted a walk-off homer to sink San Diego and lift the Rockies to a series win that continued a pattern of late rallies and thrilling walk-off wins for a Colorado team that now finds itself heading into the weekend just one game back of first place. That's the good news. The bad news is that it made us record a podcast, so you win some, you lose some.

This weekend begins (stop us if you've heard this before) a crucial stretch for the Rockies this season. St. Louis arrives at Coors Field with Colorado eyeing retribution for a brutal road series a couple of weeks ago. The Rockies follow with road dates at Anaheim and San Diego. The time is now to continue the roll with a relative lull in the schedule.

Plus, the Rockies brought back Matt Holliday this week! We discuss what the veteran's addition could mean coming off the bench and adding a potentially scary offensive threat to the lineup in needed moments.

It's the 146th episode of the Purple Dinosaur Podcast. Get into it!

We'll get this out of the way early for Episode 145 of the Purple Dinosaur Podcast: the audio might not be our best. Tyler is still gallivanting around Panama and forgot both his microphone AND headphones, so there are some echoes and some Panamanian music in the background and just DEAL WITH IT, OK?!

But hey, your favorite costumed baseball strongmen are playing well! The Rockies rallied for a surprising win last night in Atlanta, and with the comeback victories over the Dodgers, that seems to bode well for this team's immediate future. The win was engineered, in large part, by contributions from young guys like David Dahl and Ryan McMahon, suggesting -- hear us out -- that maybe they're good and should play all the time. With Ian Desmond struggling (again), the Rockies are coming to a critical juncture in the season when it comes to, well, everything personnel-wise. We discuss.

Plus baseball is fun all across the globe! A brief discussion about he game internationally leads off the show, and we dive into assorted other nerdery and things vaguely related to the Rockies. It's the 145th episode of the Purple Dinosaur Podcast. Forget it at your hotel and throw off your whole afternoon with it!

With less than two months remaining in the Major League Baseball season, the Rockies find themselves at something of a crossroads. The Dodgers hit town for the biggest series of the season and promptly stole a game they trailed by two with two outs and the bases empty in the top of the eighth against Colorado's bullpen. Where do the Rockies go from here? Why can't anyone in the bullpen seem to get the job done with consistency? What does it mean for the future of the Rockies' organizational philosophy when it comes to acquiring versus developing pitchers? We'll discuss.

Plus, Anthony is back from an international trip, and Tyler just left for one. Could it be that the Rockies simply want to wait to play their best ball during a time when both hosts of the PDP can be there to witness and enjoy it? It's as likely an explanation as anything else. (NOTE: It is not as likely an explanation as anything else.)

It's brief (because Panamanian internet is unreliable!), it's fun (debatably!), and it's here (that's true!). It's the 144th episode of the Purple Dinosaur Podcast. Get into it!

The PDP returns with the Rockies fresh off a series split with the World Series-champion Houston Astros and set to welcome the scorching hot Oakland Athletics to Coors Field. This week, with a trade already in the books bringing Seunghwan Oh to Colorado, we dive into the deal by sheer coincidence. Our guests are Class A Advanced Lancaster JetHawks radio voice Jason Schwartz, who gives us his thoughts on former Rockies prospect Forrest Wall, dealt to Toronto in the trade. Later, we'll hear from Class A Asheville Tourists radio broadcaster Doug Maurer, who brought up Chad Spanberger before the trade was even a rumor.

Jason and Doug cover a wealth of other topics about their 2018 teams this year, including the development of some impressive bullpen arms in Lancaster along with top prospects like Colton Welker and an Asheville team that has been led by an older core of players this season.

All that and more is here this week on the 143rd episode of the Purple Dinosaur Podcast. Load it into a slingshot and send it across the lunch room!

We heard last week that sometimes our episodes get a little bit long and unwieldy, and so with that, we somehow managed to put together one of our longest episodes ever this week and apologize profusely for it. But there's just so much to talk about! The Major League Baseball season enters the second half tonight...although really, it entered the second half a couple of weeks ago. With the All-Star Game being pushed back, there are now just 11 days between the start of play after the break to the trade deadline. Will the Rockies be buyers or sellers? That's a topic to discuss.

And discuss it, we shall! Anthony is gone for the next few weeks, so Tyler flies solo on Episode 142 with a trio of guests. The PDP begins a trip through the Rockies farm system by chatting with Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes radio voice Josh Suchon (beginning at the 6:24 mark). Josh covers Albuquerque's roster in transition this year, Jon Gray's brief return to the PCL, Ryan McMahon's recent resurgence and more. Then it's off to Double-A Hartford (47:14) where Yard Goats radio voice Jeff Dooley discusses Brendan Rodgers's terrific season, Hartford's young manager Warren Schaeffer, and some names to look out for that you may not yet know about in the system

Finally, Episode 142 heads to Phoenix (1:04:50) where we find Friend of the PDP™ and all-around good guy Mike Ferrin of MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM as well as pre- and postgame host duties for the D-backs. Mike gives us the lay of the land around the National League West after the Dodgers acquired Manny Machado as well as giving us a preview of this week's big Rockies-Diamondbacks clash in the desert.

All that and more on the 142nd episode of the Purple Dinosaur Podcast. Spear it with a stick and roast it over a campfire!

With their season on the line, the Rockies have responded with some of their best ball. That might all be hyperbole, but it doesn't feel like it. At the end of June, Colorado looked dead in the water in the National League West. What has followed is four straight series wins including a big series victory over the D-backs this week at Coors Field. We'll talk about the resurgence and what has keyed some of it.

Plus, the Major League All-Star Break is later than ever this year. That puts teams in a bind when it comes to the trade deadline, which is just two weeks after the ASG. Will the Rockies be buyers or sellers, and with so many attractive sale pieces, could they still make deals to acquire young talent without it signaling they're throwing in the towel on the 2018 races?

Antonio Senzatela is headed to the disabled list, and Chad Bettis's return from it will be delayed. What options do the Rockies have as their rotation hits a rough patch during this midsummer stretch?

All that and more is here in the 141st episode of the Purple Dinosaur Podcast. Use it as an additive in your gas tank once a month to keep things running smoothly!

A week and a half from the All-Star Break, the Colorado Rockies have rediscovered some winning ways. After sweeping the San Francisco Giants, the Rockies are back to a game over .500 thanks to six wins in seven games. What's keyed this run of success that feels much more like the team we expected in 2018 than the majority of 2018 has actually felt? For starters (heh), great starting pitching, but how much could be due to Nolan Arenado's recent comments regarding his state of mind in a losing franchise? We'll discuss.

Plus, the Jon Gray Ace Debate™ hit a new level last week with the news that the Rockies were sending their Opening Day starter down to Triple-A Albuquerque. There, Gray dominated in his first start back in the Pacific Coast League, but what can we learn about his bizarre 2018 to this point in the year? And with the rotation surging since his departure, where will he fit when the Rockies feel he's ready to return to the Major Leagues?

Your favorite costumed baseball men travel to Seattle for a weekend series in what is sure to be the politest series in the history of Twitter when the American League Rockies play host to the National League Mariners. Remember when Josh Fogg pitched a Maddux there in one hour and 52 minutes in 2006? We do, and we somehow both remember exactly where we were and exactly what we were doing at the time. We know you're dying to know, so we discuss that, too.

All that and more on the 140th episode of the Purple Dinosaur Podcast. Honor Josh Fogg and paint into your Dragon Slayer canvas with it!

It hasn't been super fun to be a Rockies fan lately, and we recognize that. While we didn't necessarily think we were going to get to this point in a 2018 season that came with such strong expectations, it's time for one of those episodes where we just try to make you laugh. After getting some Rockies discussion out of the way early, we're off and running into a full #AskPDP episode that includes such topics as Are Uncrustables A Sandwich Or Ravioli? Which All-Time Rockies Players Would Make For The Most Uncomfortable ESPN Body Issue Participants? and Which Australian Baseball League Team Is Right For You?

We do actually talk some real baseball in this week's show including what exactly the likelihood is that the Rockies are anything approaching "sellers" when the trade deadline hits, what that could mean for Nolan Arenado (nothing), DJ LeMahieu (possibly something), and Adam Ottavino (I'll die). 

All that and more jam-packed into the 139th episode of the Purple Dinosaur Podcast. Take some awkward unclothed pictures with it!

As the Rockies enter the final couple of weeks before the All-Star Break, they've elected to go with nine men in the bullpen and three on the bench, sending Ryan McMahon back to Triple-A a day after he saved their bacon with a three-run homer to sink the Mets. At this stage, with a bullpen that is historically bad, how much crazier could things really get?

Should the Rockies test out something crazy like an opener for games, especially with their struggles in the first inning among starting pitchers? We'll discuss, plus what types of solutions could lie around for the bullpen (hint: there aren't many).

Even with all the struggles, the Rockies entered their Thursday series finale against the Mets with a chance at a series win and sitting just 4.5 games out of first place in the National League West. We'll discuss some of the reasons behind their success, including Ian Desmond's surge and the rise (finally) of Tom Murphy.

Plus, this weekend the Rockies will welcome in a host of former stars for 25th anniversary celebration festivities. If they were to celebrate the worst players in franchise history for Bizarro Weekend, who would those be? We debate.

It's the 138th episode of the Purple Dinosaur Podcast! Light it on fire and put it on top of a birthday cake!

You can totally blame us. It's ok.

The Rockies' offense is the best in baseball over the last 10 days. Unfortunately, their pitching staff has, in large part, forgotten to be good alongside it. That has proven to be a big enough issue that it's forced the Rockies well out of first place and into their roughest patch of the season. Will the return of Adam Ottavino be enough to stabilize the rest of the staff? If today's results are any indication after they cut the lead down to one run in the seventh...no. But tomorrow is another day.

Jeff Bridich had some interesting comments about Jon Gray earlier this week. We'll discuss those and what it says about where the Rockies -- and Jon Gray -- are at this chapter in franchise history. (Hint: mostly positives!) Plus we field your #AskPDP questions from our World Cup cheering interests to what it would take for the Rockies to be sellers to what the heck "our ass is in the jackpot" really means.

All that and more on this week's episode of the Purple Dinosaur Podcast! Strap it to both sides of your batting helmet for a convenient and stylish dual C-flap look!