Rants-Troy Tulowitzki

Troy Tulowitzki

   First off, I just want to explain that while I write this, Troy Tulowitzki has officially become filthy rich. Today, He signed a contract extension with the Colorado Rockies for ANOTHER 6 years, with his whole contract enveloping 10 years. The reported deal was 10 years, $157.75 million (all guaranteed), although Rockies policy prevents the specifics from being released just yet. I believe this is the longest deal for a shortstop ever, although when Alex Rodriguez was orginally inked, he was a shortstop. Does "Tulo" deserve this contract? According to the Rockies, he does. Coming off his first All-Star (appearance?), first Gold Glove, first Silver Slugger, it seems to be that Tulo, 25, is here to stay. Although specifics have not been released, Tulo will be making approximatly 13 million per year, as compared to other shortstops around the league:

Derek Jeter- $18,900,00
Hanley Ramirez- $11,000,000
Jimmy Rollins- $7.750,000
Jose Reyes- $6,750,000

Now Tulowitzki's contract (on a per year basis), is the highest paid shortstop in the league. Jeter's contract is up, and with talks stalled, Jeter might come back at $15 mil/year, but his age and declining performance, Jeter could possibly be out of baseball by 2015, while Tulo still has 5 years left on his contract. Now for the "does he deserve it? " part. Well I'll let you decide, but here are some interesting statistics:

2007 (155 games)    2008 (101)         2009 (151)          2010 (122)
- .291 AVG              - 263 AVG        -.297 AVG          -.315 AVG
- 104 Runs                - 48 Runs           - 101 Runs           - 89 Runs
- 24 HRS                  - 8 HRS              - 32 HRS             - 27 HRS
- 99 RBI                    - 46 RBI             - 92 RBI               - 95 RBI
- 7 SBs (6 CS)      - 1 SBs (6 CS)     - 20 SBs (11 CS)     - 11 SBs (2 CS)

See the outlier? Tulowitzki's production actually went up from 2009-2010 (per game), partially because of a historic September, in which he hit 15 home runs and 40 RBI in three weeks. Tulo has become a precious gem at shortstop, not only because of his power and production, but also his ability to field and make the outstanding plays.

Since 2008, Tulo has changed his stance from this to a more straight-up stance, and has been keeping his weight on his back foot during his load. As he transfers his weight during his positive move, he has been staying straight up and keeping his weight between his feet. He has been bringing his bat straight to contact point, and when he goes into slumps, he tends to dip his bat head, causing a longer swing and more "roll-overs." But Colorado hitting coach Carney Lansford, a career .290 hitter, plans to keep Tulo hitting like he did last September.