---

Valve Promises A Trio Of Surprises This Year
We hang on every word Valve says. When you're the company behind Half-Life, Left 4 Dead and Portal, you earn that kind of attention. Well, in a recent interview, Valve head Gabe Newell said we can expect at least three big surprises in the coming year.

"I can guarantee you people are going to be surprised at stuff we do. That isn't going to stop any time soon. I'm just laughing because... people will be shocked again," Valve boss Gabe Newell told PC Gamer. "We have three pretty big surprises in the next 12 months at least."

---

---

Did keeping Dexter Fowler in AAA for most of the season cost the Colorado Rockies the division?

It's easy to point at Fowler's numbers in August and September and say, no, it wouldn't have made a difference in the long run. Fowler was only one player - how exactly would he have made up three games in the standings? Especially when it looks like he still had adjustments to make? But still, the more you look at the numbers, the more you can't help but wonder. Plugging Fowler in centerfield from the beginning would have had two major benefits for the team.

1) Fowler would have replaced Spillborghs or Lambo in the lineup, providing the Rockies with a steady source of OBP at the top of their lineup. Despite finishing with the second highest team OBP in the league, the Rockies only managed one player with an OBP higher than .400 (the ageless Todd Helton), and even the best offensive threats in the Rockies lineup (Ian Stewart, Carlos Gonzalez, and Todd Helton) struggled against LHPs. Fowler has always hit right-handed pitchers a bit harder than lefties, but as a switch hitter, he would have given the Rockies an edge against lefty specialists while providing the Rockies lineup with a more road-friendly game. Behind Gonzalez, the second best outfielder was Ryan Spillborghs, who did the majority of his damage against LHPs and in Coors.

2) The outfield defensive alignment would have favored the Rockies a bit more. Fowler provides one of the better gloves in the league in centerfield - check out his eye-popping ZR numbers in AAA - and would have allowed Gonzalez to shift to a corner spot, where his talents are better suited. With Gonzalez at one corner, and Spillborghs a franchise favorite, this would have meant less at-bats for Lambo and Hawpe, both of whom have very little business playing in a corner outfield spot in Major League Baseball. Having the proper alignment of outfielders from the gate may have helped the Rockies defense, which ranked 10th in the league in BABIP.

The offense and defense that Fowler provided, when considered in the context of his "replacements," may have been enough to give the Rockies and extra win or two and, at the very least, create a photo finish in the NL West. One might argue that, the Rockies overachieved to finish as well as they did, and Fowler would not have helped very much in that regard. Maybe so, maybe not.

But the Rockies did themselves a disservice by not fielding their best possible team in 2011. Here is hoping they have learned their lesson for next year and beyond.

---

---

FULLERTON, Calif. – Mark Prior is facing a rag-tag team called the Tijuana Cimarrones for the second time in two days. The back-to-back appearances mark a milestone in his comeback from multiple maladies and surgeries, from replacing a debilitating pocketful of if-onlys with hope.

---

---

A. Free Agents
(a) In the offseason free agent period, free agents may be signed by owners by making offers in OOTP and uploading them via FTP or by sending offers via PM to the commissioner. (b) In season will work exactly the same as offseason.(c) Teams may not sign free agents once the season ends until the free agent filing date has occurred. (d) Total contract bonuses may not exceed the highest annual value of a contract.

---