Given that it's no longer 2004, it's hard to work up much excitement for the Rockies' minor-league deal with Marcus Giles. This is a story worth reading for the remarkable lack of enthusiasm displayed by all parties; Troy Renck all but dismisses Giles' chances of making the big-league club in passing and the player's agent is quoted as saying "Of all the opportunities he had, and there weren't many, this was the best one." This is his agent! Flat-out admitting nobody wanted the guy! So much for that career.

More interesting to a Rockies fan, if you're reading between the lines, is the way the organization's official position on the second base vacancy has shifted. After the World Series the buzz was that Ian Stewart was going to be able to make the shift no problem, but now Rockies personnel are buzzing loudly to anyone with a credential that Jayson Nix is ready and indeed has been their guy all along. Look how much of Nix's media-guide bio Renck recycles into his article. Yep, he's the new anointed one. It worked wonders for Jeff Francis and Troy Tulowitzki, not so much for Chin-Hui Tsao (he'll be in Kansas City's camp this spring, true believers) and Chris Iannetta (thus far). At the very least, it won't be Neifi Perez or Jamey Carroll starting on Opening Day at second and to me that feels like progress.