It's a shame how badly the decisionmakers there have bungled things the last 7-10 years or more. If the Rockies were in the private sector, say, a tech company in the Silicon Valley, those men would be out of business by now. Too bad there isn't a Rockies board that could vote out the lot of them and bring in a GM like Billy Beane and owners who were stable and smart. Beane would figure out how to sell opportunity, how to turn Coors Field into an advantage. You could bet he would never have given out all of those dumb contracts. And he wouldn't be wasting time with the Mabrys and Finleys.

What should be done?

Trade Helton and probably Fuentes. The Helton contract is just too big for the Rockies. They owe Helton nearly $24 million in 2011, counting the buyout. One more back strain could make Helton untradeable. Should have been dealt 2-3 years ago. Can't afford to be sentimental anymore. Trade him. Salvage the best possible deal, even if it involves moving Fuentes as well. The Braves need pitching. Go after Saltamalacchia -- he could platoon with Iannetta at catcher and be a spot starter at 1B. Might be a stud for the next 10 years. Very exciting advanced prospect. Cut the best possible financial deal on Helton and plow that money into the draft, the Dominican baseball market and maybe a Holliday extension, although Boras probably wouldn't bite.

Go after more upside on the margins and stop dragging down the roster with "veteran presence" guys like Mabry and Finley. The Rockies will end up flushing nearly $2 million on these guys. Finley is an out machine. Silly to have him on the roster, one of those fringe killers that a team with a thin talent margin should never do. Taveras is there to catch flyballs. No need for Finley. Rockies should have gotten 4A outfielder with more upside, even if he had flaws, maybe a Fred Lewis or a Jack Cust, someone who could punish a mediocre pitch, who could take advantage of the good hitting conditions in Denver.

Get a GM who has an effective, creative vision and, this is really important, the guts to take on ownership. It's hard to know if O'Dowd is really this incompetent, because every time the front office screws up -- contracts to Hampton, Neagle, Helton -- the apologists blame it on the owners. Isn't part of a being a good GM to educate the owners and keep them from interfering to the point where they are a problem? Easy for me to say, of course. If O'Dowd, in fact, is strictly a yes man, it's been a financially wise decision on his part. But why should fans continue to support a braintrust that continues to make errors of omission and comission? The ones of omission get overlooked -- but if you had a GM like Beane, you would see how it can be done. The scouting director seems to have half a clue. Maybe they should give him more power.