(anonymous, hardworking, god fearing ballplayers, eagerly await the public relations support they richly deserve)
While suggesting the Colorado Rockies goofed in not inviting some of their all-time greats to attend Vinny Castilla’s final home game (perhaps kerb crawling Denny Neagle is a little shy about driving past Coors Field?), the Denver Post’s Troy Renck would like to see a more aggressive promo campaign for the young team.
Show pride in the kids. Put them in a TV ad or on a radio commercial, for heaven’s sake. As it stands, you could line up the Rockies shoulder to shoulder in Union Station and even the bloggers on purplerow.com would be challenged to identify them.
If the next step is really the playoffs, put money in promotion (and payroll, but that’s another column). The team’s marketing arm should not be Fox Sports Rocky Mountain. The network has done a terrific job trying to maximize its investment, but the team needs to do more.
Throw Jason Jennings, Aaron Cook and Francis in a clever commercial poking fun at the humidor. Put Holliday at a carnival ringing the bell with his Paul Bunyan bat. Show Atkins line-driving apples and oranges into his grocery cart.
I think Renck is onto something. An ad showing Dan O’Dowd confiscating Todd Helton’s copies of Maxim would be a real winner.