So much for the glamour of this fall's free-agent pitching market.

First, the Chicago White Sox signed Mark Buehrle to a four-year, $56 million extension, then the Chicago Cubs reupped Carlos Zambrano for five years and $91.5 million.

Now the 28 other teams have to get in line while fans wait to find out who's going to be this year's jackpot winner among free-agent pitchers.

There won't be any Barry Zito- type deals this year (seven years, $126 million), but there could be a line for those head-shaking, middle-of-the-rotation signings like a year ago when the Cubs gave Ted Lilly $40 million over four years and Jason Marquis $21 million over three years, Philadelphia signed Adam Eaton for three years and $24.5 million, Kansas City gave Gil Meche $55 million for five years, Vicente Padilla received $33.75 million for three years from Texas, Milwaukee gave Jeff Suppan $42 million over four years and the Dodgers gambled $47 million over three years on Jason Schmidt's ability to stay healthy.

Just how slim are the pickings without Buehrle and Zambrano?

Well, discussions of the top 10 available free-agent pitchers include mention of Roger Clemens, who most likely will retire this time; Curt Schilling, who should retire; and Bartolo Colon, who has seemingly retired, with only 26 appearances since he won the Cy Young in 2005.

Jason Jennings thought he was poised to take advantage of free agency when he turned down a three-year, $24 million deal from the Rockies a year ago, indicating he was looking for at least $12 million, and possibly $15 million, a year.

The Rockies dealt him to Houston. And now fate has dealt him a bad hand. A balky right elbow, which kept Jennings from throwing between starts in the second half last year, finally sidelined him. Jennings is headed to elbow surgery, the extent of which won't be known until the doctors operate.

Injuries also will torpedo the market for free agents-in-waiting Kenny Rogers, Freddy Garcia, Randy Wolf, Matt Clement, Jaret Wright, Jon Lieber and Rodrigo Lopez.

Overheard

• Former Boston and Montreal general manager Dan Duquette has surfaced as a candidate for the CEO job in Pittsburgh.

• Left-hander Kenny Rogers says he will re-sign with Detroit or retire.

• Manager Joe Maddon figures to have the two-year option on his contract picked up by Tampa Bay.

Sneak peek

The Cubs signed Zambrano to his five-year deal last week. For a look at five-year deals each team has signed in the past five years, check out team-by-team notes at RockyMountainNews.com/rockies.

Readers' turn

David Simmons writes, "With (Garrett) Atkins starting for the second time at first base Wednesday, do you think the Rockies would consider trading (Todd) Helton in order to have Atkins and (Ian) Stewart at the corner positions?"

David,that certainly would be a consideration, but there are some obstacles to overcome in that regard, which start with how much of Helton's contract the Rockies would have to assume to get a team interested and finding a team that Helton would approve for a trade, if there is any. There also will be the question of the defensive difference between Atkins and Helton and whether Atkins' bat would make up for that. The other thing to consider would be, what is the return for Atkins or Helton in a trade?

Would Atkins be able to bring you a return that makes you a lot stronger team and, therefore, make it more advisable to go that route? Those are all considerations that teams weigh.

For responses to other questions or to ask questions of your own, go to the Rockies Pregame Report or Rockies Inbox at RockyMountainNews.com/rockies.

Two cents' worth

Alex Rodriguez may opt to become a free agent. And he may, as agent Scott Boras predicts, wind up with a $30 million- a-year salary, up $3 million from where he is now. But the question arises about whether the Yankees would be involved in the bidding.

Yes, they spend money. But to sign Rodriguez for $30 million isn't simply a $3 million-a-year addition to the payroll. It's more than four times that. Remember, Texas is paying a major portion of Rodriguez's annual salary.

The way the contract breaks down, the Yankees are obligated for slightly less than $51 million to Rodriguez over the next three seasons - around $17 million annually, which means they would have to add $13 million or so to the payroll to keep Rodriguez if he claims the $30 million annual payday that has been mentioned.

MILE HIGH WATCH

Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki could suffer from Todd Helton Syndrome in his bid to be named National League Rookie of the Year.

Tulowitzki is putting together a steady rookie season in which he progressively has improved, showing offensive and defensive skills at a premium position. But he has not had a dramatic stretch to catch the attention of voters.

He was overshadowed early this season by Houston outfielder Hunter Pence. When Pence headed to the disabled list, Milwaukee third baseman Ryan Braun powered into the limelight with his home run-hitting ability, which seems to overshadow the fact he has 20 errors.

In 1998, Helton started slowly and finished strong but came in second to Kerry Wood in the NL Rookie of the Year voting.

Wood got the national media's attention when he struck out 20 Houston Astros on May 6 that season at Wrigley Field and was 13-6 with a 3.40 ERA.

But in August that year, he was 2-1 with a 4.74 ERA in six starts, and arm problems forced him to sit out all of September, the start of what has become a troubling career path.

Only twice in nine seasons has Wood made 30 or more starts.

While the Rockies shortstop might not have the sizzle of Braun, there's no question scouts and opposing managers and coaches have been impressed with Tulowitzki, who has put to rest the silly rumors he was too big to play shortstop.

He has been compared with the game's elite defensive shortstops and has the numbers to back that up, ranking second in fielding while having more total chances than any other shortstop.

He also has shown a knack for driving in clutch runs. His 16 go-ahead RBI are only three short of the franchise record for a rookie that Helton set in 1998. And and he has shown power with 17 home runs, 15 since June 7.

ringolsbyt@RockyMountainNews.com

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