Nolan Arenado and Troy Tulowitzki disagree on Rockies’ atmosphere

You might think an opportunity to play for a winning franchise, compete in the playoffs and get at least a sniff of the World Series would be enough to help Troy Tulowitzki get over his bitterness about being traded from Colorado to Toronto last season.

Apparently not.

Tulowitzki still holds a major grudge against the organization he came up in and one of his recent comments inspired a retort from friend and former teammate Nolan Arenado.

[2016 Yahoo Fantasy Baseball is open for business. Sign up now]

Tulowitzki told USA Today on Monday, “I’ll never talk to him, never talk to those people,” in reference to Colorado’s front office led by GM Jeff Bridich.

But that isn’t the part that Arenado decided to respond to. Tulowitzki said he prefers going through his first spring training with the Blue Jays, who must take a bus 31/2 miles to the practice fields, to the Rockies’ five-star, 185,000 square-foot spring training facility in Scottsdale, Ariz.

“I like this place a lot better than Arizona,’’ Tulowitzki told the newspaper. “That place was like a country club. Guys got comfortable because it was so nice.

“This place has a better feel. It reminds you of spring training. The way it’s supposed to be.’’

[The D-backs are adding a dog park to Chase Field]

Arenado took issue with his friend’s characterization of the Rockies spring training atmosphere, even pointing out that even he believes Tulowitzki is just having a difficult time getting over his hard feelings toward the organization.

“I’ve told you that Tulo is my boy, and he still is my friend,” Arenado told the Denver Post. “But obviously, Tulo has some anger still. I don’t know if it’s the right way to be saying it in the media, but that’s his business and that’s how he’s handling it.

“But I don’t think it’s a country club here. I think it’s just a matter of guys putting their work in. I don’t agree with the ‘country club’ statement.”

While Tulowitzki might be roughing it when it comes to getting to the fields each day and having adequate room in the Toronto spring clubhouse and weight room, he’s quite comfortable off the field. He purchased a home on the water in Palm Harbor near the Blue Jays spring facility this year.

More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:

Grandstanding: A Yahoo Sports podcast
Subscribe via iTunes or via RSS feed

– – – – – – –

Kyle Ringo is a contributing writer to Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KyleRingo