Colorado Rockies news and links for Friday, October 11, 2024
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, one of the definitions for the word competitive is “eager to do better than others in an activity, esp. trying to win in a sports activity.”
It’s not a word that usually needs defining, especially in the sports world. But it seems like the Rockies might need a refresher.
Earlier this week, the team announced that manager Bud Black will be back for his ninth season and the team doesn’t anticipate making any big change after going 120-204 (.370) in the last two years and 359-510 (.413) over the last six seasons. Sure, assistant hitting coach P.J. Pilittere and bullpen coach Reid Cornelius won’t be back, but pitching coach Darryl Scott and hitting coach Hensley “Bam Bam” Muelens will be after abysmal performances from the rotation, bullpen and offense. It’s not a great showing of an eagerness to “do better.”
Even worse, GM Bill Schmidt revealed the true level of the organization’s winning desire with a statement quoting him released by the team:
“Our organization is committed to giving our fans the winning team that they deserve. We believe the foundation we’re building with our core roster and our farm system, along with Buddy’s skills, experience, and knowledge are instrumental in achieving our goal of playing games in October.”
This is a perfect summation of the winning attitude at 20th and Blake. For the Rockies, the goal is not winning the World Series. Clenching that last Wild Card spot and bowing out in the first round, that’s what championships are made of for the Colorado Rockies — just making it to October.
The Rockies have endless problems from the Kris Bryant contract and the countless strikeouts to a starter not having double-digit wins since 2021 (Germán Márquez’s 12). But the biggest vacancy in the franchise is the desire to build a winning culture where the expectation is a World Series Championship.
The inability to bring in new perspectives and move on from old losing ways is engrained in the Colorado Rockies DNA. This is reflected in the national media where the team is absent or, worse, the joke, of the baseball world.
When it comes to ineptitude and lack of the competitive spirit, it often feels like the Rockies are in a league of their own. But Colorado might not be as alone as it feels like it is.
Earlier in September, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal wrote a scathing rebuke on the lack of competitive desire in several MLB franchises in an article titled “Why front-office changes for most underachieving MLB teams appear unlikely.”
In the article, Rosenthal notes how teams like the Blue Jays, Cardinals, Mariners, Giants, Reds and Pirates seem unlikely to make changes despite losing seasons. In the lowest tier, Rosenthal places four organizations in the “teams barely even bothered to try” category: the White Sox, A’s, Marlins and Rockies.
All the underachieving teams Rosenthal calls out in his article have something in common: the desire to be content with familiarity and losing, which generates enough money to be very comfortable, over the drive to be competitive.
Rosenthal also explains that scapegoating managers and trading out personnel without changing operating procedures or franchise philosophies is basically equivalent to improving a hitting approach by bunting more. Not only will it not help, it will make things worse as teams continue to run “what amounts to a borderline con.”
Since 2021, MLB teams have finished with 100 or more losses 15 times. The Rockies, Pirates, A’s and White Sox have each done it twice in that span, while the Nationals, Orioles, Rangers, Reds, Royals and Marlins have each accomplished the toilet bowl feat once.
The Rangers won a World Series and the Orioles and Royals have changed fundamentally and rebounded remarkably, earning postseason bids. The Reds fired David Bell in August and recently hired Terry Francona. Since Rosenthal published his article, the Giants fired GM Farhan Zaidi and put Buster Posey in as team president. The Rockies express confidence in building a winning foundation, but with change that can only be seen with a microscope.
Rosenthal ended his article with a hard truth that seems to capture the Rockies operating principle perfectly:
“In most cases, the problem starts with ownership, not the head of baseball operations. … Financial commitment is one thing. Emotional commitment is another, and too many owners see no need to make that type of investment. Stability and continuity represent the easy way out, even when such noble concepts fail to produce results. When financial success is attainable without on-field success, why rock the boat?”
While many Rockies fans were hoping at least for a managerial change to offer a dash of hope for change, under Dick Monfort’s familiarity-first leadership, putting another manager in charge of the same losing system isn’t likely to generate new results anyway. It will likely take a top-down change that prioritizes risk-taking to chart a new course.
The Rockies are choosing not to rock the boat, so it’s hard to imagine sailing into a winning season anytime soon.
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5 questions the Rockies must resolve this offseason | MLB.com
One could suggest there are more than five questions on a long list of much-needed improvements, but Thomas Harding gives a starting point with a handful of areas the Rockies should focus on to get more tallies in the win column.
PHOTOS: A Look Back at Charlie Blackmon’s Final Homestand | Rockies Blog
There are dozens of excellent photos from Chuck Nazty’s final weekend as a Colorado Rockie. There are great shots of Blackmon and his family, fans paying tribute, No. 19 mowed into the center field grass and more.
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Arizona Fall League
Salt River Rafters 6, Mesa Solar Sox 4
The Salt River Rafters improved to 2-1 with the help of the Rockies 2022 draft pick and Boulder native Skyler Messinger. The infielder hit an RBI single, drew two walks and scored one in a three-run seventh inning that lifted the Rafters over the Solar Sox on Thursday. Second baseman Ryan Ritter drew a walk and scored a run to overcome striking out three times and left fielder Juan Guerrero went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts.
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