Denver Post sports writer Patrick Saunders with the latest installment of his Rockies Mailbag.
We had a number of questions — and a lot of rants and long-winded complaints – from frustrated fans regarding Rockies general manager Jeff Bridich. I’m going to limit the discussion to two.
After another atrocious season, Bridich is firmly cemented as the worst executive in baseball, and possibly in major North American sports. How many more years do you think he has before (owner Dick Monfort) realizes what the rest of us have known for years, and sends Bridich packing?
— Will, Erie
If the Rockies are going to make a switch and fire Bridich, how soon can we expect it? If not, how soon can we expect them to tell us he’s staying? Any idea on his contract?
— Blake, Denver
Will and Blake, I’m going to handle your questions together.
First of all, I do not think Monfort is going to fire Bridich. Would I be shocked if it happened? No, but I would be surprised.
As for Bridich being “the worse executive” in North American sports, I don’t think that’s true and there is no way to measure it. I think that’s hyperbole from a frustrated fan.
Anyway, here are a few reasons why I think Bridich will remain as the Rockies GM:
1. Monfort is very loyal and thinks of the team as his family. He likes continuity and normalcy in his operation. He doesn’t like change. I’m not saying this is always wise, but I think it’s the current reality.
2. The Rockies went to the playoffs in back-to-back seasons in 2017-18, something the franchise had never done before. I believe that bought Bridich a lot of good will. My contention, however, is that the Rockies failed to capitalize on their window of talent and opportunity. We all know that is why Nolan Arenado was upset with the organization. But a lot of that rests on Monfort’s shoulders. He holds the purse strings.
3. Despite Colorado’s poor showing over the last two seasons, the abbreviated, 60-game season bought Bridich some time, at least in Monfort’s eyes.
As for Bridich’s contract, I don’t know the money of the deal or the length of it. I don’t think anyone in the media has that information.
How’s that Rockies monument to runners left in scoring position in front of Coors coming along?
— Jeff, Elizabeth
Jeff, what were you thinking? Replace the baseball statue near Gate D at 20th and Blake? Maybe they could introduce new “RISP Hotdog” at Coors Field — all bun, plenty of mustard, but no meat.
I kid because I care.
But there is no question that lack of key hits doomed the Rockies in 2020. A handful of big hits could have turned the season around. They would have taken the pressure off and produced a few more wins. That’s all it would have taken to get the Rockies into the expanded postseason this fall.
Patrick, thanks for your coverage of this team. It had to be particularly hard this year.
Question 1: How will the reduced revenue from COVID-19 affect the Rockies (and other “have-nots”) as compared to the Dodgers (and other “haves”)?
Question 2: How do other MLB organizations view the Rockies?
— Tony Frey, Highlands Ranch
Tony, let’s start with question No. 1. The Dodgers annually lead the majors in attendance, so having no fans might hurt them more than the Rockies. But I don’t think the virus will tip baseball’s financial landscape much in either direction. More and more, baseball teams make their money through TV and internet streaming deals.
Your second question is very broad and difficult for me to answer. I think the Rockies are considered a first-call organization and I know that manager Bud Black is well-liked and well-regarded around the game.
Agents have told me that the Rockies can be difficult to deal with, but agents always have an agenda, so I take that with a grain of salt.
How much has the perceived void left by Keli McGregor’s untimely death set the Rockies back? It feels like Monfort is extremely loyal to his charges, which is to be admired, but there’s also no one in his ear that he trusts, telling him change is needed.
— Kevin M., Littleton
Kevin, McGregor died more than 10 years ago, so I don’t think we can still talk about a “void.” However, I have said for some time that I believe Monfort should hire a team president — from outside the organization – to add a fresh and different point of view. I also think it would take some duties off of Monfort’s shoulders.
Hi Patrick, I read your very good analysis Sunday of what went wrong with the Rockies both this year and last and I value your insight. Your analysis of the lack of effectiveness of Bridich was spot on. I was hoping for a similar analysis as to the effectiveness of Black. It seems to me that sportswriters give him a pass. Why?
My view: Black is a gentleman, knows his X’s and O’s, knows all the clichés and is very good at stating the obvious. But there is little evidence I can see that he holds his players accountable for bad base running, missing the cut-off man or getting picked off first. At times they looked like a high school team. Black is a players’ coach to a fault and too much old school. How many times this past year did he leave a starter in until the opponent scores five or six runs, all the while his team was struggling to score? Or, not sitting Arenado or Charlie Blackmon or Story down when it was obvious they needed a break but the player didn’t want it. I think a change is needed. We need fresh ideas. Thanks.
— Bruce Dickinson, Louisville
Bruce, you’re not the first one to accuse me, and other writers, of giving Black a free pass. I think there is some validity to that charge. Black is a friendly, charismatic man and he’s good at answering questions without making waves. He does that on purpose.
Having said that, I have spoken with Black enough times off the record, and off camera, to know that he has a fiery side and I know that he’s not afraid to take players to task. Black, however, is never going to throw one of his players under the bus in public. He sees no benefit in doing so.
Believe me, when Ramiel Tapia misses a cutoff man or Ryan McMahon throws to the wrong base, they hear about it. We just don’t hear about it. Kyle Freeland has told me that Black can be pretty harsh when it’s needed.
Black was not perfect this season. I believe, given how bad some of the Rockies relievers were, that he should have pushed the envelope with his starters a little more. I wondered why he stuck with Daniel Murphy at first base as long as he did when it was apparent to me that Murphy is no longer a dynamic fielder and was hurting the team with his poor defense.
You mention that he should have sat Arenado, Blackmon and Story more often, but I would counter with this question: what were his alternatives?
Is it time for a total rebuild? Outside of Story, Tapia, Josh Fuentes, Tony Wolters, Garrett Hampson, Freeland, German Marquez, Antonio Senzatela and Jon Gray, is there anyone else in their future plans? Yes, I left off Arenado (who doesn’t want to be here), Blackmon (DH only) and David Dahl (injuries).
The most important addition should be a team president. What coaches will not be invited back? Thanks for another great year of coverage in the most difficult of situations.
— Robert Emmerling, Parker
Robert, I’ll start with the last things first. As I mentioned above, I do think the Rockies should hire a team president, though I have no idea if that will happen. As for dismissing coaches, I’m sure there will be some turnover, there almost always is. The hitting coaches, Dave Madigan and Jeff Salazar, might be under the gun given Colorado’s poor offensive production, but I’m not going to speculate on their jobs.
As far as future plans, I’m betting the Rockies will attempt to re-sign Kevin Pillar. He’s exactly the kind of player the team likes and he showed he can handle the spacious outfield at Coors. Right-handed reliever Mychal Givens will be back and is arbitration eligible.
As for Arenado, I think he’s in limbo. There are no guarantee the Rockies will trade him or even attempt to do so. He’ll make $35 million next season and you have to wonder if a team will want to pick that up, particularly since Arenado can opt out after 2021. He also has a no-trade clause in his contract.
I would imagine it would be difficult to sign Story to an extension, while keeping Arenado. Is it fair to assume the Rockies are more inclined to trade the player that’s not happy with the organization’s current state? What are the odds this happens this offseason? Are the interested teams going to be the usual suspects? (Cubs, Cardinals, Dodgers, etc.)
— Jon, Aurora
Jon, as I mentioned above, the Arenado situation is in limbo. Story, due to make $17.5 million next season, could be the more tradeable player. But, as Black likes to say, “It takes two to tango,” so predicting trades is very difficult. If the Rockies were able to pull off a decent trade for Arenado and get some quality pieces in return, I believe they would do so. That could open the door for a long-term deal for Story, who is a free agent after 2021. But does Story want to stay in Colorado or would he prefer to test the open market and have more control of his destiny? I don’t know that answer to that.
In retrospect, the Rockies were only three wins away from entering the playoffs. Why did they not exhibit a sense of urgency, as seen by using unproven players?
— Judy Frieman, Denver
Judy, I’m going to disagree with you on this. The reason the Rockies tried so many “unproven players” is because they did feel a sense of urgency. They were trying to figure out a lineup that could produce runs on a consistent basis. The proven players, such as Arenado, Story and McMahon failed to come through with runners in scoring position. Murphy slumped after a hot start, as did Blackmon. If Black had found a productive lineup, he would have stuck with it. As it happened, one of the “unproven” players who ended up having one of Colorado’s best seasons was rookie first baseman Fuentes.
Hi Patrick, I know pitching at altitude has always been blamed but what are the records of someone like Clayton Kershaw, Johnny Cueto (when SF was good), Randy Johnson (with Arizona), etc., at Coors Field? Guys from other NL West teams that have pitched here a lot throughout their career. I’d be curious if it affects them or if they’re better pitchers on better teams and therefore win more at Coors Field. My hunch tells me it’s the latter. Conversely, are our “best” pitchers that much better on the road than at home? Lots of variables here but still curious about your take. Thanks for hanging in there with the coverage these past two seasons. Great job as always!
— Joe Covell, Denver
Joe, let me start off by providing you with some data:
- Kershaw is 11-5 with a 4.44 ERA in 23 career games at Coors Field. Good, but hardly dominant.
- Johnson was 7-5 with a 4.01 ERA in 13 career games at Coors. OK, but not great.
- Cueto is 5-2 with a 3.29 ERA in nine career starts at Coors. That’s pretty darn good.
- I’ll give you one more to chew on. Hall of Famer Greg Maddux, who hated pitching in Denver, was 8-2 with a 5.19 ERA in 14 starts here. Not exactly a picnic.
I do think the aforementioned pitchers won, in part, because they pitched for better teams. But they are also guys who knew how to battle, altitude or no altitude.
As for the Rockies, the overall numbers tell you that yes, their pitchers are better on the road than at home, at least statistically.
But that is not always the case, and the bottom line, at least from the Rockies’ perspective, is that their starter outperforms their opponent’s starter.
- Anyway, consider Colorado three best starters from 2020:
- German Marquez was 1-4 with a 5.68 ERA at home vs. 3-2 with a 2.06 ERA on the road.
- Antonio Senzatela was 3-0 with a 2.10 ERA at home vs. 2-3 with a 4.62 ERA on the road.
- Kyle Freeland was 1-1 with a 4.46 ERA at home vs. 1-2 with a 4.18 ERA on the road.
- By the way, all three were hurt by lack of run support.
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