Rockies owner Dick Monfort finally got around to talking about why his team stinks. It’s the least he could do. Too bad he did not say anything that was newsworthy.
In an interview with Denver Post’s Patrick Saunders prior to the Rockies’ 2-1 victory over the Padres yesterday, Monfort offered excuses and unconditional support for Rockies general manager Dan O’Dowd and Rockies assistant general manager Bill Geivett. He was also delusional in thinking the Rockies could still make a run for the wild-card playoff race. Maybe he was better off saying nothing rather than insulting the intelligence of the Rockies fans.
He talks about injuries and a brutal schedule as the reason the Rockies have struggled. That’s the losing culture he has created with the Rockies. He has given excuses that make it okay for everyone to fail with the Rockies.
Winning organizations don’t come up with excuses. They come up with solutions to get things done. There has to be an expectation that the team is going to win each game. With the Rockies, it’s the opposite. They expect to lose as soon as the game starts.
The Rockies have this attitude that it’s bad luck and that they will go get them next time. When the owner believes this, this filters through the front office and the players.
Every team goes through injuries. It’s not like the Rockies went through the injuries the Rangers have this season in losing plenty of their best players such as Matt Harrison, Martin Perez, Prince Fielder and Derek Holland to injuries. Sorry, but Brett Anderson, Tyler Chatwood and Jhoulys Chacin are not elite starters that would have made a difference. Losing Nolan Arenado and Carlos Gonzalez has had an effect on the offense, but even if they were healthy, this team would have stunk since they have no pitching.
The problem with the Rockies is they can’t pitch. They don’t know how to develop pitchers. They don’t know how to use their pitchers. They overuse their bullpen to the point relievers become ineffective They also don’t have pitching depth. It’s why the Rockies are relying on Franklin Morales and Jair Jurrjens in the starting rotation.
The brutal schedule is laughable. Either the team is good enough to beat these great teams or they are not. The Rockies are not good enough to beat any team with the way they are constituted. In a league of parity, great teams are not dominating, so Monfort’s brutal schedule idea does not make sense.
By citing injuries and bad luck, he is absolving his players, Walt Weiss, O’Dowd and Geivett rather than holding them accountable. This is an example of an amateur operation.
Monfort said O’Dowd and Geivett are not the problem, and that he shoulders most of the blame for the team’s problems. He is right in that regard. Blaming Monfort’s baseball people is an exercise in futility. It’s the Rockies owner’s fault for keeping them.
Monfort should have fired O’Dowd and Geivett years ago. In fact, the beleaguered Rockies general manager wanted to quit until the Rockies owner rejected his resignation. Remarkably, he believed in them then, and he believes in them now. It’s hard to believe his baseball people are not going to be fired even if the Rockies lose 100 or more games. How can anyone be optimistic when the Rockies owner expressed his support with his baseball people?
Basically, Monfort wasted everyone’s time with this interview.
No one wants to hear bad luck, excuses and all. Fans want change. It’s going to be five years in a row of no playoffs, and it’s going to be fourth losing season in a row. This team is going to lose 100 games.
There’s no way the Rockies can sell O’Dowd and Geivett to the public anymore. Any sports owner would figure it out after so many losing seasons. The Padres new ownership decided to fire Josh Byrnes as Padres general manager few weeks ago after the team was 29 games under .500. They couldn’t stomach the losses, and they are in their first year as owners.
Problem is Monfort is not your typical sports owner. He treats the Rockies like a family business. He loathes firing people. He wants to be loyal to O’Dowd and Geivett since they have put in the work. He wants to see both of them to succeed.
That’s all well and good, but sports do not work that way. It’s a results-oriented business. If a player or coach or general manager can’t get the job done, it’s time to find someone else that can. By being loyal to incompetent people, it sets the franchise back.
O’Dowd has been the Rockies general manager since September 1999. That’s a long time. No sports executive should have a job for life if he is incompetent at his job. Not even a World Series playoff appearance and a wild-card playoff appearance can save him when he is going to have 11th losing season in 15 full years on his resume.
Monfort has to do the right thing for the fans. The Rockies fans have been supportive despite bad baseball. They deserve better than this.
By continuing to keep his baseball people, Monfort will show he couldn’t care less about the fans other than collecting their money.
There was so much to be discouraged about what the clueless Rockies owner said.
The takeaway from this interview is look for more of the same next year than changes.
Contact or follow Leslie Monteiro at @LightRodWriter
Leslie Monteiro
Leslie is a contributor for Lightning Rod Sports. He covered high school sports in Bergen County out in North Jersey, and has written op-ed columns on sports such as Bleacher Report and NY Sports Digest.
