(Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports)
Anyone that knows baseball understands this season is over for all intents and purposes for the Rockies. That team is bad enough that it’s hard to be optimistic, and it does not help they are plagued with injuries. After a forgettable 1-5 homestand, Rockies fans have to endure three more months of bad Rockies baseball after this week is over.
The only thing intriguing about the Rockies is their potential of losing 100 or more games. This team is capable of doing so with most of their starters on the disabled list along with couple of their superstars. It’s hard to believe they are coming back anytime soon even if the Rockies think so. This is a team that encourages guys to come back at a slow pace.
It’s bad enough the Rockies are a terrible baseball operation, but it’s even worse when they are horrible when it comes to watching fundamentals. They can’t hit, pitch or field. The Rockies starting rotation has a 5.13 ERA, and the Rockies bullpen has a 4.56 ERA.
This homestand exposed how bad they are. The Rockies served up home runs like it was batting practice. This is a team that let the Brewers score three runs on a wild pitch in the second game of the homestand. This is a team that had baserunning blunders. This is a team that was horrible defensively. This is a team that continues to strand runners at the home plate.
Watching the Brewers and Cardinals in the Rockies’ homestand, there is a disparity when it comes with those teams and the Rockies. Forget just the pitching. The Brewers and Cardinals are so fundamentally better. Unlike the Rockies, both teams know how to create offense, get the key hits and field better.
This speaks volumes of how bad Walt Weiss and his staff are at their job when it comes to developing their players. It does not speak well about how the players are being worked in the minors. The Rockies often play like they are overmatched in playing Major League Baseball.
This isn’t just this year. This has gone on too often for this troubled franchise.
It’s bad enough this Rockies team is bad, but it’s even worse that they are boring to watch. This is what happens when the Rockies used 12 different starters this season as a result of injuries and guys being awful. This is what happens when the bullpen is hideous and overworked that they decided to call up Wilton Lopez over the weekend. Basically, this season is about tryouts for next season when one watches Tyler Matzek, Christian Bergman and possibly Yohan Flande. Not even the beauty of Coors Field and Party Deck can cover up this garbage.
It’s going to get worse before it gets better. It will be a matter of time until the guys have mentally given up if they haven’t already. A long season makes it easy for guys to give in. This is the losing culture the Rockies have created under Dan O’Dowd forever.
With the way this season has gone, there is not going to be motivation for Nolan Arenado, Tyler Chatwood, Jordan Lyles, Carlos Gonzalez and others to come back. The Rockies can make a case they are better off not reinjuring themselves and lose next season. That’s something O’Dowd and Bill Geivett will consider.
Even if this team loses 100 games, it won’t get Dick Monfort to fire his baseball people. He trusts them, and he does not have the motivation to hire someone new that can clean up this mess. It’s remarkable he feels that way. After horrible drafts and awful baseball over the years, one would think an owner would want to make changes.
It wouldn’t be surprising if the Rockies have a season like this next year or year after that. This is the losing culture that has been created with guys playing bad baseball and accepting losing as a way of life. To the Rockies, it’s all about bad luck and it’s hard to win games. There are not many guys outside of Troy Tulowitzki that get worked up about losing.
This Rockies team reminds me of the 1999 Rockies, and that’s the ultimate insult. The 1999 Rockies are the worst Rockies team ever. Not only they were inept in all facets of the game, but they were disgusting to watch. This current team is no better.
100 losses are certainly feasible for this sorry franchise, and the Rockies don’t have to dream big for this one.
This is what we have to look forward this summer.
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.
