Game One of the World Series took place last night, and it’s easy to wonder if the Rockies will ever play in it again after making an appearance in 2007. The Rockies are stuck in nowhere land since their last World Series appearance. Sure they made the playoffs in 2009, but they lost to the Phillies in four games in the Divisional Series. They haven’t made the playoffs since.
These are tough times for the Rockies. They have their third straight losing season, and it does not look like it’s getting better anytime soon with the front office and the manager not going anywhere.
It’s hard to be optimistic about the Rockies for a long time. Everyone expects them to finish in last place with the Dodgers, Giants, Diamondbacks and Padres being better for years to come.
Rockies general manager Dan O’Dowd lost his magic touch when it comes to making deals. He did not make one move last offseason to improve the ballclub, so what’s there to be optimistic about improving this team this offseason. When’s the last time he made a great deal that improved the ballclub?
Basically, it’s more of the same. One would think change would have occurred after so many losing seasons under O’Dowd, but that’s not happening. Rockies owner Dick Monfort has showed no inclination to fire him.
O’Dowd is staying because Monfort does not have confidence in himself when it comes to hiring a general manager. He does not know anything about baseball, and he only trusts O’Dowd for reasons only he knows. He has no interest in starting up the process of hiring a new general manager since it takes work.
The Rockies owner is praying everything works out. After all, it worked out in 2007 by accident. That’s not a proper way to run a franchise.
The Cardinals and Red Sox are in the World Series because they know how to make deals, find talent and develop players well. They know how to build a team. That’s something the Rockies can’t even say.
O’Dowd has found talent, but for whatever reason, those guys don’t know how to win. Maybe it’s because the coaches in the minors don’t know how to get the young players ready to play. It was interesting to watch Charlie Blackmon, Corey Dickerson and Josh Rutledge struggle by taking bad at-bats and not doing much to move runners in scoring position this summer. This is where coaching matters.
The Rockies must have these guys ready to play once they are promoted to the majors, so that they don’t become overwhelmed when they play in the majors. This is where it’s on O’Dowd to find the right coaches. He hasn’t, and it’s hard to believe he will at this point.
The coaching in the majors isn’t any better. The Rockies are fundamentally bad when it comes to executing on offense. They can’t take good at-bats, and they don’t know how to move runners up. It was borderline laughable watching them play baseball, especially in the final two months of the season. That was why Dante Bichette figured out he was the wrong guy as the team’s hitting coach, which explains his resignation.
Don’t expect O’Dowd to get it right with the hitting coach. He hired three hitting coaches in recent years in Don Baylor, Carney Lansford and Dante Bichette, and hitters never gotten better under their tutelage. Apparently, Double-A Tulsa hitting coach Kevin Rand is the favorite for the job. It’s hard to think he will be great considering Tulsa hitters weren’t anything to write home about.
Then, there is the pitching. Yes, the starting rotation was great for the Rockies. The problem is their starters have a ridiculous pitch count, which they have to throw 100 pitches and then they are done. It worked well, but the bullpen suffered as a byproduct of the pitch count limit from the starters. It means the bullpen was overworked after being used often in the first three weeks of the season. Rex Brothers, Matt Belisle, Adam Ottavino, Edgmer Escalona and others struggled by August.
What’s the point of the rotation doing well as a result of pitch count limit if the bullpen blows leads? It’s something the organization has to reevaluate. It shouldn’t be rocket science on how to handle pitchers. If a starter is good enough to keep pitching, he should keep pitching. If anything, he is doing the relievers a favor. There’s no question Jhoulys Chacin and Tyler Chatwood could have gone deeper in the game this year.
The Rockies need to know how to utilize their pitching and how to make hitters fundamentally sound. Unfortunately, they don’t know how to do it.
O’Dowd and staff think their way is right when it’s not. They will be grasping at straws.
At some point, it isn’t going to work after all these years. What this franchise needed is a new management team with new vision on how to build a team through better player development. It would be nice if Monfort was smart enough to take a chance on someone from the Cardinals front office. Too bad it will never happen, though.
Look for more of the same for the next few years. There’s no reason to be optimistic. There’s no reason to get into the Rockies. There’s no reason to take that franchise seriously.
Makes 2007 season this much special knowing no one expected the Rockies to be in the World Series, and odds are good that it’s going to be awhile until the Rockies make another appearance in the Fall Classic.
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.
