Denver Post sports writer Patrick Saunders with the latest installment of his Rockies Mailbag.
Pose a Rockies- or MLB-related question for the Rockies Mailbag.
In your (recent) Sunday article, where you interviewed general manager Bill Schmidt, he used the word “execution” multiple times. Why can’t the Rockies try to execute as follows in a tight ballgame: The leadoff hitter gets a bunt single, he steals second, he advances to third on a fielder’s choice and comes home on a sacrifice fly?
— Judy, Denver
Judy, forgive me, but your question prompts a legendary sports quote. When John McKay was coaching the terrible Tampa Bay Bucs, a reporter asked McKay, “What do you think of your team’s execution coach?” To which McKay replied, “I’m in favor of it.”
The problem with your scenario is that the Rockies simply aren’t built to play that way. Few of their players are reliable bunters (that’s true of most big-league players). And although the Rockies have a little more team speed than they used to, beyond Brenton Doyle and Nolan Jones, they lack true base stealers.
Bunting, as you probably know, is a dying art, in part because trying to bunt on a 99 mph fastball is very difficult.
But your main point is accurate. The Rockies — who lack home run power — need to be better playing “chain-reaction” baseball. When Schmidt said, “At some point, you have to focus on somebody else and not necessarily yourself,” I think that’s part of what he was getting at.
When will fans and media learn that “on-pace” talk is meaningless early in a baseball season? Baseball performance is cyclical, not linear.
— Dom, Longmont
Dom, I’m guilty as charged. I am among those who have projected the Rockies’ record based on their current winning percentage. With their current .317 winning percentage, they are on pace to finish 51-115. To paraphrase some former pop singer, “Oops, I did it again.”
I’m not sure such speculation is “meaningless.” Baseball has always been about trends and numbers. Early in the season, “on-pace” is a tool to describe how well or poorly a team or player is performing. It’s a long season, full of ebbs and flows. Are early season projections often off-base? Yep, but it doesn’t bug me too much.
Hi Patrick, this is probably a repetitive question, but who, if anyone, is on the hot seat right now? Or are (owner) Dick Monfort and his merry band of inept brothers fully confident in the 2028 season and think this is just a rough patch? How’s the season treating you so far? Since you have to go to games, what do you do to make it enjoyable aside from filling in on Nuggets and other team coverage when asked? Thanks, as always, for your reporting. Hang in there.
— Joe, Denver
Joe, as I write this, the Rockies have pulled out of their tailspin and won five games in a row. They’re still on track to lose 100 games, but as far as I know, no one’s job is in jeopardy, at least not right now. At the end of the season, things could change.
Here’s the thing: Although the Rockies brass hasn’t said it publicly, the team is in a reconstruction phase and is willing to endure an up-and-down season and a bad record. And the truth is, if the Rockies came out and said, “We are in a rebuild and there are going to be some tough times,” fans would be angry about that, too.
As for your other question, I try to remind myself that sitting in the press box at a major league ballpark and writing about baseball is a great job. Because it is. However, covering a losing team is difficult because the clubhouse is often deserted, and players don’t like talking to the media when the team is losing. Also, finding things to write about when a team is bad is tough. Readership plummets, too. That’s why covering the Nuggets or high school sports on occasion is a breath of fresh air.
There isn’t another team in baseball that wouldn’t have fired Bud Black long ago. Unfortunately, since ownership doesn’t care about winning, it also doesn’t care who the manager is. What a difference there is between Black and Michael Malone or Sean Payton. If nothing else, the Rockies need a new voice at the helm — one that will get the players, media and fans excited. Until that happens, all concerned will continue to accept losing that is also complacent and boring. My question: Who would be a good candidate and actually accept the job? As one idea, the Rockies might be the perfect fit for a young, successful minor league manager who is blocked from advancement. What does the team have to lose? It literally can’t get much worse.
— Greg, Broomfield
Greg, let me answer your question with a question. Do you really think another manager could take the talent Black has to work with and produce a winning team? I don’t think so.
Handing the reins over to a young, inexperienced manager is not necessarily the answer. Having said that, if Black does not return next season (his contract ends after this season), I could see the Rockies promoting third base/infield coach Warren Schaeffer as their next manager. He has the players’ respect and is a dynamic, hard-working baseball guy.
Do you think MLB would ever consider the format of relegating teams like they do in the Premier League in soccer? In a system of promotion and relegation, the best-ranked team(s) in a lower division are promoted to a higher division for the next season, and the worst-ranked team(s) in the higher division are relegated to the lower division for the next season. It might give teams/fans like the Rockies something more to cheer about, and the term “Hope springs eternal” might mean something.
— Tired of Hoping, Centennial
Dear “Tired,” I don’t see that ever happening. Major League Baseball has undergone major changes recently, but your suggestion is too radical. The expanded playoffs give decent teams a chance to get hot and win it all. The Diamondbacks are a perfect example. They won only 84 games last season and had to squeak into the playoffs but then advanced to the World Series.
For the Rockies, the answer could be playing in a new division in the future. When MLB expands to 32 teams in a few years, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Rockies in a new division and out of the shadow of the Dodgers, the perennial kings of the NL West.
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