What’s next for Dick Monfort and Colorado? A first-time manager in Mark DeRosa or Tony Vitello?

What’s next for Dick Monfort and Colorado? A first-time manager in Mark DeRosa or Tony Vitello?

Welcome in to the Rockies Insider. I am your Rocky’s Insider, Patrick Lions, and with me on the start of the League Championship Series, it’s none other than my good buddy, Mr. Kevin Henry of the Gazette and Just Baseball and just about everywhere else. What’s up? Everywhere else. Hey, good to see you, brother. How are you? You’re a man of the world. So, I’m glad to finally pin you down when you aren’t traveling overseas for international baseball, Dominican Winter League stuff. I mean, I’m sure you’ve got that plan eventually. Oh, yeah. Well, I mean, I do have some Arizona Fall League plans, so I’m excited about that. I haven’t even told you that yet. So, but no, good to be here in Northern Colorado and I’m ready for some good baseball, man. Absolutely. Yeah. I want to talk a little bit about this this postseason and you know some some players who have been made the GOAT and not the greatest of all time but hey there are the reason that your team may no longer be playing in the postseason and who’s that been for the Rockies right who’s been that guy that has has failed in uh in in the postseason or at critical moments. We’ll talk about that in a moment but you brought up the Arizona Fall League. Do you know what’s happening in Phoenix right now? It’s a hurricane, dude. It’s crazy. There’s no Arizona Fall League news. I wanted to talk about that today. But Hurricane Pris Priscilla Yep. It cancels all cancelled the AFL Tucson triple header planned on Saturday. The games on Sunday were cancelled. I did not know Arizona could get hurricanes. Yeah, it’s it’s crazy. My mother-in-law lives in Tucson and was saying how, you know, they’re having flood watches and everything else. And certainly, you know, they get their monsoons here or there, but not from a hurricane. That’s That’s a new one for sure. And they get haboos. They get these like wind storms. Apparently, there’s only been like eight Maybe this will be the ninth tropical storm since 1965 that Arizona has gotten. And the last one was in 1997. Wow. It’s So, this is actually would be the first one since the Arizona Diamondbacks have existed since they came about in ’98. That’s an interesting way to put it. Interesting. the Weather Channel meets his meets MLB. Mike Trout might be tuning in right now. Mike, if you are watching since you love your weather and your baseball, welcome to the show. Welcome, Felix, too, in the chat. Good to see you, buddy. Uh, this postseason has has been a lot like, you know, many others where just exciting games, exciting finishes, series going the distance, and like always, you you have those performers that seemingly come out of nowhere. And that’s that’s part of the beauty of of the baseball playoffs is that you can’t ride one or two players. You need contributions from everyone. I agree. And and I think we’re starting to see that and I think you’re going to see that so much these LCS. Uh you know, it’s it’s going to be all about the guys outside of show and and you know, the MVPs are in the lineup. I was talking with a friend of mine at dinner just a few minutes ago. uh huge Dodgers fan and and I told her I said it never fails that Kik Hernandez is in the middle of something this time of year. It never fails. He’s just one of those guys. It’s true. Yeah. For the Mariners in game five, Leo Rivas in his first ever postseason at bat game tying RBI in the bottom of the seventh. Carrie Carpenter for the Tigers in a losing effort. Reached base six times and homerred in what was an elimination game for the first time in an elimination game since Babe Ruth. Trey Yasavage five and a third hitless and scoreless frames for the Jays against the Yankees after making only three big league starts and beginning his pro career in April in front of a few thousand folks in Deneden. You talked about the Dodgers. You could throw rookie Sasaki in that conversation, right? Given how mediocre his season was as a starter even in Triple A. And then of course next to Aaron Judge’s unlikely 02 home run off the foul pole. The two biggest things Yankees fans might remember this postseason are eight shutout innings by rookie Cam Schlitler and that catch over the railing in the Red Sox dugout by none other than Ryan McMahon. Absolutely. You know, and I think Ryan McMahon could be one of those guys that, you know, we know so well here, but I still think there’s so many people around the country that don’t know who Ryan McMahon is or the type of player he is. And you saw it with the power, you know, you saw it with the great catch. So hopefully those things will stick in some of the the East Coast minds, shall we say, uh heading into next season. True. Yeah, I had a game tying home run there at one point to to keep the Yankees alive, but uh they’re out of it. Trevor Story is out of it. And there there’s still some exies that are kicking around if you want to root for, you know, the likes of of Jeff Hoffman out there or Eric Young Jr., the first base coach for the Mariners if you need your connections. Well, dust off your Nick Mir’s jerseys, right? I mean, seriously, you know, hey, I’m telling you. Yeah, there there’s still some connections out there and and I and I’m curious to see, you know, Nick Mir was really really under the radar in the Cubs and LDS. I’m wondering if he’s going to get a little more shine and usage in the NLCS. I’ll be very curious to see. Yeah, we had in successive games in the ALC N, excuse me, we had in successive games in the ALDS. One XRocky close out the series to move to the next round. Jeff Hoffman of the Jays striking out Cody Bellinger and glaring in the Yankees dugout which is part for the course for him. And then another blow it for this team, Tommy Kanley of the Tigers with that walk-off hit by Jorge Palano in the 15th inning. So the Rockies are there. They’re they’re in the postseason. They’re just not wearing the purple pinstripes. He may not have been Tommy Kanley may not have been able to keep his WWE belt that night. You know that he usually hasn’t there. Somebody may have taken it from him after that one. That’s true. Of course, in between those two games on Thursday, you had the Phillies and Dodgers. Two teams with the biggest and arguably the best overall talent against one another with zero Rockies on either roster to be found coaching staff or or otherwise. Uh what does that mean? I don’t know. But then Saturday, Drew Pomerance gets to start for the Cubs. The ex- Rocky who dates back the furthest. Had his debut in 2011. still active, barely edging out Charlie Blackman for the longest active actively tenured ex- Rocky. I I love the little strings that there still are. Uh you know, all roads lead back to 5280 for sure. It’s true. Yeah. I want to talk to you about that that this idea that, you know, Orion Kirkering unfortunately the big spot got to him, right? That that that pressure spot. I I forget what it was with Clinton Hurdle. should have saved it. But Clinton Hurdle had a post on social media about like you know sometimes the pressure when it gets you means you just weren’t ready for it right and you know don’t know how you get ready for that exactly but you do feel bad for a young guy like that who only debuted last season and you know was good in the postseason for the Phillies but now you know in Philadelphia that that play u the error to end a game to to end the Philly season that’s going to go down as one of the worst uh ends to a sports team’s campaign. It will. And it’s tough because he he was such a reliable guy for the Phillies throughout so much of the season as well as the postseason. And you know, I’ve I’ve had I’ve heard so many people talk about Bill Buckner. You know, there’s there’s been so many ties back to some of those moments we all just went, “Oh, no.” And and that was definitely one of them. But he’s also a guy that you feel like still has so much of his career in front of him that there’s still so many possibilities for him to erase that, but he’s going to need somebody to really take him under the wing and be able to work on the mental side of forget that and and move forward. Yeah, it’s funny you how you phrase that of like, hey, you’re going to have more opportunities to do that, especially being so young. And you know, there’s a Rocky that I’m sure might be the first one that off the top of your head when you think about maybe not performing in a big moment for the Rockies who later on did perform in the World Series to win a ring. So, I I thought about this. It got me thinking what would have been the biggest whiffs in Rocky’s history. And if you look at the 2018 NL wild card game, I’d kind of forgotten David Dah went 0 for six in that game. Hit into a inning ending uh or rather it was a grounded into a double play after an Ian Desmond leadoff single in the seventh. Was 0 for three with runners in the scoring position. Also was 0 for five against the Brewers in the NLDS. And again, you lose that game uh at Wrigley Field. You know, maybe maybe David Dah is the one that’s the goat lowercase go o a t. Absolutely. And I and I think, you know, you you and I were talking a little bit about this. I I think for me, John Gray still stands out as that guy. And I think that may have been who you were alluding to just a minute ago, but I think there are a lot of Rockies fans who look back on if John Gray could have slammed the door a couple of times that he didn’t, what would what might have happened? uh including that whole division title that has been so elusive for the Rockies. Yeah, him and uh Houston Street, which I’ll I’ll break down in a moment, have to be 1A, 1B. And obviously more most more recent fans are are going to say John Gray, you can just say the NL wildard game, right? Done with one out in the second inning, allowing four runs. Rockies made it close 65. Bullpen couldn’t couldn’t hold on to it. And then the next time he pitches against the Diamondbacks, four and two/3 scoreless frames in the 2023 World Series, including three innings in relief to earn the win in game three at Chase Field. There’s what Orion Kirking is looking at going, “Hey, does anybody have John Gray’s number in this clubhouse? I need to text him because maybe he can be my sherper to work through this kind of moment.” You know, and you and I have talked to John Gray so much. I mean, he’s always had his emotions on his sleeve and he always tells you what he thinks. And I think that’s really important when you’re going through something like this is that you’re not bottling it up. You’re actually sharing it with others. And and I I was glad to see Kirkering was doing the same exact thing and did all do all the postgame interviews after that horrific moment for him as well. Yeah, that was impressive that he did stand up and and talk to the press like that. You flash forward a year later, game 161 as you mentioned in 2018 with the NL West on the line tied with the Dodgers who had lost that day. It was a Saturday against the Nationals. Rockies had an eight-game winning streak with two games remaining. Gray gave up five runs in the first two frames. pulled before the third and you know two starts prior to that he had gotten shelled by the Dodgers in LA and what was a three-game sweep by the Dodgers and what could have been the one time the Rockies won the NL West didn’t happen unfortunately they went on to play game 163 there were so many people that night uh that were ready to party at Kersfield they were ready to celebrate and you could almost feel the air go out of it that night uh when when John didn’t come through and you know those nights are going to happen but it was just so magnified knowing what was on the line and what could have been and then of course you know here we go into game 163 here we go into the the midnight flight to Chicago then all that stuff. Yeah. felt like after I want to say maybe 2020, maybe 2021 when we spoke with Buddy in the dugout, there would usually be that one time after the cameras leave and it’s just the beat reporters talking to him about different things and scenarios where he kind of look off into the distance be like, “Ah, that that one start with Gray like we could have had the West.” It felt like once a season once Aronado was gone and it was like, “Hey, this is a different team. This is a different franchise alto together.” Man, we had that one moment where we could have been on top. Absolutely. And you know, I was watching something the other night, just completely off, but a little bit on. I was watching something the other night when Archie Bradley was breaking down his triple in the wildard game. And I just thought there’s that’s so much pain right there in and of itself because I believe was that Nishek, Pat Nishek that gave that one up? Uh I think it might. But yeah, but I’m telling you that just those little moments along the way that that you go, “What if something else had happened?” And and Bradley’s triple and and that whole nightmare in Arizona that day is one of them. Debacle, right? Yeah, for sure. Yeah. I I went back and you know in ’95, game two of the NLDS against Atlanta at home in Denver. 4-4 ball game. Darren Holmes comes in, can’t get the final out of the ninth. 74 by the time he finally strikes out. Maris Griom. If Colorado had won game two, they go to Atlanta tied 1-1. They need to win one game, uh, which they ended up doing in game three, could have possibly come back to Kors Field for game five in that series. In game four in a must-win game, Brett Saberhagen, a two-time Sai Young Award winner who was really bad in Colorado after coming over from the Mets at the trade deadline where he was really good. that he was an all-star in 94 7.4 4 B combined with 21 wins over his previous 49 starts with the Mets. Unfortunately, he chokes and then the 2007 World Series take your pick, right? Either Jeff Francis in game one at Fenway or Josh Fog game three, the first one in Denver. Both guys giving up six runs to the Red Sox and you go, “Ah, those moments were too big.” What if could that have changed things? That’s that’s a huge what if right there. If that series had been played on a normal schedule. Yeah, that so many whatifs go into that. It’s true. Yeah. And then with Houston Street, take your pick. Twice in the matter of 24 hours, uh, he ends up getting the loss, blowing the save, 2009 against the Phillies. Game three was a tie ball game against the top of the Phillies order. Okay, I guess. But game four though, Rockies get three runs in the bottom of the eighth to take a 4-2 lead. Top of the order again. Two outs with one runner aboard. Gets two strikes on Chase Utley. needs one more to send the series to game five in Philly, but no. Street walks utly. Ryan Howard doubles. Jason Worth singles. Phillies move ahead 5-4. Rockies get a pair of singles from Cargo and Helton in the bottom of the ninth. Tulo strikes out against Brad Lig. And the Rockies have to wait eight more years to reach the postseason. Nine until they would win a game in October at Korsfield. Just it’s it’s really unbelievable. And Houston Street’s one of those guys that I think so many Rockies fans look back on him and and with very good thoughts, but you’re exactly right. I think that there are those moments where he didn’t come through and had he been able to, how much would his legacy have changed or even ballooned in Colorado? Felix mentioning in the chat and this is something I I I think we’ve all touched on but you know maybe there should be more time devoted to 2017 2018 team with how young they were and the pieces that they had and other than DJ Lameu all of those guys were you know should have been around and most of them were for three more years and yet you only got 17 and 18 in 2019 uh on July 1st they still had one of the final wild card spots so they were okay and then you get nothing else out of it. This this team that I imagine, you know, at least half of Major League Baseball, if they could have said, “You can trade your entire roster for the Rockies entire roster after the 2018 season.” I would have guessed most most GMs and president of baseball operations would have said like, “Yeah, they’ve already gone to the postseason twice. They still got this great young core. They’ve got it. They’ve got a couple MVP caliber players uh with uh with uh Mc not McMahon with uh with Aronado, Trevor Story, Charlie Blackman, and you go this this should have been the core should have been the start of something great and it it just lost its steam pretty darn quickly. Oh, it absolutely did. And and you know, you look back, you know, you and I have talked about that Father’s Day series in 2019 against the Padres’s and how that that really was it it felt like that’s what broke the franchise. it it felt like that every bit of the momentum just went away after that series at Kors Field. But you look back, you know, the Scott Oberg game, you know, in in Chicago, you look back at so many other guys who outside of the big names were still big parts of that. It was a really well-built roster and and I think that that’s something that the Rockies just haven’t had since. It feels like it’s been a a peace meal with a, you know, let’s let’s see if Daniel Murphy can replace DJ Lamew. Uh, you know, let’s see. Oh, his name is slipping. Uh, Matt Kemp, let’s see if Matt Kemp still got anything left in his bat in 2020. You know, little pieces like that that just it just hasn’t worked unfortunately. Brendan Rogers is going to be the next big thing. Oh my god. Everything. Ryan McMahon will be a 30 35 home run guy. And while again an all-star, you know, did make an all-star team, perennial finalist for the Gold Glove Award, maybe not, you know, meeting those expectations, the rotation kind of leveling off other than Marquez with an all-star season in 2021, you know, you don’t get that again. But at after 2018, right there at that the end of that season, again, they they were poised. I think a lot of people, in fact, in 2019 picked the Rockies to win the NL West. Like there there were people that legitimately believe that uh as did myself. like it was all lining up because you were bringing back everyone except DJ Laheu and that was the most critical piece. That’s where the domino started right there. It’s amazing. Yep. Well, this is a good transition to talk about the Mariners, but Christian Sai of DMV Maris Hunter Goodman will be the next Cal Raleigh. I like that. Why not, right? You know what? And and and and seriously, it’s a why not thing. You know, the one thing that that I I I hesitate on with Hunter, okay, and I know that Christian will probably fight us on this and others may as well, is is this going to be another Nolan Jones? And and I hope the answer is no. I hope that we don’t have a breakout season followed by a huge step back because the Rockies simply can’t afford to have a huge step back from a guy who led them in so many offensive categories next year. And no, that’s that’s a Yeah. Yeah. No, that’s a fair comparison. I I think I do like the odds of of Hunter Goodman, you know, continuing to be productive at the plate uh more so than Nolan Jones, who certainly was a top prospect, but had struggled uh in a couple tastes at the big league level. And Hunter Goodman was fine offensively at the big league level, but had I think a lot more success and was really underrated in the minor leagues, a perennial 30 home run hitter in the minor. So that hit tool was always there, just not getting the opportunity to do it at catcher, learning a new position every year from first base to corner outfield. So, you know, it’ll be interesting to see, you know, how much he is able to stick at catcher. I I think I like Goodman’s odds to to to figure this out and and continue uh to progress more so than Jones. The big question though that I think is still true with with Jones, as it was with Brett Doyle, is do you want to lock this guy up to an extension when if he can’t stick at catcher, he loses a ton of value? Yeah. When you put him over at first base or in right field and now all of a sudden, do you really want to extend a guy like that that is not that doesn’t have that same value? Much of his value is at the catcher position. 30 home runs is still nothing to to shake a stick at, but look at look at how easy CJ Cone came as a perennial 30 home run candidate at first base. You can pick up those guys. They they do fall off trees left and right, but as a catcher, that’s what makes them rare. It just remains to be seen if he can stay there. Yeah. And the and the Rockies seem like they are quite they have a lot of options, shall we say, at first base, both currently and coming up. There’s a lot of options in the outfield as well. So, if for some reason Hunter Goodman can’t be behind the dish, then I think you’re exactly right. Hunter Goodman’s value goes down a little bit. U but I also believe that what he showed this year, a staying healthy and b staying productive even in that September whenever he was, you know, he’d gotten a lot of games under his belt. I I think that’s a really good sign for what he can do moving forward. But I I will also say everything went perfect last year for Hunter Goodman healthwise, everything else-wise. And so I I hope the Rockies are already thinking about if things don’t go perfectly in 2026, is Braxton Fulford for a guy? Can Drew Romo do anything? You know, do we need to pick a veteran in up in the off season? You know, things like that I think are really important questions for whoever’s coming in next. Yeah, the fact that that Goodman did not wilt there in the final month, just like Nolan Jones didn’t wilt at the end of 2023, I think that bodess really well. So, all right, Mariners, man. Uh, is that the team that that has you most excited for this postseason? Because look, we’re guaranteed for a first ever World Series matchup. And as a baseball addict, I do love this, but I’m not sure if the rest of the sporting world will appreciate it. Uh, Jay’s haven’t been to the World Series since 93. That’s a 32-year drought. Brewers haven’t been there since 82. That’s a 43-year route. And the Mariners have never been to the World Series. Mariners, Brewers. Who says no? Uh, you know what? Why not, right? And and I think there was a really interesting article that came out in the Wall Street Journal the other day from Jared Diamond about how that this this what happens in the LCS is going to set the talking points for what could come in the CBA because what if it’s the Mariners and Brewers and the Blue Jays and Dodgers who spent the money in the off season go to the side just like the Mets, just like the Phillies, just like everybody else has spent. And I thought it was a really fascinating point because if too small market or lower spending teams, shall we say, make it and show that you can do it with the right roster construction, does that set the tone then for this the folks in the CBA who want to point toward a salary cap and other thing other things to say, yeah, it can be done. Here’s two examples right here. Yeah, it’s true that that’s an interesting thing because you’re right, Toronto versus LA, we would actually have a real World Series, right? two countries at least playing against each other. uh the best a lot of white and blue there, but uh Mariners, Brewers, uh I was texting with with one of our friends from the press box earlier today like I don’t know how many people would care that well the Milwaukee Brewers were originally the Seattle Pilots in 1969 and after one year Bud Celig was a part of a group that moved the team to Milwaukee to become the Brewers and that’s why they have the same colors because the pilots are originally navy and gold and so there is that you know connective tissue which is interesting. Uh, Jay’s Mariners. Brian Woo back on the M’s roster. Max Sherzer, Chris Basset back on the roster again for the Jays, but Bo Bashette left off the ALCS roster. Left knee sprain, which has kept him out since September 6. Andre Jimenez done a a really fine job at shortstop. Jays haven’t really missed Bett at this point. He started running this past week. If someone gets injured, you know, in this series, maybe Bette gets activated. If not, maybe he becomes an option for the World Series. And I wonder what this does to Bobette going into the off seasonason as well. You know, what happens to his free agent market? You know, all these different things where he could have been on such a spotlight to show off what what a special hitter he really is, you know, statistically. But I’m very curious to see now what if he can get healed back up, get back in there if there is a World Series, as well as can uh does it does it impact his free agency? It’s true. Yeah. Uh Dodgers, Brewers, Brewers finally win a a series, taking it to the limit against the Cubs. Their first playoff series win since well uh 2018 when they swept Colorado in three games by a margin of 13-2. Held Rockies scoreless for the final 19 innings of that series. Rockies scored in just one inning that series. Two runs in the ninth in game one. And the last time that these two teams met, Brewers, Dodgers, 2020 playoffs, uh, Brewers lost both games in that wild card round that year. 2020 was so long ago that the Brewers had a double play duo of Orlando RC at shortstop and Kesha at second base. You know what that is? That’s baseball. That’s beautiful is what that is. So, so how much weight do you put into that the the Brewers swept the Dodgers this year? That they that they went six and0 against the Dodgers this year? Does that matter to you when October comes? No. No. It’s interesting. It I think you know and again I could I be wrong? Sure. I think the Dodgers have essentially sandbagged their regular season because they were so talent going into the year. We all said look the regular season doesn’t matter. It you put everybody on the IIL at various times. They’ll figure a way out to win their 90 plus games. Go to the postseason. Ideally they could get a buy like the Phillies or Brewers did. They did not. So they had to play an extra series. Fine. That was easy playing the Reds. So the regular season meant nothing to them. Did they intentionally lose those games? No. But did they play short-handed? I’d have to go back and look to find out what they were going through during those series and why they lost. But to them, I think they’re looking at it like this is great. They we’ve lulled them into a false sense of comfort. They think they’re great. What they did, you know, during the regular season, they should do again. No, that we’ve got you right where we want you. So to me that doesn’t mean anything else. Any any other combination of two teams maybe, but just anyone against the Dodgers, Dodgers are playing chess. We know that they are. And and I think you’re exactly right. This Dodgers team that we’re seeing in the postseason is so different than the one that was actually happening, you know, during the regular season. And yeah, Christian’s exactly right. I mean that it, you know, I I wrote for the Gazette that the Dodgers are like Thanos. they are inevitable when it comes to this time of year, you know, it just is. And and I think that one of the things that helps the Dodgers so much this time of year and it was t it was discussed um I think it was during the Philly series is how wellprepared they are for every pitcher. And the scouting that is done ahead of time is just so much different in LA than it is in other parts of of baseball. And so whenever you’re in a seven game series and they can really focus in on what could happen and all the possibilities, they’re really good at that and that’s why they keep progressing. I should also mention that Brent Sudter started uh one of the games in that Brewers Dodgers series in 2020. Hey, do you know anyone that ended up going to the Paul McCartney concert on on Saturday night? Put me in coach. I’m ready to play center field. John Fogerty of CCR, not Paul McCartney of the Beatles. But tickets were like kind of affordable. Like they were just under a hundred bucks for like upper deck pretty much behind home plate, you know, to see a living legend. Had I been in town and it was a nice night, I mean, it would not have been so bad. But uh yeah. Yeah. Still some good stuff happening at Korsfield. Still some bright lights happening, so it’s that’s all right. Do they still is that golf event still about to happen or did that already go down? I know it I know it was scheduled. I don’t know when though to be honest. Oh, Rocky’s Insider. With me, your Rockies insider, Patrick Lions, joined by Kevin Henry of the Gazette and Just Baseball, you name it. Uh, I do want to talk about what’s going on with the Rockies right now. But the World Series, you know, we know how sometimes the NFL and the NBA might have their hand in trying to navigate certain teams to get to the the championship. I don’t know that that happens in in baseball. I don’t think that it happens. Uh, you know, baseball would like for that to go on, but I think, you know, I’m just curious like what is more important for the 2025 World Series that, you know, Major League Baseball gets that matchup of Toronto versus Los Angeles, Blue Jays versus Dodgers, or just make sure that we have a pair of series that go at least six games. And I asked that because we’ve got two scheduled and two guaranteed off days before the start of the World Series next Friday, October 24th. If we get a pair of six game series, that means there’s going to be at least one extra off day. And if we get a pair of five game series, that could be nearly a week off from the time in which they’re popping bottles and the start of the World Series. I I think having I I think Seattle Los Angeles would be a worst case for television because I think you’re going to have two West Coast teams going at each other and people are going to go I’m good thanks. So I think Toronto LA is the best case scenario for MLB on a number of levels. And I also think that Rob Manfred really in his heart would love to see those teams that spend a little more get in there as well. you know, those teams that have and and hey, could we set up a USA Canada? You know, it worked for the uh uh the NHL this year with their, you know, four countries tournament and everything else. Could you really play it up like that? I I think that there’s a lot more advantages to a Toronto LA series than if you threw in Milwaukee or Seattle into the mix. I could even see where Toronto, Milwaukee could benefit MLB and and them playing off this idea of again a true World Series or again, how many players are actually Canadian uh for the Blue Jays? I mean, other than Vladrera Jr., a true Canadian. Um, but you got the World Baseball Classic coming up next spring. So, again, playing off this idea of Canada versus United States. Hey, we’re going to have the real deal, Canada versus the United States, you know, next March. And there’s still some World Baseball Classic qualifiers going on right now. Hearing our guy Tyler Mann from Denver, you know, calling some of those games already. So, I think even that could could kind of work uh with with Toronto and and Milwaukee. Yeah, I I thought Seattle Milwaukee might be the lowest, but you’re right with uh that all West Coast flare and you know, people being kind of tired of the Dodgers, I can see that, too. Yeah, I I think so. I think Cal Raleigh does does generate a lot of buzz right now. Uh, and I think he’s gotten that just because he’s been chasing Aaron Judge. So, all the Yankees fans and the East Coast has been uh, paying attention to that. Uh, and with the MVP talk as well. But, but I think once you get to the postseason, if you have if you don’t have something that’s pulling in multiple parts of the country or multiple countries, shall we say, uh, yeah, I think it does lose its luster a little bit, unfortunately. And I think we saw that even with Arizona, Texas, you know, a few years ago. I I think everybody that’s a Southwest World Series and and that was about the extent of it. Yeah. Hey, BD energy, right? Big dumper. That’s that’s what it’s all about. Exactly. Uh let’s talk about the Colorado Rockies right now. There’s been so much movement in their front office. First with GM Bill Schmidt departing, then you have assistant GM Zack Rosenthal stepping a stepping aside. Should fans be very hopeful right now or would they be correct in just holding their breath for the time being? I think they should be hopeful because I think that they’ve made it very clear that they are going to try something different. And I think just because you’ve been with the franchise a long time doesn’t mean you’re going to stay with the franchise, you know, and and I really do think we’ll get to the end of October and we’ll have our answer. I I think you have to have somebody in place before the GM meetings next month in Las Vegas and certainly before winter meetings in December, you know, in Orlando. Uh but I but I think that there’s a lot of hope right now about the direction they may go and I think if they make that choice from outside the organization and bring in somebody like a Thad Lavine or whoever it might be, I I think that that will generate a lot of good buzz uh for the franchise as well. I think I think my one worry or the trepidation is you could go outside the organization with somebody that could just be a yes man for another team like somebody of like look we’ll give you this title we’ll pay you fairly well but just know you know the the final call is going to be a little bit more upstairs with owner Dick Mford and so I think you could check off the boxes and and provide a certain amount of lip service if you will and and go through the steps, but you will it be, you know, the right call will will it be a more known name within the industry, a highly respected name, and and if they go a different direction, manager, which we’ll talk about here eventually, you know, is it going to be somebody notable, or will it be just, you know, window dressing for more of the same? Yeah. And and I think had Walker Montford not come into the equation when he did and had that statement not been in the Bill Schmidt release, I I think I would be a lot more um reluctant to say the change is coming. But but I think they’ve made very clear even, you know, whenever Walker first talked to us in the media that they’re going to try to do some things differently. they’ve heard and they’ve seen what’s happens if you don’t. And I think even with the CBA coming up, you know, there’s a lot of folks out there talking about that they may just kind of punt on this year and see what CBA holds and then try to build something. But I get the feeling that they’re going to at least start laying some of the found the groundwork next year for what could come after the CBA instead of just wait and see. Yeah, I I agree. Walker has definitely said all the right things and I think the organization has attributed some really good things to Walker Manford to really put him up there as as the poster child. And so if he really is uh this this not just a new voice but a loud voice that they are going to listen to then I think yes then then this thing could turn around and and maybe some of the success he’s had on the business side of things can translate on the baseball side or at least he could have enough wherewithal to say hey I’m not a true baseballman. I’m a businessman. So, you know what? I am gonna bring in somebody that knows what they’re doing and I’m gonna kind of follow their lead and and trust that uh this person who is a lifer and does know what’s going on like let’s do it their way within reason, right? Like that could work. I could see that happening. Yeah. And and I think if you really follow the mantra of I’m not going to be the smartest guy in the room and you’re going to hire people around you who know more about that than you do. Certainly, you’ve got your skill set, but you hire others that have their skill sets as well. I I think that’s going to be the biggest thing for the Rockies is somebody who’s genuinely excited about trying to solve the altitude puzzle and and not just coming in, as you said, to be a yes man. I think you have to have somebody that comes in with a plan for not only how to solve things here in Denver, but how are you going to build rebuild the farm system? How are you going to make sure that the guys coming through Fresno and Hartford and everywhere else are ready whenever their time comes in Denver? Because we’ve seen a lot of guys who have gotten that chance to come up and you’ve also seen that they haven’t exactly been as ready as you hoped they would be. Yeah, very true. I know you just wrote about this for the gazette.com. Uh three of the top candidates for the open position. Is any of them a front runner right now or is this really just going to take a while before we find out who’s going to run this organization? I I really do believe that the Rockies are going to be ready at by the end of the month. If if I were a betting man, I would say by the end of the month, there’s going to be somebody in place. And I do think that they’re having conversations that you and I and everybody else don’t know about that. You know, one thing I’ve learned about the Rockies is they they do a good job of keeping secrets. Uh they they’ve learned how to kind of close the loop a little bit. And so it would not surprise me at all if they’re already having conversations. Now, of course, you got to have conversations with people that aren’t still involved with the postseason. And so, that, you know, keeping keep that in mind as well, but I do think that they’re going to be ready once the World Series ends and once free agency starts up and and once we can start doing all these different things that that is the baseball offseason, I think they’ll have a plan in place. Yeah. You can’t poach anybody from Milwaukee in Seattle just yet. Not yet. you know, and there and of course a lot of people are talking about the gentleman who’s the assistant GM in Seattle, uh, you know, and and if that’s the case and if he’s really a front runner, well, got to wait a little longer. It’s true. While the innocent saying, the way Warren Schaefer was talking at the end of the season made me believe he thinks he’s coming back. It I got the same sense, too. What What do you think is going to happen with interim manager Warren Schaefer? Is it going to take the next, you know, GM coming in? and and could you see the next GM, regardless of who it is, saying, “You know what? I’m not going to say that’s my scapegoat, but we’ll have Schaefer come back for at least one more year, and if it doesn’t go really well, we can just get rid of him and and and get a a fresh restart the the next year in in 2027, so you can kind of have your cake eat it, too.” My guess would be one of the first things the new GM is going to do or the PO, you know, president of baseball operations, whatever we’re going to call this person, is he’s going to talk to the players. And if he talks to the players, he’s going to learn very quickly. They are all we’re in Schaefer’s camp. And so I think one of the best things that you could do is to say, “All right, we’re going to stick with this.” You said you had a plan for what happens. You know, whenever I talked to him in San Diego, he said very adamantly, “You give me an off season and I promise you we can build a plan to be better whenever we start the regular season.” Take him up on it. You know, if you’ve already got guys that are willing to run through a brick wall in that clubhouse and he’s got a plan for how to make them even better, give it a shot. You know, the worst thing that can happen is it doesn’t work and you’ve got to go back to square one. But I also think that Schaefer has at least earned that right to start the season in the manager role. Yeah, I’m going to bring up a couple names that the Rockies could go with in a moment, but Dusty Baker’s on that list. Dave Martinez. you bring in Dusty Baker, I don’t know that the team is is magically going to win 80 games or 75 games, right? So, to your point, you know, you can ride with Warren Schaefer and look at look, the Orioles, different scenario, right? Because as they were intending to tank, uh they they knew they were going to be bad and they were okay with it versus what’s happening with the Rockies. But Brandon Hyde was there for a couple hundred loss seasons and was still able to grow with the team uh before he was let go this uh this past year. So, you know, Schaefer could be that guy that that bridge from the 100 loss era to respectability and then you can decide from there if you want to continue to go forward or go a different route in your manager spots. Yeah, it’s a great point with Hyde because one of the things that they they kept with him was because the young players believed in him and I think that that’s exactly what you’re seeing here in Colorado as well. And I think again if whoever comes in is going to have ideas. Do those ideas mesh with what Schaefer’s ideas are? I think that’s going to be the biggest question of all. I don’t think it’s if Warren Schaefer is right for the job or anything else. It’s can these two work together and and will they actually have some ideas that are outside the box. And and I think if the answer to that is yes, then absolutely Schaefer can stay. If you’re listening to this on the podcast side of things, I highly recommend you go over to YouTube to read Wild the Innocence comment here, which I will not repeat. It’s it’s PG friendly. Like it’s it’s kidfriendly. Kid approved. But uh just just go to the Rocky’s Insider Jam over on YouTube. All right. So I get these random emails. I think you did too cuz you you even sent it to me. Uh a screenshot of the top 20 names from a certain betting website. Warren Schaefer isn’t even on this list of 20 names, which I found to be very interesting. And number one on this list, he’s now available for the Rockies to talk to if they want to go that route. And that’s Tigers bench coach George Lumbard. And number two, right behind him, uh, David Ross, four seasons as a Cub manager, last in 2023. Either of those names, you know, jump out to you in in any capacity? I mean, I I think David Ross has shown. I mean, you obviously, you know, how ironic would it be to have a guy who, you know, was was teammates with Chris Bryant in Chicago, you know, as the manager. Uh, I think that would be fascinating. I I I I personally I like the thought of David Ross. If they’re going if they’re going to go outside, I I think bringing in David Ross, bringing in knowing what he knew it took to win in Chicago, knowing how they had to build that franchise back up and all the things that they had to go through. I think anybody that’s faced hurdles and has overcome them, I think it’s a good choice to at least talk to them and see would they be a fit. Jim in the chat saying, “I want to believe real change is coming, but I do still feel some trepidation about whether or not this is for real.” And I think that’s the sentiment for a lot of fans is you can see that okay this this could be you know we’ve hit the bottom you know I’ve described it as a plane you know coming down for a crash and then you’re pulling back on the yolk and you’re skimming along the top of the tree line. I feel like they’ve been skimming across the top of the tree line for a couple years now and maybe they are going to finally pull back up but maybe until they do or maybe until there’s more significant changes. We’ll find out and maybe we’ll get those answers this off seasonason. You would have to hope this off seasonason you can go, “All right, I’m I’m back in. I’m ready to ride this to the to the next relevancy and maybe even the next postseason in three years, but it’s going to take a good off seasonason for that to happen.” And I think that once, you know, the other thing that that is coming is, you know, Walker Monford will take over at the start of the year for Greg Fiesel, you know, in Greg Fiesel’s role. And I I don’t think we can underestimate enough how important that that’s going to be because if the Rockies come out and say when he takes this over, Dick is going to take a step back. He’s still going to be owner, but he’s not going to be as hands-on as he was. And really, he’s turn it over to Walker to kind of lead the charge. And I think something like that would do so much good for the organization and for the fan base as well, just to say, “Okay, the last name’s the same, but the outlook’s completely different.” And if you see change there, you see change at the GM spot, maybe you see change at the manager spot, I I don’t know what else the organization could do to say, “We’re tired of this, too, and we’ve got to turn this around.” In the comments, always liked former catchers as manager. The third name on the list was an interesting one. Danny Leman, former minor league catcher, bench coach right now currently for the Dodgers. He was born in Denver, but he went to high school in Texas, the Woodlands High School, same as Drew Romo. And best fun fact of any manager, I think probably on this list, his uncle is Dog the Bounty Hunter. Swear to God. No way. Danny Leman, bench coach of the Dodgers. So when you’re watching this series, his uncle’s dog the bounty hunter. I looked it up on multiple sites like to support like there’s no way this is legit. It’s legit apparently. Uh, you know what? Bring him in for a press conference. I think that’d be fantastic. That’s great. Team USA manager Mark D. Rosa is fourth on this list. Fifth, Ryan Flity, Cubs bench coach. He’s available to talk uh with Dick Mford in front office. He’s also the front runner for the Orioles position right now. And as it turns out, he’s married to the sister of Nick Marqueis’s wife. So, they’re both married to sisters. And yeah, they were teammates on the Orioles together. Still not as good as Doug the Bounty Hunter being your uncle. No, that’s that’s a winner right there. Is Doug the Bounty Hunter from Denver? I thought you I don’t know. That’s a great question. I do not know that. Oh, there’s another connection right there. Could be. I think one of the interesting most interesting names on this list, Rockco Beli’s there. Nick Hunley, former Rocky, uh, who’s a front runner for the Giants position. You got Joe Madden who has a great resume, loves Colorado, loves Boulder in particular when he was in college, played for the Boulder Collegians. That’s where he proposed to his wife Freddy Gonzalez. Managed in Miami and Atlanta for a while, served as a third base coach for Atlanta this past season. But one of the most interesting names on this list is Tony Vidello, who is the current head coach of the University of Tennessee. lots of success with the VSS under his leadership, including a national championship last year in 2024. We know Rockies certainly have a major affinity for players coming out of Knoxville. Tony Vetello, you know, could they could they possibly go outside the box with a choice like that? It’s possible. Uh, you know, and I get the connection and obviously I think uh the Jordan Becks of the world would be very happy with that for sure. But I also I also I I think you’ve got to have somebody who brings this in that you don’t want this to be their first time. As weird as that sounds, this is my opinion on an in an MLB dugout leading a charge. I’m not sure that this is the place that you want somebody to have their first experience. I think you need somebody that’s going to be able to, if again, if it’s not Schaefer, be able to say, “I’ve worked with young guys before in my previous job. This is how we were successful. This is how we molded them.” Because a lot of these young guys in that clubhouse are going to be looking to this new manager if somebody replaces Schaefer to bring them along the way that Schaefer was. And and I think now that’s the expectation in Denver. And if you want a sort of inexperienced manager, you’ve got one that already actually has managerial experience in Warren Schaefer that has that familiarity with a lot of these young guys from Tennessee or otherwise. And I think we all remember Nick Sabin, his foray into the NFL, right? What what in college doesn’t always work in the in Big Show. Yeah. Urban Meyer in Jacksonville. Yeah, absolutely. You know, and I and I think the question that Yeah, I agree with that. I I think the question you’ve got to ask is if you’re going to replace Warren Schaefer and you bring somebody else in, what do they do better than Schaefer did? And and I really think that if you start narrowing it down to that that that a lot of these guys that we’re talking about or on a list fall off pretty quickly because they they just don’t have the skill set that the Rockies need right now with the way that this roster is currently constructed. Also on this list, former ball players Yachty Molina and Tory Hunter. You got Bob Melvin, Bruce Bochi, Brandon Hyde, and then another former manager, in fact, former manager of the Rockies, who could be one of the top candidates in Atlanta, Walt Weiss. I I don’t think that would be revisited by either side. Maybe more so than Walt Weiss. I I don’t know. I think Walt Weiss is a little bit uh down on the Rockies after how things ended in 2016, you know. And as much as we love Bud Black, I I think that the Bob Melvin’s, the uh Bruce Bochis, any of these play these managers that have been around for a while, I just don’t know that that’s going to click right now with with who these guys are. If they bring in more veterans and they turn this roster over, talk to me. But but until then, if you’re really going to go with the youth movement, I just don’t see that. Yeah. No, I I agree. I think that kind of manager has a place for a sort of midling roster that you want to get more out of to take us to the next level, but for a roster right now and an organization that is so down and and is so low, you sort of want someone that’s like, hey, they’re down on me, too. Like, we’re we’re all going to have to do this together, not, hey, follow my playbook. I’ve done this before. It’s that’s not kind of the kind of manager you’re going to need. So, Dave Martinez on this list, Don Mattingley, Dusty Baker don’t fit. the last one 40 to1 odds that holiday. He said he wasn’t interested when when I asked him in the dugout and you know would would he change his mind but he it was very compelling his response saying look I still got two kids at home that I want to see them graduate. I think he loves being a dad and I I think the further he gets away from that playing career the more he is willing to say like no I I love this new role as a dad and maybe I will come back to that. I thought maybe that was gone forever and I didn’t want to lose it. It’s just on a timeout for right now. I do want to be a dad and when they’re all grown up in a couple years from now, then maybe I’ll I’ll come manage my son Ethan Holiday in Denver. Yeah, I I with Matt Holiday to me, it’s not a no, it’s a not yet. You know, I I really think that he’s got he is is going to fulfill that dad role and good for him for doing that. I think that’s amazing. But when they’re an empty neester there in Still Water, it might be a little different. It’s possible. It’s not a no, just a not yet. So, you’re saying there’s a chance. Exactly. Good. I do like that. You know, if everything goes right for the person that gets appointed as the next GM or president of baseball for operation, how quickly do you think you could see the Rockies back in the postseason or really should it be more simply about being a contender? You know, should should that really be the bar for them at this point? Yeah, to to me I think it really does we know we’ve got next season. We don’t know after that and and I I don’t think the Rockies are going to be anywhere near it next season and I think baseball could look different uh after that with what happens with CBA. So, you know, I I think that you could still see a return to relevancy this decade. I think that that’s very possible, but I also think it really depends on what kind of help might there be for the franchise in the upcoming CBA. Uh, as well as what if we lose time, you know, with with any kind of lockout, you know, if if all of a sudden these guys that are developing don’t develop, you know, what does that do to this franchise? And I think that that’s a very real question that we’ve got to be thinking about. Rocky’s Insider with me. Rockies insider Patrick Lions with Kevin Henry talking about the Savannah Bananas in in just a moment. Let’s let’s let’s stick on the the subject of the Colorado Rockies. I think this is still a Rocky’s podcast until it becomes, you know, the Bananas Insider. Uh which maybe I mean, hey, look, if if I need the clicks, I guess I got to do that, but I’m I’m curious. How difficult and I’ll I’ll give you my point of view first if if you want, but how difficult was this season covering the Rockies from a journalistic standpoint? Now, personally for me, it wasn’t that difficult, but I would say that it was far from easy because the exciting stories simply weren’t popping up in any capacity, right? Yeah. There’s only so many times that you can go down a locker room after the game and ask a guy about what went wrong. And and I think that every one of those guys, the vast majority of them were amazing to deal with talking about what went wrong and why they were over for four again tonight and why they lost again and all these different things. You know, it it was a lot in retrospect. It was easier than I thought it was going to be. Granted, it was hard to dig up stories. It was hard to come up with things to keep people’s interest, especially whenever the Broncos season really kicked into gear. But for the most part, guys were willing to talk. Guys were willing to be very open and honest about how it sucked to lose. And and I think that made our jobs easier. Uh those of us who were in there every night and and trying to to get to the bottom of what comes next and how low is this really going to go. Yeah. There were there were just no inklings of, hey, maybe so and so could be the next big thing because we had seen that not come to fruition. And Tovar is hurt. Doyle’s got his off the- field issue things. So, I mean, there was Hunter Goodman, but you know, that that wasn’t really enough to sustain us. And there wasn’t even the so and so is dominating in the minors. We did see Caros eventually. Vi was there early on, but like you said, with all of the losses, there were rarely those like good fun vibes in the clubhouse following a rare win. And because it was a rare win, the guys really couldn’t get a lot more excited beyond that, right? There were some of those pockets like in July which had more wins and there were more memorable moments and more positivity postgame but like you’re expected to win a couple games. So when you win it’s not like yeah man this we’re great. It’s like no that could get taken out of context in a way. So they never really got too high and they never really were able to have that much fun except again a couple times here and there during the season. And there’s all the talk about all the new guys, all the rookies that made their debuts this year and you know you and I were in there. it it’s hard to talk to Ryan Ritter about making his debut on a night when they get beat nine to two and and he you know and he’s trying to talk about his joy but he’s also doing it quiet because everybody else is mourning a loss in there. How many times did we do that you know so uh it it was tough on that front as well because I felt like some of the rookies really didn’t get to savor those moments so much because they were also being very mindful of the environment that was around them. Yeah, that will be one of the, you know, interesting conversations in spring or at least early on in the season if things start going at least decent, right? They’re they’re around 500 to just say like, you know, what was that like? You’re supposed to have this big moment and and you do for your family, but it’s kind of, you know, rained on in a lot of ways by by this season. You know, what was that like during the offseason? You know, how much did that stick with you? how much did that maybe weigh on you or, you know, frustrate you or disappoint you in any capacity? Because you’re right, this is supposed to be this really big moment. And it still is for them. But it it sucks to think that maybe they’re not able to to celebrate it in that same capacity. I’d be curious to know what the Rocky’s record was for the what 13 debuts that they have. Probably three and 10 maybe. Who knows? Maybe. Yeah, that’s it. It it it was tough. I mean, I Ritter stands out to me still because he he had a smile on his face, but he was also talking so soft, you know, because because he knew everything that was going on. So, uh, but yeah, maybe Spring Training, that’s worth a worth a conversation. Dan Darnell. Yep. And then if there was a wind, the music’s playing so darn loud, you go, I can’t understand what they’re saying either. Between the ABBA playing and de leopard share, do you believe in love? That’s another thing, too. I I think the Rockies need to improve the uh they need a vibologist. Yes. Either on staff or just someone who has that experience. You know, you got to have some veterans in the clubhouse. You got to have somebody that knows how to work the aux cord because it was really, I think, lacking a little bit in the postgame celebrations uh for those wins. I I still remember the first night we heard Sher and Aba and everything, I was like, “Oh, okay. That’s a choice.” And then the second or third time we heard it, I’m like, “Really? This is what we’re doing this year?” Okay. Uh but hey, got to do what you got to do. Yeah. So, if anyone follows Renee Deckert uh on Blue Sky, she would she would post the share and be like, “They did it.” And I imagine at a certain point, and this is to her bit, right, to her credit, people are like, “What what does this even mean?” Like, well, that’s that’s what they’re playing. Bringing up Renee, like talking about how difficult this season was, which again, not that difficult, right? We we’ve got it pretty good. But for me, like the camaraderie between those of us in the press box who’s had to suffer, you know, the past seven losing seasons and three straight 100 loss campaigns, that was also something that kept me going, right? It was talk to Patrick Saunders, Patrick Harding, yourself, Renee, Michael Kelly, Manny Randawa, Christian SAS, Andrew Mason, like a couple a couple of the guys that that jumped on board in recent years and like we’re kind of all going through it. Same thing with the folks on the TV side and the radio side in front and behind the scenes like hey we’re we’re all going through that together and and I think that also helped kind of you know work through a very long season that even by the end of April was like we’ve got five more months of this to go. Yeah. And and I think we’re workshopping in our head you know what what are we going to talk to Warren about today? What are we going to ask the players after a 10 to one loss? you know, I mean, and and there was a point in the season and and you you hit it on the head just a minute ago, it was like it was May and I think we all in the press box were started going, “This is starting to feel like August already.” I mean, just the the vibe that was there and that was about the time that that Buddy was was let go and Warren was brought in. And I really do think that that turned around the vibe in the clubhouse. Um, I I really do think that you could feel a little bit of difference in there starting in May and June about, yeah, we’re losing, but we’re also learning at the same time, and it’s not a hopeless situation. In the chat, what was Chase Dolner like in his rookie efforts? I think there was still a lot of promise for me, right? Again, you look at his best starts, which okay, is cherry-picking, but not a not a ton of rookie pitchers, you know, who were drafted only two years ago out of college have had that kind of success for the Rockies. Did he also have those struggles? Absolutely. Look at what he was able to do on the road as opposed to what he did at home. And you say, “Okay, there is a ceiling here uh that that does allow you to be hopeful.” Did it go maybe as well as you would have would have liked? No. But still, I I I I was still impressed, you know, by him and getting sent back down, coming back up and and showing, you know, a lot of ability and a lot of different starts. And uh, you know, again, things go differently like in that Dodger start where it starts pouring out of nowhere. The umps don’t call it, there’s a popup that ends up moving what, like 18 feet and it falls, doesn’t even get an error. So, those are all earned runs against him. Those are some of the things the box score can’t show. So when when you consider that, I think Chase, you know, had a had a really solid rookie season that I think a lot of people won’t be able to credit or attribute that much success to despite the fact there was still a lot a lot of success there and and there was a lot of maturity as well. I mean, he was a guy that would be very open and honest about what worked, what didn’t, his frustrations, and and to me, I think that’s something whenever you’re talking to a player after the game and they can break down, I know I did this. next time I’m going to do this. You know, it it it just it it shows you the thought process as well as that there is a plan in place. And and with Chase, I think he’s a guy that’s going to learn so much from what went wrong this year uh that I think it’ll make him stronger moving forward. Yeah, I do too. We’re uh are there numbers? We we just got the 2025 season in review and I’ve pretty much gone through most of it. I didn’t go through all the players, but there were so many things of like, “Oh, yeah.” or “Oh, right.” or “Yeah, I that was traumatic, so I blocked that out from my memories.” I don’t know if there’s anything that that stands out for you, but I think one of the first ones I read was like Hensley Muan’s the hitting coach for about two and a half weeks of this season. I was like, “Oh, it it makes me kind of widen my eyes and nod like, “Oh, yeah, that’s right. I forgot we had that.” Yeah. uh the whole Alan Tjo experience. I think that that’s something, you know, you look back uh whenever they needed to have an infielder. But again, that that speaks to I I’m just going to say that speaks to how the roster was constructed that we even had to get to that point. And granted, there were a lot of injuries that that had to happen before Allan Trey Hill was purchased from the Rangers and brought back for a few games, but but I think that was such a red flag for this franchise whenever you had to do that or else. Uh, and I think that spoke to a lot of what went wrong this year, both injury-wise and roster construction wise. Yeah. It’s not like the NFL where if you have just a a spate of injuries at QB, like you’re shopping for someone else’s number, you know, three QB. It’s like you you should have planned for this. Like where where where was the planning in that? Like yeah, that that made my list, too. Like that’s Yeah. you know, the the runs per game being the lowest in franchise history, less than three runs per game on the road, lowest since the 1981 Cubs, and the lowest road batting average and lowest road ops in team history. Lowest road batting average since the 1908 Philadelphia Athletics who hit 203 in 79 road games. Yeah, I I think this year’s team’s going to remember bad, but on the road horrific. I mean, seriously, you know, and and I think it was our friend Andrew Mason that pointed out how good they were in like games that they had to win in order to not be swept in a home stand, you know, or whatever it might be. But man, this this team when they left Kors this year, yeah, it it was it was not good on so many levels. And after losing 19 consecutive series, they win one on the road in Miami of all places, right? That was the weirdest. That was so weird, honestly, that whole sweep uh in Miami. And at the time, we thought, my god, the Rockies are better off than the Marlins are. And yet, it was the Marlins that were still that bounced back and they were in competition for the playoffs for a little bit there. Yeah, Colorado finishes the year with a 981 team fielding percentage, the second lowest in the majors this year. Per fan graphs, the Rockies finished with a negative 59 defensive runs saved, fewest in the majors by 13. Fell a little bit shy of what owner Dick Mford said could be one of the greatest defensive infields in the history of baseball. What are what were your comments or your thoughts on those comments at the time? Was was this just an overly excited owner that was maybe trying to sell the 2025 team to a group of Colorado fans at the Friends of Baseball event they have every year at the end of January in Gley? Or do you think that some of the powers that be in the Rockies front office were actually trying to maybe sell him some false goods or some false hope? Oh no. I I think the Tyro Estrada deal that everybody thought this was going to be the thing. This was going to be it. Not only on offense because he puts the ball in play, but on defense as well. Then of course we know the broken hand and everything else that happened with Estrada Tovar getting hurt. So you never had that middle infield uh that I think everybody thought was going to be so magical. It never materialized. So I do I do think it was a worst case scenario, but I also think there was a bill of goods sold with Tyro Estrada on a number of levels this year. I believe I believe Tovar and Estrada played with each other only three times this year. Yeah, it’s crazy. I mean seriously, they were ships in the night, man. It was crazy. first inning erra was atrocious. Antonio Yeah, I like that. He’s he’s the first base version of Tim Melville in my opinion. Yeah, he’s he’s a Steven Cardullo, you know. I mean, absolutely. You know, he you know, give me a give me a little bright spot there. But, uh Bla Crim Yeah, I’m curious. Actually, he’s a guy that I’m very curious what happens to him in the offseason. Seriously. Yeah, I did want to ask you about that because that was one of your uh your your articles from this past month uh part of Kevin’s take on on the Gazette about what they could possibly do at first base and you know it’s interesting with with Bla Crim how you know he’s going to put his name in there but the Rockies $145 million payroll uh the luxury tax payroll that is this past season right now they’re looking to be under $und00 million with McMahon’s 12 million coming off. He was supposed to get 16 million next year. He will, but from the Yankees. Uh Marquez 10 million comes off the books. Gomeber 6.3 million. So the payroll could be its lowest in a decade. It’s $45 million below going into next season. Could the Rockies split the difference? Add 20 plus million in payroll. Could a first baseman be one of those guys? I don’t know. I mean, you know, one of the guys that I think would be a great fit for the Rockies. uh and and he could be a guy that could hold the first base warm until Charlie Condan arrives and that’s Josh Bell. You know, I think you get a switch hitting Josh Bell who has really good numbers at Korsfield. You bring him in, they’re they’re going and I know there are people out there that are tearing their hair out right now going, “Oh, no, we’ve got all these we got warming Bernabel and you know, you’re right. You do, but you’ve got to have veterans on a roster. You have to have somebody in there. And I don’t think you, you know, Kyle Farmer may get run back. It’s a possible that Kyle Farmer’s back next year, but I think they add some veterans. And I think they spend a little bit to add some veterans who have some pop as well. And I think Josh Bell until Charlie Condan is ready. I I think it would it would make a lot of sense. I It makes more than a lot of sense actually. Kevin, you you bringing that up. I think we were texting about that a week or so ago. I said, “Oh, that that’s a that’s a master stroke for a guy that, you know, made a little over $6 million. He’s he’s just going year to year, so he’s not going to break the bank by any means, and it’s going to, like you said, keep the seat warm uh for for Charlie Con, a veteran presence there. Great clubhouse guy. I mean, went to high school with with Trevor Story. So, I Belle’s one of those guys where the last couple years I can remember talking with someone saying, “Oh, Josh Bell’s great. Here, let me introduce you.” and talking with him and just kind of, you know, chopping it up and just seemed like a real down to-earth great guy and like, yeah, that he would he’d be a perfect fit, I think, for this roster. And and the thing that, you know, I get a lot of push back from people whenever I suggest the Rocky sign a veteran and and my my comment back is always, we thought Zack Bean was going to be able to tear the ball off, you know, the cover off the ball whenever he came up. We thought all these rookies were going to be able just to make this huge impact and the vast majority of them don’t at the first. And it’s very possible Charlie Condan could be that guy as well. Now hopefully he’s hopefully he hits the ground running, but we the Rockies have to have a plan B in place. If he doesn’t, who’s going to help him take the pressure off and play in his place for a little bit and I think Josh Bell could be that guy. I think Bla Crim could be a guy as well. I really do if they wanted to stay internal. That’s a great way of of phrasing it, but it’s a hard concept for some people to get because you, as you said, Josh Bell is plan B and yet they do that first, right? Because you can’t do it the opposite. You can’t say, “Hey, let’s wait for Charlie Condan and, you know, maybe it takes him to to make his debut until 2027, let’s say. Things don’t go the right way.” You can’t go back in time and get Josh Bell in 2026. We we they don’t have Deloreans anymore for that, unfortunately. So, you got to do Josh Bell first and allows you to have your cake and eat it, too. If Condan’s ready, you’re not going to go, “Well, come on. Josh Bell is on a 25 home run pace. He’s he might hit 90 RBI this year.” You go, “Fine, we can just move him at the deadline or he becomes a DH or again, he’s a veteran presence where you can mix and match where he gets more off days and you can start Charlie Condan.” You’re right, like plan B just happens to come first. You look at the Nick Martinis, the Kyle Farmers, the Kenhuras, you know, all these guys that they signed as veterans in the off season last year. Um, and I guarantee you a guy like a Josh Bell would make such a bigger impact than signing these guys. Now, I know they were cheap. I know that they were veterans. Therefore, it clicked. I get that. You’re going to spend a little bit more for Bell. You’re going to spend a little bit more for some other guys as well, but as you said, you’ve got some roster flex or some payroll flexibility now. Put it back into the team so you get some bangers instead of just guys that are that are holding on to a spot. And I think you get what you pay for. Yeah. And as you said, all those guys were non-roster invites. They didn’t last the entire year. And so, yeah, you’re going to have to pay a little bit more. Still, less than $10 million for a Josh Bell, a guy who averages 140 plus games. He just doesn’t go on the IIL, right? He might have those those rough patches, but he has one of the best abilities, availability. So, I think he checks off that box in a in a really really big way. So that that makes a lot of sense. Also in the chat from Christian, who’s the first pitcher we see debut next season? Do you want me to go first or do you Yeah, dude. Yeah, I want to hear I’m thinking somebody. Let’s see what you’re thinking. Gabriel Hughes. I think he’s the one. I I thought he was going to debut at the end of this season anyway because he has to be placed on the the 40man roster before the rule five draft. So I think he’ll probably be that first guy. You still got to be worrying a little bit about the elbow. Uh this was his first full year after Tommy John surgery, but still I think he is uh the most ready guy. Certainly you can make the case for Shawn Sullivan uh who was great at double A. Haven’t yet hasn’t yet pitched in in Triple A. So you could go either way. I just think Gabriel Hughes is ready right now. I think so too. And I think there’s there’s enough as you you listed the reasons right there. I think there’s enough reasons to say he will be that guy. And and again, they’re going to need those guys next year. Without Marquez around with Senzotella going to the bullpen, you’re going to need some guys to step up and step in. And I think Hughes is one of those. Stephen in the chat saying, “Do free agents want to sign with the Rockies? Word on the street.” Many times the Rockies don’t even get their phone calls returned if they’re making the phone calls. Uh, no. I I I don’t think a lot of uh, look, there there’s a disconnect between the Rockies and a lot of free agents partially because the Rockies aren’t in a position really to, you know, add a lot of the the bigger named players. And if you’re a bigger named player, you know, it might take a lot to come to Colorado and be a part of an organization or a group of young players that could take a while, you know, to to get back to relevancy. And if you’re looking to go to the postseason, you might be able to get get paid and not, you know, have to deal with that, you know, those growing pains that come with being part of an organization. So, the Rockies have a bad reputation right now, but I think they’ve earned that. Unfortunately, they have. And I also think that it’s one of those that I think if if new leadership’s in place and you also show that you’re willing to spend a little bit extra, maybe call it the altitude tax, whatever you want, or the 119 loss tax to bring them in. uh and say we’re going to need you. Yeah, absolutely. You know what? I I I do think that there’s a reputation out there, but I also think it’s probably going to turn around a little bit, too. There there could be an out to tax. Yeah. Jim saying, “Will the Rockies keep Chris Bryant regardless of whether or not he plays?” That’s the $182 million question, right? Yeah. I mean I mean the contract’s guaranteed and so unless they can find some insurance loophole which from everything I’ve been told there isn’t an insurance loophole and Chris Bryant’s not going to be a say you know here it is back thanks. Um, I I think that they’ll need to make a decision this off season and I think the new GM Pobo will make a decision on that and they may just decide to cut bait with it and just say, you know what, so we don’t have to worry about this anymore or answer the questions. We’re done. Here you go. Right off into the sunset. And I think Chris may be ready to do that, too. And that could be the the right timing, right? like one of the first moves that the the new man in charge is to get rid of this this albatross that that was not from, you know, my my my tenure. That was the last guy. So, I’m going to clean up that mistake. Hey, the fans are are certainly going to like something like that. You know, not realizing that, okay, you don’t just now magically have 27 28 million that you can go spend. As you said, you know, that is that is absolutely guaranteed. So yeah, it it is and and we know TV revenue is really not going to change a whole lot. You know, there’s not a lot of big sources of income coming in. So you look at who fell off the payroll, what could you add in? And you know, again, what happens the season after next? I think that’s that’s a huge question. I loved your article and recommend folks to go over and check out has Rocky’s historic losing impacted Korsfield attendance? It’s complicated. I I think, you know, the attendance did dip and that one double header actually reconfigured the numbers just a little bit. So, the Rockies averaged a little over 30,000 per game, which again, we know how those Saturday nights can be and Friday nights in the summertime or when the big teams come to town. But even still, there are those just regular games where you go, man, there’s still 30,000 people showing up to the ballpark. And it’s, you know, despite a little dip in attendance, it’s still good money right now in Denver and Loto. It is. And and you know, as I mentioned in my article, what jersey are they wearing? What color are they wearing? Because man, when the Cubs came to town Labor Day weekend, that still sticks with me how that was such wriggly West. Uh, you know, I mean, and and I think that that’s what whenever you look at Colorado’s numbers, you’ve got to look at Rockies fans versus overall fans. And I think you will see spikes for fireworks shows. You’ll see spikes for Cubs coming in. You know, under normal circumstances, Cardinals coming in, but I think they’ve pulled back now. So, yeah, it it’s complicated. Uh, I think there’s a good core Rockies, excuse me, fan base, but I think most nights you go in there, depending on who the opponent is, you’ll see a lot of different color jerseys as well. And when those those bigger teams come to town, you’ll see a random third team of just, hey, this is a big event. This is a place to be. I’ve got friends here. I’m gonna wear my, you know, Mike Schmidt jersey when it’s Dodgers Rockies. Like, you do get those those weird outtakes as well. You do. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah, the the the the attendance issue, if it isn’t even an issue, it’s one of the reasons why, you know, I said going back to 2020 when uh or 2021 when they they traded all Naronado and it just looked like they were giving up. That’s the perfect time to tank because Korsfield is recession proof. who could have still had 2.5 million coming through the gates with a really bad roster, but at least with a plan in place and Rockies again have the record of a tanking team without the plan. Absolutely. And and I think there there are those people who will come to Korsfield for the sunsets and the rooftop and they couldn’t tell you who’s the starting second baseman. Absolutely. And and I also think that there’s a lot of fans out there that will come watch baseball regardless because it’s Major League Baseball. So there’s there’s levels to attendance. There absolutely is. We we’ve got a bonus topic here to talk about because I don’t know if you saw the Savannah Bananas had a city selection show. See that? It’s interesting. Yeah. And you can like watch it on YouTube. It’s like two hours. It’s like it’s a whole spectacle, you know. It was uh it was pretty pretty interesting. The Texas Tailgator like had their own schedule announced. They’re going to be playing a lot of PCL and Texas League stadiums, including Amarilla, Texas. It’s like a six-hour drive from Denver. If you’re up for it in uh in late April, you could do that. The party animals are going to be in Albuquerque on April 11th through 12th. Salt Lake City August 13th through 15th. if you want to drive out, hang out in Moab for a little bit, you know, uh, go check out SLC. And they also unveiled some two new teams, the Loco Beach Coconuts, coached by Shane Victorino, or as they call it, a prime time coach. And the Indianapolis Clowns, they work with the Negro League Hall of Fame and Bob Kendrick. The Indianapolis Clowns, they’re going to be called Ryan Howard is going to be their prime time coach. They’re going to play a game at Duncan Park in Hartford. They’re also going to North Dakota and South Dakota. I don’t necessarily know that the Savanas Savannah Bananas are like taking things to another level, but they are trying to expand their concept with the Banana Ball Championship League and have all of these teams playing each other and then having a playoff at the end of the year. I think I saw in the video they’re going to 45 different states this year. And good for them. I mean, seriously, I I think that’s fantastic. You know, if you can go to Lincoln, Nebraska, and you can go to Amarillo and you can go to all these places and still draw the big crowds. I I mean, it just shows that they figured out a way to to further the reach of baseball and it’s not a bad thing at all. And I think some of these games even there there won’t even be the bananas playing like it’ll be the tailgator versus the party animals. So, it’s like a spin-off. It’s like Joanie loves Chachi. Like, well, you know, I loved Happy Days. Maybe I’ll watch this show. Like, it worked for Leverne and Shirley. Like again using the Happy Days spin-off concept, right? I didn’t have a chachi mentioned on the bingo card tonight. So well done. Absolutely. You didn’t you didn’t read the outline. You didn’t read the notes. All pre-planned. You know, nothing spontaneous. Uh Bananas going back to going to Yankee Stadium, which is amazing. And they’re going to be in Denver again on August 14th and 15th against the Indianapolis Clowns, which should be a real cool one. I I think that would be cool. And I really hope that Ryan Howard, you know, almost Rocky’s legend Ryan Howard is there with the clowns as well. So that’d be awesome. That’s right. Yeah. Maybe he’ll he’ll be wearing like an Isotopes, you know, undershirt or something like that. And then you got to see like is it going to be Ubaldo and Vinnie coming back again? You know, would it could they get Tulo out? Charlie Blackman now that it’s the second year in a row. I feel like they they have to try to outdo themselves at least a little bit, right? Oh, I think so. Yeah, for sure. Yeah. I was a little surprised. I I wasn’t sure if if they would come back to a major market like this twice despite again tons of success, but you you almost want to make certain places like wait for it, right? Like it’s two years so now I have to go. But the fact that they’re going back to some of these places, you know, twice in in two years, I mean says a lot about how how much of a stronghold they have right now. And and I think they they were impressed by how Denver showed out in the energy and everything else. So I think they were excited to come back to course for sure. Yeah, they’ve got the BBCL, Banana Ball Championship League, their own playoffs October 1st through 4th in 1st through 4th in Savannah, Georgia, naturally. October 10th is the Banana Bowl. So, they’re going to be in 75 stadiums, like you said, 45 states. Apologies to Alaska, Hawaii. So, you know, that’s on their list for 2027. Oh, sure. Of course. New Jersey, Vermont, and Wyoming. Sorry, Renee. No. Casper Ghosts get no love. I’m telling you. 14 MLB stadiums, 10 football stadiums. The uh Texas Tailgator have a game at College Station, and it could be the first 100,000 fan game in Banana Ball history. It seats 102,000. They also play at Nland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee, uh which has just under 102,000 seats there where the Vss play in the Are you not going to pull Todd Helton in for that game? Come on. Come on. That one. Yes. Yeah, that one. Absolutely. I don’t know. May Could you send a twofer? Like, does does he come back in Denver? Like, you can play that tune in Denver and in Knoxville. I think that would work. Absolutely. I agree with that. They had 3.2 million fans go to their games in attendance last year. So, they outdrew the Colorado Rockies. Well, they they won a few more games, too. So, good for them. Hey, did I hear a laugh off camera? It sounded like like you’re in a studio audience and there was like a laughter from one of the camera crew. I thought the last track going. Could have been. Yeah. Uh, final question. If there is a 2027 lockout, could the bananas take over the viewing for the baseball during that period? I mean, they’re going to jump on an opportunity like that. I I don’t necessarily know what that means. I guess they’ll that’ll be our version of uh the KBO like during the pandemic in 2020. But, you know, the whole the whole lockout situation is a work stoppage just like a strike is. So, is that going to happen at the end of next year? We’re a little too far away to know now. But, you know, I I think the players association learned that when you go on a strike, it doesn’t necessarily give you the leverage you would hope for because that’s what the players did in 1994, saying, “Hey, our only chance is to do this and then maybe we’re out for a week, two weeks before we’re back to work and sorted out.” And the owners just did not blink. And I don’t think that the owners would blink this time either. No, I think the posturing will start at this year’s winter meetings. I I think we’ll start hearing a lot about it in December and the drums will start beating. Patrick Dianrick Dions MLB on X and Blue Sky Rocky’s Insider on YouTube. Kevin, let folks know where they can check out all of your wonderful stuff. Thanks for joining me this week. Oh man, it was fun. Absolutely. Now, KGH23 on Blue Sky and Twitter or X, sorry, and then at on the denvergazette.com. Uh, absolutely would love to have you join. Appreciate you dropping by. Appreciate the momentum you’ve provided me with here today, but I think as you know, that kind of momentum unfortunately can only be as good as my next show. who of course talk

Coors Field in Denver is home to a lot of unoccupied positions for the Colorado Rockies. Owner Dick Monfort needs to hire a new general manager, decide if interim manager Warren Schaeffer should return and figure out how much money he’ll spend in free agency. How long will it take for him to make those decisions?

The 2025 MLB Postseason continues to intrigue with the ALCS (Toronto Blue Jays vs. Seattle Mariners) and NLCS (Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Milwaukee Brewers). Will Orion Kerkering be remembered for all the wrong reasons? Who cost the Rockies the most in the playoffs?

Plus, Colorado’s payroll predicament, the odds of the University of Tennessee’s Tony Vitello managing the Rox and the Savannah Bananas’ ambitious plans for 2026.

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