Renck: Baseball won with All-Star Game, but Rockies keep losing
The national pastime is past its bedtime Baseball delivered a huge win with the All-Star Challenge Yet the Rockies keep losing Major League Baseball is evolving and the Rockies are not asleep at the wheel as the franchise careens into a ditch The importance of change was on full display Tuesday night Whether you like commissioner Rob Manfred or not and you will not when there is a work stoppage after the season he has revived baseball with new rules like the pitch clock and limits on pick-off attempts and defensive shifts At the Midsummer Classic a national audience was introduced to the automatic ball strike system in-game interviews with pitchers and catchers and a home run derby to determine the winner This is what good businesses do They grow They expand They change And then there are the Rockies Their idea of forward thinking is installing a pitching lab in Scottsdale five years too late and promoting the owner s son to president Walker Monfort insists the Rockies want to win and have the support to do it Why don t we believe him Maybe because the old president Greg Feasel wasn t fired when Monfort was promoted Instead he was given until the end of the season to get his affairs in order as if his ownership stake wasn t already a golden parachute Or maybe because general manager Bill Schmidt remains employed Things have gone south since he took over on May because of limited homegrown prospects horrible pitching abysmal hitting and zero trades beyond spare parts And he s the guy you want making bargain deadline acquisitions to build up the farm system Sorry just trying to keep up In the business world they call this negligence The Rockies have been living off their back-to-back playoff berths in and They want you to believe that this historically bad season they must go - over the final games to avoid the worst record in modern baseball history is a fluke They fail to reveal they own MLB s worst record since and are - with Schmidt in charge Tuesday in Atlanta provided evidence why The National League club reacts during the Swing Off at the end of the All-Star Competition at Truist Park on July in Atlanta Georgia Photo by Katharine Lotze Getty Images Every NL West group featured a star like Freddie Freeman Manny Machado Logan Webb or Eugenio Suarez The Rockies offered Hunter Goodman Goodman is a promising slugger but ranks among the league s worst catchers in the field On cue he committed the tournament s first error firing a throw into center field on a stolen base attempt And if your explanation is of program other teams have big names because they have bigger payrolls then how do you explain the Reds improvement of starter Andrew Abbott or the Rays trading for Junior Caminero or signing first baseman Jonathan Aranda out of Tijuana Mexico The Rockies latest feel-good stories are Jake Cave and -year-old Wynton Bernard hitting a home run in This is a direct reflection of their scouting and refusal to invest heavily in analytics where they are woefully understaffed You think Royals closer Carlos Estevez became an All-Star just because he left altitude Riiiiight He went to organizations that could help him better understand his strengths The excuses for the Rockies failures are silly They don t draft and develop well Period Dick Monfort has shown over and over again that he would rather remain calm seeing the ballpark as the main attraction not the players You know what that makes him A real estate mogul not an owner An owner much to fans dismay who has shown no indication he will ever sell the squad What s the point To fill a stadium with beer drinkers and sunset watchers Or win Related Articles Renck vs Keeler When does Ethan Holliday reach Rockies And at what position Renck When Broncos deliver NFL s best defense Malcolm Roach will be a reason why Renck CU s Deion Sanders is in constituents position fighting private robustness battle He says he s good Is that good enough Rockies Mailbag Is Thad Levine the fix to Colorado s front office Renck vs Keeler Does Nuggets Jamal Murray have the worst contract in Colorado sports As rookies stated on Wednesday it drew into focus the stark differences between the Broncos and Rockies Co-owners Greg Penner and Carrie Walton Penner are no longer novices They are entering their fourth season They never hesitate to make complex decisions They fired a coach in his first season Hired a Super Bowl-winning coach Cut ties with Russell Wilson They splurged in free agency twice and took a prudent approach once when it was vital to hit the reset button around a first-round quarterback They have spent million on stadium renovations ushered in sleek new uniforms nothing like the Rockies gender reveal City Connect jerseys and are inching closer to a stadium decision that will define their legacy They come from the corporate world of Walmart They don t have stockholders in the NFL That however is how they view their season ticket holders They conduct surveys ask questions constantly seeking avenues to improve the fan experience And they realize what fans want real fans not ones who go to th and Blake Street to cheer the opponent is success Since August of they have built trust that they can execute a vision on and off the field It s never about keeping the train moving but where the train is going and how fast it gets there The Broncos owners see themselves as custodians of a residents institution The Monforts treat the Rockies like a trust fund for their children Accountability over loyalty What a concept Pro sports are cutthroat Adapt or die The All-Star Competition like the Broncos demonstrated the importance of innovation Walker Monfort insists the goal is to win There is no other way to prove it than by embracing dramatic change Philadelphia Phillies Kyle Schwarber celebrates after winning the tiebreaker at the MLB baseball All-Star tournament between the American League and National League Tuesday July in Atlanta AP Photo Mike Stewart Want more Rockies news Sign up for the Rockies Insider to get all our MLB analysis
