The MLB trade deadline has passed, and the Colorado Rockies — while removing the Atlanta Braves’ tomahawk from their faces — decided to stand firm and let the deadline pass with nary a move made. The silver lining is that Michael Cuddyer was not shopped and nobody else of relative importance was moved. But, par for the course, the Rockies front office made no moves that resulted in player acquisitions.
GM Dan O’Dowd didn’t want to part ways with any prospects, valuing the position players more than restocking the pitcher cabinet; he once again abstained from trading to improve the chances of his ballclub. Not willing to “mortgage their future,” O’Dowd continues to try and sell the fans on a promise of a better future when the prospects all magically mature into a World Series wild-card contender.
Denver hates O’Dowd; it is a known fact. Even the most faithful fans dislike him — yet still love the mascot Dinger and the stumbling, unlucky Rockies. Lumped in with the GM is club owner Dick Monfort, both victims of their own shortcomings at running a competitive baseball organization. They can’t and they don’t believe they need to.
“Things will work out” is the prevailing attitude. They may win some games, but they can at least keep the fans coming. The team itself is just good enough for games to be fun to watch, but they can easily lose or get embarrassed. The top teams in the league lose their fair share of games, but plenty of them are not curb stompings like the Rockies have taken.
The 10-game homestand, which began the second half of the season, wasn’t nearly as fruitful going 5-5 against three of the worst teams in the league. If they wanted to be a better team and be closer to division-title contention, they needed a few more wins.
At this point, the L.A. Dodgers have pulled ahead with the promotion of Yasiel Puig, the Arizona Diamondbacks are not too far behind … and then there is the Colorado Rockies, trying to fight off the San Diego Padres and the defending World Champion San Francisco Giants.
The front office doesn’t believe its club can climb back into the race, and as usual, they wouldn’t lift a finger to help even if they could.