Here
we are, just past Memorial Day, and 2012 already looks like a lost season for
the Colorado Rockies. We’ve seen this
too many times before. The Rockies show
no sign of being able to pull themselves out of this most recent May
freefall. Here are five things that need
to happen sooner rather than later:
1) Fire
Dan O’Dowd. NOW. Under his watch, the Rockies have two playoff
appearances (no division titles) in 13 years.
The team caught lightning in a bottle for a month in 2007, and the team
has teased its fans with “potential” ever since. When they made the playoffs in 2009, many
fans (including me) thought they had finally turned the corner. We were wrong. Years of botched first-round draft picks have
left the team in a dead zone where -- except for Nolan Arenado -- the best
prospects are years away from the majors.
O’Dowd tried to plug the team’s many holes with 30-something veteran
players. Other than Michael Cuddyer (for
whom O’Dowd vastly overpaid), they have all fallen flat. Casey Blake never made it out of spring
training. Ramon Hernandez and Marco
Scutaro have barely qualified as warm bodies thus far. And Jamie Moyer….well, I’ll get to him in a
minute. O’Dowd is once again preaching
patience while the team’s youngsters develop.
Sorry, Dan. Time’s up. No other franchise in baseball (even the
Pirates and Royals) has shown such patience with a GM with such meager
results. It’s time for a change.
2) Don’t
fire Jim Tracy – yet. This doesn’t mean
I’m a Tracy fan – far from it, actually.
His inability to construct a productive batting order is
stupefying. He also has a LaRussa-like
tendency to over manage. Remember the
game a couple weeks ago where the Rockies loaded the bases with nobody out in
the bottom of the 9th and he had to send Alex White – a pitcher – to
pinch-hit because he ran out of position players? Embarrassing.
That said, I can’t think of any manager who could make chicken salad out
of the chicken dung O’Dowd put together this year.
3) Release
Jamie Moyer. It’s been a nice human
interest story, having him become the oldest player to win a major-league game
and all that. Baseball writers like Jon
Heyman fell all over themselves telling us what a great story it was, while
ignoring the medical miracle that is Juan Nicasio. By all accounts, Moyer is a wonderful guy who
uses his fame and wealth to help others.
But it’s a disservice to the team to keep him in the rotation at the
expense of younger arms like Drew Pomeranz or Alex White. Jorge DeLaRosa is on his way back too.
4) Trade
Jeremy Guthrie and Rafael Betancourt.
Guthrie has been an abject disaster.
The team would have been better off keeping Jason Hammel and Matt
Lindstrom. At least trading Ubaldo
Jimenez, Ian Stewart, Chris Iannetta and Seth Smith brought some potential
talent to the team. Guthrie was supposed
to be a reliable innings-eater who would keep his team in games and keep the
bullpen fresh to back up the younger starters.
He’s done neither. This would definitely be a case of selling
low, but keeping him in the rotation at the expense of a younger pitcher is a
mistake. A team in need of a starter
(hello, Phillies?) might part with a prospect for Guthrie. If this is going to be a crummy year, put the
youngsters in and let them sink or swim.
Meanwhile, Betancourt is a luxury.
His value could be maximized by moving him to a contending team in need
of bullpen help at the trade deadline (Cardinals? Rays?). Besides, he’s agonizing to watch on the
mound. Any pitcher who takes 90 seconds
between pitches deserves to be shut in a dark room and forced to listen to Tim
McCarver for four straight hours. Throw
the damn ball already!
5) The
time has finally come to bench Todd Helton.
Yes, he’s driven in 25 runs, but his OPS is .719 with a 22/18 K/BB
ratio. Among teammates with at least 90
plate appearances, only Scutaro and Hernandez are worse. The saddest part is that he appears to be healthy.
Assuming that is the case, Helton no
longer is an effective everyday player. With
the pitching staff in tatters, the Rockies need to get as many productive bats
in the lineup as possible. Move Cuddyer
to first base and play Tyler Colvin in RF.
Or swap roles with Jason Giambi, who has an OPS of .840. Helton has been the face of the franchise
since 1998. The man’s done enough.
Will
any of these moves happen? With the
exception of Moyer’s release, probably not.
Rockies ownership would have to become bold, forward-thinking owners who
care more about winning than they do PR clippings and gate receipts. The Brothers Monfort have shown no such
inclination. As a result, the Rockies
will continue to waste the career primes of Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez
while fans count the days until Broncos training camp starts.
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