(1/17) Some @rockies/Arenado thoughts…Nobody should be surprised that Nolan is gone. This has been a pattern for yrs with the Rockies better players. Matt Holliday & Garret Atkins warned Todd Helton that “you won't win here.” Helton warned Tulo. Tulo warned Arenado. I

(2/17) know this for a fact. And you can bet Nolan has warned Story. Your best players often are your most competitive players and, eventually, the best Rockies always want to leave this org. Why? A couple of big reasons. 1) The altitude, in tandem with the

(3/17) expanse of Coors Field. It’s well documented, the thin air and the size of the ballpark negatively affect the players. Mentally AND physically. Pitchers AND position players. Home AND away. 2) Ownership. Dick Monfort insists he wants to win. I’m sure he does. But

(4/17) he doesn’t know how to win. And he won’t hire good baseball people to figure it out for him. See, winning is a priority, but NOT his FIRST priority. Making money is. Along with being comfortable/familiar with the people around him. Those two things are more important

(5/17) than winning to Monfort. He treats the franchise as a real estate play. Evidence—the Party Deck and now McGregor Square. He’s a capitalist. That’s fine. But he’ll always sink more money into thpse things than the product on the field. In part, because he knows you’ll

(6/17) still show up for the games, pay for parking and buy Rockies merch. If winning took precedent, after going to the playoffs in 2017-18, he would have spent the necessary money to take the team to the next level. Instead, he stood pat, the window closed, the best player in

(7/17) franchise history recognized the lack of commitment and wanted out. My guess is, Story will do the same. So, the Rockies problems are systemic. There’s a Turkish saying: “The fish stinks at the head.” It means, when an organization continually fails, it usually starts

(8/17) with the boss. And there’s a trickle down effect. Monfort won’t hire the necessary people to win and he won’t spend the necessary money to win. You can scream about salaries all you want. “But they’re 10th in payroll!,” you say. Great, but he’ll never go past a

(9/17) certain point. He’ll never do what the Padres or Mets or Blue Jays or White Sox are doing currently---"going for it." Some of that has to do with the embarrassing local TV contracts he’s negotiated. He’s been incredibly negligent at monetizing the TV product. And he’s

(10/17) loyal to a fault. (See O’Dowd, Dan.) And,he’s insular—meaning, when he does have openings, he knows very few people in baseball, so he hires from within—which has proven to be ridiculously myopic. No vision whatsoever. Too uncomfortable. And he refuses to hire a Club

(11/17) President, (which would render him more irrelevant to the baseball processes). He actually fancies himself a “baseball guy” now. As one of his employees told me, “someone once explained the Infield Fly Rule to Dick and now he thinks he knows the game.”
The org will

(12/17) continue to land stars here and there, but those stars always, eventually, will want to leave. Because this team can’t/won’t win consistently. Oh, they’ll make the playoffs here and there. They might even stumble onto another World Series berth. But those occasions

(13/17) will be few and far between. They’ll be fluky. Remember, in 27 years, this org hasn’t won an NL West title. THAT’S NOT a fluke. It’s systemic. It’s the mark of an incompetent franchise unwilling to do what it takes to get to the next level. Should the former and

(14/17) current GMs shoulder some blame? Yes. There have been ever-changing philosophies, plus many bad drafts/ trades/signings. (On the face of it, this trade looks like a complete fleecing of the Rockies.) And the arrogance of the most recent two GMs helped run the stars

(15/17) out of town. But the finger of blame should point up---to the top of the org. Last thing...for those who yell, “Monfort should sell!”...don’t hold your breath. Once Covid is over, the Rockies,

(16/17) once again, will be a money making machine and the franchise will continue to appreciate in value. Monfort will continue to own, then pass the franchise down to his kids. Why wouldn’t he? That’s his right. But for the fans and media, well, get used to

(17/17) a lot of bad baseball, a lot of 4th & 5th place finishes and more of your favorite players leaving town when they can. That's just my two cents---from a guy who covered this team since its inception and someone who has had hundreds of convos w/the people named above

(18/17) One last thing...I feel bad for Bud Black and some other good people there. Yes, I know, Bud makes a good buck managing an MLB team. Great job. But it's not great when you're handcuffed by your org. Your job is to win and the people above you just make it so hard...