No Accountability

Dan O ‘Dowd has quickly gone from a general manager who hasn’t been able to build a team, to a man that makes Rockies fans more and more disgusted every time he opens his mouth. Dick Monfort is also rapidly approaching this level. After reviewing what was said during yesterday’s conference call between season ticket holders, owner Dick Monfort and general manager Dan O ‘Dowd, there’s a couple comments worthy of review.

Dan O’ Dowd on the 4-man rotation

“This was not a desperation move as has been portrayed,” he said. “This is something I have been looking at since I came to this organization and realized the issues presented at playing at 5,183 feet above sea level.”

Once again here’s the excuse of Coors Field. All we’ve heard is how the struggles of the rotation fall on how difficult it is to pitch in Colorado. If they keep bringing this up, do you really think any pitcher would want to come to Colorado? Let’s say the Monforts decide to spend big money on some pitchers. I’m guessing whoever those pitchers would be, would say no because they’ve heard how hard it is to pitch at Coors. Instead of going on about how hard it is to pitch in Colorado, try and hold someone accountable for the under-performance. Don’t accept the excuse, demand results.

We don’t know how long the 4-man rotation will remain, but what if it lasts into next season? The same issue comes up. No pitcher will want to come here. There probably isn’t a single free agent pitcher out there that will like the idea of a 75 pitch limit. Somehow the sell of being pulled after 75 pitches, no matter how good you may be doing, doesn’t sound like a good pitch. O’Dowd doesn’t like the term “4-man rotation.” He prefers paired pitching system mixing seven starters. No, it’s a 4-man rotation.

If I was in the conference call, I would have asked: what’s the excuse for how bad the Rockies pitch on the road? The Rockies are still ranked 23rd in baseball in road ERA.

“We know we can play with Arizona and San Francisco.”  

O’Dowd made the statement that this team still has a chance. There’s nothing wrong with being positive. It’s great when teams show heart regardless and don’t roll over. However, this comment coming from O’Dowd says he either thinks fans are stupid, or he is so far out of touch with what’s going on, that he really believes the Rockies can go toe-to-toe with the Dodgers (3.30 ERA 2nd in the NL), Giants (3.41 ERA 3rd in the NL) and Diamondbacks’ (4.04 ERA, 10th in the NL) rotations. The Rockies currently have the worst team ERA in baseball at 5.43. The chances are very slim.

A bit off topic

This is not from the conference call, but the resignation of Bob Apodaca was a bit of a surprise. Sure, a firing wouldn’t have been a surprise, but I didn’t expect anyone to resign. The whole coaching staff seems to know their jobs aren’t in danger. There still isn’t any accountability with this move. Apodaca resigned, he wasn’t fired. It’s hard not to think if the Rockies lose 100 games this season, then a coaching staff overhaul will follow. But honestly with the comments coming out of the front office this season, who even knows anymore?