Walt Weiss: Notable Quotes Before the Homestand Begins

Prior to Monday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Colorado Rockies manager Walt Weiss met with the media and addressed a variety of topics. Here are some of his most notable quotes from the session.

On whether the importance of this series was emphasized before the homestand began…

“We do that every few days. We do that at the start of every series. I would say an added emphasis coming out of the break. Absolutely. The All-Star break is a benchmark for the season. It’s a good time to reflect, evaluate, and plan, and that’s what we did. We came out of the break well. It would’ve been nice to have had the sweep (in Atlanta). We hooked up in a tight game yesterday but we won the series and that’s what we talked about. We need to win series and we need to rack up the Ws. There’s a sense of urgency with our club and I like the way they’ve responded so far.”

What’s the main message you’ve given to your team with two of the worst teams in baseball, record-wise, visiting Coors Field this week?

“Don’t ever take anybody lightly in this league. It’s the big leagues. I did talk about the challenges that our schedule presented in the first half, and there were challenges for a lot of different reasons. I thought we stood our ground well. It doesn’t mean a lot if we get to a favorable part of the schedule and you don’t take advantage of it. Again, it’s the big leagues and these guys are capable of beating anybody the next two series. You have to play well to win. I do feel like we’ve confronted some of the challenges of the first half and we need to continue to do that and be rewarded for it.

How do you feel about your rotation and what Jon Gray and Tyler Anderson are bringing to it?

“I like where our rotation is at. I feel certainly as confident as I have in my tenure here when it relates to our starting rotation. I feel like we have a legitimate chance to win every night and our young guys (Gray and Anderson) have a lot to do with it. Tyler has given us a chance every time he’s taken the ball and really stepped up for us.”

What has changed for the rotation this season?

“Our walks are down considerably from the last couple of years when we led the National League in walks. We’ve done a nice job there. I think the talent level is better than it’s been. The young guys we were talking about have a lot to do with that and (Tyler) Chatwood being back with us. Jorge (De La Rosa) getting back to form. All of those things are factors. These guys have done a nice job for us.”

Did you tweak the rotation at all heading into the second half?

“I basically kept the rotation the same as we had it before the break. I wanted to have Chatty (Chatwood) on the back end just to give him a little more rest. Other than that, no, we kept it the same.”

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With Tampa Bay coming to Coors Field, it was also the chance to reunite with Corey Dickerson, who was traded to the Rays in the offseason for reliever Jake McGee. Minor leaguers were also exchanged on both sides, including German Marquez coming to the Rockies.

“I guess you’re not supposed to have favorites but he (Dickerson) is one of my favorites. It’ll be good to see him. It will be weird to see him on the other side.”