Colorado Rockies: Nothing has changed since this Bud Black quote

Colorado Rockies manager Bud Black is one of the most knowledgeable and quotable managers in Major League Baseball. He currently is at the helm of a team that is struggling at the plate in well-documented and stomach-churning ways.

One of Black’s recent quotes kept coming up in my head on Wednesday night as the Rockies fell 3-0 to the Los Angeles Dodgers to end a nine-game California road swing. The last two losses against the Dodgers put a thud at the end of the trip, cementing a 4-5 trip to San Diego, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

But it wasn’t just the losses. It was the way that they happened. On Tuesday night, it was Bryan Shaw giving up the go-ahead home run and continuing his struggles. On Wednesday night, it was the Colorado offense once again whiffing time and time again.

With their 15 strikeouts against Los Angeles on Wednesday night, Colorado batters now have logged double-digit strikeouts 23 times in 50 games this season. You read that correctly. This is a team that simply isn’t putting the ball in play, an irony for a franchise that often gets crucified for being a part of pinball games at Coors Field.

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Black said just under two weeks ago after his team struck out 15 times in a loss to the Milwaukee Brewers that ended their last homestand that high strikeout numbers were “not something we are going to stand for as we move forward.”

OK … so what has changed in the-now 12 days since Black said those words? Since that statement, Colorado has struck out 10 or more times in a game on three occasions (out of nine games). Since that statement, the Rockies have recalled Pat Valaika to the roster … and it was because DJ LeMahieu was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a left thumb sprain. That’s it. No other roster moves and seemingly no player has been benched for a high amount of strikeouts.

So what has changed? Not much it seems. If Black and the Colorado coaching staff weren’t going to stand for striking out in high numbers, why are we still talking about it as the Rockies prepare to open another homestand? It’s still happening … and very, very little is different than it was when we last saw the Rockies at Coors Field.

It would be great if the Rockies had options for Ian Desmond (who has struck out 17 times in his last 15 games), Trevor Story (15 times in his last 15 games), Carlos Gonzalez (14 times in his last 15 games) or any other Colorado player who goes through a period of high strikeouts. But the truth is that the Rockies roster isn’t built at the moment for Plan B or Plan C. There isn’t a viable “plug and play” option for the Rockies to help them snap out of their funk. Those options are seemingly still in Triple-A or on other Major League rosters.

Next: Could these five players help Colorado's offense?

It’s time to make a change. It’s time to shake up the offense. It’s time to do a lot of the things we have talked about in other articles on this site. Find a spark plug somewhere (make a trade or call someone up) and sit the guys who are struggling. Doing anything less is something that Rockies fans, to borrow Black’s thoughts, simply won’t stand for moving forward.

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Colorado Rockies manager Bud Black is one of the most knowledgeable and quotable managers in Major League Baseball. He currently is at the helm of a team that is struggling at the plate in well-documented and stomach-churning ways.

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