Colorado Rockies: 5 interesting quotes we heard from GM Jeff Bridich

Quote Two

"“In 2018, I believe we had a roster and a team that was good enough to go to the World Series. I think that there were certain opportunities in September and October that we did not take advantage of. Really, we have nobody to blame but ourselves for that. I think we put ourselves in position multiple times to win the division and to go deeper into the playoffs and we just did not capitalize on it. That’s nobody’s fault but ours. “I hope this group, going forward, that it’s a learning experience for all of us when you have those opportunities. What it takes to succeed and achieve in those types of situations. I think it’s a credit to our group also, both players and staff, that we put ourselves in those positions and, in spite of some missed opportunities in September, we still found a way to get into the Division Series, even though we didn’t play very well in that series.”"

As disappointed as we all were in Colorado’s NLDS elimination, a mid-September road trip to San Francisco and Los Angeles was one of the key stretches of the season. Disappointing losses highlighted by an inability to hit cost the Rockies the chance to grab their first-ever National League West title.

Part of the “learning experience” mentioned above could be directed at Colorado manager Bud Black, who kept fielding a veteran-laden team during those late games rather than often giving younger players a chance to step in and possibly provide a spark. Part could also be directed at players who simply didn’t perform when the pressure was greatest. As much as Jon Gray has been vilified for that on the mound, there are plenty of Rockies who went stone cold at the plate when they were given the chance to deliver the division title to Denver.

The roster was good … but it had a lot of holes and deficiencies as well. Those holes must be patched this offseason.