Nolan Arenado, Ryan McMahon, and Tim Melville on Colorado Rockies clubhouse culture

The Colorado Rockies have had a disappointing season as expectations were sky-high. With as much losing that they’ve had in the past two months, one thing that can suffer is the clubhouse atmosphere. However, it seems as if the Rockies are turning a corner.

The Colorado Rockies broke their four-game losing streak as they beat the Atlanta Braves in a makeup game at Coors Field on Monday. The Braves, themselves, had an eight-game winning streak that was snapped with the loss.

The Rockies won on the back of Ryan McMahon, who hit a walkoff, two-run homer as the Rockies won 3-1.

After the game, a few Rockies talked to the media, including Rox Pile’s Kevin Henry, about the how  the clubhouse has been in the past months with this stretch that has seen the Rockies, even with Monday’s win, go 19-39 in their past 58 games, after they went 40-34 in their first 74 games of the season.

One of those Rockies players was third baseman Nolan Arenado and he said that some things need to change.

"“I think it’s decent [but] I think we can get better,” said Arenado. “I think the culture, you don’t want to have a losing culture and right now, we’re losing so we can change some things a bit but I think that at the end of the day, as a group, we’re close knit and we get along really well. We’re not happy with what’s going on and we feel like we can be better than this so I think that’s all good because I think guys are realizing [that] we can grow and get better.”"

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After his walkoff homer, Ryan McMahon also talked about the clubhouse and how it has been recently. While it seems like they were down recently, he thinks that they are currently turning a corner to a better, more positive clubhouse atmosphere.

"“I think we’re starting to head to a really good spot, honestly,” said McMahon. “Less on the field and more, kind of, as a team, in the clubhouse, [and] stuff like that. I think that we’re starting to get the hang of how to be after wins and losses…I think guys are starting to realize when you build a good culture, that’s going to lead to more wins. Right now, we’re doing some things–some in house stuff–and celebrating some things…and trying to stay more positive with the culture.”"

Perhaps, the Rockies have started to turn the corner because of Tim Melville who, after being called up as an emergency starter last week as a result of Jon Gray‘s season being over due to a foot fracture, has allowed only one run in 12 innings in two starts. He also spent the offseason working at a barbecue restaurant in Phoenix and was pitching with the Long Island Ducks earlier this year before the Rockies signed him to a minor league deal.

Melville also talked to the media, including Henry, and said that he has always been a big culture and atmosphere guy, even when he was working at the barbecue restaurant.

"“I’m a big culture guy so I enjoy a good clubhouse culture and that’s a predecessor to winning so when I’m out there,” said Melville, “I just want to have fun.” “I want the guys around me to have fun and I want to make the guys around me better. It’s kind of been in me for a long time and I had a good experience this offseason with the barbecue restaurant (Little Miss BBQ in Phoenix this past offseason). I hate to bring that back up again but if you guys ever go there, you kind of notice there’s an atmosphere about the place…so for me coming to the park, it’s coming to the park everyday and play[ing] my hardest to execute every pitch and have fun along the way too.”"

As we have discussed before, particularly in our recent podcasts, at this point in the season for the Rockies, you have to find the little victories and see who can fit into to next year’s plans.

Whether it’s development and growth of players and getting players into big situations against contending teams (like the Braves) or still very good teams (like the Red Sox this week), seeing who fits into next year’s plans, or developing the clubhouse atmosphere and have that carry over to next season, that’s something that you have to commend, especially with the amount of regression and injuries that the team has dealt with thus far this season.