Nothing normal: Rockies fire Black on the same day they finally win one

The Colorado Rockies won a game on Sunday. In fact, they dominated the San Diego Padres, 9-3 to snap an eight-game losing streak. And yet, in typical Rockies fashion, Sunday’s game will be a mere footnote when fans look back on May 11, 2025. 

That’s because just minutes after the win, the Rockies announced they had fired Bud Black.

Of course, it’s obvious that the Rockies had already decided to let Black go before Sunday’s game. Obviously, Saturday night’s embarrassing 21-0 defeat was the final straw in what has been the worst start to a season in Major League Baseball history. 

For certain, Black was going to be the fall guy, as managers and general managers always are. The Rockies also fired Mike Redmond as bench coach and elevated Warren Schaeffer to interim manager for the remainder of the 2025 season.

“Our play so far this season, especially coming off the last two seasons, has been unacceptable. Our fans deserve better, and we are capable of better,” said Rockies owner, chairman and CEO Dick Monfort in a statement per MLB.com. “While we all share responsibility in how this season has played out, these changes are necessary. We will use the remainder of 2025 to improve where we can on the field and to evaluate all areas of our operation so we can properly turn the page into the next chapter of Rockies Baseball.

“I want to thank Bud Black and Mike Redmond for their contributions to the organization across their eight years here. I appreciate their hard work and dedication and wish them nothing but the best going forward.”

As mentioned, Black was always going to be let go. There was no way he was going to survive the nightmare that is the Rockies’ 2025 season. But can Colorado ever do anything normal?

They just had to make the announcement minutes after Colorado fans got to watch their team win a game at Coors Field for the first time in weeks. Monfort couldn’t have picked a better time to do it? Maybe wait a few hours? I know the Rockies had to leave for Texas, but my word, on Mother’s Day, Colorado couldn’t even celebrate a much-needed win the right way.

Oh well, the announcement, or when the decision was made is irrelevant now. Black, who signed an extension in the offseason is gone. That’s baseball.

But, let me make one thing clear, and most Rockies’ fans already know this. What’s occurred this season, and the last few seasons is not all on Black. Not even close.

It actually starts with Monfort. He won’t spend money on the roster. Colorado’s roster is filled with lovable players, but, the Rockies don’t have the roster to even remotely challenge for anything close to a competitive season.

Again, that’s Monfort’s fault first. And after that, GM Bill Schmidt needs to have a lot of blame at his doorstep, too. He shops for the groceries as Bill Parcels famously once put it. How could Black successfully manage a team that’s literally built to not compete for anything meaningful?

The truth is, he can’t.

Now, should the Rockies be this bad? No. Not even close. They won 61 games last year with much of the same talent, and the same owner who won’t spend any money on players beyond a bad contract for Kris Bryant. So that is where Black must shoulder the responsibility, and he has done that.

However, Black was the fall guy. That’s just the way it had to be, but, what it doesn’t mean is that the Rockies are going to look much different Monday night in Texas. No, it’s the same roster, the same bad starting pitching, the same Bryant contract hanging over their heads, the same injury report. 

Now, it’s just not Black’s fault anymore. For the first time in eight years, Monfort will have to blame somebody else for the Rockies’ ineptitude. 

https://roxpile.com/sooner-then-later-the-rockies-have-to-decide-if-kris-bryant-can-still-be-a-productive-big-leaguer