Alright, I've had enough.
This isn't a 2018 statement. This isn't a knee-jerk reaction to a horrendous home set where the Rockies get blown out in three straight by the Diamondbacks. This is more than that.
But, first, a little background. My name is Evan Cotten and I've been following the ins and outs of baseball loserdom since childhood. You see, I'm a Royals fan. And yes, I'm planning to devote these pages primarily to Rockies coverage.
I've lived right down the street from Coors Field for a little more than 3 years now, and have been following the Rockies since their inception in 1993. I can't help but see the similarities between my now-hometown team and the one I've rooted for my entire life. Sadly, these start and stop with losing. Lots of losing. Decades of losing.
I know, I'm not a lifer. I'm not an original. I haven't suffered through the thin years in the thin air.
But, I've suffered nonetheless. I'm no stranger to losing. And I'm no stranger to process. The inspiration for this, and my previously abandoned forays into blogging is the incomparable Rany on the Royals. We masochistic Royals fans had access to coverage from a fan's perspective, and it was unapologetic. I think there's room for similar discourse on the Front Range.
The Royals have shown fan-bases like the one here in Denver (and the ones in Houston and the North Side of Chicago) that winning is possible. Odds much longer than the Rockies' have been overcome to produce World Series champions. And in the American League, no less.
The timing for this exercise also seems perfect. Just last year, Rockies owner Dick Monfort was pleased to announce that the payroll set a franchise record at $117M. This comes three years after he named Harvard grad Jeff Bridich General Manager to replace longtime pilot Dan O'Dowd following the 2014 season. And the payroll has jumped further to $146M in 2018.
Those are positive signs from the owner's box, and similar steps to those taken in the mid-2000s first by late Detroit Tigers owner Mike Ilitch, who hired Dave Dombrowski, and Royals owner and notorious cheapskate David Glass, who hired Dayton Moore, and then got out of the way from a baseball standpoint. It's a good thing to separate ownership from those hired to put together a winning team, at least in baseball (happy birthday, John Elway). Both of these clubs went on to win World Series titles after being venerable laughing stocks for decades. And they did it in relatively short order.
The Rockies are spending enough to win. Their talented core absolutely wants to win. The fans are desperate to win. Yet, having made their way into the playoffs four times in 25 years, they've never done it in back-to-back seasons. A promising 2018 is starting to sour this notion once more. And they're still waiting on that first division title.
In the series of posts to follow, we'll take a long look at how the Rockies have gotten to where they are today, what the current regime has done to build the roster and how they can open a meaningful window for winning. Yes, even in Coors Field.
I do hope you join me, and I welcome your feedback.
@careeryear
careeryearblog@gmail.com
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