The arrogance of the Rockies should be insulting to fans

I have to put my feelings about recent comments from Rockies general manager Jeff Bridich down on paper, so to speak. In case you missed it, Bridich talked about the media in a recently released book by Drew Goodman. Here are some of those comments:

“The reality is – and this is going to sound petty and bad — if you just objectively look at the people who are evaluating us every day, you know they’ve never come close to doing this job and all the work that goes into it. And most of them, probably 99 percent of them, they’ve never even led anything in their lives.

“It’d be like if I went to a hospital every day and wrote a blog about the job done by one of the surgeons and the things he screwed up. That’s crazy. I know nothing about brain surgery, nor have I ever even worked on the path to become a brain surgeon. That’s what goes on in this industry and other sports industries.”

Let me get this out of the way. I don’t care if Bridich doesn’t like me or the rest of the media. That’s not the point.

This is about 20-plus years of organizational arrogance that started with Dan O’Dowd and has continued through the likes of Bill Geivett, Clint Hurdle and now Bridich.

You remember Geivett, right? “You’ve got to trust the organization.” Comments that were utterly dripping with condescension. Or Hurdle and, “If you didn’t play the game, you wouldn’t understand.”

Now, it’s Bridich.

What irritates me is what the hell has this organization done to justify such arrogance? No division titles in franchise history and no playoff series wins since 2007. Maybe a dash of humility would go a long way here, guys?

Bridich’s comments strike a deeper nerve with me. I hear this a lot.

“Well, if you didn’t play the game, you wouldn’t understand.” Think about this: If Bridich feels this way about the men and women who cover his team daily, what does he think about you, the average fan out there, who feels it’s your right to boo and criticize performances and to call or text into our radio show to complain about the Rockies? What kind of sneering contempt does he have for you?

Don’t these general managers, coaches, managers and players understand that if only “those who played the game” could criticize, it would leave out, oh, about 99.9% of the fans who go to games, buy gear and ultimately pay the millions of dollars showered upon players and boost the value of franchises for owners into the billions?

Maybe most of the fans and media don’t understand the most intricate details and schemes and X’s and O’s that go into winning and losing games. However, it’s not that hard to understand why a team is good and why they’re bad.

The point that self-absorbed sports figures like Bridich lose sight of is sports matter to us. It’s an escape for sure. But there is a passion there. And with that passion comes opinions and critiques – good and bad.

To de-legitimize our blasting Vance Joseph for not going for it on fourth down, or hammering Joe Sakic for not being more active at the trade deadline or wondering with disbelief why Michael Malone continues to play Will Barton in crucial situations to, yes, even questioning a Rockies team that is once again breathing the Dodgers exhaust fumes robs us of most of the fun that goes into being a sports fan.

You’d think a franchise like the Rockies that has been irrelevant for most of their existence and is known more for their ballpark and glorious sunsets during ballgames would welcome fans’ passion, even if it can be critical at times.

Apparently, Jeff Bridich doesn’t think you, or I, deserve that.

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