Bridich takes the blame, but Monfort doesn’t hold him accountable

On Tuesday morning, Dick Monfort and Jeff Bridich met the media to discuss the Nolan Arenado trade. It was an extraordinary hour, as the Rockies owner and general manager were peppered with questions about the team shipping the five-time All-Star to the Cardinals.

Most of the consternation centered around the fact that Bridich and Arenado’s relationship had soured in the past 12 months. The GM was asked about his inability to mend fences, as the situation deteriorated to the point where one of the best third basemen in baseball wanted to play elsewhere.

“If we’re looking to pass blame, you can blame me,” Bridich said. “It’s the job of a GM to create a team that competes and wins games. If you’re looking to parse out blame, you can throw it on me.”

It was a commendable answer. After all, most people aren’t willing to accept the blame when things go badly. Too often, people choose to point the finger instead.

But it’s only truly an honorable thing to do if there are potential negative consequences to being the one at fault. And that’s clearly not the situation here.

Later in the press conference, Monfort was asked if he ever considered moving on from Bridich. His answer was succinct.

“No, I have not thought about firing Jeff,” the Rockies owner said.

In other words, there’s no accountability. Even though Bridich is at fault for not building a team that Arenado considered a contender, for spending lavishly on bad free agents and for creating a toxic relationship with arguably the best player in franchise history, Monfort never considered relieving him of his duties.

Loyalty is admirable. It also can become foolish. It causes people to remain committed to people that aren’t in their best interest.

Jeff Bridich admitted he’s done a poor job with the Rockies. Dick Monfort needs to accept that reality too.

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