It’s hard to imagine that the Rockies can sink much lower

Observations from the (blank) show that was the Dick Montfort/Jeff Bridich press conference:

• Got to love the Rockies’ spin on the Nolan Arenado trade. Their website initially referred to the players they got in “the haul” for Arenado. Considering the overall perception from around the baseball world is four of these guys may as well have been playing in the California Penal League tells you all about this “haul.”

• Stop it with this notion the Rockies “had” to trade Arenado because he was going to opt out of his contract after next season. If the Rockies truly ran a baseball team and not simply a business, they would have called Nolan’s bluff. I have a hard time believing Arenado would have left five years/$160 million dollars guaranteed on the table. The market for 30-year-old plus players was beginning to shrink even before the pandemic. Never mind after. Add in the pressure the player’s union would have put on Arenado not to opt out and I would’ve played poker with Nolan if I was the Rockies.

• But they don’t run a baseball team do they? I’ve said this for years. Coors Field is the star. The ballpark experience is the star. It’s about party decks and switching out the beer taps for Old Style when the Cubbies come to town. It’s about beautiful summer nights and jaw dropping sunsets. The Rockies know that as long as they keep Coors Field shining that the business of baseball will be good, even if the actual team stinks.

• I don’t get Montfort’s loyalty to Bridich. Put it this way. If you were running an ad for a baseball GM, I believe it would include the following requirements: A) Be able to make shrewd free-agent additions, B) cultivate strong relationships with your star players and C) build a strong farm system. Bridich has failed on all accounts. He’s spent over $280 million dollars on free agents who have made little to no impact. He alienated Arenado. And the Rockies farm system is ranked among the worst in baseball-even after the “haul” they received in the Nolan trade.

• You’re Trevor Story. Do you want to re-sign here? Yeah, me neither.

• I’ve heard from a lot of people who say, “This is it. I’m never going back.” This is a tough one for me. I love baseball. I have a 14-year-old son who actually likes baseball. Believe me, that’s becoming a rarity as Major League Baseball slowly strangles the life out of the game with at-bats that finish in a walk, strikeout or home run. Players hit screaming ground balls right into these asinine shifts. Games drone on for three-plus hours. I’ll go to a couple of games. That’s it, though. Which is too bad. If the Rockies were an exciting, contending team, I’d go 10 to 15 times.

• I tend to be a hopeless optimist at the start of every Rockies’ season. I look for the good even though I know they’ll eventually let me down. This season? I won’t lie. It’s going to be tough. I just have a hard time summoning up the energy and optimism for a franchise that continually shows they just don’t care about winning.

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