It wasn’t the news that many Colorado Rockies fans were hoping to hear.
When it was announced that Rockies manager Walt Weiss was going to meet with general manager Jeff Bridich on Tuesday afternoon, many Rockies fans were waiting to hear some good news. That news, for many fans, was that Bridich wanted to complete the task of putting his thumbprint on the Rockies by firing Weiss and bringing in his own guy. The news was quite the opposite, when the meeting was over, Weiss was still employed.
What does this mean for the Rockies?
The reality is, the Rockies are a long way from becoming the next Houston Astros. They are mired in mediocrity and have little idea on what to do to turn things around. However, firing Walt Weiss wasn’t a quick fix.
Make no mistake, Weiss made some extremely terrible decisions. In his third year, he ran a bullpen and a bench, two things a manager must have a great grip on, terribly. He looked like a rookie manager, and on many nights was completely out-managed.
However, if anyone who watched the Rockies win just 68 games in 2015 actually believes that a seasoned, bonafide manager would have had this team winning more than maybe 75 games, they might need an examination. The Rockies pitching staff was beyond terrible. It wasn’t just the bullpen. The starting rotation, with the exception of Jorge De La Rosa, who missed a few starts due to injury, was horrid. When Chris Rusin and Yohan Flande represented the best options beyond De La Rosa, the Rockies were in trouble whether Weiss was their manager or Tony LaRussa was calling the shots.
Weiss often managed like a rookie for one simple reason. It was essentially his first year calling the shots in 2015. It is easy to forget, the man who planted an office right next to Weiss for his first two seasons was named Bill Geivett. He is the reason behind the Boone Logan signing, and according to a source, he is also the reason that Chad Bettis wasn’t allowed to throw his curveball in 2014.
Every move that Weiss made was under a microscope. He was essentially a puppet. With Geivett out, Weiss got to take the handcuffs off. However, with that came a season of having to do it on his own, and having to learn. Weiss isn’t a great manager, but that doesn’t mean that he can’t learn how to be a good one.
The other solid factor for Weiss, which may be the decisive factor, is that in 2015 his team didn’t quit on him. They didn’t stop playing hard in July when they were all but eliminated and they didn’t stop playing hard in September. In fact, they didn’t even stop playing hard in the last inning of the last game. In years past, the Rockies were going through the motions by the trade deadline. They may not have been great, but they fought hard. That is a strong reflection of a manager.
When Troy Tulowitzki was traded, most people, myself included, believed that Carlos Gonzalez would be out the door right behind him. In fact, it wouldn’t just be Gonzalez, the likes of Charlie Blackmon, Jorge De La Rosa, and perhaps almost anyone else who other teams would be willing to deal a prospect or two for would be out the door. Instead, the trading for the Rockies began and ended with Tulowitzki being dealt.
When only the shortstop was dealt, it was a statement. It wasn’t a slap in the face to Tulo, as he clearly got the better end of that deal as he takes the field in the divisional round of the playoffs with the Blue Jays on Tuesday. Instead, it was a statement that it doesn’t matter how good the player is, if he doesn’t want to be a Rockie, the team can move along without him. That meant that Tulowitzki was gone.
With Tulowitzki gone and the season a complete wash, fans wondered what direction the Rockies would take in an offseason that seems like it will be more full of activity than the typical lull that the Rockies experience over most winters. The Rockies would go in one of two directions. The first, as many predicted would happen, was to tear down the big league club, nearly top to bottom and build around Nolan Arenado and a cast of a bunch of young prospects. The other option, the one most fans believed was the less likely route, would be to add a player or two here and there and try to patch together a decent team while the prospects started to make their mark.
Ultimately, the decision to keep Weiss for another year might actually mean something that fans will like to hear. It might just mean that the Rockies are planning on keeping Carlos Gonzalez as well and building around him and Arenado as the new dynamic duo with Tulo’s departure and Arenado’s emergence.
If the Rockies were going to go in a completely new direction, trading CarGo and any other player not named Arenado, then it would have been the perfect time to give Weiss the ax. It would be the perfect time to allow a new manager to install a new mentality as new players are coming into the clubhouse and through the system. Instead, Bridich has decided to go with Weiss, which just may mean that Gonzalez will be around.
Weiss may not be the greatest manager to don a uniform, but having him back for maybe just one more season isn’t the worst thing for Rockies fans. The Rockies are essentially in a rebuilding process, at least on the mound. If Weiss is able to inspire the team to play hard as they figure out how to play at the big league level, it might actually be a good thing, even if the team doesn’t win as many games as possible.
