Jun. 25—The rats continue to flee the sinking SS Dick.
It’s a shipwreck on the Rox.
Trevor Story soon will abandon ship. He slammed two home runs “outta here” Wednesday. He will be “outta here” in a month.
Assistant general manager Zach Wilson, the Rockies farm director, resigned or was fired Wednesday after assistant general manager John Weil, in charge of player personnel, resigned or was fired the previous week after, on April 26, executive vice president and general manager Jeff Bridich resigned or was fired.
The Rockies did not acknowledge or discuss the mysterious departures of Weil and Wilson, and the two still are included on the club’s website.
Last December four of six Rox analytical staffers quit — unless they were fired like clubhouse and bat boys.
Of the Rockies’ 2020 roster, 19 players did not return in 2021.
Everybody wants a lifeboat.
Among them were All-Star David Dahl, callously dumped; Ian Desmond, who has declined to play for the Rockies the past two seasons; and future Hall of Famer Nolan Arenado, who screamed to escape the pathetic franchise.
Joining Story on the way away probably will be Jon Gray and possibly first baseman C.J. Cron, closer Daniel Bard, reliever Mychal Givens, and maybe even Charlie Blackmon, if any other team would take him, his walkup song and the more than $50 million remaining in his contract.
Oh, lest we forget, owner Dick Monfort supposedly removed himself as CEO of the baseball operations after proclaiming for all to hear in spring training that he had assembled “a talented team” that “will be competitive’ this season.
The Rockies possess the worst road record in Major League Baseball and will not win the National League West for the 28th year in the club’s existence.
Dick is much more absorbed with being a hotelier and living in the penthouse of his pet project.
At least, Monfort won’t have worry that his two sons given nepotistic jobs in the Rox front office, Walker and Sterling, will resign — or be fired. Someday all this will belong to them, and they can mangle the franchise as their father Dick and invisible uncle Charlie did.
What is it about gold-spoon kids inheriting sports playthings in Colorado?
Dick has not spoken in public about the recent rash of departures, but he tends to keep his mouth shut because when he opens it, tiny birds and stupid words fly out. He will be ordered to stay in the shadows when the multitudes of media, fans, baseball players, owners, GMs and the commissioner show up for the All-Star Game festivities.
Meanwhile, two of the Monfort Minions, Greg Feasel and Bill Schmidt, will be the local front men for baseball’s mid-summer classic. Let’s hope they don’t mess up this Ballfest, too.
Neither commented about the sudden loss of the Rox two assistant general managers. Wilson and Weil haven’t responded, either. As usual, the Rox are no talk, all walk. The Rockies will just reach into their bag of balls and promote other loyalists of one of the worst franchises in sports rather than reaching out for quality executives with successful organizations.
The Rockies already are a Monfort-and-pop operation with fewer executives, administrators, assistants, employees, scouts, analytical specialists, minor league and international professionals, women and minorities on the payroll than the majority of teams in baseball.
Prior to the recent resignations or dismissals, the Rockies, according to their own accounting in the media guide, listed a work force of 24 in off-field baseball departments. The Padres employ more than 40 in similar capacities, and the Diamondbacks have approximately 100.
The Rockies are a cut-rate, low-class sports management outfit that mostly cares about discount taco days.
No wonder the franchise has serious problems signing players, managers, executives, or keeping them.
When Bridich walked or was thrown out the door at 20th and Blake, Monfort, as always, didn’t seek the advice of a headhunting consultant company. He elevated Schmidt, a longtime lackey who was in charge of scouting, which has produced one of the three worst minor league systems.
Then, Monfort didn’t even replace Schmidt.
The trio of Bridich, Weil and Wilson had enough, just as those before them who bolted. You’d think they would at least hang around to enjoy the All-Star Game, for which the Rockies will have one player involved as a charity choice.
Meanwhile, Monfort is going down with his ship of fools.