Jeff Bridich faces an enormous task.
The Rockies’ 38-year-old, Harvard-educated general manager must figure out not only how to improve one of the worst pitching staffs in the majors — and do it within owner Dick Monfort’s strict payroll structure — he must also rebuild the Rockies’ culture.
More precisely, Bridich must mix and match the players who will formulate the team’s chemistry from within.
Right now, the Rockies have no identity, other than as a team that has lost 90 or more games in three of its last four seasons, the worst stretch in franchise history.
The Rockies are never going to spend their way to a division title the way the Los Angeles Dodgers can, so building a real sense of team is paramount.
I understand the exploding influence that sabermetrics — the application of sophisticated statistics — has on baseball. But I maintain that the human factor still matters a great deal.
Lonnie Wheeler thinks so, too.
The longtime baseball writer teamed with Hank Aaron to write Aaron’s biography, “I Had a Hammer,” an indispensable part of my baseball library. Now Wheeler has penned
Wheeler stresses a concept that he calls “teamship,” that is, getting players to buy into a team-first philosophy. The current embodiment of teamship is the St. Louis Cardinals, one of the teams Wheeler focuses on.
“Mostly, it’s the things that people can’t see that may go on in the dugout, in the offseason, in the clubhouse,” “It’s players, by whatever means, making other players better through counsel, through example, work ethic. It’s a social thing.
“It’s not necessarily creating a kind and gentle environment where everybody’s getting along and having a good time. Sometimes, what’s required is some tough love or some harsh words.”
Right now, the Rockies lack that “social thing.”
I’m not pointing fingers at players. It’s just the reality of the state of the Rockies. With so many young players, especially pitchers, trying to establish themselves as major-leaguers — or simply trying to stick in the big leagues — teamship is secondary. Career survival is primary.
Catcher Nick Hundley, Bridich’s best offseason acquisition, is the kind of player the Rockies need. He’s a teacher, friend and counselor. He’s also not afraid to call out his teammates. Unfortunately, Hundley’s two-year deal ends after the 2016 season.
I talked to veteran first baseman Justin Morneau about the team culture the other day. He is adamant that team chemistry creates winning, not vice versa.
“I think there needs to be a belief,” he said. “You can’t wait to win before you believe you are going to win. That comes from preparation and hard work.”
He continued: “There are guys with leadership qualities in here. Obviously, Nolan (Arenado) is a young guy who’s had a lot of success. More than that, he loves the game. He cares, he loves to be out there every day, he expects to win. He goes into every game with the mentality of playing hard and playing to win, no matter what happened the day before.
“And you have a guy like DJ LeMahieu who runs down the line hard every single time and does whatever is necessary to win. He moves guys over or gets bunts down when we need it.”
Morneau, probably entering his final days in a Colorado uniform, also cautions that the pitching-starved Rockies must avoid pointing fingers.
“The other thing that needs to happen is not to say, ‘It’s the pitchers vs. the hitters,’ or guys saying, ‘Oh, we have to pitch better,’ ” Morneau said. “Inside the clubhouse, you (can’t have) guys pointing fingers at each other as two separate groups — as opposed to being one unit.
“The mentality has to be if we give up five, we’ve got to score six. If we give up eight, we have to score nine.”
Morneau completely buys into the concept of teamship.
“(Pointing fingers) is an easy excuse, and it’s an easy way to pass blame and not feel responsible for what’s going on,” he said. “It makes it easy to lose. I think that’s really when you get in trouble. All of this is part of the learning process for this team.”
Patrick Saunders: psaunders@denverpost.com or @psaundersdp
Spotlight on …
Paul Goldschmidt, first baseman, D-backs
What’s up: The Rockies begin their final road trip of the season Tuesday in Phoenix, where they will face Goldschmidt, the vastly underpaid star who makes a habit of bashing Rockies pitching. In 296 career plate appearances vs. Colorado, he has hit .319 with 12 homers, 55 RBIs and a .964 OPS.
Background: Goldschmidt — who entered the weekend hitting .319 with 31 homers and 104 RBIs — was a legitimate National League MVP candidate through June. During one streak, he drew a Barry Bonds-like 13 intentional walks in a span of seven games. He has cooled a bit since, but he’s having a season to rival 2013, when he finished second to Pittsburgh’s Andrew McCutchen for MVP.
Saunders’ take: Goldschmidt won’t win the MVP this year, either. That honor has been locked up by Washington’s Bryce Harper, who entered the weekend leading the NL in nearly every major offensive category. At age 22, Harper will join exclusive company. Only Johnny Bench and Stan Musial earned NL MVP honors at a younger age. But Goldschmidt is a special player too. At age 28, he’s a franchise player who is getting better. He is the face of the Diamondbacks — at a bargain-basement price. If Arizona picks up his 2019 option, Goldschmidt’s contract averages out to a mere $7.4 million a year. He’s making just over $3 million this year. For comparison’s sake, Colorado’s Wilin Rosario is making $2.8 million.
