Last November, just a month into his job as the Rockies’ new general manager, Jeff Bridich said: “Our general goal is just to get us back to playing meaningful games in September. I think it’s both an aggressive and realistic goal for us.”
The Rockies never came close to reaching that goal.
They begin their final road trip of the season Tuesday night at Arizona with a 66-90 record. It’s the third time in four years Colorado will lose at least 90 games. That means Bridich faces a gauntlet of questions during the offseason.
So what’s on the line as the Rockies finish their season with three games at Arizona and three at San Francisco?
Weiss watch
Manager Walt Weiss has one year remaining on his three-year, $2 million contract. He has made it clear he wants to return, but Bridich has been noncommittal and owner Dick Monfort has declined to talk to the media.
Not helping Weiss is his 206-274 record.
Helping Weiss is the Rockies’ steady play of late. They are 10-10 over their last 20 games, thanks to a rare sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers last weekend.
One thing is clear: The players are not pointing the finger at Weiss.
“We haven’t been very good,” star third baseman Nolan Arenado said. “The blame doesn’t go to him. He puts the best guys out there, and we need to go perform. We weren’t able to do that this year. Hopefully, we’ll have some guys next year ready to play and give him a better chance to win.”
Arenado alert
The two-time Gold Glover, at age 24, has blossomed into an elite player. He has blasted 41 home runs and leads the majors with 126 RBIs. The club records for home runs (49 by Larry Walker in 1997 and Todd Helton in 2001) and RBIs (150 by Andres Galarraga in 1996) are beyond his reach. Yet Arenado has already hit the most home runs since the Rockies installed the humidor at Coors Field in 2002.
Weiss is touting Arenado for National League MVP, but the award appears to be locked up by Washington’s Byrce Harper and his 41 homers, 1.125 OPS and astounding 10.2 WAR (wins above replacement).
CarGo’s future
Early in the season, Gonzalez was mired in a deep slump. Then he got his legs under him and went out and hit 26 homers after the all-star break. CarGo, with 39 homers, trails Arenado by two in their friendly battle for the team title. It will make the final six games fun to watch.
Bridich is not actively trying to trade Gonzalez, but he will listen to offers during the offseason, and CarGo’s trade value has never been higher than it is right now. You can bet that a lot of scouts’ eyes will be trained on CarGo as the season winds down.
Mound auditions
Colorado’s pitching is, again, terrible. The rotation’s 5.31 ERA ranks last in the National League and the bullpen’s 4.74 ERA ranks 14th.
With veteran Jorge De La Rosa and rookie Jon Gray shut down for the season, the last six games give fill-in starters Chris Rusin and David Hale one last chance to each to prove himself.
Weiss has been using all sorts of combinations out of the bullpen, but it’s clear that he wants to see how hard-throwing right-handers Jairo Diaz, Justin Miller and Scott Oberg perform with the game in the balance, as well as left-hander Rex Brothers.
Patrick Saunders: psaunders@denverpost.com or @psaundersdp
Looking ahead
Rockies’ Christian Bergman (3-1, 4.62 ERA) at Diamondbacks’ Robbie Ray (5-12, 3.53), 7:40 p.m. Tuesday, ROOT; 850 AM
Bergman is a longshot to make the starting rotation in 2016, but he’s proving valuable as a long reliever. He has been especially effective on the road, posting a 1.78 ERA in 10 games (one start). He has not fared well against Arizona, with a 6.30 ERA in five relief appearances. The left-handed Ray is coming off a strong outing against the Los Angeles Dodgers, allowing three hits in six shutout innings at Chavez Ravine.
Wednesday: Rockies’ Chad Bettis (8-5, 4.38 ERA) at Diamondbacks’ Chase Anderson (6-6, 4.40), 7:40 p.m., ROOT
Thursday: Rockies’ David Hale (5-5, 6.01) at Diamondbacks’ Patrick Corbin (6-5, 3.28), 7:40 p.m., ROOT
Friday: Rockies’ Kyle Kendrick (6-13, 6.54) at Giants’ Chris Heston (12-10, 3.62), 8:15 p.m., ROOT
Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post
