What if the Rockies had made some dramatic moves to improve the club at the 2018 trade deadline?

What if the club had re-signed All-Star second baseman DJ LeMahieu — considered the toughest player on the team — instead of letting him walk away at the end of the season, only to see him become a star with the Yankees?

What if the Rockies’ front office and owner Dick Monfort had improved the core of that 2018 team that won 91 games before losing the National League West title to the Dodgers in Game 163?

“Oh yeah, I think about it,” Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado said Monday night before playing the Rockies at Coors Field. “I mean, we’ve talked about it. I’ve talked to DJ about it and (Trevor) Story about it.”

Arenado, 34, a 10-time Gold Glove winner, is on the back end of his career. He entered Monday’s game slashing .241/.299/.381 with 10 homers and 42 RBIs.

After signing an eight-year, $260 million contract in February 2019, Arenado was traded from the Rockies to the Cardinals in February 2021 in one of the most infamous trades in Colorado sports history.

But in 2018, the Rockies had a “special” team. Arenado’s words. Colorado fans thought so, too. More than 3 million watched baseball at Coors Field.

Arenado was nearing the peak of his powers, slashing .297/.374/.561 with an NL-high 38 homers and 110 RBIs. Of all of the “what could have beens,” it’s Colorado’s failure to go all out at the trade deadline in 2018 that sticks with him.

“I think we were more disappointed with the lack of deadline moves at the time,” he said. “If we had just gotten over the edge to win that division.”

Arenado paused for a moment, then added, “I think about some games that season that we didn’t win, and I think, ‘My gosh, we blew that game.’ Or, ‘We didn’t score enough runs.’ If we had added just a little bit more, we would have won the division. That’s what I believe.”

The Rockies lost Game 163, 5-2, at Los Angeles. They beat the Cubs, 2-1, in 13 innings in the NL wild-card game at Wrigley Field, but then got swept in three games by Milwaukee in the divisional round. It’s been downhill ever since, with Colorado closing in on seven consecutive losing seasons and now headed toward a third consecutive 100-loss season.

But the ’18 Rockies were loaded, especially in the infield with Ian Desmond (22 homers, .729 OPS) at first, Gold Glove winner LeMahieu at second (15 homers, .749 OPS), and Story, the Silver Slugger winner, at shortstop (37 homers, .914 OPS).

In the outfield, the Rockies had Charlie Blackmon (29 homers, .860 OPS) and Carlos Gonzalez (16 homers, .796 OPS), as well as veteran Gerardo Parra (six homers, .714 OPS). Parra, along with CarGo, brought some levity to an otherwise all-business clubhouse.

Lefty Kyle Freeland (17-7, 2.85 ERA) and right-hander German Marquez (14-11, 3.77 ERA) anchored a strong rotation. Freeland and Marquez, along with right-hander Antonio Senzatela and third baseman Ryan McMahon (a role player in 2018), are the only players remaining from that team.

Does Freeland ever look back?

“Absolutely,” he said. “I feel like every organization can look at players that were dealt away or not re-signed in free agency. I mean, what if we did have DJ at second, Story at short and Nolan at third for a longer, extended period of time?

“There are so many ‘what ifs,’ but it always comes down to the fact that this is a business. Guys want to test free agency, and they want new contracts. And you have to ask, ‘Do they want to be here?’ ”

How good was that 2018 team?

“It was very good,” Freeland said. “You look at that core of veterans who moved on and what they have done in the game, and you do wonder, ‘What could have been?’ ”

Arenado said that the camaraderie on Colorado’s last playoff team was “special.” The work ethic was “exceptional.”

In his opinion, the game has changed.

“I think what I’m seeing now, compared to that group, was that that group was super excited to come to the field every day and get to work,” he said. “I felt like everybody was chasing being great — individually.

“We weren’t that good, we were pretty good, we weren’t great. But it was a totally different vibe from what I see now from players, compared to those players (in ’18). The guys got to the field at 12:45 every day. Guys were excited to get to the field early, and we stayed late all of the time. Now, it’s just different.”

Pose a Rockies- or MLB-related question for the Rockies Mailbag.

Hi Patrick! Longtime fan of the mailbag. I have been boycotting this team since watching upper management squander DJ LeMahieu, Troy Tulowitzki and Nolan Arenado, and getting nothing back for any of them. In my view, it doesn’t matter what hot young prospects we hit on; ownership and our general manager don’t know how to build a franchise in the most basic ways. Given that, what hope is there that Dick Monfort sells the team (none?) or appoints a qualified outsider as head of baseball operations (as opposed to organizational nepotism)? How bad would things have to get? They can’t get much worse!

— Sam, Denver

Sam, I’ve had recent conversations with several people who used to be with the organization and genuinely care about the Rockies. They are discouraged and embarrassed about what’s happening.

Knowing that Dick Monfort is not going to sell the team and is also reluctant to make sweeping changes, one savvy baseball person offered suggestions. According to him, the Rockies should:

• Hire a strong, independent baseball mind from outside the organization to do a thorough evaluation of the franchise.

• Examine all departments, including front office, scouting, manager, player development, big-league coaching, analytics, and even ticket sales.

• Evaluate the organization for the remainder of the season and then implement necessary changes.

• Hire a new team president to oversee baseball operations; someone who has the power to take most baseball decisions out of Monfort’s hands. Perhaps the new president is the person hired to evaluate the organization, or maybe it’s someone else.

Hey Patrick, I’m a lifelong Rockies fan and recently, as I think we all can agree, it����ap been quite disheartening.

I love our players, our ballpark, and childhood memories with my family at 20th and Blake. Now I proudly represent Colorado in New York City amongst a sea of Yankees and Mets fans. However, lately I’ve been asking myself: Who am I rooting for?

It����ap feeling like I am rooting for an organization that doesn’t care about me as a fan at all. Which leads me to my ultimate question: What can we, as fans, do? I’ve heard whispers about boycotting games. I’ve refrained from buying a sleek new City Connect jersey until I feel the team is headed in a better direction in order to “vote with my dollar,” but even that all feels pointless.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result. Somebody has to change something: Could the fans be the ones to inspire a more competitive culture? Can we demand that ownership increase the analytics department?

Thanks for your time!

— Erik, New York City

Erik, I don’t usually respond to such lengthy opinions/questions. However, you effectively summarize the feelings of many fans who have reached out to me.

I don’t have any real answers to your questions. I am not an advocate of boycotting the team because it would hurt the workers at Coors Field, as well as the businesses around the ballpark. Also, it’s not my place to tell fans how to spend their money, but I completely understand why some fans have given up on a team on its way to a seventh consecutive losing season and started this season 4-24 through Monday night.

Should the Rockies increase the size of their analytics department? Yes. However, I’m unsure how anyone can “demand it.”

Zac Veen is now performing worse, statistically speaking, than Jordan Beck, the man who was sent down to create room for Veen. Should we expect the two of them to change places again? Question two: Do you have any good news to share about Thairo Estrada’s status?

— John Godfrey, Sebastopol, Calif.

John, your question was submitted before the Rockies recalled Beck and sent Veen back down to Triple-A Albuquerque.

It was clear that Veen was not ready to face major league pitching. The Rockies knew that but when Beck struggled so mightily to begin the season, the club figured promoting Veen was worth a shot. Let him test the waters.

But Veen was consistently getting beaten by fastballs up in the zone. In 12 games, he hit .118 with one home run and two RBIs. He struck out 14 times in 37 plate appearances (37.8%). He was also unsteady in the outfield. The demotion to Triple-A was needed.

Beck seemed to have found his swing during his short stint with the Isotopes. When he returned, he was timing up fastballs much better and put together a nice hot streak, getting a hit in six of eight games, batting .346 (9 for 26) with one triple, five home runs and nine RBIs.

At this point, Beck is a better overall player than Veen.

As for Estrada, he was recently placed on the 60-day injured list, but he’s making steady progress as he recovers from his fractured wrist. I don’t have an exact timetable for his return, but it will be in May.

Like many, I have been shocked at the inability of many Rockies players to make contact with fastballs in the strike zone that are catching a good chunk of the plate. We know they can’t acquire good hitters (Kris Bryant, Daniel Murphy, Ian Desmond …) but do you have any sense on if the failure of young Rockies hitters is more from a scouting/drafting side or does it have more to do with a failure to coach and develop players along the way? Or will we forget this question when Zac Veen, Jordan Beck and Michael Toglia are 2026 All-Stars?

— Isaac Bowen, Fort Collins

Isaac, the Rockies’ inability to hit fastballs and put the ball in play is maddening, to you, me, manager Bud Black, the front office, etc. The Rockies’ 28.3% strikeout rate is the highest in baseball.

In comparison, the Padres’ strikeout rate is 18.4% and the Dodgers’ is 22%. Plus, the Dodgers have hit 46 home runs vs. 24 by the Rockies.

It’s a massive problem without a simple solution. Perhaps Clint Hurdle, the new interim hitting coach, can make a difference, but he won’t turn things around in a few months.

In my opinion, the Rockies have done a poor job of drafting players who profile well at Coors Field. Or, if they did pick the right players, those players haven’t developed as the team hoped at the major league level.

However, make no mistake, the players themselves must also be held accountable. There is a stubbornness, or simply an inability, among many players to make the necessary adjustments. Michael Toglia and Ryan McMahon come to mind. Brenton Doyle is an exception. After a tough 2023 season (.203 average, 10 home runs, 35.0% K rate), he made significant adjustments in his swing and improved dramatically in 2024 (.260, 23, 25.4%)

Is Scott Servais a candidate to replace Bud Black?

— Garland McGarvey, Coon Valley, Wis.

I have not heard that. Nor have I heard that Black will be fired, though it wouldn’t shock me or anybody if he is. I have no idea if Servais would be a good fit for the rebuilding Rockies.

I would think that if the Rockies are going to make significant changes, both general manager Bill Schmidt and Black would be fired, a new GM would be hired, and he would play a major role in hiring the next manager. That would be the logical way to do it — if the Rockies clean house.

By the way, Servais was in his ninth season with Seattle when he was fired by the Mariners last August. He was the majors’ second-longest-tenured manager with the same team, along with the Dodgers’ Dave Roberts, and behind only the Rays’ Kevin Cash. Servais was 680-642 with the Mariners.

What is going on with Michael Toglia? The strikeouts are high, of course. However, it looks worse with the at-bats he’s giving. Is he being too stubborn to make adjustments to increase his contact rate? Lastly, if improvements do not materialize, is there any chance the Rockies could move on from him next season?

— Jason, Visalia, Calif.

Jason, great question. I’ve been hard on Toglia because he has so much potential. The Rockies believe that, too. The fact that he’s a terrific first baseman and a switch-hitter makes him a tantalizing talent who has a lot left to prove.

Toglia has hit much better lately. Over his last 10 games (entering Tuesday night), he was slashing .294/.342/.412 with one home run and six RBIs. His strikeout rate was 23.7%.

However, for the season, Togila is slashing .214/.257/.316 with two home runs, 11 RBIs and a strikeout rate of 39%.

Toglia has a long swing and “long levers,” so he is strikeout-prone. I do believe he’s stubborn, especially when it comes to shortening his swing and altering his two-strike approach.

With the hiring of Clint Hurdle, is it possible he’s being put in the position to take over as manager, perhaps as an interim bridge to a new manager or a more permanent one?

— Colin Orr, Castaic, Calif.

Colin, there was a lot of speculation about that when Hurdle was hired as the interim hitting coach, replacing Hensley “Bam Bam” Meulens. It’s possible that Hurdle could step in as manager if Bud Black is fired, but I don’t believe that’s the reason Hurdle was hired. I also don’t think Hurdle wants to be the manager of the future, nor do I think he should be. If Black does get fired, the Rockies need to hire someone from outside the organization.

What letter grade do you give the Rockies for their effort and record after one month of the season? Better yet, why that grade?

— Ed Helinski, Auburn, N.Y.

Ed, the effort is a solid B. The players are trying hard, but the team lacks talent and experience. The results are a solid F. There is no other grade you can give a team that opened the season 4-24, joining the 2003 Tigers, 1988 Orioles and 1936 St. Louis Browns as the only teams since 1901 to lose at least 24 of their first 28 games.

After 32 years, assuming the Monforts keep control of the team, what year would you honestly predict that they will first win the division? What odds would make you want to bet that they will EVER win the division under current ownership?

— WGLarry, Denver

WG, or is it Larry? Anyway, that’s a loaded question. I have no crystal ball, so let me put it this way: The Rockies’ best shot to win a division title would come sometime in the 2030s when, or if, Major League Baseball expands to 32 teams and realigns the divisions. If the Rockies were no longer in the NL West with the Dodgers, perhaps they could win their first division title.

Is it tough to report on a team that is this bad year in and year out?

— Rece Lampe, Fort Collins

Rece, the answer is yes, for several reasons. First of all, when a team is as bad as the Rockies have been, interest (and readership) goes down. Secondly, most players, who are already guarded when talking to the media, become even more guarded. Plus, it’s challenging to find players to talk to in a losing clubhouse. Third, it’s not nearly as much fun to write about a losing team. Ultimately, covering baseball is a grind, regardless of a team’s performance.

Having said all of that, I have to remind myself that I have a pretty cool job. I was reminded of that on Monday night when I took a group of University of Colorado students to the game at Coors Field (I teach a sports journalism class at CU). Witnessing their level of excitement reminded me that I have a cool job. But it would undoubtedly be more fun covering a 100-win team versus a 100-loss team.

Rookie pitcher Angel Chivilli got thrown to the wolves (the wolves, er, Reds, won on Wednesday, thanks to a six-run ninth), which means Colorado’s lugging a five-game losing skid into Nolan Arenado’s backyard.

Check that. A five-game losing skid and no Kris Bryant.

Again.

“It����ap looking like we’re going to put him on the injured list,” Black said after his star’s back problems re-emerged over the past few days. “And let this settle down and hopefully come back in the 10-day period.”

In the meantime, Buddy, you’ll just have to forgive Harrison Haus for presuming the worst. Or rather, more of the same.

“(Bryant) has a knack for not playing when we’re here, I’ll say that much,” the Cubs convert from South Bend, Ind., who now lives in Aurora told me as we watched the eighth inning of a maddening 12-7 loss to Cincinnati from the back of Section 130.

“I mean, in the last couple years, probably, we’ve been to 15 (games).”

“How many of those did Bryant miss?” I asked.

Haus peered into the beer splashing about his plastic cup. He took a reflexive sip while doing the math in his head.

“Ten of those,” Haus replied.

“Sounds about right,” I said.

“So I’ve seen him play opening day a couple of times,” he continued. “I was here for that. It was cool. I mean, that tugs on your heartstrings a little bit. But the cost …”

Ah, yes. The cost. . Three seasons in, Bryant����ap played, combined, in 146 games, logging 546 at bats while hitting .247 with 17 home runs with 55 RBIs.

So for $71 million in base pay over three years, Rockies general manager Bill Schmidt����ap gotten the statistical equivalent of one season

The kicker? There are still four years and $104 million in base salary to go. Buckle up, buttercup.

“You’re not going to be able to trade him,” Haus mused between sips. “So I think we’re going to keep trotting him out there. They’re going to sell the jerseys. He’s still a name … I think you’ve got to keep putting him out there as long as you can until (the contract) becomes tradeable. Or cuttable.”

We’ve got a Russell Wilson situation now, one that probably requires a painful, expensive Russell Wilson solution. At this point, a reputable big-league franchise swallows its pride and eats the money. But these are the Rockies we’re talking about, so who knows?

Know this: No front office in its right mind is going to trade for a slugger whose body gave up the ghost 24 months ago. The Rockies are playing Bryant — when they can, assuming they can — out of shame, hubris and pure stubbornness now. They’re hoping big No. 23 catches lightning in the bottle long enough, at some point, that he either justifies the worst free-agent contract in franchise history or impresses some pennant-chasing scout who thinks a contender can squeeze whatever drops of baseball KB’s got left.

Which, to Ashley Kindsvatter, a Denverite who wore a black Bryant T-shirt to Wednesday’s tilt, probably ain’t much.

“Cut him,” Kindsvatter said matter-of-factly.

“Yeah, you’re out $100 million. If you can’t, in this day and age, with sports contracts, let go of $100 million … it����ap tough. I get it. It����ap been what, three years? This is his third year. I would do that if I had an employee and I owed him a certain amount.

“At this point, does him being here do anything materially good to the team, outside of him patting people on the back or in the (backside)?”

Her sympathies are justifiably limited toward Schmidt and CEO Dick Monfort, given how management chooses to build a lineup around a former MVP who never plays (Bryant) and anchor a rotation around two pitchers — German Marquez and Kyle Freeland — who’ve made four starts combined through 61 games.

“Yeah, you’re going to lose revenue, Dick Monfort. So open up your pocketbook,” she continued. “Big-money decisions are determined by the owner. (Monfort) picked Kris Bryant.

“I know we don’t have a top-10 minor league system. But, in my opinion, him being here, if he can’t be consistently playing 75% of the season, seems like a wasted three years.”

Sure does. Over the first three seasons of his contract, which should be the statistical apex of a 29-year-old’s career, Bryant����ap appeared in 146 out of a possible 385 games (37.9%).  He’s posted a combined WAR with the Rox of -1.1, per BaseballReference.com, which again,

“And he’s probably going to get hurt again,” sighed Jerry Duran of Denver, whose son attended Reds-Rox wearing a sharp green-and-white Rockies alternate jersey with “BRYANT 24” stitched into the back. “I don’t want him to. It����ap unfortunate.

“But that����ap just the way, I guess, his body is. He can’t handle the game anymore.”

And Haus, to be frank, is getting a little cheesed off at having to explain to his kids why KB’s never in the lineup whenever they come to the ballpark. At having to explain what a “lemon” is. At having to justify an invisible icon.

“Super nice guy,” Haus said of Bryant. “I want it to work out here at some point, just to have some semblance of it be worthwhile.”

Another sip.

“But it����ap going to be tough … and you kinda have to live with it, you know? They made that bed.”

And now they’re lying in it. Moored to the bottom bunk of the NL West. A drinking town with a baseball problem, living the same nightmare on a loop.

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In the garden outside her home in rural Douglas County, purple-and-white flowers form a “CR” logo in celebration of her favorite baseball team. On summer evenings, she lounges in seats once used inside Coors Field.

She was a full-time season-ticket holder beginning with the birth of the team in 1993. Then McKenny, 64, switched to a ticket mini-plan, saying, “I got frustrated with some of the management moves regarding players.”

Over the last couple of years, she’s switched allegiances, choosing to spend money on the Nuggets, who won their first NBA championship this year, and the Avalanche, who won their third Stanley Cup title in 2022.

“I decided right out of the gate not to renew our Rockies’ mini-plan,” she said. “The primary reason? No commitment from the owner to win a championship now or in the near future. In sports, if you’re not in it to win it, why do you own a team? Until we see commitment and action toward winning ways, our hard-earned dollars are going elsewhere.”

McKenny’s sentiments reflect the frustrations of many on the Front Range.

The Denver Post solicited fans for their views on the Rockies and attending games at Coors Field. Based on emails from more than 100 fans and an online survey that drew more than 2,300 responses, several themes emerged:

• Those who consider themselves devoted Rockies fans are tired of losing. The team is in the midst of a five-season playoff drought, has won one postseason game in 14 years, and this season, it lost 100 games for the first time in its 31 years of existence.

• According to The Post’s survey, 54.7% of the fans say the main reason their support for the team has declined is because of owner Dick Monfort.

• Discontent over the February 2021 trade that sent star third baseman Nolan Arenado to St. Louis still lingers.

• Coors Field, which provides relatively affordable entertainment, remains the star attraction and a major reason why the Rockies continue to draw.

While Rockies third baseman Ryan McMahon says he greatly appreciates the fans’ support, he also understands why so many of them are ticked off.

“If I was having a conversation with fans face-to-face, I would tell them that I’m frustrated, too,” McMahon said. “I think we all are. We want to win. We need to do what it takes to win.

“I’d like to say we are moving in that direction but we haven’t done that yet. We haven’t done it out on the field and that����ap all that really matters. It����ap not for lack of trying, but nobody really cares how hard you try, they just want you to get it done. I do think, moving forward, that we have a lot of young pieces that we are adding. I think there is hope.”

Knowledgeable, hardcore baseball fans, such as 66-year-old Mark Findley, remain skeptical.

Findley, who was the head baseball coach at Loveland High School from 1984-2005 and then at Fossil Ridge from 2011-15, is frustrated by the team’s free-agent choices over the years.

He also believes that the Rockies made a mistake by not replacing team president Keli McGregor with someone from outside the organization when McGregor died suddenly in 2010. Instead, Monfort stepped into the role until April 2021 when COO and executive vice president Greg Feasel was promoted to the position.

Findley loves baseball, but he’s given up on the Rockies.

“The only way I know to get the owner’s attention is to not give him my money so that’s what I’ve done,” Findley said.

Findley’s Rockies roots run deep.

His son, Ryan, was randomly selected as the Rockies’ 2 millionth fan in August of 1995, the first year Coors Field opened. The family received Rockies swag and an all-expenses paid trip to watch Colorado play the Giants in San Francisco in September of that year.

But through the years, Findley’s support of the Rockies has soured. He used to be part of a season-ticket group but dropped out after the 2015 season. He has not attended a game since 2017.

“I’m a Colorado native and a retired teacher and baseball coach and I’ve seen enough,” Findley said. “If this were any other business or even any other franchise here in Colorado, heads would have been rolling long ago.

“This team needs a Pat Bowlen-type of owner who demands winning on every level.”

Bowlen, of course, is the late Broncos owner who captained the team to three Super Bowl titles.

Monfort continues telling fans that the Rockies are attempting to turn things around. Last October, after a 68-94 season, Monfort reached out in his annual letter to season-ticket holders.

“Our expectations were high going into the 2022 season, but unfortunately, we did not meet those expectations,” Monfort wrote. “It has now been four years since our last postseason appearance, and this is not acceptable.”

Monfort declined to be interviewed for The Post’s series about the Rockies, but his actions demonstrate that he does care about fans’ opinions. In January 2020, in the midst of news that Arenado was feuding with former general manager Jeff Bridich, Margarito Gandarilla emailed Monfort with his concerns. According to Gandarilla, Monfort told Gandarilla to call him.

“So I did call him and we spoke for about 20 minutes on the phone,” Gandarilla said. “He was very pleasant and he did his best to convince me about the direction of the Rockies.”

Gandarilla, 38, who lives in Firestone, said he rarely attends games anymore and no longer follows the Rockies on a daily basis.

Still, the only major league team in the Mountain time zone all summer continues to draw. Despite their record, the Rockies are averaging 31,984 fans per home game, ranking 14th in the majors. That’s down only slightly from the 32,467 they averaged last season (ninth).

There is, however, a caveat to the Rockies’ 2023 drawing power: Through August, attendance was up 9% across MLB this season. That’s a total increase of more than 4 million fans and an average of 2,424 more per game.

Despite their consistent failures on the diamond, the Rockies have almost always won at the ticket office. They have ranked in the top half of MLB attendance in 28 of 31 seasons (excluding the COVID-abbreviated 2020 season). Only once, in 2005, have the Rockies failed to draw 2 million fans in a full season (attendance was still limited in 2021 because of the pandemic).

There are plenty of reasons fans go to Coors Field, which on a summer night is a pleasant place to watch baseball and socialize with friends and family.

Ben Whitehead of Aurora takes his family to multiple games every season.

“I’m a baseball lifer and I pitched two years at a Division II school in South Carolina, where I grew up,” Whitehead said. “I’ve loved the game for all the quirkiness it provides. There’s nothing like it.

“I have two boys of my own now, 5 and 2. Of course, I want them to love sports and baseball in particular. (Coors Field provides) a great family time at the ballpark. We grab food and eat together. We walk around and let the kids play on the playground.

“We go to the team store. We get in line for Dinger. And we catch a few innings together, too! The 5-year-old is starting to enjoy watching all sports, and we’ve already sat to watch more baseball this year — at the park and on TV — than we have in the past. As a dad, it’s just great to see my kids having fun.”

Relative to other major league teams, Rockies tickets remain affordable. According to Statista.com, the Rockies, on average, have the fourth-cheapest tickets in the majors.

Taking a family to a game, however, can be pricey.

a family of four spends an average of $221.30 for the full ballpark experience at Coors. That’s the sixth-cheapest in the majors. The Fan Cost Index includes the price of four average-price tickets, two small draft beers, four small soft drinks, four regular-size hot dogs, parking for one hour, two game programs and two least-expensive, adult-size adjustable caps.

The Rockies offer plenty of low-cost tickets. Standing room tickets for The Rooftop are available starting at $17, while tickets for the Rockpile beyond center field cost $9. Seats in the first level are available for $35.

Fans of other teams take full advantage of the summer nights and prices. Those who have relocated to Colorado, and those who vacation here, often turn Coors into a home park for visiting teams. Chants of, “Let’s Go Mets!” or “Let’s Go Dodgers!” drown out Rockies fans. When the Chicago Cubs come to town, some Rockies fans bemoan Coors as “Wrigley Field West.”

During a three-game, weekend series against the Angels in June that featured superstars Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout, 132,572 tickets were sold. When the New York Yankees came to Denver for a weekend series in mid-July, all three games were sold out.

For some fans, such as Boulder’s Johnny Hergert, love of the game trumps everything else.

Hergert, 29, got hooked on baseball when he followed the Portland Rockies as a kid. From 1995 to 2000, those Rockies were Colorado’s minor league affiliate in the Class A Short Season Northwest League.

“That planted the seed of my (Colorado) Rockies fandom from a young age,” he said. “I believe enjoying the beauty of the sport is best done in person, not via a broadcast or a stat line.”

But for a number of years, before he moved to Boulder, Hergert didn’t have a team to root for in person. That’s why he remains such a devout Rockies fan.

“Throughout my years in Colorado, I’ve attended as many games as possible,” he said. “For me, baseball fandom is about connecting with your city, the ballpark and the team.

“While I’m highly disappointed in the Rockies’ ownership and management, I am a proud citizen of this state and will cherish the ability to go to games and connect with our team and other fans, even at the lowest of lows. Seeing what it’s like to live in a baseball void, I will never take the team for granted.”

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If DangeRuss hadn’t turned into PondeRuss, Bryant would be the most vilified sports figure along the Front Range this side of Kendrick Perkins. Imagine if Wilson had appeared in just five games for the Broncos because of injuries and didn’t throw so much as a single touchdown pass at home.

That����ap more or less what you got from Bryant, whose 2022 season line included 42 games, 160 at-bats and zero homers at Coors Field — all for an $18 million salary last year and,

The Rockies were 20-22 when he played. They were The Bad News Bears when he didn’t.

One year in, and Bryant����ap $182 million contract����ap already chasing down Mike Hampton’s $121 million deal in 2000, Ian Desmond’s $70 million in 2016 and Denny Neagle’s $51.5 million in 2000 for the worst big buys in Rockies history.

There’s only one way out of this club, baby.

And it����ap not in the tub.

As the less-than-inspiring 2023 narratives on Blake Street go, perhaps the most compelling — and crucial, given whatever wins can be milked out of of has-beens and never-will-bes — just might be what becomes of Bryant����ap career.

Is the 2016 National League MVP, the guy who teased 40 homers, still in there, somewhere? Or is he another broken-down Dick Monfort lemon, one of GM Bill Schmidt����ap man-crushes signed three years too late?

While the Broncos have plugged in support pieces around Wilson — especially on the coaching staff and along the offensive line — in an effort to determine whether he’s got anything left in the tank, the Rockies are largely running it back. Replace Randal Grichuk and Brendan Rodgers with Jurickson Profar and Mike Moustakas, grab some rosary beads, and hope for the best.

But if Schmidt and manager Bud Black truly want to keep Bryant upright, they’re going about it all wrong. He’s 6-foot-5 and on the wrong side of 30. With a barking back and a recurring foot problem, KB should be a 1B/3B/DH type, not tasked with helping to patrol the most cavernous outfield in Major League Baseball.

Yet the Rockies stick him in the grass anyway. And then wonder why he can’t play for weeks on end. It puzzles the will, which is par for the course.

Monfort and Schmidt keep trying to catch lightning — not with a bottle, but a butterfly net. The Rox operate inside a pocket, parallel baseball universe, detached from the reality that surrounds them and pummels them senseless, a cocoon of wealthy denial.

Instead of spending big and pushing chips in like the Padres or cycling in waves of kids like the Rays or Orioles, the Rockies choose to cast an imprisoned fan base into interminable baseball limbo, that vast Homeric darkness between “let����ap go for it” and “tear this thing down to the studs.”

Instead of taking their lumps with Nolan Jones or Zac Veen, they sign Profar and Moustakas, an outfielder nobody wanted and an infielder nobody wanted, to create a clog at the top of the depth chart.

Ask the Broncos the price you pay for falling in love with a formula while the rest of your division starts doing laps around you. The Rockies rode to back-to-back playoff berths in 2017 and ‘18 on the strength of The Beatles in the infield — Nolan, Story, DJ — and cost-controlled, front-line starting pitching. Roll the clock ahead five years, and the Fab Three are long gone while those same starters are no longer top-of-the-line. Or cheap.

Per Spotrac.com, the Rockies in 2020 This spring, that ratio’s jumped to 22.9%, with more cash ($37.7 million) spent on starting pitching than the Braves ($34.5 million), Brewers ($34.3 million), Rays ($21.63 million) and Guardians ($21.1 million), all of whom have

Which proves the adage that perhaps the only thing worse than the Rockies dismissing you is the club embracing you. Marquez and Freeland are more emotional attachments than logical ones now, fading heroes who’ve either leveled off or regressed before the age of 30. Charlie Blackmon is a willing fielder with an unwilling body, making Bryant the new hope in right field.

When he plays. If he plays.

“I recently talked with K.B. about where he is physically, and mentally, and he told me he feels great,” manager Bud Black told the Post����ap Patrick Saunders a few months back. “His offseason workouts were not comprised and he’s encouraged that he’ll be exactly where he needs to be (in spring training).”

One more summer. One more to steer the narrative. One more to salvage a legacy. One more before the spirits of Hampton and Neagle start visiting Monfort in the middle of the night, like ghosts of Christmases past, cheering for Bryant to let them off the hook for good.

A 5-2 loss to the Dodgers in Game 163 foiled their quest, but the Rockies still won a franchise-high 91 games and then went into Wrigley Field and beat the Cubs in the wild-card playoff game.

The future looked rosy.

Four years later, a purple haze hangs over the Rockies. With a 65-90 record entering Thursday night’s game at San Francisco, they are one of the worst teams in the majors. Only Kansas City (24-51) had a worse road record than the Rockies (24-50).

Statistics for Colorado’s offense and its starting pitching illustrate the Grand Canyon-sized chasm between 2018 and ’22, reveal just how far the current Rockies have slid, and show just how big a mountain they have to climb to become a contender.

Consider:

— The 2018 team went 47-34 at Coors Field and 44-38 on the road, marking just the third time in franchise history that the Rockies had a winning road record (41-40 in 2009, 41-40 in 2017).

— The 2018 team hit 210 total home runs, while the 2022 club had launched 141 with seven games left in the season. In 2018, the Rockies hit 91 homers away from Coors Field, compared to a miserly 43 so far this season. The franchise low for road homers is 49 by the 2000 team.

For manager Bud Black, the explanation for the Rockies’ road failures is obvious.

“In 2018, we had a veteran-laden position-player group; guys in their prime,” he said recently. “That was more of a veteran team that physically and mentally was able to do on the road what needs to be done on the road.

“Because of the talent and the veteran makeup of that team, we were able to win. Now things have shifted to a younger group of players, which is the natural course of most teams in baseball.”

The 2018 offense had three legitimate All-Star sluggers in Nolan Arenado (38 homers), Trevor Story (37) and Charlie Blackmon (29). Throw in Ian Desmond (22), Carlos Gonzalez (16), David Dahl (16), and DJ LeMahieu, and the Rockies had a potent lineup. Of that group, only Blackmon, at age 36, remains in Colorado.

First baseman C.J. Cron, who’s blasted 29 homers, is the current Rockies’ most consistent home run hitter. Ryan McMahon (19), Randal Grichuk (17), Blackmon (16), and Brendan Rodgers (11) have double-digit homers but the Rockies’ lineup doesn’t scare anybody.

Left fielder Kris Bryant was signed to fix the problem but injuries limited him to five home runs (all on the road) in 42 games. Bryant, with a career-low 2.8 home run percentage, was on pace to hit 19 homers.

Four years ago, Colorado’s starting pitching was very good, at least by the standards of baseball at 5,280 feet. This season it’s been shockingly bad:

— The 2018 rotation owned a 4.17 ERA, trailing only the 2010 team (4.10) for the best in franchise history. This season’s team has a 5.08 ERA.

— Four years ago, lefty Kyle Freeland finished fourth in voting for the National League Cy Young Award. He went 17-7 and his 2.85 ERA was the lowest by a starter for a full season in franchise history, as well as the fourth-lowest in the NL in 2018. This season, Freeland has been Colorado’s best starter, but his 9-11 record and 4.63 ERA pales in comparison to what he did four years ago.

— Right-hander German Marquez was just 23 years old in 2018 but he flashed tremendous potential, going 14-11 with a 3.77 ERA. Four years later, and one year removed from his first All-Star Game appearance, Marquez has struggled mightily, going 8-13 with a 5.12 ERA. He’s served up a career-high 30 home runs and his 2-6 record and 6.70 ERA at Coors Field is a red flag.

The Rockies desperately need Marquez and Freeland to rebound next season because the rotation lacks depth and experience. Marquez is due $15 million next season and the Rockies hold his $16 million option in 2024. Freeland, who signed a five-year, $64.5 million contract in April, will make $10.5 million next season.

The rest of the Rockies’ rotation in 2018 didn’t put up great numbers: Tyler Anderson (7-9, 4.55 ERA), Jon Gray (12-9, 5.12), Chad Bettis (5-2, 5.01) and Antonio Senzatela (6-6, 4.38). But they made some gutsy starts throughout the season, and anchored by Freeland and Marquez, starting pitching was a team strength four years ago. Now it looms as a gigantic question mark.

It’s a splendid biography, capturing the beauty, grace, passion, and contradictions of Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente.

When it was announced that left-hander Kyle Freeland was the Rockies’ nominee for the annual Roberto Clemente Award, I started re-reading Maraniss’ book. One particular phrase caught my attention: “What burned in the eyes of Roberto Clemente was the fire of dignity.”

For those who don’t know, the Roberto Clemente Award is Major League Baseball’s annual recognition of a player “who best represents the game of baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field.”

Freeland, a Denver native, embodies all of that.

For several years, Freeland, along with his wife, Ashley, have been involved with Special Olympics Colorado, volunteering at various events and raising funds.

Freeland, obviously, is honored to be the Rockies’ nominee. But I was curious, did he know anything about Clemente? After all, Freeland was born more than 20 years after Clemente died on New Year’s Eve 1972. And through the years, I’ve discovered that many major leaguers are not well-versed in baseball history.

Jackie Robinson, of course, is an inescapable part of that history, as he should be. Clemente, from Puerto Rico, was, in a sense, the Jackie Robinson of the Spanish-speaking world. But he’s not nearly as well known. Freeland was taken aback when I asked him if he knew anything about Clemente.

“Of course, I know who Clemente was,” Freeland said.

He knew that Clemente was much more than just one of the greatest outfielders in history.

“He was a humanitarian and an incredible person and a great ballplayer,” Freeland said.

Freeland knows that after 18 seasons in the majors, Clemente was killed in a plane crash on that fateful New Year’s Eve as he attempted to deliver food and medical supplies to Nicaragua after a devasting earthquake.

When Freeland was in the seventh grade at Hamilton Middle School, he did a major project for National History Day.

“We were required a pick an icon in history and do a presentation on them,” Freeland said. “I did something mostly on Jackie Robinson because I wanted to do something about breaking the color barrier. But I also included Roberto Clemente for his helping break the color barrier and for his philanthropy.”

Freeland became the Rockies’ nominee after Ian Desmond retired from baseball. Desmond was the Rockies’ Roberto Clemente nominee for five consecutive years, from 2017-21. Desmond, who opted out of both the 2020 and ’21 seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic, spent last year focusing on Newtown Connection, a youth program he co-founded that runs through the Boys & Girls Clubs of Sarasota and Desoto Counties in Florida.

Freeland was ready when Desmond passed him the baton.

“This is a very big deal for me,” Freeland said. “Over the years, I’ve been trying to build up my efforts of helping out my community.

“I remember having a conversation with Ian about the award in 2019 and he said, ‘Whenever I’m done, I want you to be the nominee.’

“He also said, ‘You have no idea how much impact you have off the field with kids, adults, fans. You can change a lot of futures and mindsets with very small things you do in your community.’ So I took that to heart. And Ian was one of the first people I called when I was told I was going to be the Rockies’ nominee. So I kept that promise to him.”

Thursday will mark the 21st annual Roberto Clemente Day. A special logo will appear on the bases and official dugout lineup cards and a special tribute video will be played in ballparks.

The Rockies will be in Chicago on Thursday, so Freeland will be recognized on Sept. 19 at Coors Field prior to the Rockies’  game against the Giants.

Each major league club has a nominee for the award and fan voting is The winner of the fan vote will count as one vote among those cast by the blue-ribbon panel to determine the 2022 Robert Clemente Award winner. ]]> /2022/09/10/roberto-clemente-legacy-rockies-kyle-freeland/feed/ 0 5376151 2022-09-10T19:30:09+00:00 2022-09-10T17:39:03+00:00 /2022/08/24/rockies-kris-bryant-bill-schmidt-dick-monfort-mark-kiszla/ /2022/08/24/rockies-kris-bryant-bill-schmidt-dick-monfort-mark-kiszla/#respond Thu, 25 Aug 2022 01:30:09 +0000 /?p=5360613 You’ve got to admire Kris Bryant. He gets paid handsomely by the Rockies, yet rarely has to show his face on the field and put up with the stinking embarrassment that is playing baseball at 20th and Blake.

Let����ap all raise a toast to Bryant. Who doesn’t want money for nothing?

When franchise owner Dick Monfort and yes-man Bill Schmidt signed Bryant to a seven-year, $182 million deal prior to this season, it conclusively proved the Rockies are not cheap.

But this team is stupid, to say nothing of misguided and delusional. As best I can tell, Schmidt’s plan as general manager is to pretend the Rockies are a contender.

Well, in the first year of his contract, Bryant has definitely declared himself a serious contender for the worst free-agent signing in club history. That����ap really saying something, considering the money this team has flushed down the drain over the years when acquiring pitcher Denny Neagle, washed-up Daniel Murphy and Ian Desmond, who was given $70 million and a glove to a position he had never played.

On Wednesday morning, Rockies manager Bud Black announced Bryant received a platelet-rich plasma injection in his left foot, in the hope of speeding his recovery from plantar fasciitis.

Hey, it’s worth a shot. What does Bryant have to lose except more time on the disabled list? If he takes the field again this season we’ll all be pleasantly surprised. Bryant has played only 42 of Colorado’s 125 games, sidelined for the vast majority of the season with injuries to his back and foot, as well as paternity leave.

Then, on a summer day when the Rockies didn’t need more bad news, we were reminded why it was puzzling Bryant was signed in the first place.

The visiting Texas Rangers jumped to a 6-0 lead on the strength of eight hits and the generosity of three walks and one Colorado error before an out was recorded in the top of the second inning. When Rockies starting pitcher Jose Urena finally coaxed a pop-up to shortstop from Leody Tavaras, the friendly crowd of 25,213 at Coors Field gave the Pet Rocks an enthusiastic, albeit sarcastic, round of applause.

Final score: Texas 16, Colorado 4. Maybe that����ap not the rock bottom of this forgettable season. But it����ap enough to make even a professional ballplayer start making plans for vacation in October.

“Everybody is just trying to play good baseball,” veteran pitcher Austin Gomber said. “As a team, we want to win. And certain individuals that have been struggling are trying to find their way. Every night, showing up, ready to compete, that����ap part of being a big-leaguer.”

In the Colorado clubhouse after this disconcerting loss, there was no chatter, no cohesion and no accountability. Fans love Charlie Blackmon, but he has never seen it as his role to stand and take the heat after a bad loss. The rest of this team, from Jose Iglesias, to C.J. Cron, to Randal Grichuk, feels like a loose collection of guys just passing through town.

OK, nobody’s faulting Bryant, who has produced five homers and 14 RBIs in return for an $18 million salary, for lousy health luck. Colorado does miss his bat in the middle of the order. But a team with an alarming lack of both power and speed is not a healthy Bryant away from making the playoffs.

Bryant is a piece a team logically adds to push it over the top to World Series contention if it keeps Nolan Arenado, DJ LeMahieu and Trevor Story.

Even a knucklehead like me can figure that out. So why can’t the Rockies grasp Baseball Economics 101? What����ap far more damning than overspending on Bryant is the total lack of a discernible and executable plan to build a winner.

Since the All-Star break, when the Rockies hurtled straight off a cliff on the road to nowhere, losing 21 of 32 games, I’ve heard grumbling that maybe it����ap time for Colorado to move on from Black.

It����ap entirely fair to criticize Black, whose expertise is pitching, for a Colorado staff that ranks 12th among National League teams in walks surrendered, 14th in earned run average and dead last in on-base percentage allowed.

Black, however, is not responsible for roster construction, including a stubborn refusal to rebuild that puzzles observers throughout the major leagues.

Whoever signed Bryant to an absurdly huge contract to a baseball team with zero realistic hope of playoff contention is the man who deserves to get fired, not Black.

But so long as Schmidt tells Monfort what the boss wants to hear, he’s not going anywhere.

Neither are the Rockies.

For $182 million, you’d think Bryant could at least buy us all a beer to drown our sorrow.

2021 — OF Benny Montgomery (No. 8, Red Lands HS)

With raw speed and power from the right side, Montgomery dominated with Low-A Fresno this year to earn a call-up to High-A Spokane. The club’s center fielder of the future.

2020 — OF Zac Veen (No. 9, Spruce Creek HS)

The left-handed hitting Veen has power, speed and was Baseball America’s Rockies minor leaguer of the year in 2021, his debut pro season. The club’s right fielder of the future.

2020 — C Drew Romo (No. 35, The Woodlands HS)

A switch-hitter who is a premium defensive talent and baseball obsessive, Romo’s bat has continued to progress with Spokane this year. The club’s catcher of the future.

2019 — 1B Michael Toglia (No. 23, Cal)

A switch-hitter with gap-to-gap power who, like Romo, projects to be a top defensive player at his position. Todd Helton’s taken him under his wing. The club’s first baseman of the future.

2018 — LHP Ryan Rolison (No. 22, Ole Miss)

He posted a 1.86 ERA in rookie league but it’s been rocky since. Rolison has a 4.35 ERA in the minors and endured injuries, including season-ending shoulder surgery this year.

2018 — 1B Grant Lavigne (No. 42, Bedford HS)

He’s behind Toglia in the first base queue, but 2022 is Lavigne’s best season since rookie ball. He was recently promoted to Double-A Hartford; he can hit for average and has sneaky power.

2017 — No pick (forfeited due to signing of Ian Desmond)

The Rockies signed Desmond an an ill-fated five-year, $70 million deal after Desmond rejected his qualifying offer from the Rangers, who then got Colorado’s No. 29 overall pick.

2016 — RHP Riley Pint (No. 4, St. Thomas Aquinas)

Pint remains the franchise’s biggest draft bust of all time. He consistently struggled with command, and briefly retired before coming back. He has a 5.45 ERA for Double-A Hartford this year.

2016 — RHP Robert Tyler (No. 38, Georgia)

Another wasted pick from the 2016 first round, Tyler had a 6.26 career ERA over 79 minor-league games. Plagued by arm issues, he didn’t make it past the High-A level before retiring in 2020.

2015 — SS Brendan Rodgers (No. 3, Lake Mary HS)

The club’s last first-round pick to make it to the majors, Rodgers’ rookie year in 2019 was cut short by shoulder surgery. He broke out in 2021, and is now the Rockies’ starting second baseman.

2015 — RHP Mike Nikorak (No. 27, Stroudsburg HS)

He posted an 11.72 ERA in rookie league in 2015, then repeated the level in ’16. Tommy John surgery further derailed his progress, and he washed out after a 9.69 ERA in Low-A in 2019.

2015 — 3B/OF Tyler Nevin (No. 38, Poway HS)

He dealt with injuries early on, and just as he was rising as a prospect, the Rockies traded him to Baltimore as part of a package for reliever Mychal Givens. Nevin has hit .196 for the O’s since debuting in ’21.

2014 — LHP Kyle Freeland (No. 8, Evansville)

The Denver native and Thomas Jefferson product debuted in 2017, dominated in ’18 with a club-record 2.85 ERA, and has been up-and-down ever since. Signed a five-year contract extension this year.

2014 — 2B Forrest Wall (No. 35, Orangewood Christian HS)

Wall was rising in the Rockies’ system before being traded to Toronto in 2018 as part of a deadline deal for reliever Seunghwan Oh. Now a utility player, he’s yet to make his MLB debut.

2013 — RHP Jon Gray (No. 3, Oklahoma)

The closest thing to a true ace that the Rockies have ever drafted, Gray was at times dominant and at times maddeningly inconsistent in his seven seasons in Colorado. He signed with Texas this offseason.

2012 — OF David Dahl (No. 10, Oak Mountain HS)

Projected as a longtime pillar in the Rockies’ outfield, Dahl overcame injuries to become an all-star in 2019. But he’s since been signed and released by both the Rangers and Brewers organizations.

2012 — RHP Eddie Butler (No. 46, Radford)

He debuted in 2014 but never showed much promise, with a 6.50 ERA over three seasons with Colorado. He also pitched briefly for the Cubs and Rangers, and for the DC Dinos in the KBO. ]]> /2022/07/15/rockies-draft-first-round-picks-last-10-years/feed/ 0 5310082 2022-07-15T05:45:02+00:00 2022-07-25T23:21:59+00:00 /2022/06/01/rockies-mailbag-ezequiel-tovar-is-red-hot-but-will-prospect-get-called-up/ /2022/06/01/rockies-mailbag-ezequiel-tovar-is-red-hot-but-will-prospect-get-called-up/#respond Wed, 01 Jun 2022 14:59:11 +0000 /?p=5248408 Denver Post sports writer Patrick Saunders with the latest installment of his Rockies Mailbag.

Pose a Rockies — or MLB — related question for the Rockies Mailbag.

Patrick, why does it seem that the Rockies are reluctant to promote some of their top prospects to the active roster? The Orioles and Pirates, two teams struggling, both recently called up prospects to inject some life into their respective lineups and also their fan bases. With the Rockies’ offense struggling and Kris Bryant on the injured list, it seems this team is in desperate need of a slugger like Elehuris Montero to provide a spark.

Or since Hilliard and Hampson have struggled all season, why not call up Ezequiel Tovar and move Iglesias to a utility role and give another outfielder, such as Ryan Vilade, a chance to prove himself?

Keep up the great work.

— Jon, Elk Grove, Calif.

Jon, the Rockies are conservative when it comes to promoting their top prospects. Agree or disagree, it’s their philosophy.

I don’t believe it’s about money or starting the player’s “arbitration clock” sooner than they would like. It’s just that the Rockies want their prospects to get a lot of minor-league seasoning before they get called up.

That being said, with general manager Bill Schmidt now in charge, I think the Rockies might be more aggressive with their promotions. That will be especially true if the Rockies continue to fade out of playoff contention.

Montero has already made his big-league debut, but the truth is that he’s still very raw as a corner infielder. His only effective role at the major-league level right now would be as a designated hitter. Manager Bud Black is already trying to juggle a number of players, including veteran Charlie Blackmon, so giving everyone playing time is always a delicate dance for a manager.

And it does a young player no good to get called up and then sit on the bench. They need playing time.

However, if I were the GM, I would call up Tovar this season. All indications are that he’s going to be a star, so why not give him a jumpstart now? I think he’s got the right mentality to handle it. All indications are, however, that Tovar will move up to Triple-A this season but won’t make his Rockies debut until 2023.

If the Rockies are completely out of contention by the trade deadline in late July, and if they make some deals for players such as Iglesias and Randal Grichuk, that might open up a wider door for prospects.

Is Kris Bryant the latest player to sign a contract and retire but not tell the Rockies, ala Daniel Murphy, Ian Desmond and Jose Reyes? Over/under 75 home runs for Bryant����ap Rockies career?

— Joe Palladino, Denver

Joe, if I understand your question, and sarcasm, you believe that Bryant is already washed up at age 30. That’s jumping to a huge conclusion without any basis in facts.

Bryant’s back injury is disconcerting and frustrating, for sure, but it’s far too early to write off his Rockies career. From everything I have been told, Bryant does not have any major structural issues with his lower back — no bulging discs or nerve damage.

Having said that, Bryant’s injury is a huge disappointment during what’s already been a trying season. But as Bryant has repeatedly said, he didn’t feel like he was helping the team while trying to play hurt.

First of all, condolences to your family on your father’s passing.

The bright optimism we all had before the season has disappeared into the dim reality of a lack of talent, it appears. What is the most troubling statistic — an OPS of .729, an ERA of 4.98, or the 37 errors committed? Or has the absence of Kris Bryant affected the team on and off the field? Thank You. Please take care.

— Robert Emmerling, Limon

Thanks, Robert. And thanks to all of the people who reached out to me and my family following my dad’s death. He was a terrific journalist, but more important, he was a kind and decent man.

As for your question, that’s a tough one to answer. It’s like picking the lesser of three evils. My gut tells me that the Rockies’ 37 errors are the most troubling because the errors prompt such a visceral reaction. The Rockies have often looked like a sloppy and not very smart team.

However, when I dug into the statistics, I think the team’s soaring ERA is its biggest weakness. Starting pitching was supposed to be the team’s strength but the rotation has a 4.94 ERA, the fourth-highest in the majors. The struggles of German Marquez (6.30 ERA), who was supposed to be their No. 1 pitcher, have really hurt the team.

Plus, after the entire pitching staff posted a 4.52 ERA in April, that number soared to 5.35 in May. That’s not a good trend, especially with the weather soon heating up and baseballs flying at Coors Field.

As for Bryant, his absence from the lineup has hurt, for sure. He was supposed to provide home runs and RBIs from the heart of the order. Off the field, however, I don’t think his absence has affected the team much.

Dear Patrick, sorry to hear about your father. My condolences. I was a fan of his work for many years, and I am a big fan of yours.

— Allan Bock, Boulder

Allan, thanks so much for taking the time to remember my dad. He was a special person and an icon of Colorado journalism.

My family and I have been overwhelmed by the kind words about my father. I knew that he was a popular columnist but I honestly didn’t know just how many people he reached. He had a remarkable life.

How much longer is the leash for Carlos Estevez? We’ve continually used him in hopes that his high velocity will translate to results. It����ap not worked.

— Nathan, Lamar

Nathan, Estevez’s lack of success is a head-scratcher. As you mentioned, the velocity of his fastball (96.4 mph, down from his career average of 97.3) and his slider (86.4, down from 87.0) would lead you to believe that he would be a dynamic late-inning reliever. But his pitch command is just not sharp. That’s why hitters have a .310 average against him, and why manager Bud Black no longer uses him as a set-up man.

The talent is still there, but Estevez has a lot to prove before he can regain the Rockies’ trust. He’s been supplanted by Alex Colome and Tyler Kinley in the seventh and eighth innings.