Tuesday night at the winter meetings, the club announced its pitching staff: Alon Leichman as pitching coach, Gabe Ribas as assistant pitching coach, Matt Buschmann as bullpen coach, and Matt Daniels as director of pitching.

Manager Warren Schaeffer gushed about the new hires.

“In terms of Rockies history, this is one of the most exciting moments for us,” he said. “Four guys have been brought in who are game-changers and have a good feel for the game. They know  ‘tech,’ know the analytics, and know how to give guys new arsenals and know how to deal with pitch shapes. The whole gamut.”

Earlier in the day, new general manager Josh Byrnes was asked if the club was “reimagining” its pitching strategy. He replied, “Very much so. Reimaging it and just thinking, what might work, what might not work. Some of it runs across any ballpark, and some of it is specific to Coors (Field).

“There is the home-road aspect (to this), the touch and feel, and recovery — all of that. Reimagine is a good word, and that’s probably the road we are on.”

Whether that road leads to something like the paired-pitching (“piggyback”) system Colorado used for part of the 2012 season remains to be seen. But clearly, an improved rotation is a critical step to lift the Rockies out of their doldrums.

In 2025, en route to a 119-loss season, Colorado’s rotation posted a 6.65 ERA, the worst for a starting staff since ERA became an official stat in 1913. Lefty Kyle Freeland and right-hander Ryan Feltner (coming back from injuries) are the only two established pitchers who appear to be locks for the rotation in 2026. After that, there are many questions, including how radical the Rockies will be in solving their dilemma.

“Part of the reason we are so excited about this group is that they are all very creative and very open-minded,” new team president Paul DePodesta said shortly after the Rockies announced their pitching staff. “We kicked around a lot of ideas during this process that we would like to explore further.

“I can’t say exactly where it’s going to end up, as of today, but I think we are going to be looking at a lot of different things. There was one thing that (Leichman) asked me in particular. He said, ‘Is this on the table?’ I said, “Absolutely.’ ”

Last season, Schaeffer said he was interested in using an “opener” to start games, but said he didn’t think the Rockies had the pitching personnel to make it work. The Rockies only used an opener in just one game, on June 6, when lefty Ryan Rolison started for struggling right-hander Antonio Senzatela vs. the Mets.

But there is a new attitude and a new staff. Nothing is off the table.

Schaeffer called Leichman “top notch,” adding, “I think you would be hard-pressed to find a better pitching coach.” Leichman served as assistant pitching coach for Miami last season and held the same post with the Reds the two previous years.

Late last season, Marlins pitching coach Daniel Moskos and Leichman called pitches from the dugout. Whether or not the Rockies will go in that direction remains to be seen, though Schaffer has said he’s open to some experimentation.

“Like Paul (DePodesta) said, anything is on the table,” Schaeffer said. “We are going to be creative. How creative we get initially, we’ll see.”

In June 2012, the Rockies got ultra creative, but it didn’t work out. Former general manager Dan O’Dowd, looking for ways to solve the Rockies’ chronic pitching woes in Denver’s mile-high altitude, introduced Project 5183 — so named within the executive offices at Coors Field in honor of the ballpark’s base elevation.

The headline-grabbing part of the plan was instituting a “paired pitching system” featuring four starters working on a 75-pitch limit and four “piggyback” relievers.

“We felt like the greatest risk to take right now was no risk at all,” O’Dowd told season-ticket holders on a conference call that summer. “If we were going to do something, do something bold because nothing is ever rewarded if you are going to try to do something that is meek.”

The idea of using a nontraditional approach first surfaced among Rockies officials in 2002. Former Triple-A pitching coach Bob McClure talked of creating a “wolf pack” pitching staff, using a convoy of relievers to ease the burden on starters and address the impact of pitching at altitude.

In 2012, manager Jim Tracy was never comfortable with the idea of “paired pitching,” and it showed as he struggled to articulate the plan from the outset. Several starting pitchers bristled at the system. The Rockies went back to a five-man rotation on Aug. 21 when Jhoulys Chacin returned from the disabled list.

Part of the problem with the piggyback system was that the National League did not have a designated hitter in 2012, which made the set pitching system unwieldy. Plus, pitchers were used to “owning” their starts and hated the idea of getting a mandatory hook on days when they were pitching well.

But baseball has changed a lot in the past 13 years. Multiple teams have used openers, bullpen-pitched games, and shortened innings by starters. Plus, the rise of analytics has changed the game forever.

But one thing has remained constant about baseball in Colorado: Altitude makes it a different ballgame. But DePodesta is confident his new pitching gurus are eager for the challenge.

“They are all really excited about tackling altitude,” he said. “They had some different theories, and we talked through different things, about pitch shapes, arsenals, recovering, and the different things that might work. They all had really interesting takes on it.”

Rockies pitching planners

The Rockies announced their new pitching staff on Tuesday. Following is a snapshot look at the four hires:

Alon Leichman, pitching coach: Comes to Colorado from the Marlins, where he spent the 2025 season as the assistant pitching coach and assistant pitching director after spending two years with the Cincinnati Reds (2023-24) in the same role. Before his time with Cincinnati, Leichman spent six years in Seattle’s organization as a pitching coach at various levels.

Gabe Ribas, assistant pitching coach: Spent the past five seasons as the Tigers’ director of pitching after being hired in 2021. Before his time in Detroit, he spent four seasons as a pitching coordinator in the Dodgers’ system, where he worked across many areas within player development, including coaching staffs, performance science, strength and conditioning and baseball analytics.

Matt Buschmann, bullpen coach: Spent the past two seasons as a special adviser of player development in the Cubs’ system. Before going to Chicago, he served as the Blue Jays’ bullpen coach from 2019-22, where he also took on the role of director of pitching development before the 2020 season.

Matt Daniels, director of pitching: Spent the past three seasons as the pitching development and acquisitions specialist for the Twins. Daniels also spent four seasons in San Francisco as the Giants’ coordinator of pitching sciences, a role he was first hired for in 2019. He joined the Giants from Driveline Baseball, a data-driven player development facility based in Seattle, where he was one of the company’s first full-time employees.
— Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post

During his introductory press conference, Hurdle went out of his way to say that he’s returned to help out Black.

“I wanted to make sure I had conversations with Buddy, because I’m here to be Buddy’s hitting coach, and I want to make sure everybody’s understanding of that,” Hurdle said.

Black is in his ninth year managing the Rockies. Hurdle led the Rockies for parts of eight seasons, from 2002 to 2009, piloting them to their only World Series appearance in 2007. Before becoming the manager, Hurdle served five-plus seasons as the club’s hitting coach under Don Baylor, Jim Leyland and Buddy Bell.

When asked how he will navigate sharing the dugout with a former Rockies manager, Black responded, “Well, I navigated it with Mike Redmond. And as you know, Mike was the manager of the Marlins, and we have navigated that so far.

“And more importantly, Clint has navigated it before.  … I’m fine with it. I think from Clint’s perspective, he’s fine with it.”

Redman, the Rockies’ bench coach during Black’s entire tenure, managed the Marlins for three seasons (2013-2015).

After the Rockies fired Hurdle early in the 2009 season and replaced him with Jim Tracy, Hurdle spent 2010 as the hitting coach for a Rangers team that advanced to the World Series. Hurdle then managed the Pirates from 2011 to ’19 and took his team to the postseason in three straight seasons, 2013-15.

Tovar to IL. The Rockies placed starting shortstop Ezequiel Tovar on the 10-day injured list Saturday with a left hip contusion, retroactive to Wednesday, and recalled infielder Aaron Schunk from Triple-A Albuquerque.

The club also placed outfielder Brenton Doyle on the bereavement list, while outfielder Jordan Beck was recalled from Triple-A. Doyle could return as soon as Sunday, but is more likely to rejoin the Rockies for Tuesday’s game at Kansas City.

Tovar, 23, a Gold Glove winner last season, was a late scratch for Colorado’s game against the Dodgers in Los Angeles on Wednesday. In 16 games, Tovar is hitting .212 with four doubles, a triple, and four RBIs. However, he had just one hit in his last 19 at-bats over five games.

“This was unfortunate,” Black said. “There were a couple of plays, over the course of this (season), where he dove, landed on his hip, and it’s bruised. He’s in some discomfort.”

Schunk, 27, made his major league debut last season and played in 39 games, hitting .234 with two home runs and seven RBIs. He was batting .283 with one home run and 10 RBIs in 13 games at Albuquerque.

Doyle is batting .315 with three home runs and 12 RBIs in 13 games. Beck, who turned 24 on Saturday, was 3-for-20 with an RBI in nine games early in the season before he was demoted to Triple-A.

Also, left-handed starter Austin Gomber, who’s been battling a sore shoulder all spring, was transferred to the 60-day IL. Gomber said he expected the move and still hopes to pitch this season.

“To be honest with you, it doesn’t really change anything with the time frame,” Gomber said. “I got the PRP (plasma rich platelet) shot about two weeks ago. So, as far as my rehab, it really doesn’t change anything. We needed the roster spot.”

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

To steal a phrase from our good friend, George Castanza, “The fans were angry that day, my friends — like an old man trying to send back soup in a deli.”

Many Rockies fans are mighty ticked off by a team that entered Tuesday’s play with a 3-13 record and a minus-46 run differential, both the worst in the majors. The Rockies just went 32 consecutive innings without scoring a run, setting a franchise record for futility. All of that after back-to-back 100-loss seasons.

Little wonder that we have several questions/rants about manager Bud Black, general manager Bill Schmidt and owner Dick Monfort. Now, on with the show …

Patrick, after the horrible weekend where the Rockies scored zero runs and only had nine hits, they are once again sitting in the basement of the National League West. How does the organization continue to operate without urgency or desire to win? Every year, the owner, general manager and manager lead the fans on and say things to make it seem positive for the future. The reality is that there is an organizational failure that has gone on for years — with no accountability. Does MLB truly like the product that the Rockies put out every year? It feels like this is beyond an embarrassment at this point. Can the MLB force a change in any manner?

— Nick Pilotis, Englewood

Nick, of course, the Rockies’ powers that be say positive things about the club — at least publicly. What else are they going to do? But believe me, Bud Black and Bill Schmidt know they don’t have enough talent right now to field a winning club. But they won’t throw any of their players under the bus. That won’t do anybody any good.

There is a desire to win at 20th and Blake, at least in the clubhouse and the manager’s office. However, winning is clearly not a priority for owner Dick Monfort, whose team is headed toward its seventh consecutive losing season and mired in the worst stretch of baseball in franchise history.

You’re right about the lack of urgency. If winning was a top priority, the team would have built upon its winning foundation in 2018 instead of letting it all fall apart.

Major League Baseball doesn’t care if the Rockies lose 100 games for a third season. However, MLB does care that the Rockies are the only team in the Mountain time zone and is content as long as the club continues drawing 32,000 fans per game to Coors Field.

I get Dick Monfort is loyal to a fault. However, do you see a point where he would fire Bud Black before the end of the season?

— Nick Burklund, Colorado Springs

Nick, if the Rockies continue to careen toward another 100-loss season, Black’s job will be in jeopardy. There’s no way around that. I don’t believe he’s lost the clubhouse, and he’s tried to remain upbeat, but that can’t be easy.

It’s a shame because Black is a good man and a good manager. But he can’t hit for his players or pitch for his pitchers.

How does Dick Monfort rationalize maintaining the status quo with the general manager and manager after two years of 100-plus losses and now possessing the worst record in MLB?

— Jerry, Boulder

Jerry, I don’t have an answer because I haven’t talked to Monfort recently. In the wake of the Nuggets’ recent decision to fire coach Mike Malone and GM Calvin Booth, I contacted Monfort about the status of Black and Schmidt. He declined to respond. Monfort owes it to the fans to discuss the state of his failing team.

When will it be time to move on from Bud Black? Why are Rockies fans so scared to blame him for all the losing? Is it time to hire Todd Helton or Vinny Castilla to become the new manager? Should this be expected in the coming weeks?

— Daniel M., Louisville

Daniel, I don’t think fans are “scared” to blame Black for all of the losses. Some fans like him and sympathize with him. Others are tired of Black and believe he gets a free ride from many in the media, including me. There are a lot of opinions out there regarding the Rockies’ manager. There is no timeline for a change.

As for Helton, he doesn’t want to be a manager. Castilla? I’m not sure. He’s previously managed Team Mexico, but I don’t know if he wants to be a full-time big-league manager.

I think Bud Black is a great manager, but is it possible this Rockies team isn’t a good fit for him? Are some managers better at supporting a pitching staff than their lineup? Black was amazing at helping young pitchers blossom, but most young Rockies hitters have struggled to break in the last couple of seasons and always talk about “trying too hard.” In contrast, managers like Jim Tracy and Walt Weiss seemed to excel at helping young hitters gain confidence.

— Isaac Bowen, Fort Collins

Isaac, I’ve never looked at Black from that perspective. It’s true that Black knows much more about pitching than he does about hitting, but there have been plenty of managers who know a lot about the intricacies of hitting but not much about pitching. A manager’s job is just that — to manage all aspects of the team.

The bottom line is that the Rockies are not a very talented team, and their young hitters are currently overmatched by big-league pitching.

With the bleakness on the field and the future looking equally bleak for the Rockies, what do you see as a potential bright spot this summer? Losses are piling up, but there has to be something positive to watch this summer.

— Kyle, Thornton

Kyle, bless you for your question. I was drowning in a sea of negativity.

I think right-hander Chase Dollander will be fun to watch. He’s going to struggle at times and will give up home runs. But he’s also going to strike out a lot of batters, and I’m betting he has a couple of dominating performances.

Shortstop Ezequiel Tovar and center fielder Brenton Doyle have All-Star talent, and Ryan McMahon is a joy to watch at third base. When Thairo Estrada returns from his injury, he’ll be excellent at second base and inject some life into a dormant offense.

Since Bill Schmidt took over as GM, the Rockies have gone 188-298. Are we picking up enough young talent like the did during their worst years to make a turnaround any time soon? I don’t know if our analytics department is up for the task. Is there any way we can steal from Baltimore?

— Mark, Arvada

Mark, I double-checked your math. Counting Schmidt’s tenure as the interim GM beginning on May 3, 2001, the Rockies are 255-380 entering Tuesday night’s game at Los Angeles.

Anyway, there is some young talent in the organization, but aside from shortstop Ezequiel Tovar and center fielder Brenton Doyle, it has yet to transfer to the majors.

Starting first baseman Michael Toglia, a first-round draft choice out of UCLA in 2019, has been an enormous disappointment. This was supposed to be his breakout season, but he’s slashing .167/.206/.217 with no home runs and one RBI after 16 games. His 29 strikeouts lead the majors, and his strikeout rate is an astonishing 46%.

The Rockies’ farm system is ranked in the middle of the pack. ranks it No. 13, and ranks it 18th. In other words, the Rockies are not stocked with young talent like the Orioles are, so I don’t see a turnaround on the near horizon.

As for Mejdal, Baltimore’s assistant GM and analytics wizard, I don’t see him leaving the Orioles for the Rockies.

How does the Rockies’ analytics department compare to the rest of the majors? My understanding is the Rockies are way behind in this area. 

— Bill Eldred, Parker

Bill, you are correct; the Rockies’ analytics department remains one of the smallest in the majors.

If the Monforts were to sell the Rockies franchise, what would be the price tag and are there any potential buyers rumored at this time?

— Dom, Longmont

Dom, I don’t know what the actual selling price would be. , the Rockies are worth $1.475 billion, ranking 24th in the majors. The Yankees, by comparison, are valued at $8.2 billion.

There have been rumors occasionally that the Monfort brothers might sell the team, but those rumors are unsubstantiated. With Walker and Sterling Monfort (Dick’s sons) already working for the organization, I believe the Rockies will be owned by the family for many years to come.

Why can most other teams manage to teach their hitters to lay off pitches out of the zone, but the Rockies consistently have the highest “chase rate” in baseball? The Dodgers, especially, never swing at pitches out of the strike zone. This year already, we have seen at least a half-dozen 3-2 pitches that would have been ball four but resulted in strikeouts.

— Tom Ricca, Centennial

Tom, it’s incredibly frustrating. , the Rockies’ 31.6% chase rate is the second-highest in the majors, trailing only Texas (32.2%). The Dodgers, like all teams, do swing at pitches outside the strike zone, just not as much as the Rockies. The Dodgers’ 27.7% chase rate is the ninth lowest in baseball.

The big difference is that while other teams chase pitches, they also hit home runs. The Rockies rarely hit homers. It’s a bad combination.

Why is it happening? Young players who are overmatched are the No. 1 reason. Too many players are stubborn about adjusting their approach, especially with two strikes. The coaching/teaching is not getting through to several players.

Given his flair, quirkiness, off-the-wall celebrations, and place of birth, isn’t it time we gave Zac Veen the nickname “Florida Man?”

— Rick, Colorado Springs

Rick, if you want to name Veen that, go for it. But how about we wait on a nickname until the rookie outfielder starts hitting? Veen entered Tuesday hitting .125 with zero homers, one RBI, and a 34.6% K rate.

In a sport defined by numbers, the first baseman compiled statistics that established him as the greatest player in Rockies history. Those numbers also carried him to Cooperstown, where he’ll be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday.

The following statistics illustrate Helton’s brilliant career:

1997

The number: 369

Helton launched 369 home runs in his career. No. 1 came in Helton’s first big-league game — a 6-5 loss at Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers Stadium on Aug. 2, 1997. Helton hit 2 for 4 with a walk. He started in left field, batted fifth and flew out to short left field in his first at-bat. He singled in his second at-bat off Francisco Cordova. After walking in the sixth inning, he hit his first home run, a solo shot on a 1-1 count in the eighth off Marc Wilkins to deep right-center field.

1998

The Number: 2nd

Helton had an amazing first full season. He led all major league rookies in batting average (.315), homers (25), RBIs (97), multi-hit games (49), total bases (281), slugging percentage (.530) and extra-base hits (63). He also led all National League rookies in runs (78), hits (167) and on-base percentage (.380). But he finished second in the Rookie of the Year vote to Chicago pitcher Kerry Wood, who went 13-6 with a 3.40 ERA in 26 starts.

1999

The Number: 37

Never a speedster, Helton hit 37 triples in his career. The most memorable came on June 19, 1999, when he hit for the cycle in the Rockies’ 10-2 win over the Marlins at Coors Field. Helton had four hits in four at-bats and became the first big-league player to hit for the cycle while leading off in every at-bat.

Helton had injured his left wrist the night before when Marlins catcher Jorge Fabregas stepped on it during a rundown, but he was back in the lineup the next night. His cycle-clinching triple came in the seventh inning in his final at-bat against Brian Edmondson. Helton lined the ball into the right-field gap and took off.

“I knew what I had to get,” he said after the game. “I was going to run until they tagged me. Once I hit the ball into the gap, I just took off and put my head down and didn’t stop until I got to third.”

After Helton slid safely into third, the crowd of 47,051 gave him a standing ovation.

2000

The Number: .512

The greatest season in Helton’s career included one of the greatest months in history. The first baseman hit .512 (42 for 82) in May, with 11 home runs, seven doubles, 26 walks and an OPS of 1.588 in 25 games. He struck out just nine times.

Helton opened the month by going 4 for 5 with three home runs against the Expos.

“I was thinking, ‘OK, now he’s hit the high-water mark,’ ” former Rockies general manager Dan O’Dowd recalled. “But he kept it up. By the end of May, his average was .421. It was incredible.”

2001

The Number: 49

In the final season before the humidor was installed at Coors Field, Helton slugged a career-high 49 home runs, tying him with Hall of Fame teammate Larry Walker for the most homers in a season by Rockie. Helton’s .336 batting average was second only to Walker’s .350 in the National League. Helton and Walker became the first NL teammates to finish one-two in the batting race since Willie Mays and Don Mueller did it for the 1954 New York Giants.

2002

The Number: .329

For most players, hitting .329 would be a cause for celebration, but not for a young Helton in his prime. For the first time in his major league career, Helton had to battle lower back pain, which robbed him of some power. Ever the tough self-critic, Helton said, “I did so many things bad that I have tons of room for improvement.”

2003

The Number: .00022

That’s how many points Helton finished behind the Cardinals’ Albert Pujols in the closest batting race in National League history. Pujols hit .35871, while Helton finished at .35849.

The duo entered the final game in a virtual tie. The Cardinals played Arizona and Pujols went 2 for 5 with a double. The Rockies played at San Diego later in the day in front of 60,988 at the final game held at Qualcomm Stadium (formerly known as Jack Murphy Stadium). In the eighth inning, the Rockies scored two runs and extended their lead to 10-7. With a man on second and two outs, Helton stepped to the plate. He was 2 for 4 and needed a hit to win the batting title. Padres manager Bruce Bochy, setting up a force play, had Rod Beck intentionally walk Helton. It was his final plate appearance of the season.

2004

The Number: .469

That was Helton’s on-base percentage. It set a franchise record and was the second-highest in the majors behind the Giants’ Barry Bonds, who set a major league record with an astonishing .609 OBP. Helton’s .469 mark would have led the NL in 94 of the 100 seasons from 1900 to 1999.

2005

The Number: .250

Helton got off the worst start of his career and was hitting just .250 after 68 games, more than a third of the way through the season. He also went on the injured list for the first time in his career, from July 26 to Aug. 9, with a strained left calf muscle. Helton hit .383 in the season’s final 69 games to finish with a .320 average.

2006

The Number: 15

Helton slugged only 15 homers, the first time in his career he failed to hit at least 20. Just 15 games in the season, he entered the hospital with a high fever and intense pain and the doctors weren’t sure what was wrong. Ultimately, he was diagnosed with acute terminal ileitis, a painful inflammation of the small intestine. He spent three nights in the hospital and was on the disabled list from April 20 to May 4. The illness sapped Helton’s strength, but he rebounded to hit .332 over his final 60 games and finished at .302.

2007

The Number: .999

Colorado’s 2007 season is remembered for the remarkable run known as “Rocktober” — a streak that propelled the club to its only World Series appearance. On Sept. 18, Helton’s two-out, two-strike, two-run, walk-off homer off Dodgers closer Takashi Saito sparked Rocktober. Perhaps forgotten in that memorable ’07 season was Helton’s .999 fielding percentage (two errors in 545 total chances) at first base, the highest mark of his career.

2008

The Number: 83

A degenerative disc in Helton’s lower back, causing numbness in his left leg, ultimately required Helton to undergo surgery in September. He was limited to just 83 games.

“I was able to deal with (the pain) and never realized there was anything major wrong with (my back),” he said at the time. “But when I started losing feeling in my legs, I put two and two together and realized I better get something done.”

Helton batted .264 with only seven homers and 29 RBIs.

2009

The Number: 500

During a rebound season in which the Rockies made the playoffs for the second time in Helton’s career, he hit .325, with 15 home runs and 86 RBI in 151 games. On July 22 vs. Arizona’s Jon Garland, he became the 50th player in history with 500 career doubles. The game was halted briefly as the crowd gave Helton a standing ovation, and a groundskeeper came out to second base to switch out the bag for a keepsake.

“It was a neat moment, no doubt about it,” said Helton, who received the bag and the ball from the game. “It was cool.”

Helton finished his career with 592 doubles and ranks 20th in major league history.

2010

The Number: 4.35

At age 36, Helton played in only 118 games and hit .256 with eight homers and 37 RBIs. His back problems returned and he struggled to drive the ball. However, he remained a tough out, and he averaged 4.35 pitches per plate appearance, a career-high. The Rockies crumbled at the end of the season and failed to make the playoffs.

“The mentality, the character, the work ethic of this team, it����ap easy to have all that when the best player in the history of the franchise is the hardest worker on the team,” manager Jim Tracy said. “It’s absolutely tearing him to pieces not to be involved with us, to not be the player we’ve known him to be.”

2011

The Number: .302

For the 12th and last time in his career, Helton hit .300. He batted .302 with 14 home runs, 69 RBIs and 27 doubles. He came out of the gate hot and was the NL’s fourth-leading hitter prior to the All-Star break with a .321 average.

2012

The Number: One

It was a frustrating season for Helton, who played in just 69 games, his fewest for a full season in his career. He suffered a right hip injury that eventually required surgery and ended his season in early August. But there was still magic in the bat. On April 29 vs. the Mets at Coors Field, the 38-year-old launched a two-out, pinch-hit grand slam to right field in the eighth inning off reliever Tim Byrdak to tie the game, 4-4. Helton’s good friend Peyton Manning, the Broncos quarterback, was among the 36,690 fans in attendance.

It was the seventh grand slam of Helton’s career but his only pinch-hit grand slam. The Rockies, however, lost 6-5 in 11 innings.

2013

The Number: 2,500

On Sept. 1 at Coors Field against Cincinnati, Helton reached a major milestone. This is what The Denver Post wrote:

“Right-hander Curtis Partch’s 3-2 fastball arrived at 96 mph, slicing toward the outside of the plate. Todd Helton, as he’s done countless times before, stayed on the pitch, whipped his bat and sent the ball screaming down the third-base line for a double.

But not just any double.

It was the 2,500th hit of Helton’s major-league career, all with the Rockies, and made him just the 96th player ever to touch that milestone.

“It����ap a big number. I’m very proud of it. I’m very proud of every one of them,” the first baseman said Sunday after the Rockies defeated the Reds 7-4 and won the three-game series at Coors Field. “Sitting here, 40 years old and going out and playing baseball for a living, I don’t take that lightly. I’m very humble and appreciative for every day I get to go out there and put on the uniform.”

No deal has been reached, but signing Black to an extension through 2025 would ensure he wouldn’t work the 2024 season as a “lame-duck” manager.

Black, 66, is entering his eighth season with Colorado. He took the Rockies to playoffs in 2017 and ’18, marking the first time in franchise history that the team went to the postseason in back-to-back years. The Rockies, however, have endured five consecutive losing seasons and lost 103 games last season, the first time the club had ever lost 100 or more games.

Late last season, Black said that despite five difficult seasons, he was still enthused about his job and committed to turning around the Rockies’ fortunes.

“All the years that I’ve had in this game — the championship seasons, the playoff seasons, and on the other end the tougher seasons — you learn from all of them as a teacher, as a coach, as a manager,” Black said. “You have to treat them all the same, with a lot of respect, regardless of how they’ve gone. It����ap something we talk to the coaches about, the consistency of leadership.”

When Black was hired before the 2017 season, he signed a three-year deal with a mutual option for the 2020 season. In 2019, he signed a three-year extension for 2020-22, and he then signed one-year extensions in 2022 and 2023 to avoid heading into a season as a lame duck.

In seven seasons with Colorado, Black has a 476-556 record and .461 winning percentage, which ranks fourth in franchise history behind Jim Tracy (294-308, .488), Don Baylor (440-469, .484) and Buddy Bell (161-185, .465).

Black, a left-hander who pitched parts of 15 seasons in the majors, was the pitching coach for the Angels from 2000-06 and helped them win a World Series. He managed the Padres from 2007-15 but was fired 65 games into the 2015 season. His record with the Padres was 649-713 (.477).

Black was named National League manager of the year in 2010 when he led San Diego to a 90-72 record and second place in the National League West. He was a finalist for manager of the year with the Rockies in 2017 and ’18.

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“Just so many things make this feel really, really right,” Monfort said at the team’s Salt River Fields complex. “We’re extremely excited to have Kris with us for the next seven years, and to help us win that elusive World Series that we are all looking for.”

Monfort, who steered the negotiations toward a seven-year, $182 million deal with agent Scott Boras, was betting big on the 30-year-old Bryant, the 2016 National League MVP who helped the Chicago Cubs break a 108-year championship drought.

Moments after Bryant slipped on a Rockies jersey for the first time, he made a bold statement of his own.

“I take a lot of pride (in) the fact that I’ve never played on a losing team in the big leagues,” he said, “and I don’t plan on doing that.”

Two injury-plagued seasons later, Bryant has played on two, with the Rockies topping 100 losses this season for the first time in their 31-year history.

Bryant’s contract, the largest free-agent deal in franchise history, now weighs heavily on the payroll of a mid-market franchise that can ill afford such costly mistakes. The deal stands in direct contrast to the draft-and-develop ethos the club has long identified with. It’s also emblematic of a perception that has hovered over the Rockies throughout much of their history: that they lack the vision, creativity and wherewithal to construct and nurture a consistent winner.

Some of baseball’s most successful franchises are synonymous with doing exactly that. New York has the Yankee Way. St. Louis, the Cardinal Way. But what exactly is the Rockie Way?

The Denver Post interviewed more than 30 sources in and around baseball, including former Rockies players and staff, agents, general managers and others across the game, in an effort to answer that question. Nearly all of those interviewed spoke on the condition of anonymity because they either still conduct business with the team or have relationships with Rockies staff members. Monfort declined to be interviewed for this story, and team president Greg Feasel spoke on background only and declined to be quoted directly.

What emerged from The Post’s reporting is the picture of a franchise regarded as among the most insular in the majors, that lags behind the industry’s most innovative front offices and remains stuck in a middle ground between going all-in for a championship and rebuilding its roster without ever fully committing to either.

While fans continue to flock to Coors Field, the on-field product is sub-par largely because the Rockies, rarely aggressive in free agency and historically reluctant to make big trades, have failed to develop their homegrown talent.

Many who deal with the franchise say Monfort remains the real power in the organization — a hands-on owner who drives the biggest and most critical decisions that shape the franchise. As the Bryant signing showed, Monfort is not afraid to spend money. The problem is his largest expenditures have failed to produce wins.

The Rockies insist that a corps of talented, young position players is ready to blossom, but a lack of quality pitching at the major- and minor-league level makes success look far away.

It’s a baseball team stuck in limbo.

“They won’t utter the ‘rebuilding’ word; in fact, quite the opposite because they remarkably thought they would be improved this season,” said Denver resident Dan Evans, a former Dodgers general manager who also held front-office roles with four other big league clubs.

“W���� Monfort told a Greeley gathering in late January that the 2023 Rockies had ‘a lot of talent,’ hinting they would contend for a playoff spot with predictions of a .500 or better outcome, was it malarkey or are their decision-makers incapable of accurately evaluating their organization? Both are disturbing.”

An insular franchise

At the top levels of the front office, the Rockies have long looked to the people already working at 20th and Blake to solve their problems.

When longtime general manager Dan O’Dowd resigned in October 2014, farm director Jeff Bridich, O’Dowd’s protégé, was promoted to replace him. At 37, Bridich was the youngest GM at the time. When Bridich resigned in April 2021 amid a contentious front-office shakeup, Colorado stayed in-house again and promoted Bill Schmidt to GM. He had previously led the Rockies’ scouting department since 1999.

The Rockies originally said they would look outside the organization, but after Schmidt����ap five-month stint as the interim GM, Feasel and Monfort determined Schmidt was the right man for the job.

“It was what he did over the (five) months and then it just kept building, and I mean, really, he didn’t give us a choice,” Feasel said when Schmidt was named the permanent GM near the end of the 2021 season. “The intent was that we were going to go outside. But how many times do you need to be hit over the head with a bat?”

Still, the hiring followed a familiar theme for the Rockies: a penchant for promoting from within that critics argue limits creativity and deprives the team of a new direction.

“The Rockies haven’t had a ton of success but they haven’t looked for outside help or perspective,” said a former big-league GM and longtime front office staffer who declined to be named because he still works with MLB franchises. “A lot of teams are trying to poach (front-office) people from other successful organizations. You never really see that with them. It����ap curious.”

The Baltimore Orioles, Houston Astros and Atlanta Braves are among the teams that looked outside their own walls for new general managers and reaped the rewards.

The Rockies, however, prefer to stay in-house. And in the family.

The promotion of Sterling Monfort to director of professional scouting in 2021 fell in line with that pattern. Sterling, 32, is Monfort’s second-oldest son. Walker Monfort, 36, has worked for the Rockies since 2009 and has been the Rockies’ vice president of corporate partnerships since 2014.

Manager Bud Black, who led the team to back-to-back playoff appearances in 2017-18, has now captained five consecutive losing seasons, but he’s under contract through 2024 and his job is secure.

“It����ap kind of looked at as a weird place,” said one former Rockie who requested anonymity because he still works in the game and has numerous friends in the organization. “I didn’t realize that until I got out of there and saw how things were done in other places. It’s one of those seeing-the-forest-for-the-trees type of things.

“The biggest reason, I think, is just how insular they are. They stick with what they’ve got. That����ap the thing I hear most often. They don’t think anybody else can figure out playing at altitude, so they think, ‘We’ll stick with what we’ve got.'”

Changing the course

Other teams are not nearly as patient, but then, they don’t play home games a mile above sea level.

Sports Illustrated senior writer Tom Verducci, among many others, believes the Rockies face a difficult, unique challenge, no matter who they hire in the front office.

“It’s harder to put together winning teams at altitude, so I don’t think that they can follow the same model as any other franchise,” Verducci said. “I don’t think anybody has figured out how to win consistently at altitude. They have been at it for a long time and they really haven’t figured it out.

“I think that the Rockies start out with this huge hurdle in front of them that all of the other 29 teams don’t have.”

Indeed, the Rockies have tried numerous innovations over the years in an attempt to deal with the difficulties of fielding a team at 5,280 feet. In 2002, a baseball humidor was installed at Coors Field. In 2012, Colorado instituted a “paired pitching system” featuring four starters working on a 75-pitch limit and four “piggyback” relievers. The experiment was a disaster and part of the reason manager Jim Tracy resigned and walked away with $1.4 million remaining on his contract.

The Rockies have studied and charted weather patterns. They have crunched numbers for years attempting to hit better on the road. Before the 2022 season, in an attempt to solve the disparities between home/road pitching, the club employed an analytics study.

But two seasons later, Colorado’s splits at Coors Field vs. on the road remain pronounced. Its OPS at Coors Field is .773, seventh in the majors, but its road OPS is .650 (30th). Pitching is a disaster both at home (6.09 ERA, worst in the majors) and away (5.18, third-worst).

Still, Schmidt insists that those outside the walls at 20th and Blake don’t see the progress the Rockies are making.

“We have people going the same direction, pulling on the same rope,” he said. “You guys (in the media) maybe don’t see it, but we’re making progress. We are open to new ideas.”

Feasel believes the Rockies get an unfair rap. He noted that this summer the Rockies hired Doug Mylowe as the club’s new CFO and Hensley “Bam Bam” Meulens as hitting coach. Mylowe came over from the Los Angeles Angels, where he was the director of finance, and Meulens was the Yankees’ hitting coach last season and spent 10 years as a coach with the Giants before that.

Schmidt also said that bringing Clint Hurdle back into the fold has provided a fresh, outside perspective. Hurdle managed the Rockies from 2002 until he was fired in May 2009, then he managed the Pittsburgh Pirates from 2011 to ’19. He now travels between the Rockies’ four minor-league teams and their Arizona Complex League team, working with young players.

“Clint was away for (more than) a dozen years, so of course he’s going to come back with different ideas,” Schmidt said. “We are open to new ideas and open to learning new things. To say we’re not is not true.”

Monfort����ap team

Ten years ago, Monfort told The Post that, based on his business model, a realistic goal for the Rockies is to make the playoffs “twice every five years.”

His blueprint has been to take occasional dips into the free-agent pool, spend within the parameters of a mid-market club, but pay to retain veterans he likes, such as outfielder Charlie Blackmon, who signed a six-year, $108 million contract extension in the spring of 2018.

“Dick is in charge, it����ap his team, and he doesn’t really care what people outside the organization think,” said one agent, who spoke to The Post on condition of anonymity because he doesn’t want to damage his ability to negotiate deals with the team. “Say what you want about Dick, he’s been unbelievably consistent. He’s never wavered. He’s going to follow the same path every time. That����ap his team, that����ap his baby and those are his guys. He doesn’t like to be criticized but he hasn’t really wavered from his path.”

Not only was Monfort a driving force behind the Bryant signing, but multiple sources say he played a central role in the infamous Nolan Arenado trade that sent the All-Star third baseman to St. Louis in February 2021.

Recent evidence, however, suggests the franchise is starting to change how it operates under Schmidt.

At this summer’s trade deadline, the Rockies departed from their usual path and made several deals designed to rebuild pitching in the farm system and clear the way for promising rookies such as Nolan Jones, Hunter Goodman and Brenton Doyle to get extensive playing time.

A year after the club extended closer Daniel Bard with a two-year, $19 million contract rather than attempt to trade him, Schmidt dealt five veteran players with expiring contracts, including former All-Star first baseman C.J. Cron, in exchange for seven pitching prospects.

“I will say that Bill Schmidt has been pretty aggressive,” Blackmon said. “I think in the past, the Rockies have, for the most part, played their hand conservatively. There is nothing wrong with that, but I feel more of a sense of urgency (with Schmidt).”

Still, the Rockies continue to search for a winning formula that has eluded them.

They could look to the Orioles, who tanked, collected high draft picks, and made the most of those picks to build out a farm system that’s been ranked No. 1 by MLB Pipeline for four consecutive years. After losing more than 100 games three times from 2018-21, the Orioles cleaned house and started from scratch. They hired Mike Elias away from the World Series champion Astros to become their general manager.

After losing more than 100 games three times from 2018-21, the Orioles have ridden the third-lowest payroll in the majors ($71 million) to first place in the AL East.

But Monfort’s comments in the past indicate he will never follow Baltimore’s path.

“I guess the connotation on rebuilding is you just get rid of everybody,” Monfort told The Post in January. “You try to draft low, which we’re not (going to do). We’re not trying to get the first pick. We’re not going to tank. We never have, never will.”

Monfort has admitted he tends to be loyal to a fault and that it pains him to see players depart. Yet at a time when loyalty would have made the most sense, the Rockies changed course. Instead of re-signing All-Star second baseman DJ LeMahieu — a keystone on the field and in the clubhouse when the Rockies came one victory away from claiming their first National League West crown in 2018 — the Rockies let LeMahieu walk.

He ended up signing a two-year, $24 million contract with the Yankees. The Rockies replaced him with declining veteran Daniel Murphy under the same terms. Monfort later admitted that the Rockies made a mistake.

“(The Rockies) don’t seem to have really clear goals, other than trying to win,” said Dan Szymborski, a senior writer for FanGraphs who’s been a harsh critic of the Rockies. “They really don’t seem to have a plan to get there. They are never really in win-now mode and never truly in win-later mode.”

Draft and develop

The Rockies’ recent futility has provided plenty of high draft choices but that hasn’t transferred to success at the big-league level.

Evans doubts things will change.

“They constantly refer to themselves as a draft and develop organization, but despite drafting in the top 10 spots in the first round in nine of the last 12 years, the Rockies have sputtered trying to produce quality big-league players from the amateur market,” he said.

The Rockies disagree, saying that rookie shortstop Ezequiel Tovar, along with the outfield trio of Jones, Doyle and Goodman, have a chance to be impactful big-leaguers. But injuries have left the minor league pitching cupboard bare. Hence Schmidt’s flurry of trades for pitching prospects this summer.

Colorado’s farm system is ranked 17th by FanGraphs, 18th by ESPN.com and MLB Pipeline, and 20th by Baseball America.

“I understand why we’re ranked that way, because a lot of our pitchers got hurt,” said Schmidt, noting that three of the club’s top pitching prospects underwent Tommy John surgery this summer. “But I think our position players rank up there with anybody.”

Schmidt notes that Colorado has beefed up its Latin American program in recent years and believes it����ap starting to pay off. Pushed by Rolando Fernandez, the vice president of international scouting and development, the Rockies in 2018 followed the lead of other franchises and added a second team to the Dominican Summer League.

“We are seeing some young players coming up, with Tovar leading the charge. I think we are improving,” Schmidt said. “But we haven’t gotten the pitching up here that we need to out of the Latin program. That����ap still developing.”

Yet while bigger-market teams have been active in signing talented Asian players — Los Angeles Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani being the prime example — the Rockies have waved the white flag.

“It����ap about where you put your resources, and we have put more into Venezuela, Mexico and the Dominican Republic,” Schmidt explained. “We feel like we have a better chance there. It����ap difficult to go head-to-head when you’re talking about the Mets and Yankees, Red Sox and Dodgers; those kinds of teams.”

In the research and development game, the Rockies are still playing catch-up.

Following the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Brittany Haby, manager of baseball research, was the only one left in her department after the rest of the staff quit.

Since then, Colorado has beefed up its department to 11. Brian Jones, the team’s video coordinator for 16 years, was promoted to director of R&D before this season. While Jones says there is a plan to add more people, the Rockies continue to lag behind the rest of the majors. The average team has 14 analysts and nine engineers, according to Four Rings Sports Solutions. The small-market Rays have an MLB-high 44.

Following the lead of other franchises, the Rockies now have a video/analytics coordinator at every level of the minors and they now travel with the team. They are also currently constructing an analytics-specific building called “The Lab” at Salt River Fields; a place where players can measure and evaluate their performance and study their biomechanics.

Coors Field fandom

If there is one thing the Rockies do very well, it’s drawing fans to Coors Field.

The stadium is a clean, well-maintained, family-friendly venue that’s become not just the epicenter of Lodo, but a tourist destination for baseball fans across the country. When the Rockies host popular teams such as the Cubs, Cardinals, Red Sox and Yankees, their fans fill the ballpark. When the Yankees came to Denver in mid-July for a weekend series, all three games were sellouts.

In spite of their terrible record, the Rockies are averaging 31,984 per game this season, ranking 14th in the majors and down only slightly from the 32,467 average from last season.

The Rockies also do a good job pairing promotional events with less attractive opponents. For example, for an Aug. 19 game against the lowly White Sox, the team gave away Todd Helton jerseys as part of its 30th anniversary celebration. The Saturday night game drew 46,601.

But many fans, especially those who care about wins and losses, are disgruntled. In a recent Denver Post survey, 81.33% of fans who responded said they attended fewer games this season because the team’s personnel decisions made the Rockies a non-competitive team.

When asked how their view of Monfort affected their attitude toward the club, 54.73% said their support declined because of ownership.

“The Rockies are more concerned with making the summer about a ‘pleasurable and inexpensive family experience,'” said Mark Findley, a longtime Rockies fan and former baseball coach at Loveland and Fossil Ridge high schools. “The ballpark is the star attraction and it’s like, ‘come and drink at the state’s best outdoor bar.’

“If the Rox win, great. If they lose, it’s, ‘Oh well, they tried hard and we had fun at the ballpark.’ ”

Into the future

So where do the Rockies go from here? Even though the team will get a high draft pick next summer by virtue of its 100-loss season, its future is tied to Bryant.

His contract will be on the books through 2028, which is one of the reasons why, when the deal was announced, esteemed ESPN baseball writer and TV analyst Buster Olney tweeted: “On a scale of 1 to 10, the industry shock over the Rockies’ deal with Kris Bryant has been turned up to 11.”

ESPN baseball analyst Eduardo Perez, who played 13 seasons in the majors and coached for the Astros and Marlins, said the Bryant signing was “a little bit confusing.”

“At the time, we all thought the Rockies were rebuilding,” Perez said. “It made a lot of people in the industry happy that Kris got that money, and made a lot of people confused.”

Schmidt, who once referred to Bryant as the Rockies’ “aircraft carrier,” predicts that once Bryant is fully healthy, he’ll be a player the Rockies can build around.

“He’ll provide a veteran presence for our young players as they come up here,” Schmidt said. “And I have no doubt that he has productive seasons left on the field.”

But, so far, the Bryant deal has been a disaster, with five years and $136 million still remaining on the contract.

Injuries have limited him to less than 40% of the Rockies’ games since he signed, and he hit just 15 homers in his first 119 games with a home run rate (2.9%) that pales in comparison to what he did with the Cubs (5.6%) during his MVP season seven years ago.

Recently, Bryant returned to the lineup after another long spell on the injured list and showed flashes of his talent. But at that point, the Rockies had already been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention for a fifth straight season.

And the success he and Monfort promised on that bright spring morning in the desert seemed as distant as ever.

NL West drafts 2008-21

If you’re on the mobile app, tap here to see the chart.

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Given a healthy, talented team, Black is a winning manager. He proved it his first two years with the Rockies, getting them to the postseason in 2017 and ’18, the only back-to-back playoff appearances in their lackluster history.

The Rockies had a winning road record just three times in their first 30 years, in 2009 under Jim Tracy (41-40) and under Black in ’17 (41-40) and ’18 (44-38). He helped young pitchers such as German Marquez and Kyle Freeland reach their potential. The starters’ ERA in 2018 was 4.17, the second-best in franchise history, trailing only the 2009 rotation (4.10).

If owner Dick Monfort and the front office had had the guts, foresight, and skills to add some key players at the trade deadline in ’18, the Rockies would have won the National League West for the first time in franchise history. If they had done things differently following the 2018 season — D.J. LeMahiue instead of Daniel Murphy to start with — the Rockies might have been contenders for a few more seasons.

But that’s ancient history.

Colorado entered the weekend with a 32-51 record, trending toward its first 100-loss season and firmly cemented in the NL West basement. That’s the ugly reality of this team.

Black turned 66 on Friday and in many ways, he’s an old-school manager. But I’ve asked around the clubhouse and I don’t sense that Black has lost the respect of his team.

As one veteran told me: “This isn’t on Buddy. Look at the injuries, look at some of the lineups we’ve been putting out there. I think he’s done a good job by keeping guys playing hard.

“It’s been rough, no doubt, but Buddy has our backs, and I think the guys appreciate that.”

Now comes one of the biggest challenges in Black’s 16 seasons as a major league manager. Veterans C.J. Cron and Kris Bryant are back from the injured list (Bryant returned Friday night vs. the Tigers), and Charlie Blackmon will likely return in the third week of July. Black will have to juggle his lineup to ensure that those veterans get their at-bats, while also ensuring that young players such as Nolan Jones, Brenton Doyle and Elehuris Montero play enough to grow, develop and be fairly evaluated.

“It’s just part of managing, so I don’t think it’s a big challenge or a big hurdle for the coaches and me,” Black said. “All of that is resolved through communication with our players and telling them what we want to accomplish.

“But you’re right, there is a line there where you want to give opportunities to your young players to give them repetitions, but also, there is the respect you want to show veteran players and their will to compete, play and do their jobs?”

When I told Black that he’s earned a reputation as an excellent communicator, he said, “I’m not going to say that. But I will say that teaching and coaching require communication. In this case, talking to your players. Teachers have to talk to their students.”

If the Rockies make any trades before the Aug. 1 deadline — especially if they deal veterans such as reliever Brad Hand, outfielders Jurickson Profar or Randal Grichuk, or first baseman Cron — Black’s teaching skills will be tested.

Here’s the thing: Black is ultra-competitive and he abhors losing. When he comes to the postgame press conference stone-faced and angry, he shows his frustration. But he loves baseball and he cares deeply about this team. He views every day, and every game, as a chance to help players get better.

Black’s not a Pollyanna, but he is a natural optimist.

Is he perfect? Of course not. But those fans who holler that Black needs to be fired don’t understand the dynamics of this team, his role as manager, and the sheer lack of talent on the roster this season. If Black went on a postgame tirade or threw underachieving players under the bus, some fans would cheer him on. But he’s never going to do that.

The Rockies are fortunate that Black has remained true to himself and committed to the team. He has one more year on his contract — unless the Rockies decide to go a different direction.

The sad truth of the situation is that by the time the Rockies turn things around — 2025, ’26, ’27? — Black will likely be back in San Diego, playing golf and enjoying his grandkids.

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Black deftly danced around the topic and told anecdotes about pitching to Baylor during his playing days.

“I think I hit Baylor more than any player I faced,” Black said. “He was a tough guy. He stood right on top of the plate and never moved!”

Sunday, when the Rockies held on to beat the Mets, 11-10, in a Coors Field hit parade, Black notched the 441st win of his Colorado career, moving him past Baylor. Clint Hurdle, who led the Rockies to their only World Series in 2007, leads the list with 534 wins.

Black, who led the Rockies to the playoffs in 2017-18 — the only back-to-back playoff seasons in club history —  has a 441-483 regular-season record, good for a .477 winning percentage, ranking third. Jim Tracy (294-308, .488) ranks first, followed by Baylor (440-469, .484).

Sunday, Black was eager to talk about how his team has emerged from a terrible April to win seven of its last 10 series.

“Our guys are rallying around each other,” Black said. “It’s really a good group of guys who understand their role. We have really started to play better baseball in all three phases.”

Grichuk sizzles. Outfielder Randal Grichuk, who opened the season on the injured list after undergoing surgery to repair a bilateral hernia, has been a hot hitter since being reinstated from the injured list April 29. Grichuk is slashing .366/.424/.512. Although he’s hit just one home run, Grichuk has been a big part of Colorado’s resurgence.

Sunday, he hit 3 for 4 with two doubles and two RBIs, his third three-hit game of the season and third multi-hit game of the homestand. Grichuk batted 9 for 21 (.429) with four doubles over six games during the homestand.

“Our winning has sort of coincided with his return,” Black said. “He got off to a really great start and his on-base percentage is about 50 points above his career average. That’s solid. I still think the homer is in there. There have been homers in his past, so I think there are homers in his future.”

Footnotes. Rookie center fielder Brenton Doyle Doyle, who sustained a bruised right knee when he crashed into the center-field wall on Thursday trying to rob the Marlins’ Jorge Soler of a home run, was inserted into the lineup as a defensive replacement in the ninth inning Sunday. Doyle said he expects to be back in the starting line “in the next couple of days.” … Right-hander Dinelson Lamet, who made three encouraging starts while rehabbing his sore lower back at Triple-A Albuquerque, was back in the Rockies clubhouse Sunday. He’s expected to be activated and is the probable starter for Colorado’s game at Arizona on Wednesday. … Veteran first baseman C.J. Cron (sore lower back) has begun doing light baseball activities but there is no timetable for him to come off the IL. He’s begun light running and has also done some hitting drills in the indoor batting cage. He was placed on the IL on May 15.

Monday’s Pitching Matchup

Rockies RHP Karl Kauffman (0-2, 9.35 ERA) at Diamondbacks RHP Ryne Nelson (1-2, 5.02)

2:10 p.m. Monday, Chase Field

TV: ATTRM

Radio: 850 AM/94.1 FM

Kaufmann is learning on the job and it hasn’t been an easy task. He’s pitched 4 1/3 innings in each of his first two big-league starts. He’s handled hitters pretty well the first time through the order but then gets tagged. In eight starts at Triple-A Albuquerque, he was 2-3 with a 7.78 ERA. Nelson didn’t factor into the decision in Arizona’s 4-3 win over the Phillies on Tuesday but pitched well, allowing one run on three hits over six innings. He struck out four without walking a batter. Nelson has given up two earned runs or less in three of his four starts in May. He’s faced the Rockies just once in his career, on April 30 at Coors Field, when he was ripped for six runs on nine hits over four innings in Colorado’s 12-4 victory.

Pitching probables

• Tuesday: Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland (4-5, 3.86) at Diamondbacks RHP Zac Gallen (6-2, 2.97), 7:40 p.m., ATTRM
• Wednesday: Rockies RHP Dinelson Lamet (1-1, 12.66 ERA) at Diamondbacks TBA, 7:40 p.m., ATTRM
• Thursday: Rockies RHP Chase Anderson (0-0, 1.31) at Diamondbacks Zach Davies (0-1, 5.68), 1:40 p.m., ATTRM

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Manager manager Bud Black said it Thursday night after the Rockies hammered the Padres, 7-2, in the season-opener.

Referring to Elehuris Montero’s inconsequential doink single to right field to lead off the ninth inning, Black said, “In the box score, another hit is going to show up, but hey, that’s baseball.”

Black will likely utter “that’s baseball” another 161 times this season. I’ve had friends and family — casual baseball fans — ask me what the heck Black is talking about.

I’ve tried to explain that baseball is a quirky, lucky, maddening, heartbreaking, ironic, unpredictable, and endlessly fascinating game. Weird things happen all of the time. A daily parade of numbers verifies that.

“That’s baseball.”

Pitchers love the phrase. If they give up a couple of cheap singles that lead to a bad inning, they’ll shrug their shoulders and say, “Man, nothing you can do. That’s baseball.”

Sometimes the quirks of the game matter a lot, sometimes they don’t. It’s all part of the game’s tapestry.

“That’s baseball” happened big time Thursday night at Petco Park.

First, consider that the most hits in a game the Rockies managed on the road all of last season was 14, something they did twice. But they banged out 17 hits against the Padres, in their very first road game of the season. But here’s the rest of the story: Colorado also struck out 17 times, thus becoming the first team in baseball’s modern era (since 1900) to have at least 17 hits and strike out 17 times in a nine-inning game.

“I was trying to figure out how we did that,” designated hitter Charlie Blackmon said after the game.

The king of “That’s baseball” is Jayson Stark, the Hall of Fame baseball writer for The Athletic. Nobody ties together baseball stats, history, quirks and irony quite like Stark.

Here’s an example.

In last year’s NLDS, the Braves brought in lefty Dylan Lee specifically to face Phillies star Bryce Harper. Harper, of course, promptly launched a titanic homer to right-center field. , it was Harper’s first home run off a left-handed pitcher since May 14, coming off the Dodgers’ Julio Urías. Moreover, it was Harper’s first home run off a left-handed reliever all season. Harper hadn’t hit one of those since Sept. 6, 2021, when he homered off the Cubs’ Rex Brothers. Finally, it was Harper’s first home run ever against a left-hander in the postseason — in his 24th postseason game.

As Stark wrote: “I would never have guessed that. I’m thinking most of you never would have guessed that.”

“That’s baseball.”

Jerry Schemmel, the longtime Rockies radio broadcaster for KOA radio, knows what I’m talking about.

Schemmel, who can do a spot-on impersonation of former Rockies manager Jim Tracy, loves to tell the story of Jonathan Herrera hitting an improbable home run against the Marlins on July 20, 2010, in Miami.

“That next year, I was sitting with ‘Trace’ in his office, and he started talking about Johnny Herrera,” Schemmel recalled as he shifted into his sing-song Tracy impersonation. ” ‘Schem,’ it’s the eighth inning and we’ve got men on first and second and we send little Johnny Herrera up to bunt.

“But he gets two strikes on him so we take off the bunt. And then what does Johnny do, Schem? What does he do? He hits a three-run dinger-donger! I love this game Shemmy, I love it!’ ”

The homer, which put the Rockies ahead, 8-7, was the first of Herrera’s career. He only hit 10 homers in 490 games and 1,345 plate appearances.

But wait, there’s more.

Marlins pinch-hitter Donnie Murphy hit a walk-off, two-run, two-out homer in the ninth inning off closer Huston Street to beat the Rockies, 9-8. The blown save was the first of the season for Street.

“That’s baseball.”

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So I felt compelled to ask: Doomed to a losing record for a fourth consecutive season, what keeps Black shoveling all the stuff associated with managing a last-place team, when it would be easier to take his ball and go home?

“I want to be part of the solution to help us win,” Black told me Wednesday.

Quit as manager of the Rockies? No way.

While this franchise might be in the business of pushing Nolan Arenado out the door for the sin of hating defeat, history has also taught us team owner Dick Monfort hates to fire anyone who makes baseball decisions on the field or in the front office at 20th and Blake.

Surrender is not in the DNA of Black, although friends sometimes ask: Why does a 65-year-old man chase the quixotic dream of winning a championship with the Rockies?

“That����ap a good question,” said Black, sitting in the same Colorado dugout that eventually broke the spirit of his predecessors, causing baseball lifers Jim Tracy and Walt Weiss to throw up their hands and walk away from this madness. “I get asked by other people my age: ‘How long are you going to do this?’”

After an 8-4 victory against Milwaukee on a sweltering September afternoon, Black’s managerial record in Colorado now stands at 408-438 over the course of six years. While his 48.2 winning percentage is far from gaudy, his success rate is only a tick below Tracy and Don Baylor as the best in the club’s 30-season history.

What has become evident through the decades of Major League Baseball in Denver? Rocks in your head might be required to enjoy the thankless task of managing all the day-in, day-out aggravations of a game not designed to be played at 5,280 feet above sea level. Then there’s the even bigger exasperation of working for ownership that knows it can sell nothing but the promise of sunshine to folks who buy tickets to Coors Field, where there’s a party on the Rooftop in right field, win or lose.

“Nothing beats winning. We’re here to win,” said Black, who won the World Series as a pitcher with the Royals in 1985 and as a coach for the Angels in 2002. “I know what winning feels like. So that����ap what drives me. I want my coaches and players to experience that same feeling.”

With the current Colorado roster a mishmash of retread veterans such as first baseman C.J. Cron and starting pitchers that, like German Marquez, seem to constantly struggle to find their mojo, does Black honestly believe the Rockies have a shot to be contenders anytime soon?

“All I know is that during the conversations we have, in small groups upstairs, I’ve never sensed anything but a strong want-to to be good. The people upstairs care,” said Black, whose contract with the Rockies runs through 2023.

This summer, as the wheels have fallen off the Rockies’ bandwagon once again, fingers of blame have been pointed at the driver of the bus. Black, whose area of expertise is the physical mechanics and psychological challenges of throwing strikes, has guided a Colorado pitching staff to a 5.05 earned run average that ranks dead last in the National League.

Does Black know how much his decisions in the dugout are second-guessed? You bet. He hears criticism on the regular. In fact, it starts at home.

“My wife second-guesses me all the time,” Black said. “She asks: ‘Why did you bring in so-and-so to pitch the seventh inning?’ My wife has been doing that forever.”

So why doesn’t he leave all this frustration behind and retire to the beach?

In Black’s mind, he has filed away four major reasons why he keeps showing up in the dugout with a smile on his face.

No. 1: “I love this game, and have loved this game since I was a Little Leaguer. I love putting the uniform on.”

No. 2: “I take a lot of joy in the teacher, leader and mentor part of this job. Talking baseball, whether it����ap about players, strategy or mechanics.”

No. 3: “I love the fraternity of baseball, and the people in this game.”

No. 4: “My family loves that I still do this. That helps. My family likes baseball and they like that I’m involved.”

His list complete, Black asked me: “Are you a country music guy?”

He wanted to know if I remember a classic song by George Strait. “Troubadour” reached No. 7 on the country charts in 2008. All these years later, the lyrics speak to Black:

I still feel 25,

Most of the time.

I still raise a little cain with the boys.

Honky tonk and pretty woman.

Singing above the crowd and the noise.

Nobody sings the game’s praises louder than Black. He loves this stuff, even when the baseball stinks.

“I still feel 25,” Black said, “most of the time.”

He was a young baseball troubadour when he took the mound in Little League. And my guess is somebody will have to pry the ball from the hand of an old troubadour before Black rides off into the sunset.

“I think I’ll know when it����ap time to move on,” Black told me. “I will probably get to that point one day. But maybe not. I still like it.”