“Very nice,” he said, giving me a wry, knowing smile and a short laugh.

Some background is definitely required here.

In 2014, Weiss was managing the Rockies on a hazy, humid September Sunday morning at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Somehow, Weiss, MLB.com’s Thomas Harding, and I started talking about our 1970s crushes. We mentioned, of course, Farrah Fawcett and her famous poster, Cheryl Tiegs and her poster, as well as other supermodels and Hollywood stars. I said I once had a poster of pop singer Linda Ronstadt.

Then came the bombshell.

“I had a crush on Barbara Streisand,” Thomas said. “I thought she was hot.”

Walt and I were aghast. As Walt pointed out, “Babs” had a nose like his own. No way Thomas was telling us the truth, right? To this day, insists he was.

The kicker came after the Rockies lost to the Cardinals that day. Walt pulled us aside and said, “You know, when I was going out to the mound to make a pitching change, I kept thinking about Barbra Streisand. Thanks a lot, Thomas.”

The point of my ramble down memory lane? My nearly 28-year career at The Denver Post ends Wednesday when the Rockies host the Red Sox at Coors Field. I’ve covered World Series, Super Bowls, Final Fours, Nuggets games and scores of high school state championships alongside Kyle Newman. In the end, my fondest memories are not about games, highlight reels, strategy, upsets, or scoops. My fondest memories are about people. It’s what I wrote about best.

Being a baseball beat writer is the most gratifying of any of the major sports beats, in my humble opinion. You get to know the people, from owners and managers to players and clubbies to broadcasters and fellow writers. Meanwhile, the walls between the NFL and the media grow thicker and taller with each passing year. I can’t imagine Broncos beat writers talking about their boyhood crushes with coach Sean Payton.

I was hired by The Post in October 1998, joining Adam Schefter as a Broncos No. 2 beat writer, just in time to cover John Elway’s second Super Bowl title. In the summer of 2005, I was yanked off the Broncos beat and moved to the Rockies, as the No. 2 writer behind current Post columnist Troy Renck. It was a demotion for me, no doubt.

My wife, Nancy, and I were shocked by the grind of the baseball beat, especially back in the days when The Post still traveled to cover the Rockies. We eventually embraced the lifestyle, though it wasn’t easy.

Covering a team afflicted with chronic losing wasn’t easy either. I covered the Rockies for nearly 20 years, and during that time, they had five winning seasons, made the playoffs four times, and made one magical run to the World Series in 2007.

I’ve had to rewrite more deadline game stories than I can count. The adage in the Coors Field press box: “The Rockies blew another lead. And they blew another lede.”

But, all in all, it’s been quite a wonderful ride. What follows are excerpts from some of my favorite stories I wrote for The Post. The common theme is people.

McCaffrey family legacy

When I started covering the Broncos, first for the Longmont Times-Call and then with The Post, training camp was still held at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley. The players stayed in one dorm, the media in another, and we shared the same cafeteria. Access to the players was incredible. I once interviewed Elway while riding in a golf cart as the fans screamed for autographs — Elway’s, not mine.

That’s how I got to know wide receiver Ed McCaffrey and his wife, Lisa. In 1999, I profiled their family’s rich sports legacy:

When 5-year-old Max McCaffrey plays soccer, his 3-year-old brother, Christian, can’t bear to watch.

“Christian is always trying to run out on the field to be with his big brother,” his dad said. “We have to keep reeling him back in.”

Christian can’t help it. The need for speed, the energy driving his little motor, the desire to follow the bouncing ball — they’re in his genes.

His grandfather won a silver medal in the 100-meter dash at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. Uncle Billy became a legend in the Pennsylvania Rust Belt and later won a national basketball championship with the Duke Blue Devils.

When she was a pixie in South Florida, Christian’s mom scored so many goals for her high school soccer team that her mug shot ended up in Sports Illustrated’s “Faces in the Crowd.”

Christian’s dad? All he’s done is win three Super Bowl rings, earn a trip to the Pro Bowl, develop a stiff-arm that could stop a rhinoceros, become one of the best receivers in Denver Broncos history and destroy forever the notion that white men can’t run.

Arenado’s SoCal roots

In 2016, Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado was a budding star. I traveled to his boyhood home of Lake Forest, in Orange County, California. While the Rockies hosted the Blue Jays at Coors Field, I sat in the living room of Fernando and Millie Arenado as they watched the game on TV. It was a remarkable day, topped off with a trip to El Toro High School, less than 10 minutes from the Arenado home. I spent an hour reminiscing with Mike Gonzalez, Arenado’s high school coach.

Here’s the beginning of my story about Arenado’s baseball roots:

LAKE FOREST, Calif. — The trim, stucco home looks like many others in this quiet, middle-class Southern California neighborhood. There is a basketball hoop out front and a beautifully tiled swimming pool in the backyard.

Step inside and you’re enveloped by warmth. Family photos cover every wall, every shelf, every nook and cranny. The family dog, a white Havanese named Mojito (“Mo” for short), hops up on the comfy couch to greet visitors.

Baseball is everywhere, too. Indeed, the home is something of an impromptu museum. Near the TV in the living room sits Nolan Arenado’s gleaming 2015 Silver Slugger Award. Open a nearby cabinet, and one of Arenado’s three Gold Glove Awards sits among a sea of memorabilia.

Likely more baseball stuff will be added after Tuesday night����ap All-Star Game in San Diego, where Arenado, the Rockies’ third baseman, will be appearing, the second year in a row he was voted in by fellow major-league players. Who knows? Perhaps an All-Star Game MVP trophy will be his newest baseball heirloom. At the very least, his All-Star Game jersey will find a place in the Arenado home.

Upstairs is the “Bonus Room,” as the family calls it. In the middle sits a pool table, now overflowing with framed photos, jerseys and signed baseballs. On the couch in front of a big-screen TV sits a Star Wars stormtrooper helmet. Back in the day, Arenado wore it while playing video games.

A day in the life of Buddy Black

I covered five managers in my time with the Rockies: Clint Hurdle, a force of nature and philosophy; Loquacious Jim Tracy, one of the nicest men I’ve ever met; Weiss, a fellow Bruce Springsteen fanatic; Bud Black, a walking baseball encyclopedia who’s beloved throughout the game; and current manager Warren Schaeffer, full of incredible passion and heart.

Of all of the Rockies’ managers, I know Black the best. We’re near the same age and share the same sense of humor. We still text frequently. In 2018, in the midst of a race for the National League West title, Black allowed me to go behind the scenes and chronicle a day in the life of a big-league manager:

It����ap the second week of September, the Rockies are chasing their first division title, and Bud Black has former Bronco Peyton Manning on his mind.

He’s trying to figure out a way to get the legendary quarterback to appear in a video that would play on the giant scoreboard at Coors Field as the Rockies make their run to a possible National League West crown.

“I want Peyton, waving his arms up and down, to get the crowd going,” Black says. “Hey, we don’t care about the snap count! We want it loud! ‘Omaha! Omaha!’ ”

Later in the afternoon, he’ll call in Julian Valentin, the director of social media, to see if there has been any progress on Project Peyton. (Valentin tells Black that it����ap being looked into).

Black’s office, down the hallway from the players’ spacious clubhouse, contains a comfy black-leather couch and a tidy desk. Photographs of Coors Field adorn the walls, including one that captures the joy of a young boy watching a game. Encased in a glass frame is the lineup and a baseball from Black’s first game as Rockies manager. It����ap dated April 3, 2017, a game in which the Rockies beat the Brewers at Milwaukee, 7-5.

Black has plenty on his to-do list, though he goes about his chores with a relaxed, easy manner. Colorado’s second-year manager, age 61, plans to watch video, meet with his coaches, chat with some players and confer with head trainer Keith Dugger. The night before, the Rockies hammered the Diamondbacks, 13-2. With nothing to stew over and no second-guesses haunting him, he got an excellent night����ap sleep. Today, he’s open to having a reporter shadow him, from arriving at the ballpark just after noon through another critical game that night vs. Arizona.

Helton gets the call

Todd Helton is the greatest player in Rockies history. He’s a complex, moody, smart and extremely funny man. His sense of humor can be cutting and takes some getting used to. Somehow, we bonded.

In January 2024, Helton invited Thomas and me to his home outside Knoxville, Tenn., to be there with his family and close friends when he got the call that he’d been elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. We all figured he’d get in, but there were no guarantees. It turned out to be one of the most memorable days of my career:

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Todd Helton, arms folded across his chest, nervously paced the living room of his home Tuesday afternoon.

“I haven’t been superstitious for 10 years, not since I retired,” the Rockies’ iconic first baseman said. “Today, I’m superstitious. I didn’t look at anything, I didn’t watch anything, I didn’t look at the internet.”

He could have spared himself the angst.

Because, fittingly, at 5:17 p.m. Eastern time, No. 17 got the call of a lifetime. Told that he had been elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Helton pumped his fist and finally took a deep breath.

“It����ap the greatest honor you can get as a baseball player,” Helton said. “Getting your number retired and getting elected to the Hall of Fame are the two greatest achievements you can get.”

Still, Helton wasn’t quite ready to let it all go.

“I’m going to go (crazy) when y’all leave,” he said.

The sweet-swinging Helton, the beloved heart and soul of the Rockies for 17 seasons and one of the most accomplished players of his era, received 79.7% of the vote, clearing the 75% bar required by the Hall of Fame and the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

Matzek, ‘The Yips,’ and me

We’ve all got something. Mine is anxiety and depression, something I’ve dealt with for much of my adult life.

That’s why I was so interested in Tyler Matzek’s story. The former Rockies pitcher had such a bad case of the yips, brought on by performance anxiety, that it nearly ruined his baseball career. In December 2015, we met in a Southern California coffee shop and talked for nearly three hours. He was remarkably candid.

In 2021, he won a World Series as a shutdown reliever for the Braves. But before that, I wrote this story:

LAGUNA HILLS, Calif. — On Sept. 5, 2014, at Coors Field, Tyler Matzek pitched a three-hit shutout against the San Diego Padres. Poised and confident, and throwing a 94 mph fastball with graceful ease, the Rockies’ rookie left-hander was dominant. Over his final six starts, Matzek went 4-2 with a 1.55 ERA. He looked like the Rockies’ ace of the future.

Yet demons lurked in the corners of Matzek’s mind, and by the time he took the mound for the Rockies’ 2015 home opener April 10, he was headed for trouble.

“Even when things were going the right way, there was this overwhelming stress inside me that just kept building and building and building,” Matzek said recently while sipping coffee at a Starbucks in Southern California. “(Then) I just couldn’t hold that stress any longer and my game collapsed.”

Matzek was suffering from performance anxiety.

It wrecked him on the mound and even began to creep into his everyday life.

“My wife, Lauren, said it was our worst time, relationship-wise, because I was so tight, so stressed, just waiting to explode from this thing,” Matzek said. “She knew it wasn’t about her, but it was hard.”

But the quiet, intelligent 25-year-old confronted his condition head-on, confident he would fulfill the promise that prompted the Rockies to make him the 11th pick in the first round of the 2009 draft. He is determined to compete for a job in the Rockies’ starting rotation in spring training.

Thanks, mom

The day after I cover my final Rockies game, Nancy and I are flying to Southern California. We’ll join my extended family to scatter the ashes of my mom, Anita, and my dad, Dusty, in Laguna Beach, their favorite vacation spot.

This is my final chance to say thanks, sharing past stories with you:

Somewhere up there, my mom is smiling.

Ryan McMahon hit a home run for the Rockies in their 4-3 win over the Giants on Thursday night. McMahon broke out of a horrendous slump.

“RyMac” was my mom’s second-favorite Rockie, right behind Todd Helton. Why? Partly because he’s Irish, mostly because I like RyMac.

She was thrilled when Helton invited me to his Knoxville, Tenn., home to witness his Hall of Fame phone call in January 2024. When my wife, Nancy, and I were invited to Helton’s party in Cooperstown last July, my mom felt like she was there.

During her last years, I watched Rockies road games with her when I could. She rarely asked why the team was winning or losing. Strategy was not her thing. She always asked, “Is so and so a good guy?”

That����ap the kind of sports fan my mom was. She knew nothing about OPS, yards after catch, 3-point percentages, or point spreads. She just liked how players played and hoped they were good people. She loved Dr. J, Nolan Arenado and Floyd Little.

In the Broncos’ infancy, when Little was their only star and the game plan was “Little off left tackle, Little off right tackle,” my mom would shout, “Don’t hurt Floyd!”

In her later years, she’d tried to stay up late enough to watch manager Bud Black’s postgame news conference, not because she wanted to hear his explanations but to hear me ask a question.

Thanks, dad

I wrote this journal a few months before my dad died in May 2022:

What do you get your dad for his 90th birthday?

I’ve been pondering that question for the past few weeks. I kept striking out.

Then, as I perused the web, I came across a cool T-shirt. Cardinals red, the shirt displays the image of Stan Musial, leaning on a baseball bat. The script simply reads: The MAN.

How many sports-related T-shirts, sweatshirts and books have I given my dad over the years? I’ve lost track. It doesn’t matter. My dad’s going to love his “Stan the Man” T-shirt.

A father and son bonding over sports is not unique, but it is different for every father and son.

Walter Patrick “Dusty” Saunders was born on Sept. 24, 1931, in Denver. He was a lonely kid. His father died when he was 9 years old, and his mom died when he was 10.

In the 1940s, my dad’s companions were the radio, books and sports. He became a St. Louis Cardinals fan because he could pick up the strong signal from KMOX radio in St. Louis. Musial was his favorite player.

In 2006, my first full year on the Rockies beat, I took my dad to St. Louis for Father’s Day to watch the Rockies play the Cardinals in the first year of the new Busch Stadium. He chatted with Clint Hurdle and Todd Helton. After the game, my dad, MLB.com Rockies beat writer Thomas Harding and I had dinner at former Cardinal Mike Shannon’s restaurant. Thomas and I still talk about that day.

Cole Carrigg’s off to a pretty solid start in his MLB career, but why was he promoted instead of Charlie Condon or Zac Veen? Was he just playing that much better than them? Is it to manage their service time in the majors? A little of both? Thanks.

— Marshall, Parker

Marshall, since you submitted your question, Carrigg has been sensational. It’s not about service time.

In the Rockies’ excruciating loss to the Cubs on Monday night, he drove in all four runs and hit an eighth-inning, three-run home run that should have stood as the game-winner.

Carrigg plays with a swagger and an edge, and in that regard, he reminds me of Troy Tulowitzki as a rookie. I asked one of Tulo’s former teammates if he shared my opinion.

“I see some,” the teammate responded. “Tulo wasn’t on the razor’s edge of out of control like Carrigg.”

Anyway, to your question, the Rockies front office sees a lot of things that fans don’t see, and that I don’t see or consider. Paul DePodesta, the president of baseball operations, recently told me that they take a hard look at “the process” a player has in the minors as a major part of their decision on when to promote a player.

Carrigg has proven that he was ready. I think promotions for Condon and Veen could very well depend on what happens as the trade deadline nears.

Patrick, I heard you’re leaving soon. It’s been a pleasure reading your coverage all these years. The Denver sports community is losing an absolute legend. What are some of the most memorable moments of your career?

— Ryan C., Aurora

Ryan, thanks for your kind comments.

Leaving The Post after nearly 28 years is a hard and emotional decision, but it was time. The buyout I was offered made me accelerate my retirement timeline. The baseball beat, particularly covering a losing Rockies team over the last few years, has been a grind. Plus, the industry is changing fast, and I’m becoming a bit of a dinosaur.

I have far too many memories to mention here in any detail, so I will list a few: Rocktober; covering all three of the Broncos’ Super Bowl title wins; watching Nolan Arenado play third base; spending time in the dugout talking baseball and music with Bud Black; being at Todd Helton’s house in Tennessee when he got the call that he was elected to the Hall of Fame; working with some incredible colleagues, especially Kyle Newman and Troy Renck; crazy, fun times in the press box with the crew; covering games at all 30 major league ballparks; having Coors Field as my office on perfect summer nights; and forming a friendship with MLB.com’s Thomas Harding, with whom I’ve had a bromance for 25 years.

I’ll be writing a farewell story soon, so keep an eye out for it.

Did you expect T.J. Rumfield to be our breakout star this season? I certainly didn’t, but, boy, is it nice to have a solution at first base after so many years of failed experiments. Do you think he’ll win the Rookie of the Year award?

— Mike, Denver

Mike, I was excited about Rumfield after seeing him play in spring training and reading the reports on his skill set. As I wrote in February: “T.J. Rumfield was a big-league first baseman trapped in Triple-A limbo.”

But I have been surprised by the quality of his at-bats; he’s been hitting like a seasoned veteran. His glove work at first base has been outstanding.

However, I don’t think he’ll be named the National League’s top rookie, for a few reasons.

First, he plays in Colorado for a team with the worst record in baseball and he’s not going to get much attention from the baseball writers who vote for the award.

Second, he plays his home games at Coors Field, which will automatically disqualify him in the minds of some voters. That’s a shame, because he’s hit just as well on the road as at home. At Coors, he’s slashing .263/.353/.449 (.802 OPS), with five homers and 22 RBIs. On the road, he’s slashing .287/.359/.465 with four homers and 12 RBIs.

Third, there are several strong candidates, led by Cardinals second baseman JJ Wetherholt, Reds first baseman Sal Stewart, and Mets right-hander Nolan McLean.

Are you surprised, disappointed, or comfortably numb by how the Rockies have performed so far this season?

— Ed Helinski, Auburn, N.Y.

Comfortably numb? You must be a Pink Floyd fan.

Anyway, I’m not sure my characterization is on your list. I would say mildly encouraged, but the state of the pitching staff is a huge concern.

Hey Patrick! Who do you think has the best shot at becoming our lone representative at the All-Star Game? I thought it was going to be Mickey Moniak before he went on IL. I feel like our best shots are Hunter Goodman, Antonio Senzatela or Tomoyuki Sugano.

— Ryan, Aurora

Ryan, the Rockies will have only one representative, and it’s going to be Goodman for the second consecutive season. As I write this, he’s slashing .255/.327/.537 (.864 OPS) with 27 RBIs.

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

What����ap surprised you so far with the Rockies?

— Ed Helinski, Auburn, N.Y.

Wow, Ed, that is the question of the moment. Let me start by saying that there have been plenty of pleasant surprises in the early going. There have also been a few disappointments. Let’s get to it.

Good surprises

• Colorado’s 13-16 record. Heading into Tuesday’s game at Cincinnati, the club was on pace to finish 73-89. I don’t think the Rockies will win that many games, in large part because they might trade a few veteran starters in late July/early August, which could cost them some games. But the record is encouraging. Of course, I picked the Rockies to lose 102 games, so what do I know?

• Antonio Senzatela’s resurgence. I’ll be honest, I thought “Senza” was done, regardless of his role. But as I write this, he has a 0.50 ERA and looks like a different pitcher, dominating out of the bullpen. In fact, he is a different pitcher.  Senzatela threw his very hittable four-seam fastball 57% of the time last season, more often than all but 13 qualified pitchers in the majors. This season, he’s using his four-seamer just 37%, while incorporating his cutter (28%) and a sinker (12%), pitches he didn’t have in his repertoire last season.

• Mickey Moniak’s staying power. The No. 1 draft pick for the Phillies in 2016 had a good first season with the Rockies, but I wasn’t sure it was sustainable. Last season, Moniak set career highs in games (135), runs (62), hits (117), triples (eight), home runs (24), RBIs (68), stolen bases (nine), slugging (.519), and OPS (.824). Moniak has had hot streaks before, but then cooled off for long periods. But right now, he’s playing like an All-Star, slashing .316/.353/.684 with a team-high eight home runs.

• Troy Johnston’s hot start. When the Rockies claimed Johnston off waivers from the Marlins in November, I considered him a minor addition and a player for spring training depth and competition. It’s looking like I was way off base. Not only has Johnson slashed .315/.371/.449 with two homers and is tied for the team lead with 16 RBIs, but he’s brought fun and energy to the clubhouse.

•  Chase Dollander’s 180-degree turn. Everyone knows that the right-hander has ace-like stuff. However, harnessing that stuff was problematic last season (2-12, 6.65 ERA overall, 2-6, 9.98 ERA at Coors Field). But Dollander has been outstanding this season (3-2, 2.25 ERA, .200 batting average against), even though the Rockies have used an opener for all but one of his games.

Bad surprises

• Shortstop Ezequiel Tovar’s slow start. He looks lost at the plate right now and is hitting .200. He’s getting beat on fastballs up in the zone and waving over the top of sliders down and away. His strikeout rate is 30%, and his 48% chase rate is the highest in the majors. He’s too good a player for his slump to continue, but the trend is troubling.

• The slumps of Jordan Beck and Brenton Doyle. The Rockies need their defense in the outfield, but they are liabilities at the plate right now, which is why they are getting relatively limited playing time and hitting at the bottom of the order. Beck is hitting .154 with just three extra-base hits (one homer, two doubles). Doyle is hitting .208 with just three extra-base hits (one homer, two doubles). Entering the season, they were viewed as pillars of Colorado’s rebuild, but right now, they are players in limbo.

Patrick, we Rockies fans can clearly see the team is improved and more competitive this season. Do the players hear the same from opponents, and do you hear it from outside media?

— Dom, Longmont

Dom, I honestly don’t know how most opposing players view the Rockies. However, when the Padres were in Denver recently, several of their players said they thought the Rockies were a much-improved team.

I think a lot of media members — those who pay attention — understand that Colorado is better. Still, the stigma of three consecutive 100-loss seasons, including the 119-loss debacle last year, is hard to erase. For example, some of the New York Mets writers were apoplectic when the Rockies swept the Mets in Queens over the weekend. And an as the worst team in the majors, despite their much-improved record.

Patrick, do you agree that we’ve seen these two patterns so far in 2026? Pattern 1: You were precisely on target in projecting that the Rox will be improved, but probably won’t win 70 games this season. Pattern 2: The Rox are a Jekyll-and-Hyde team; alternating between playing a beautiful game one day and an ugly game the next (which is an improvement on three years of two or three ugly games for every one beauty).

And what does Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer see in Victor Vodnik? Is any Rox reliever less effective than Vodnik so far this year?

— Dave Stauffer, Denver

Dave, I agree with both your “patterns.” We’re going to see a lot of growing pains this season because the Rockies are still a flawed team. But give the players, coaching staff, and front office credit; they are at least a competitive team this season. That wasn’t the case last season when they had an almost unfathomable minus-424 run differential.

As for Vodnik, what Schaeffer sees is a pitcher who consistently throws 97-99 mph, can top 100 mph, and fearlessly attacks hitters. He can be erratic, as we saw last week when the Padres scored five runs off him in the ninth. But I wouldn’t give up on Vodnik.

We have two similar questions regarding Chase Dollander.

Chase Dollander seems to have kind of figured out his pitching. Do you think they’ll stay with an opener for him for a few more outings, or is this opener thing going to stick around for a while for his outings

— Kyle, Thornton

When the Rockies use an opener, why do they bring Chase Dollander in afterward? He is clearly the one handling most of the innings. Twice now, he has not been the starter but still pitched longer than any other pitcher. It seems easier to have him start the game.

— Freddy, Thornton

Guys, Dollander got the start in New York against the Mets and pitched seven strong innings. After the game, however, manager Warren Schaeffer was unclear whether he would continue to use Dollander as a traditional starter.

This is what I wrote:

“Dollander got his first official start of the season, as opposed to entering the game in the second inning after Colorado used an opener. Schaeffer said he doesn’t see a difference.

“No change from what he’s been doing,” he said. “Whether you start him or bring him out of the ‘pen, he’s going to be the same guy. It was just the state of the bullpen. We used a lot of leverage relievers in the first game, so it just made sense to start him.”

Schaeffer had previously said he thought that Dollander benefited from “the routine” of having an opener ahead of him, and also said that Dollander benefited from not having to face a batting order three times. We’ll see if Schaeffer sticks with that plan, especially now that right-hander Ryan Feltner is on the injured list with right ulnar nerve inflammation.

Kris Bryant’s last at-bat in Rockies pinstripes happened a year ago this past Sunday. April 12, 2025. Haven’t seen him since.

“Hey, look, I get it — baseball is a business,” Bryant’s father Mike told me during a short conversation last spring. “They want (Kris) hitting 40 home runs and hitting .300 … you got your Todd Heltons for that, and you’ve got your other guys. Kris is happy. When it’s all said and done, (Denver fans are) going to look back on Kris favorably.”

As a person? Without a doubt.

As a contract? As an investment? No chance.

Which is where the Broncos enter the picture, riding to the rescue on The Penner Sports Group, fronted by Broncos owners Carrie Walton Penner and husband Greg Penner, now possesses a 40% stake in the Rockies. As reported by The Post’s Patrick Saunders last Friday, the Walton-Penners are the largest minority investors for Colorado’s Major League Baseball team, topped only by the Monfort family, who retain team control.

The Broncos needed leadership and money to get out of the darkness and back into the AFC Championship Game. The Rockies need … well, everything. But more money and better leadership would be two welcome steps in the right direction.

Because, lest we forget, the Broncos had to bottom out before starting their three-year climb. The Penners and Waltons went all-in on Russell Wilson. They got a 5-12 train wreck in 2022 to show for it, all while fans counted down the play clock. At home.

Sean Payton wanted to wash his hands of Russ, who was clearly toast. So the Broncos ate $85 million in dead cap money over the ’24 and ’25 seasons for cutting Wilson, the kind of hit that’s supposed to punish a franchise for its free-spending folly.

Only a funny thing happened: The Broncos got better. Much, much, much better. And fast. Bo Nix hit. Nik Bonitto hit. Jonathon Cooper hit. Quinn Meinerz hit. Brandon Jones hit. Talanoa Hufanga hit anything within six feet of him. A lot of shrewd drafting, a pinch of smart free-agent signings and good coaching hoisted the Broncos from outhouse to penthouse.

The road is longer for the Rockies, who’ve lost 100 or more games for three straight seasons and will flirt with a fourth. The NFL is designed for parity, competitive socialism at its finest. Major League Baseball is the last of the major North American sports leagues without a salary cap.

But the Broncos couldn’t move forward until they chucked Wilson’s contract overboard and let Payton build a roster in his image.

And any hope for a new dawn in LoDo, any tailwind that pushes the Rockies forward, starts with getting Bryant’s seven-year, $182-million contract off the stinkin’ books. And as quickly as possible.

Not his fault, mind you. Nice guy. Amazing dude. Bryant’s spirit, like his smile, was always willing. His body, alas, had other ideas.

Since signing with the Rockies in March 2022, KB23 has played in only 170 games over the first four years of his deal. In what’s amounted to basically a full season of stats over the last 48 months, KB’s Colorado line to date is 632 at-bats, 29 doubles, 17 home runs, 61 RBI, a .244 batting average and a .695 OPS.

In other words, for $26 million per season, the Rockies have gotten 42 games a year of (.244 career batting average, .695 career OPS) in the middle of the order.

The surface takeaway from the Walton-Penner family’s investment was that all that sweet Walmart dough would wipe away debt. Most MLB clubs lost some serious change with the collapse of regional sports networks — the Rox reportedly collected at least $57 million from AT&T SportsNet in 2023, the last season of their old TV contract.

Given inflation, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says that $57 million in March 2023 would’ve been worth $58.98 million in March 2024, $60.39 million in March 2025; and $62.4 million in March 2026.

That’s an estimated $181.7 million shortfall for the Monforts, even before factoring in returns from the direct-to-consumer/subscriber model. You need cash to patch the wound and stop the bleeding.

The other purple elephant in the Monforts’ room, of course, is Bryant, a deal that’s aging the way

A bad idea at the time looks even worse now. Counting this season’s salary, the Rox still owe Bryant, now 34, another $81 million through the end of the 2028 season.

Word leaked that Bryant was signing with Colorado the same day that Wilson was introduced as the new QB savior of the Broncos in Dove Valley — March 16, 2022, a date that will forever live in Front Range infamy.

The Waltons and Penners quickly saw the error of their ways, although it helped that NFL contracts aren’t guaranteed beyond the signing bonus. MLB deals are. Bryant is repped by Scott Boras, and baseball divorces aren’t cheap. An injury settlement feels like the most logical path at this point. Which is why it’s also not hard to picture the Monforts asking Walton-Penner and her husband if they’d like to chip in to help the Rockies get past their version of the Wilson deal.

“It’s just been very frustrating (here),” the elder Bryant told me. “We came in with high expectations for him to really enjoy himself and it was killing him (to not play). Then to listen to the B.S. that goes along, people running their mouths about how he wasn’t worth the contract …

“It’s not like he was trying to play at 80% (health). He was trying to play at 50%. You can’t do that in this game. There’s just too many good pitchers. It’s a brutal game.”

With brutal realities. If the Broncos can make two of the worst deals in Denver sports history go away, that would be almost as impressive as sticking a fork in the Chiefs’ AFC West dynasty.

Holy Blackout, Batman! Unless a Dark Knight swings in to save the day at the 11th hour, Denver sports faithful appear to once again be on the wrong side of a Comcast/Xfinity dispute that threatens their ability to watch championship-level teams in action.

�ݴھ��Ծ��ٲ���dropped channels owned by E.W. Scripps earlier this month in a contract squabble. Denver’s KMGH-TV (Denver7) is one of those Scripps stations — and, as an ABC affiliate, will be carrying some of the NBA Playoffs and Stanley Cup Playoffs.

ESPN/ABC is slated to air roughly 18 NBA postseason games during the first two rounds, and likely one of the two conference finals series this spring. ESPN/ABC will air the NBA Finals and Stanley Cup Finals exclusively.

While specific games and network assignments have yet to be announced, it doesn’t take a VPN to see where this could be going.

And, frankly, it breaks the hearts — yes, we still have them — of the hoops nerds on the Grading The Week crew. Especially as it was only 15 months ago that Nuggets and Avs fans finally got Kroenke Sports & Entertainment’s Altitude channel back on Xfinity after nearly six years of darkness, public sniping and lawsuits.

Comcast/KMGH blackout — D

OK, we hear you. Enough sobbing. So, what are fans’ options for Nuggets and Avs playoff games that they can’t get on Xfinity? You’ve got a few, although none are perfect:

1. Buy a digital antenna. Easy to purchase, easy to install. Signal strength, however, may vary depending on your location.

2. Go full digital.

3. Pay for a streaming option such as Hulu, YouTube or Fubo, for example. (Full disclosure: The higher-ups in the GTW offices have been streaming for ages.)

4. Go full pirate, baby! Yarrrr!

The latter isn’t legal, mind you. But unfortunately, most Nuggets and Avs fans in the metro long ago learned — and frankly, had to learn, thanks to the blackout — how to find their games via more nefarious means.

Rockies making purple cool again? — B

We can’t believe we’re typing this any more than you can believe reading it,  but the Rockies — your Rockies, baseball punching bag, national punchline — had a heck of a week.

Friday morning’s news, as broken by The Post’s Patrick Saunders, brought smiles from FoCo to Castle Rock with the announcement that Broncos owners Carrie Walton-Penner and Greg Penner are purchasing a 40% ownership stake in Colorado’s Major League baseball club.

If nothing else, it probably means a nice cash boost for the Rox as the sport heads into potential labor uncertainty with the expiration of its agreement with the union looming in December. While the Monforts retain control of the team, everything Walton-Penner and Penner have touched with the Broncos so far has turned to gold — or pretty pristine silver, at any rate. It speaks well of the family’s investment in Front Range sports and the Rockies’ long-term prospects, financially and (hopefully) competitively.

Meanwhile, look who’s winning? The Rockies were 2-6 on April 4, you know, same as it ever was. The Phillies rocked Michael Lorenzen in a disastrous 10-1 laugher in the home opener on April 3.

The Rockies went 4-1 over their next five games, with a four-game win streak snapped at San Diego late Thursday night.

Fan fave Mickey Moniak from April 3-8 stirred the drink with three home runs, five RBI and a .714 slugging percentage to lift the middle of the order, while Willi Castro hit .412 and slugged .647 over that span.

Schedule the parades? Not yet. And small sample size, yes. But the last time the Fightin’ Monforts notched at least six wins from their opening 13 games was 2022 (8-5). Their record was 3-10 after a baker’s dozen contests a year ago. They opened 3-10 in ’24; 5-8 in ’23.

The ’22 Rox, by the way. wound up 68-94. If Warren Schaeffer coaxes a 25-win improvement from last year’s 43-119 nadir, give that man your Manager of the Year vote.

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

Where did T.J. feltner Rumfield come from? This guy seemed like he came out of nowhere.

— Mark, Arvada

Mark, let me start by saying that Rumfield has been Colorado’s best offensive player in the early going. As I write this, he’s slashing .364/.417/.636 (1.053 OPS), with two homers and seven RBIs. Plus, he’s played superb defense at first base.

But he didn’t come out of nowhere. He came from the Bronx. This is what I wrote early in spring training:

“T.J. Rumfield was a big-league first baseman trapped in Triple-A limbo. At least, that����ap how he saw things. So did the Rockies.

“Which is why they acquired the Yankees’ minor leaguer in exchange for talented but mercurial right-handed reliever Angel Chivilli in a trade in late January. Now it����ap Rumfield’s job to bust open the door of opportunity.”

He’s done exactly that, winning the job in spring training and coming out of the gate hot.

Interesting fact: T.J.’s father, Toby, was the Reds’ 1991 second-round pick and spent 14 years in the minor leagues as a catcher, playing for the Braves, White Sox, Marlins, and Cardinals systems. Toby made it as high as Triple-A but never made the majors.

The steals have been fun, but besides that, the Rockies’ approach has been miserable: heavy on strikeouts, low on walks, and non-existent in the clutch. They seem like a young team trying too hard, but is it an overall lack of talent, or can this group improve? And why is Warren Schaeffer only starting Jordan Beck (a supposed cornerstone) half the time when Jake McCarthy starts every day and has been even worse?

— Isaac Bowen, Fort Collins

Isaac, not to make excuses for the Rockies (who are 4-6 as I write this), but it’s very early. Still, outside of two games, the offense has been awful.

Colorado’s 6.0 walk percentage is the lowest in the majors, while its 29.5% strikeout rate is the second highest. The Rockies’ .241 average with runners in scoring position ranks 19th.

The Rockies’ 10 steals are tied for third-most.

So, while I’m on board with Schaeffer’s plan to turn his team into the “Go Go Rox,” the Rockies can’t put pressure on the opposition if they don’t get on base more.

Is it a lack of talent? That’s part of the problem. Let’s face it, the Rockies aren’t fielding very many All-Star Game candidates. Plus, some of the players Colorado is counting on to be cornerstones are off to terrible starts. Brenton Doyle is hitting .129 with a 35.3% K rate, and Beck is hitting .091 with a 25.0% K rate.

Are they trying too hard? Are they pressing? Perhaps, but they have been in the league long enough to have gotten over that and produce.

As for McCarthy getting playing time over Beck, I don’t have the answer for that right now, other than to say that Schaeffer has been mixing and matching his lineup a lot in the early going. I think he’s searching for combinations. Let’s face it, this is an experimental season for the Rockies.

The St. Louis Browns are widely considered the worst franchise over a sustained period of 50-plus years. In their 52 years of existence, they recorded 3,414 wins and 4,465 losses for a winning percentage of .433. The Rockies currently have a winning percentage of .456. To drop from .456 to below .433 by their 52nd year, the Rockies would need to average roughly 68 wins per season (a .420 winning percentage) for the next 18 years. What do you think the odds are that the Rockies get to the .433 mark? Maybe when the Baltimore Orioles play at Coors Field someday, they can wear Browns throwback jerseys and we can wear Denver Bears strikezone jerseys.

— Ned Ryerson, Greeley

OK, “Ned Ryerson,” are you going to try to sell me some insurance? “Whoa-ho-ho! Watch out for that first step! It’s a doozy!”

Anyway, I don’t think the Rockies are ever going to experience a St. Louis Browns’ Groundhog Day.

By the way, The St. Louis Browns are perhaps history’s worst Major League franchise. The Browns played in the American League from 1902 to 1953 and managed just 11 winning seasons over that span.

They lost more than 100 games eight times, finishing dead last in the AL 10 times. They finished as high as second in the AL standings just three times. The Browns won just one pennant, in 1944, when the majors were not at full strength due to World War II. In 1954, following eight straight losing seasons, the Browns moved to Baltimore and became the Baltimore Orioles.

Are you a fan of the ABS system? And might the Rockies fanbase turn its back on the team with another lousy year?

— Ed Helinski, Auburn, N.Y.

Ed, first of all, thanks for your continued participation in my Rockies Mailbag. You picked two hot topics this week.

Regarding ABS (Automated Ball-Strike system), I do like it. It’s much more seamless than I anticipated. Fans seem to love it, and it keeps them engaged. Some umpires love it (those who get the calls right), but I’m sure some don’t. We are just 10 games into the season, so let’s see how this all plays out.

As for the fans, when the weather warms up, and the Cubs, Red Sox and Dodgers come to town, Coors Field is going to be pretty full. But I do sense that the Rockies fan base is worn out from all the losing. The people I talk to are definitely in “prove-it-to-me” mode, even with the front-office changes in place.

Monday night, the announced crowd at Coors was 16,301, marking the lowest home attendance in franchise history, excluding pandemic-affected seasons. It’s something to keep an eye on if the Rockies keep losing.

Is this just normal springtime when the starters can only pick 70 or so pitches per game? It seems like the Rox are overtaxing the bullpen already. When can we expect the rotation to go later into ball games? Thanks!

— Murphy, Akron

Murphy, part of the low pitch count from Rockies starters has to do with it being early in the season, but part of it has to do with ineffectiveness.

And part of it has to do with the Rockies’ game plan, which is still a work in progress. The team has a few pitchers in the bullpen — Antonio Senzatela, Chase Dollander, and Jimmy Herget — who are capable of throwing multiple innings. I think Warren Schaeffer is going to use long relievers a lot this season.

But if a pitcher is going well, Schaeffer will give them a reasonably long leash. In Colorado’s win over the Phillies, new right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano pitched six innings and threw 78 pitches (51 strikes). It was a strong, efficient start. In the Rockies’ win over the Astros on Monday night, Ryan Feltner pitched 5 1/3 innings, throwing 70 pitches (43 strikes). I’m sure the Rockies wanted him to go deeper into the game.

Patrick, as a Rockies fan from the beginning, I’ve been wanting to ask what all these acronyms are that are being used these days, such as WAR, and others that I can’t think of at this moment. Thanks for all of your reporting and suffering during the last years of mismanagement of the team.

— Phil Donahue, Chico, Calif.

Phil, it’s easy to drown in baseball’s alphabet soup. Some fans — and reporters — are heavy into stats and analytics. I’m more of a storyteller, so perhaps a dinosaur.

However, many statistics can be useful and illuminating. If you watch Rockies games on TV, analysts Ryan Spilborghs, Cory Sullivan and Jeff Huson do a nice job of using more advanced stats.

You ask specifically about WAR. Here is the definition from Major League Baseball: WAR measures a player’s value across all facets of the game by quantifying how many more wins he’s worth than a replacement-level player at his position (e.g., a Minor League replacement or a readily available fill-in free agent).

If you want a deeper dive into the stats, I suggest you visit .

Looking at the starting rotation, I struggle to find a reason for Ryan Feltner to be there. What is Warren Schaeffer and Company’s rationale for Feltner as the fifth starter rather than Chase Dollander or Tanner Gordon, both of whom seem to be better options? Happy Opening Day, Patrick!

— Jack, Centennial

Jack, you’re preaching to the wrong choir here. I’ve been a big proponent of Feltner’s, as you can tell from my Rockies Journal from last Sunday. I think he has really good stuff, though not as dynamic as Dollander’s. Feltner just needs to harness his talent and attack the strike zone.

I’m predicting that both Feltner and Dollander will be in the rotation before the All-Star break. Gordon could be in the rotation, too, in the second half of the season if the Rockies trade any of their veteran starters who are on one-year deals.

It’s a very small sample size, but I’ve been impressed by Tomoyuki Sugano so far. Do you think he’ll re-sign after this season or is this just a one-off?

— Ryan, Wheat Ridge

Ryan, I’ve also been impressed with Sugano. He’s a crafty pitcher. He signed a one-year deal for $5.1 million, and I think he’ll be one-and-done in Colorado. He’s 36, and I don’t see the rebuilding Rockies re-signing him at age 37. If he continues to impress, it wouldn’t surprise me if the Rockies move him at the trade deadline. That’s what they should do.

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

Is Zac Veen going to make the team? If so, will he play?

— Chris Haag, Cincinnati

Chris, you are not the only one asking about Veen. He’s an intriguing player because he was a first-round draft choice (No. 9 overall in 2020), and because he has prodigious power potential.

But Veen, 24, did not make the Opening Day roster for Friday’s game at Miami because he’s dealing with a knee injury that slowed him for much of spring training. Even if Veen had been healthy, I doubt he would have made the team. He has a lot of work to do to become a better outfielder, and he needs work as a hitter, too. There are a lot of holes in his swing. The hope is that he doesn’t turn into a strikeout machine like the departed Michael Toglia.

Like a lot of people, I’m rooting for Veen, who’s had to deal with a lot in his young life, including substance abuse issues.

I have been following the Rockies since their 2007 run to the World Series. What a ride that was. My younger stepson learned baseball at Coors Field. He saw Chris Iannetta hit a ninth-inning grand slam against the Houston Astros and has gone with me since. My question is this: What in the world does everyone see in Jordan Beck? I see a lot of strikeouts. I see an impossibly uncontrollable swing. His head turns completely on his shoulders. He cannot possibly see the ball after he swings. Yes, he has gotten better in the outfield on defense and has a really good, accurate arm. But at the plate? Please help me out here.

— Ari Nixon, Brush

Ari, I think the best word to describe Beck is “streaky.” But when he’s hot, he’s a force, so I understand why so many fans and members of the front office and coaching staff believe he has All-Star potential. Plus, you have to remember that Beck is only 24.

Consider this little statistical nugget: per OptaSTATS, Beck became the second player in major league history to have his first five home runs of a season all come in two days (April 24-25), joining Ty Cobb on May 5-6, 1925. Beck was also the first Rockie in history to have five home runs in any two-day span.

But also consider this: He opened the 2025 season with the Rockies but was quickly optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque on April 7 after starting the season 3 for 20 (.150) over nine games.

And then there are his dramatic home/road splits. He slashed .303/.348/.466 with 18 doubles, three triples, eight home runs, and 36 RBIs in 76 games at home, while slashing .204/.280/.355 with nine doubles, three triples, eight home
runs and 17 RBIs in 72 road games.

Finally, Beck needs to cut down on the K’s. He struck out 80 times in 251 plate appearances in the second half last season, a 31.9 strikeout percentage that was the eighth highest in the majors post All-Star break.

I’m not as critical of Beck’s plate approach as you are. He wouldn’t have gotten this far without a decent approach. He still has a solid chance to be a very good big-league player.

For the first time in years, the Rockies have changed their front office personnel and incorporated new ways to play baseball and win games. Even if the new regime is successful (75-80 wins) and analytics take hold, how many years can we wait to consistently get .500 baseball? How far is the Rockies’ analytics department behind the league? I predict 75-87 (maybe my last prognostication). Cheers!

— Robert Emmerling, Limon

Robert, I salute your optimism. But 75-87 this season?! In the name of the late Harry Caray, “Holy Cow!” I don’t see it.

Like you, I applaud the Rockies’ willingness to change their process. It’s way past time. As far as consistent, .500 baseball? I would think 2028 would be reasonable.

Hi Patrick, I have enjoyed your insights for a long time for both baseball and football. I also enjoyed reading your dad’s articles for many years. The Rockies have historically done well developing Latin American players (Ubaldo Jimenez, German Marquez, Ezequiel Tovar, etc.). Are there any young Latin American players we should be looking for in the near future to make an impact? Why don’t I ever see the Rockies being named as a possible suitor in the Asian market? Both Japan and Korea have produced many quality MLB players in the last few years, but I never see the Rockies as a possible landing spot. Thanks.

— Gene Ryan, Green Valley, Ariz.

Ryan, thanks so much for the compliment and for remembering my dad, Dusty Saunders.

A quick, bittersweet anecdote about my dad, who was a big baseball fan. My dad died at age 90, almost four years ago. I was with him on the day he died, and I was watching a Rockies road game when he passed. In his eulogy, I joked that my dad woke up briefly, saw that the Rockies were getting rocked again, and said, “I can’t take it anymore.” Then he passed away.

OK, on to your question. The Rockies’ best Latin players right now are outfielder/second baseman Roldy Brito (Dominican Republic), outfielder Robert Calaz (Dominican), and third baseman/shortstop Wilder Dalis (Venezuela).  I think 2028 would be the earliest we see any of them in the big leagues.

As for the Rockies’ presence in Asia, they used to simply punt, believing they couldn’t compete. But Paul DePodesta, the new president of baseball operations, plans to change that.

“I absolutely think it’s important,” DePodesta said during baseball’s winter meetings in December. “We’ve talked about a necessity for us to be sort of active in every possible avenue to acquire talent. So whether it’s Latin America, whether it’s Asia, whether it’s the waiver wire, you have Major League free agent [and] trades. I mean all of it. I think we have to be actively involved in all of those to try to find some potential solutions for us. And so I do think that’s an area where we’ll probably ramp up our efforts to some degree.”

At this point, it is pretty obvious to everyone, including Kris Bryant and the bat boy, that he will never play baseball again. With the highest annual player salary on the team, you would think he would be inclined to initiate a contract renegotiation to provide some relief to our current payroll. Seems like I remember Todd Helton doing this, which was a pretty stand-up and classy move to help the team.

Do you think these discussions may be possible at all?

Looking forward to all your 2026 Rockies articles!

— Troy, the biggest Rockies fan in Virginia

Troy, thanks for reading. It’s very much appreciated.

You’re correct, Helton did defer part of his contract. In March 2010, Helton signed a two-year extension ($9.9 million 2012–13) that also reworked his 2011 salary and 2012 buyout, totaling $13.1 million in deferred money.

However, the Bryant situation is much different. Helton was still playing, and he was a Rockies icon, with deep ties to ownership. Bryant is not playing and is still owed $81 million over the next three seasons. Plus, Bryant’s agent is Scott Boras, one of the most powerful men in sports, and he’s going to get all of that money for his client.

At some point, a deal will likely be worked out. This is what I wrote last November:

“Retirement, with a financial agreement worked out with the Rockies, seems like the sensible course of action. It����ap what former Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg eventually did when he finally retired in April 2024. Strasburg, who had not pitched since June 9, 2022, is receiving all the remaining $105 million owed from his original seven-year, $245 million contract.

“His original contract was heavily deferred — $11.4 million annually, according to USA Today — with Strasburg scheduled to receive $26.5 million in 2027, ’28 and ’29. When Strasburg retired, the contract was restructured to spread out the deferrals further into the future.”

Who will be doing the Rockies radio broadcasts in 2026? On the spring training simulcasts, I thought I understood they were auditioning three possible partners with Jack Corrigan. Who employs them? Are the TV broadcasters the same as before? Thank you.

— Steve, Aurora

Steve, funny you should ask. I had just reached out to David Tepper, the program director at 850 KOA. He told me that it has not yet been decided who will work with Corrigan in the radio booth. For now, Corrigan will team with longtime producer Jesse Thomas when the Rockies open their season on Friday in Miami.

During spring training, the Rockies auditioned Zach Goodman (announcer for the Double-A Amarillo Sod Poodles and son of Drew Goodman, the Rockies’ longtime TV play-by-play man), Albuquerque Isotopes announcer Josh Suchon, and Hartford Yard Goats announcer Jeff Dooley. I believe one of those three will join Corrigan.

KOA is looking to replace Jerry Schemmel, the longtime Colorado broadcaster, who was laid off for the second time by iHeartMedia last October. Schemmel now works as an ambassador and chief fundraiser for Best Day Ministries in downtown Longmont.

Do the Rockies have enough to win 50 or 60 games this season?

— Ed Helinski, Auburn, N.Y.

Ed, you’re not a glass-half-full kind of guy, are you? At least not when it comes to the Rockies. They will be improved, so yes, they can win 60 games. In fact, my preseason prediction is a 60-102 record.

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

This is the first time in a long time that I feel good about the future of our team. What do you think is the most optimistic yet realistic expectation we should have? I feel like 70 wins is the ceiling, and a couple of our prospects emerge with solid seasons, like Zac Veen and Chase Dollander. What do you think?

— Marshall, Parker

Marshall, your optimism is refreshing. I do feel like there was a new energy at spring training, and the players have bought into the Rockies’ new direction under Paul Depodesta, the president of baseball operations, and manager Warren Schaeffer.

To reach 70 wins, the Rockies would have to improve by 27 games from their 43-119 record. That would be a quantum leap, and I don’t see it happening. You have to remember that Colorado was outscored by 424 runs last season.

The infamous Chicago White Sox went from 41-214 in 2024 to 60-102 in ’25. If the Rockies lose only 102 games this season, that would be progress.

Renck: What’s new with Rockies pitching staff? Chase Dollander will show you

I think Dollander will improve markedly this season, though he's not a lock to break camp as a member of the starting rotation. I don't believe that Zac Veen will make the 26-man roster out of camp, and I don't know if he'll make a big-league impact this season.

The three young players I'm most intrigued by are third baseman Kyle Karros, first baseman TJ Rumfield, and utility player Ryan Ritter.

And, of course, the Rockies need comeback seasons from shortstop Ezequiel Tovar and center fielder Brenton Doyle, whom I wrote about on Sunday.

Rockies’ rebuild in 2026 depends on Gold Glove performances by Ezequiel Tovar, Brenton Doyle

Great spring training reports and insight into 2026. I was looking over the Rockies' players who made the World Baseball Classic rosters. The only one of note was Ezequiel Tovar playing for Venezuela. Tovar is one of the best-performing Rockies so far. I am not sure who to come to the ballpark to really get a glimpse of stardom (from the home team, of course), who do you see being worthy to pay to see, and who might emerge at this year's Troy Tulowitzki or Nolan Arenado?

— Robert Emmerling, Limon

Thanks for the compliment, Robert; it's appreciated.

I don't see anyone bursting on the scene as Arenado did in 2013 when he won a Gold Glove as a rookie, or as Story did in 2016 when he mashed 27 home runs and hit .273 in 97 games. Story likely would have been the rookie of the year if he hadn't torn ligaments in his left thumb and missed the rest of the season.

But, to answer your question, I'll go with third baseman Kyle Karros. He's capable of Arenado-like plays, and I think he's going to become a force at the plate, too.

I'm kind of blown away that the oldest hitter on the Rockies' roster is 28. That has to be a record for the youngest offense. They know Kris Bryant is not going to be there. It appears to be a poor decision by the GM and the manager not to have a veteran professional hitter mentoring these kids. No team does this. Why didn't they pick up a Randal Grichuk or Justin Turner, Tommy Pham, or Rhys Hoskins, all still available? The Rockies just keep doing things nobody else in MLB does. Why?

— Harvey, Denver

I totally disagree with you, Harvey. The Rockies brought in Willi Castro, 28, to be a veteran catalyst on the team. Given the team's payroll constraints right now (they owe Bryant $27 million this season) and with a labor war looming, it wouldn't have made sense to spend money on an over-the-hill veteran hitter. The Rockies need their young players to play.

I think you're going to see growth from players such as Jordan Beck, Kyle Karros, and TJ Rumfield. Where the Rockies desperately needed some veteran stability was in their starting rotation. They addressed that issue by signing Tomoyuki Sugano, Jose Quintana, and Michael Lorenzen.

Can Rockies fix swing-and-whiff offense from disastrous 2025? New hitting coach keeps it simple

Has covering the Rockies gone from one of the worst beat jobs to one of the most interesting? They've gone from unwilling to change (and change from being horrible) to willing to try anything new with a cutting-edge coaching staff and upper management that went from never doing or saying anything to Moneyball 2.0 at altitude, where moves are frequently made and always explained in depth by Paul Depodesta. It also seems like a much more interesting mix of players this spring than in the past five years. Are you enjoying the switch as a reporter as much as I'm enjoying it as a fan?

— Isaac Bowen, Fort Collins

Holy cow, Isaac! Hold your horses!  I love your enthusiasm and optimism, but I've become much too cynical to jump on your bandwagon (wow, I used three cliches in three sentences).

I will say this: things will be more interesting. I'm thankful for that, and it should be fun to watch this team improve. But it's not one of the most interesting beats in baseball. Covering a team in the thick of the race in August and September is what I hope for before I retire.

The Denver Post is proud to announce the creation of the April Heinrichs Award, which will be presented annually to the top high school senior girls soccer player, scholar and citizen in Colorado. The inaugural honor will be awarded this June, following the conclusion of the high school soccer season in late May.

Like the newspaper’s Gold Helmet Award in football and Roy Halladay Award in baseball, the April Heinrichs Award will factor in achievements and impact outside the field of play. In addition to skills on the pitch, candidates for the award will also be evaluated by their GPA and their community service.

“It’s great for girls soccer to be on par with the boys sports (The Denver Post) is recognizing at the highest level,” said longtime Broomfield soccer coach Jim Davidson. “And while it’s great from a gender standpoint, it’s also awesome that we’re recognizing a player from a state that has had great success on the girls side of the game at the college, national, international and professional level.”

An explosion of soccer talent

While Heinrichs set the bar for Colorado high school girls soccer players — the 1982 Heritage High School graduate was the captain of the U.S. Women’s National Team that won the inaugural FIFA Women’s World Cup in 1991 — many other notable players have followed in her footsteps.

As of late, the state has produced USWNT players such as captain Lindsey Heaps (née Horan), Mallory Swanson (née Pugh), Sophia Wilson (née Smith), Jaelin Howell and Ryan Williams. Plus, the state has churned out other stars such as Canadian national team pillar Janine Sonis (née Beckie) and three-time National Women’s Soccer League champion Jaelene Daniels (née Hinkle).

That Colorado talent pipeline of world-class players is why, when The Denver Post evaluated which girls sport to honor with an annual award, girls soccer was the clear decision.

“The state’s talent has really exploded in the last 15 years,” said Davidson, who coached the Broomfield girls for 25 years, with 385 wins, two state titles and six state runner-ups. “When we saw Lindsey Horan and Mallory Pugh rise to stardom, Colorado girls soccer was really making breakthroughs at the youth national team level and the national team level.

“We’ve since maintained that, and it’s incredible to see these Colorado women on television, representing our country, playing in the NWSL, playing major Division I and having such great success.”

The April Heinrichs Award is backed by a nonprofit, the Colorado High School Girls Soccer Player Award Corporation. The award is made possible by donations, including a sizable donation from Arvada resident Adam Stevinson. Additionally, new NWSL franchise has committed to an annual donation to support the award.

The winner of the award will be profiled in The Denver Post, receive a trophy and have a celebratory banquet in her honor. Plus, Summit FC will recognize the player during a Denver home game this summer.

Heinrichs gave her blessing for the award to take her name. The first female player inducted into the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame embodies the talent and lasting impact of a local player that the award seeks to honor.

After starring at Heritage, where led the Eagles to two state titles in 1979 and ’81 and was an All-American, she was a three-time first-team All-American , where the Tar Heels made four Division I championship games and won three of them.

After playing for the USWNT and professionally in Italy, she was the head coach at Maryland and Virginia. She was an assistant coach on the 1996 Olympic gold medal team in Atlanta, and was the head coach for the USWNT that claimed silver at the 2000 Sydney Games and gold at the 2004 Athens Games. After that, she oversaw the USWNT’s youth program.

“As a new women’s professional soccer franchise launches in Colorado, it feels fitting to launch an award that recognizes one of the state’s best female prep players and carries on the legacy of a trailblazer in the sport,” Denver Post sports editor Nate Peterson said. “Colorado has such a rich history of great players, coaches and teams in the women’s game, and April Heinrichs embodies that tradition. We couldn’t be more proud to partner with her to give out this award each year to a deserving player.”

Denver Post sportswriter Kyle Newman is the chairman of the award’s nonprofit, and he is joined on the board by Stevinson and Davidson as well as other longtime Colorado girls high school soccer coaches in , and .

A 17-person selection committee to decide the winner will consist of community members with an extensive range of girls soccer insight and influence, as well as Heinrichs herself and Denver Post staffers.

• Theresa Echtermeyer, longtime Mountain Vista coach
• Reagan Kotschau, CU player/All-American at Broomfield
• Dave Cope, retired Battle Mountain coach
• Nikki Marshall, ex-Mead/CU star and retired pro
• April Heinrichs, former USWNT player/coach
• Gary Gustafson, Heinrichs’ coach at Heritage
• Kia Gudewicz, longtime Heritage coach
• Jim Davidson, retired Broomfield coach
• Dan Watkins, longtime Jeffco girls coach
• Adam Stevinson, award’s first donor
• Lori Punko, Denver Post deputy sports editor
• Matt Schubert, The Athletic digital managing editor
• Kyle Newman, Denver Post sportswriter
• Jen Millet, Denver Summit FC president
• Nate Peterson, Denver Post sports editor
• Patrick Saunders, Denver Post sportswriter
• Joe Nguyen, Denver Post sports digital strategist

Nominations for the award and will be accepted through May 24, following the CHSAA state championships earlier that week. Ideally, players with a strong case for the award would be nominated by their head coach or athletic director.

The Post encourages any individuals or businesses who want to get involved in sponsoring the award with tax-deductible donations to reach out to board chairman Newman at knewman@denverpost.com.

2026 April Heinrichs Award nomination form

Nominations are open from March 1 through May 24 for the honor recognizing the state’s top senior girls soccer player.

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

Hi Patrick, I read Troy Renck’s (column) about Zac Veen putting on 45 pounds in the offseason. How do you think that’ll help him this year? I know he was more of a speedy guy in the minors, but that 468-foot bomb against the White Sox was incredible. Do you think he’ll make the opening-day roster?

— Ryan, Arvada

Ryan, Veen’s story is the most intriguing one in camp. I’m rooting for the young man because he’s gone through a lot of personal struggles and has never lived up to the Rockies’ lofty expectations.

This spring training is huge for him, no pun intended. He has two questions to answer. First, has he conquered his personal demons? Second, does his talent translate to the major leagues? I don’t know the answers to those questions right now, and neither do the Rockies.

You’re right about that home run; it was incredible. For the record, while we were waiting to walk on the field to interview manager Warren Schaeffer after the game, I called Veen’s walk-off homer. But then, so did Cory Little, the head of Rockies media relations, and so did Schaeffer.

Will Veen’s increased bulk make him a better player? Well, he wasn’t eating much at all, so he needed to gain weight/muscle. But overall, I don’t think 45 pounds makes him a better player; he was not a solid outfielder to begin with. He looks more like a designated hitter to me, perhaps a serviceable outfielder. Will he break camp with the team? Right now, I’d say no. However, if the Rockies make a trade this spring or if there is an injury, it might open up a spot for him.

Is Mickey Moniak going to be our designated hitter? We’re pretty crowded in the outfield, and I love his bat, but he had seven errors last year and a -2.7 defensive WAR. That’s Dante Bichette-esque numbers in the field.

— Peter B., Denver

Peter, it’s too early to peg Moniak as the DH. It’s looking like the Rockies will be mixing and matching their outfielders on a regular basis, and the player who is not on the field will likely be the designated hitter. The Rockies’ best defensive outfield would be newcomer Jake McCarthy in left, Brenton Doyle in center, and Jordan Beck in right.

Regarding Moniak, he’s still a key to the Rockies’ rebuild. Manager Warren Schaeffer loves his energy and leadership, and he’s very popular with his teammates. Plus, he provides the offense with a much-needed spark. He had a solid .270/.306/.518 slash line with 24 home runs last season.

Hi Patrick. Seeing Paul DePodesta and company sign a plethora of pitchers is intriguing. Do you see the Rockies keeping more pitchers than usual on the staff this year? If so, how will that play out for the utility players?

— Del, Lamar

Del, I do not think the Rockies will have more pitchers on the roster than usual this season. The signing of three veteran starters — right-handers Michael Lorenzen and Tomoyuki Sugano, and lefty Jose Quintana — enabled the team to buy some time for its young starters to improve without getting scorched by being thrown into the fire.

That said, you’re going to see a lot of movement between Triple-A and the big leagues this season. Plus, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Rockies employ an “opener” in a number of games this season. We’re going to see some experimentation.

Bottom line: There will be five starters, eight relievers and 13 position players.

What do you think our rotation looks like this year? We picked a bunch of arms in the offseason. I feel like Kyle Freeland’s our opening-day starter. Michael Lorenzen, Jose Quintana and Tomoyuki Sugano are upgrades over what we had last year. Who else gets that last spot? Chase Dollander? Tanner Gordon? Bradley Blalock? Ryan Feltner?

— Mark, Arvada

Mark, you’ve got the first four starters right, unless one of them gets hurt. My pick for the fifth starter, at least early in spring training, is Feltner. Apart from Dollander, I think Feltner has the best raw stuff on the team. But Feltner needs to stay healthy and put together a full season, something he hasn’t done.

Dollander, in retrospect, wasn’t ready last season. If he doesn’t make the team out of spring training, I’m thinking he’ll be ticked off, but that’s OK, he’ll get his starts in the majors this season.

I think Gordon has a chance to be an effective back-of-the-rotation pitcher, but I don’t think he’ll make the team to start the season.

Blalock is no longer with the team. The Marlins acquired the right-hander off waivers in exchange for minor league right-hander Jake Brooks last month. Blalock, 25, was designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for Lorenzen.

Hi Patrick. Firstly, thank you for your excellent coverage of the Rockies. It can’t have been easy reporting on the team in recent seasons! My question is about D.J. LeMahieu, who I understand is still a free agent. Would it be worth the Rockies signing LeMahieu to provide some experience and veteran leadership?

— David Jones, Selsey, West Sussex, England

Well, hello David, from across the pond! Thanks for reading, it’s much appreciated.

Regarding LeMahieu, I have not heard anything official, but I believe he’s planning to retire after being released by the Yankees last summer. The good news for him, the Yankees have to pay him $15 million this season.

As much as I like LeMahieu (one of my favorite players I’ve covered), he has no place on this Rockies team. Injuries have drained his talent, and the Rockies need to start developing younger players rather than returning to their distant past.

Do you know anything yet about the broadcasting of Rockies games this year on both television and streaming? Thanks!

— Murph, Akron

Murph, the setup is pretty much the same as it was last season. You can stream Rockies games or watch via your cable/satellite provider.

Also, the Rockies have partnered with 9News, the local NBC affiliate, to simulcast 10 home games. All 10 games will be shown on KTVD channel 20, and five games will also be shown on KUSA/9News.

These games are available for free, over-the-air (OTA) to viewers throughout the region. The 10 broadcasts will begin with the home opener on April 3, when the Rockies host the Phillies, and will continue with the eight select Friday games and one on August 1.

If you need more information, here is the Rockies’ information page: https://www.mlb.com/rockies/schedule/programming.

As for radio broadcasts, you can listen to all Rockies games on KOA (850 AM/94.1 FM).