Here’s what a Harvard education gets you, Rockies fans: General manager Jeff Bridich threw third baseman Nolan Arenado and $50 million in a dumpster behind the frat house and called it a trade. What did we ever do to deserve the brilliance of this man?
This is why the Rockies cannot have nice things.
Franchise owner Dick Monfort takes his stars for granted in the same exact manner he plays the two million fans who regularly show up at Coors Field for suckers. It can no longer be considered a coincidence that so many of the baseball players Denver loves best leave town after a messy divorce with the Rockies.
Nolan Arenado follows Matt Holliday, Troy Tulowitzki and DJ LeMahieu out the door, feeling lucky to escape the madhouse at 20th and Blake, where their relentless, heartfelt efforts to turn a two-bit baseball operation into something worthy of civic pride ended in betrayal by management they were foolish enough to trust.
Now, I’ve only covered sports in our fair city since 1983, so it’s impossible for me to conclusively say that paying the St. Louis Cardinals $50 million to steal Arenado is the dumbest trade in Denver sports history.
But it’s got to be a contender.
Bridich, so insecure he tries to bully every conversation with Ivy League arrogance as thin as his college baseball resume, got ripped off by the Cardinals in a trade that appears so lopsided that Commissioner Rob Manfred should consider voiding the deal before it becomes official.
Have the ravages of the coronavirus pandemic, which has undoubtedly wreaked havoc with Monfort’s balance sheet for a team heavily reliant on attendance, been so devastating baseball can no longer afford to value the principles of competitive balance? While I’m opposed to holding Arenado hostage in Colorado against his will, doesn’t Manfred have a duty to step in when even a knucklehead like me can see this trade is a joke for a growing list of the sports have-nots?
The Rockies have not only decided to send their eight-time Gold Glove recipient to the banks of the muddy Mississippi but also pay the shipping costs. Even worse, Colorado is not expected to get anywhere near a fair return of talent.
Until the name of Cardinals pitcher Austin Gomber surfaced in the trade talks, how many fans in the Rocky Mountains had ever heard of him? No offense to Gomber, but the best thing about a 27-year-old lefthander with seven career victories might be he’s not Ian Desmond, Daniel Murphy or any of the other tragic mistakes Bridich has added to Colorado’s roster.
So, as we await all details of the trade to emerge, here’s my quickie analysis:
What the … ?
If that’s the best the Rockies could do after more than a year of listening to offers for Arenado, I’m more qualified to be a brain surgeon than Bridich is fit to be general manager of a burrito stand, much less a pro sports franchise.
In a sport ruled by big bucks, Arenado exhibits a child-like wonder every time he digs his cleats into the batter’s box. That’s why his disenchantment with how the Rockies conduct their business feels like such a violation about everything pure about this game.
If shortstop Trevor Story is not careful, he could be the next knucklehead to be fooled by this team’s hollow promise to build a champion around him. My advice? Story demand a trade ASAP to a major-league city where winning matters.
Way back in 2007, only months before the magic of Rocktober, I tried to warn paying customers it would always be bad business to give Dick and his knucklehead brother Charlie their hard-earned money.
My quixotic plea, issued nearly 14 years ago, for a fan boycott to force a sale of the Rockies to Stan Kroenke or somebody actually capable of fielding a competitive team was met with fierce blowback. John Hickenlooper, then the Denver mayor, lobbied me to give ownership a break. Dealin’ Dan O’Dowd, whose two-faced way of doing business had insulted a Rockies-lifer as loyal as Todd Helton, cornered me before Game 1 of the World Series against Boston and demanded I apologize to the Monforts.
Hey, I tried to warn y’all the Rockies cannot have nice things. But I’ve got to also admit a fine appreciation for how Dick and Charlie have exploited the lure of drinking beer on a warm summer evening in LoDo.
But if a franchise that plays in a taxpayer-funded ballpark is a public trust, the Monforts are guilty of leaving Denver sports fans emotionally bankrupt on a regular basis. Paying the Cardinals to haul away Arenado like he was a busted washing machine instead of a human vacuum is only the latest example of why Bridich should never be trusted again to do right by paying customers.
Yes, fans have the right to spend their money as they wish. But if you give the Rockies your money in 2021, you might be dumber than this trade.
