Colorado Rockies Ownership Challenged by Troy Tulowitzki
By Joe Morrone
Jul 12, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki (2) on first base after being hit with a pitch in the third inning against the Minnesota Twins at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Finally, Troy Tulowitzki is acting like the leader we’ve all wanted to see since Todd Helton turned the reigns over to him two years ago. In an interview with the Denver Post, Tulowitzki talked about a number of things including his health, the season, the trade rumors and the future. While discussing the future, specifically 2015, Tulowitzki said that “something needs to change.”
Here is the link to the Denver Post article: Troy Tulowitzki was very pointed today, said “something needs to change” with #Rockies before 2015: http://dpo.st/1ntXZEz
It’s clear at this point that owner Dick Monfort does not care about the angry fans or the media that is growing more critical by the day. Monfort has repeatedly stated that there probably will not be any changes in the front office.
The Rockies are content with the idea that they have enough talent to compete and if they had stayed healthy, they would have competed this season. Monfort, therefore, is comfortable with the idea of going into next season without any changes and hope things work out.
Up until this point that approach has worked because Monfort and the front office have successfully ignored the outside noise. The Rockies are the most tone deaf organization in sports and outside opinion means little to them.
However, noise coming from inside the clubhouse might carry some weight. When your best player comes out publically and says that things need to change, then ownership has to take notice. Now just because they take notice, doesn’t mean things will change but this is the only and last hope the fans have.
Every Rockies fan loves Helton but in some ways he let the Rockies, and the fan base down. He received a lot of credit for being the good soldier and toeing the company line, but he should have spoken up. Maybe the Monfort’s would have listened to the face of the franchise if he had said things need to change years ago.
I obviously do not speak for every Rockies fan but I’m happy that Tulowitzki said something, and I hope he keeps saying it. Someone on 20th and Blake had to stand up and say, no more.
As happy as I was to see Tulowitzki come out with those statements, it’s not going to matter. Monfort will ignore them and eventually everyone will realize that the Denver Broncos have started and move on. By next spring, the Tulowitzki comments will be old news and we will be hearing the same old song going into spring training.
That song goes something like this; we love this team, if we stay healthy and so on. No one will buy it and Monfort won’t care. He can say whatever he wants for public consumption but he just doesn’t care if the Rockies win.
As for Tulowitzki, my challenge to him is to keep saying it and keep putting the pressure on ownership. Now if he does that, I would expect the Rockies to eventually move him in a trade. They don’t want boat rockers, they want robots. The Rockies want guys who will say all the right things and not challenge management to get better.
Maybe forcing a trade was the master plan for Tulowitzki and if that’s the case, no one could blame him. He has flaws especially when it comes to his injury history but Tulowitzki is as competitive as they come.
If the Rockies do trade Tulowitzki in the offseason, then fans just better accept the fact that the Rockies are never going to win. Our only hope now is that Tulowitzki blasts the organization on his way out of town.
The bad news is Tulowitzki’s words won’t make a bit of difference; the good news is the Broncos start their preseason tonight. Some things never change!