By Jordan Long
The Colorado Rockies ended last season at 75-87. Once the year was over, Manager Walt Weiss stepped down on October 3rd after four years on the job. The Rockies began to search for a new manager. On Sunday, the Rockies announced that Bud Black will be the Manager this season.
The Rockies were looking for a manager who had MLB experience and Black brings plenty of that to Colorado. He was the manager of the San Diego Padres from 2007 to 2015. His teams were 649-713 and never made the playoffs. The closest Black came to the postseason was in 2007 when they were 89-74. They played a tiebreaker game against the Colorado Rockies. They lost 9-8 in 13 innings. Black’s best record was in 2010 when the Padres finished with a record of 90-72 and he was voted Manager of the Year.
Black inherits a decent offensive club. The Rockies as a team can hit. They ended the year with a team average of .275, second in all of Major League Baseball. The Boston Red Sox were the only team better with a .282 average. Their lineup includes National League batting champion DJ Lemahieu, Nolan Arenado, Trevor Story, Gerado Parra, Charlie Blackmon, and Carlos Gonzalez. All of them can hit the baseball, get on base, score runs to score teammates and hit the long ball. The Rockies will be able to score.
The Achilles heel that Bud Black must address during spring training and throughout next season is pitching. The Rockies were one of the worst pitching teams this past season. Their total team ERA was 4.91, 27th in all of Major League Baseball. The Rockies starting pitching couldn’t pitch with an ERA of 4.79.
When the Colorado Rockies pitchers pitched well in games, they couldn’t trust the bullpen. The bullpen would give up runs, costing the Rockies games. They were the worst bullpen in all of baseball with a 5.13 ERA.
Bud Black needs to improve the pitching next year. When relievers show signs that they don’t have it, he needs take them out immediately. Black can’t wait to see what happens. If he waits, the game could be all but over. Hopefully he will be able to take pitchers out sooner than Weiss.
The Colorado Rockies couldn’t have asked for a better man to manage this ball club. He has the practice of being an MLB manager. Hopefully that will help the Rockies to be a better ball club in the next few years.
How do you feel about Bud Black taking over the Colorado Rockies as manager?
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