ARLINGTON -- Rockies general manager Bill Schmidt feels the frustration of one of the worst starts in MLB history.
Schmidt joined the club’s road trip on Wednesday, the day after he watched Michael Toglia, Sean Bouchard and Owen Miller all represented the tying run -- yet they all took third strikes in Tuesday's loss to the Rangers.
“You didn’t hear me screaming?” Schmidt said Wednesday afternoon in his first interview since replacing manager Bud Black with Warren Schaeffer on an interim basis. “My wife did.”
Wednesday’s 8-3 loss to the Rangers, to complete a three-game sweep, in the third game under Schaeffer, drew a quieter reaction. It was mostly over after starter Antonio Senzatela yielded a two-run Wyatt Langford homer in a four-run first. Michael Toglia and Kyle Farmer homered, but the Rox struck out 14 times -- nine against starter Patrick Corbin.
What screams is the 7-36 record -- worst in the MLB Modern Era (1900), tied with the 1895 Louisville Colones for second-worst all-time, a game better than the 1884 Kansas City Cowboys and 1876 Cincinnati Reds.
More up-to-date, the Rockies would have to sweep the Diamondbacks in a three-game set starting Friday to reach double figures in wins.
“I always thought we were trailing the Diamondbacks by a year or so, but we’re farther than that,” Schmidt said, referring to a 2023 assessment. That was before Arizona went to the World Series while the Rockies nosedived to the first of two straight 100-plus loss seasons.
On April 17, the Rockies replaced hitting coach Hensley Meulens with Clint Hurdle, who is now Schaeffer’s bench coach. The recent changes hardly fix the Rockies.
The starting batting order Wednesday included six players who finished the night hitting .216 or worse.
How much more is required?
Schmidt held his assessment that the Rockies were derailed by losing second baseman Thairo Estrada, signed after four years with the Giants, to a fractured right wrist in Spring Training and 2024 Gold Glove shortstop Ezequiel Tovar, who sustained a left hip contusion in the season’s second game and played compromised until begging an injured list term on April 16.
And designated hitter Kris Bryant has been injured for most of the seven-year contract he began in 2022.
“I’d like to think if Tovar was healthy, and Estrada, we’d be a different ballclub -- you watched Spring Training,” Schmidt said. “I didn’t think we’d be 7-and-whatever it is. I kept talking about growth.”
The major changes, however, have whetted the appetite of the fans, and media here and far for more, especially after owner Dick Monfort termed the start as “unacceptable” when he removed Black and bench coach Mike Redmond.
The Rockies are perceived as thin and behind the curve structurally. They’re maligned for their small research and development departments. They were behind other clubs in adding a second team in Latin America and opening a performance lab, and were one of the five latest teams to adopt a pitching machine that allows hitters to face specific pitchers virtually.
Like previous GM Jeff Bridich, Schmidt has pushed ownership to beef up the organization in all areas and believes progress is being made. But other teams of similar market size are seeing results from trades of prospects, after devoting resources to studying other organizations comprehensively.
It all adds up to calls for the Rockies to go away from loyalty to longtime decision-makers. But that’s no guarantee of success.
Currently, pitcher Chase Dollander, catcher-designated hitter Hunter Goodman and outfielder Jordan Beck are emerging this year, and Tovar and two-time Gold Glove center fielder Brenton Doyle (who struggled through a quad injury and missed time for family reasons) have played like key pieces. A bullpen of largely organizational products has pitched well.
Nonetheless, injuries and other development pitfalls cripple the big roster.
Estrada was a rare free agent signed to be a front-line player. Asked if the Rockies should have pushed for a starting outfielder, rather than left the position to prospects who haven’t emerged, Schmidt admitted “we could’ve done some things.”
There will be chances at the Trade Deadline. Schmidt took criticism when he didn’t deal shortstop Trevor Story or Jon Gray in 2021, but stands by not accepting offers he didn’t like for Story or feeling he was close to extending Gray’s contract.
The jury remains out on whether the Rockies can speed their building program by making smart moves to avoid plugging and playing prospects who aren’t ready.
When will the Rockies turn the corner?
“It’s hard to say, but we’re continuing to build,” Schmidt said. “We like some of our young players. They’ll continue to grow and get better. Now we need more and we’ll keep grinding away. I believe in the process.”