Dave Veres once saved 39 games for Dick Monfort. Now he’s pleading with Monfort to save a cratering franchise from itself.
“It’s more than just one or two changes,” the former Rockies closer told me by phone Monday. “It’s got to be a whole new everything.
“It’s been the same group (of leaders) for 30 years. Throughout the whole organization, nothing’s really changed a whole lot. What’s the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over and over again and expecting a different outcome?”
“I’d love nothing more than for the Rockies to get that thing back on track. But it’s just crazy.”
The crazy is the National Pastime’s new national punchline. Yet it’s always been there. Buried inside the walls. Creeping into the floorboards.
When you ask Veres how the Rockies Experience differed from the other four baseball franchises he played for, the ex-righty reliever and current Cherry Creek High School pitching coach, recalled his first spring training with the Cardinals.
This was February of 2000. The previous November, he’d been traded to St. Louis, along with Darryl Kile and Luther Hackman, after two seasons with the Rockies. When the new guys in red arrived, one of the first things they heard was a warning.
“Don’t make any plans before Halloween,” the Cards told him. “We’re playing through Halloween.”
Fast forward a bit. Veres has a pal who owns a ranch in a neighboring state. He said this pal told him a Rockies player once called asking to reserve a spot at the ranch for him … on Oct. 1.
“That’s the mentality, the mindset,” Veres sighed. “And when you have that within the organization …”
It spreads. It festers. The rot seeps in and never leaves. The floorboards start to creak and give.
Then one day, they give way completely, opening a hole into the cold, dark basement below. You’re 10-50, and everything feels broken. Because it is.
Consider this: Scottie Scheffler won three PGA events between May 4 and June 1. During that stretch, the Rockies also won exactly three times.
“As somebody who lives here, it’s hard to ignore,” Garrett Atkins, the Rockies’ slugging third baseman from 2003-09, texted me Monday. “(I’ll hear), ‘You see the Rockies lost again? What do you think the problem is?’
“I’m sure (it’s) the same questions the media, players, coaches, front office are getting daily from everywhere. It’s got to be frustrating for everybody in the organization because it seems to be the same story every game. Turn the game on in the fourth inning, and they are losing, 3-1.”
We know Monfort, the Rockies’ CEO, isn’t going to clean house to appease the snarky columnists in town. So do it for the alumni, Dick. Do it for the former Rockies who’ve watched your baseball ops besmirch the sweat, the toil and the legacy they left between the lines.
Do it for Atkins. Do it for Veres, 58, who now thinks twice about putting on his beloved Rockies pullover before heading out to the gym.
“Why would they want to (sell)?” Veres laughed. “I remember back to the Dodgers’ previous ownership, when fans would come in the third inning and leave in the seventh. Their model was, ‘We get the same number of fans if we win or if we lose, so why should I put money back into the team?’ At least, that’s what I heard … it seems like that’s the route the Rockies have taken lately.”
Veres isn’t tossing sour grapes. He’s been too busy winning state titles with the Bruins to get riled up about old grudges. He just calls it as he sees it.
“Bud Black was a scapegoat,” Veres said. “What can you do? Your hands are tied as a manager. If you’re dealt the roster you have, it’s not like you can make somebody a better player or a different pitcher.”
Buddy’s Rockies were 7-33 when he got the boot. Warren Schaeffer’s Rockies were 3-17 after Monday’s series opener at Miami. New manager. New hitting coach. Same owner. Same GM. Same results. We’ve all done the math.
“I feel bad for the fans,” Atkins said. “Everybody knows what a great sports town this is. I run into people all the time who were at the playoff games and felt the energy at Coors Field. Everybody just wants that back.”
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He raised a family here. The nest is empty now, and Veres was babysitting his kid’s kids, working in some swim time around the storms, when I called him Monday to talk shop.
“Do your grandkids know or care about the Rockies?” I asked. “Does Coors mean anything to them other than food and a good time?”
“I guarantee they don’t know,” Veres replied. “I guarantee they don’t.”
Which breaks his heart a little, too.
“As a fan, you want it to succeed here,” Veres said. “As a player, you want to be proud of where you played.”
They feel for the current Rockies. They’ve been there. The season is a marathon, a nine-month flight through stormy weather that takes off on Valentine’s Day and lands sometime in October.
“No one wants to lose,” Veres continued. “I’m sure they’re tried of being the butt of the jokes … It just wears on you.”
“What’s the state of this franchise,” I wondered, “in a word?
“Disappointing,” Atkins said.
“Frustrating,” Veres added.
Dave still keeps that Rockies pullover in the rotation, though.
“It’s kind of funny,” Veres said. “I actually thought about it one time: ‘Should I wear my Rockies sweatshirt (in public?)’
“I still love this game. I’m still a fan. And being a local guy now, they’re my hometown team. I want them to be successful. Hopefully, they can figure it out, because it’s a great place to play. With a great fan base that wants and deserves what most fans want.”
Sanity. If only for a summer.
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