Has Warren Schaeffer done enough to return as manager for the Rockies in 2027?

0:00What's up everyone? Welcome in to the DNPR Rockies podcast on this victory Thursday we are live from the DNPR studios. I'm in the Xfinity studio Spencer's hanging out upstairs in his office. We have double purple coat today because the Rockies won a series should have swept the whole damn thing But Colton cows are had other plans in that game one, but either way a series win 2 and 0 in the month of September and it feels So much better than how it felt on Tuesday just two days ago when we did our show and we were I mean we were in mourning It felt like we were in a grief period. This feels much better. Welcome to the show everyone glad to have you Yeah, it's good to be back. It's good to have a positive show Tuesday was rough and I did not envision I would have I would have put a lot of money on if you said, Hey, are we going to wear purple coats for any reason on Thursday? I would have said not a chance in hell buddy. Then here we are purple coat and it two wins a

1:17Top five all-time defensive play away from sweeping the Orioles who have a lot to play for that was very stated in the first game and knowing that they finally got to 500 in that game on Monday for the first time since April and very much in a wild card race and the Rockies turned around their 10 game home losing streak, which is a franchise record And they won two in a row one one game just played solid baseball on Tuesday night and then yesterday Absolute roller coaster of a game. It couldn't get more Rockies than yesterday's game. I tell you what dude I I had no confidence. I mean I tweeted as such But I had no confidence that the Rockies were going to be able to pull it off yesterday I literally like you know I was at the game I left a little bit early because it's kind of hard for me to stay through the whole game When you've got a newborn still at home, and so like I was able to get like the first three quarters of the game I left around the seventh inning and I was called my called my wife on the way home, and she was like

2:17Hey, like look the the games going into extra innings like that's exciting, and I was like no, it's not That means they're guaranteed to lose and so like you when I like like I kind of feel like I pulled a page out of your book and maybe positively jinx them into winning the Rockies somehow staved off Well down to their last strike multiple times Zach Veean came in clutch. Thank God Just because we've not seen anything from Veean since his like first series with the Rockies Cole Kerrig welcome back to the lineup my guy. He went off yesterday It was just a good day all around you know, and and some bear says watching orio fans crash crash the hell out was peak I would be crashing out if I was orio fans. I mean we were crashing out a little bit You know the other day two days ago just because of how bad things were getting from our standpoint and we're not even a playoff team The Orioles are on the the cusp of being a playoff team and we're at that point in the season where the Rockies are going to start having these series where they can play spoilers

3:22And they have a lot of them coming up by the way. You've got the Mariners. You've got the white socks You've got like a lot of series the the the Padres are kind of in that like divisional race like you've got a lot of series coming up where you Can absolutely play the spoiler and The Orioles. I mean they were walking their way. I mean you just go score five plus runs each game and you're you're feeling pretty good About where things are the the Orioles could not find an offense against Arguably the worst pitching in baseball And so yeah, I'd be crashing out if I was an orio fan too that was a Again aside from Colton Couser Rescuing the Orioles from losing their first game. That was a disgusting series for Baltimore Yeah, they have to be leaving Denver thinking wow we went to Colorado where we should score an abundance of runs against one of the worst pitching staffs in The MLB this year and maybe one of the worst in history if you look at all of the You know advanced numbers and ERA and and what they've done this year

4:26But I do want to give a little bit of a shout out to Rocky's pitching because one of the tweets that I actually responded to somebody said something to the effect of I can't believe you know the Rocky's offense even as bad as it was these last fuck first couple of games It the Rocky still ended up winning a series and I I said I know Counting on good pitching or seeing good pitching back to back to back days is not something that we're used to and I mean From Mason Adams to Shagano start yesterday and having you know the one bad ending and literally shutting out his old team for Five of the six endings he pitched and pitch and having another quality start and then you've got you know guys like Zach Agnose has been pitching well Brian Feltener came in the other day and relief and pitched six endings of good baseball So ever since basically the start of the brave series the Rockies have pitched really well now as we know with the the slider meme The offense has turned off

5:26But they got enough yesterday and I also want to give a lot of credit to Zach being because We said I said specifically on the show on Tuesday. I said If you want your your name to be called and you don't want to be taken out for a pinch hitter and you want more at bats While his numbers against lefties are very rough and and shout out to Oak tree status Lou call because We're not sitting here saying we love Jordan Beck We're not going to sit here and say that he should play every day But when the guy's hitting 320 against lefties and Zach being does not have a hit against lefties this year Just make sense to play a guy like Jordan Beck, especially with the left Ian going back to Zach being though if If you're if you want to earn those minutes that and and minutes is if you want to earn those endings and those at bats I should say this isn't a basketball podcast. This is baseball podcast If you want to earn those at bats Make something happen when you have a chance to and he's had a lot of chances He's pinch hit latent games. He's had big at bats and he's come up with a strikeout almost every single time

6:27So yesterday seeing him get down to and I'll be honest. I was listening to that part of the game um on the radio as I was driving home from work and uh They got in the radio guys got me with hunter goodman's home run They made it seem like it was just nuked and out of there and then as it's going and as it's going He goes if it's fair it's gone and I was like oh no that means it's close and he's like and it's foul and I was like punching my steering wheel And then Zach Veyne comes up and and gets a huge base hit with two strikes and two outs to To tie the game and those are the moments where now He's earned more at bats like you just have to come up big you It sucks these he has minimal chances But the guys that are truly meant to be there and truly meant to Be major leaguers and and be a big part of the team or an important cog in the team going forward You got to make the plays that are in front of you. You got to make things happen when you have the shot And there is no more no better example than Zach Veyne doing that in the ninth yesterday

7:30Yeah, and and we've seen cool carried be clutch a couple times and you know tj runfield has made a whole season Which we'll talk about him later in the show he's made a whole season on being clutch But Zach Veyne You know he's had limited exposure at the big league level this season Done a lot of it in triple A But like you said, it's tough. It is tough because you're you're having to walk that balance of you haven't earned Getting yourself more at bats yet But you're also there's there's an argument to be made that if you were to get more at bats Maybe you'd find a little bit more of a rhythm And it's why I do think it's important for us to have the war and shape for conversation Today, which is kind of the main topic of this show is you know has worn shape for done enough To return it as the manager in 2027. What's the pros and cons of war and shape for like strengths and weaknesses that kind of thing So we'll kind of dive into that as the show goes on but You know There is that balance between getting enough at bats to find to be able to figure it out but also Putting guys in a position that are going to win you a ballgame or or or or play well and so Zach Veyne coming in clutch was was huge

8:35In that moment and it is nice also beyond just Zach Veyne to see the rookies as a whole tj runfield Had had another good game cold carry lead the way Zach Veyne dude by the way I'll hit you know foot in mouth odd I alumnidor has been great since being called up Credit where credit is due. He's has two home runs one of them his longest home run in his career, which was 398 feet by the way uh and like he's just he's been solid Offensively even his outs have been hard hit so credit where credit is due the the young guys are playing Very well and that part is refreshing to see it's nice to see the pitching You know be somewhat stable For once it's you know, it's a flash in the pan don't expect this to last Especially when you go on the road to New York and and you know you got to play the Padres again But I'll take it for what it is man a two out of three series win getting through that dreaded 10 game losing streak at Coorsfield shutting down a good offensive by the way just real fast

9:36The Orioles scored only seven runs through their first 27 innings against the Rockies The Rockies were giving up 6.3 runs per game on average at home They had an average of 18.8 runs allowed across a three game series They allowed seven plus runs in 31 of their 65 home games But Baltimore their bats only got around only got nine total runs In that series loss that was from Jacob Calvin Meyer on Twitter Brutal absolutely brutal for for the Orioles who are fighting for their lives Right now, but good to see the Rockies be on the right side of things for once and hopefully This builds them a little bit of momentum Into the remainder of this homestand and because I mean they're two and oh in the month of September We we already said it you need to go it was 11 and 13 was the record so now they need to go nine Is that that what it is nine nine more wins to avoid a hundred losses nine wins Nine wins left now it feels a little bit more attainable

10:36I said on Twitter and in person a couple of times over the last week It's not gonna happen it is not gonna happen anymore and then Two times in the last week. I think it was last Tuesday Wednesday Maybe they're just Tuesday Wednesday killers because I think they're Four and oh in the last Tuesday Wednesday and haven't won a single game outside of those two days because they had the two Wins in a row against the nationals where I was like okay We're so back and then five straight losses and then two wins against the Orioles and I'm like all right We're back we we went two out of three against the Cardinals Get that down to seven wins and 12 losses and you're kind of back to on pace You're you're right there with a 10 game homestand coming up. I mean I know they've been bad at home But these last two games and winning them at home Maybe sometimes all team needs this a little bit of confidence man I know it sounds silly to say these are majorly baseball players But when you keep having those close games and and everything keeps going Going wrong much like it did on Monday night You think you have a walkoff home run a guy steals it. You're like we're all just laughing because what else can you do there?

11:42And and then they turn around and win two games in a row and win the game yesterday When they had realistically they had multiple chances to give up they could have given up in regulation and the ninth inning and not scored They could have given up in the eleventh when they were down by two more runs And they just kept fighting and kept fighting so the Winds and losses, you know, they're gonna be we know what it's gonna look like It's gonna look like a hundred loss baseball team But the fight with them the past couple of nights and and this Orioles series against the team that is playing for everything was at least a positive step It is funny the ups and downs the emotional roller coaster that we as Rockies fans feel for a team that is Not even close to a playoff spot like it's like like you talk about punching your steering wheel as you're driving when you find out that hunter goodman hits a foul ball Instead of a home run like it is it is the emotions are real and And then and then the carry ball hits off the top of the wall. Yeah, it's literally hits in the yellow in the wall

12:44Yeah, they had two another two feet of Of balls that if they go six inches one way or the other You won the game in nine endings. Yeah, just like the cows are hit if that ball six inches higher You win the game and walk off fashion and They're razor sergeant and similarly on the flip side of that as or not even on the flips on the same in the same light as that If Jake McCarthy gets his foot down a half an inch on the bag at home He would have beaten that tag on that ball that got by the third basement I think it was a bad send by Andy Gonzalez. I had some people messaging me saying like No, like with Jake speed, you know, you got to be aggressive and I will say I I I won't ever I rarely fault someone or get like truly crash out for Being aggressive especially in a play that's pretty close and that was a bang bang play Like I said if if Jake gets his foot down on the bag. There's a chance that he's safe I mean he the ball beat him but his speed and the way he slid allowed him to get enough separation that I think he could have been safe

13:49If he had gotten his foot down on that play at home um, I think it was more of just I from our perspective it looked like Andy Gonzalez at third wasn't to wear That the pitcher was backing up the throw Because I mean he was ten feet behind third the ball gets by him and he's fielding a ground ball and throwing at home As if he's a fielder and it's like god damn. I mean I was sitting in the press box like Well, that's like that was fun, you know, and it just killed the momentum at that point but um But that was again another razor thin margin where you know, I mean they had to go review it It was obvious because he didn't touch home plate basically um But if he had just gotten that foot just an inch lower I think he's safe at home and you know you get an extra run Maybe you don't end up having to go into extra is like whatever so it is Baseball is a crazy sport man and it's it's been a lot of fun these last couple games But we know that that can that can turn in a heartbeat So um, we're enjoying it while we can let's pause for our first break after the break Let's get to our show topic our main show topic, which is Warren shaffer has he done enough to earn your trust as a fan

14:54um To to come back in 2027 What's the long-term outlook how water is strengths and weaknesses? Let's kind of take an all-emcompassing look at Warren shaffer when we come back from this first break and take a look at our new partner Well the weight is officially over and football is here Draft kings is on welcome back draft kings as your favorite DNVR sportsbook in this September draft kings is giving all customers the opportunity to get boosted every game day That's right every single game day all month long Draft king customers can get a profit boost plus get extra protection with early exit opt-in And if your player leaves the game with an eligible injury in the first half your bet is protected new Draft kings customers can sign up with code dnvr spend just five bucks and get two hundred dollars in rewards Within 21 days that's code dnvr in partnership with draft kings the crown is yours Gambling problem caller text 1-800 gambler 21 and over Colorado only eligibility eligibility restrictions apply

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16:58That's auto nation to it a rapahoe in centennial Corwin to it and Boulder groove to it and little ten mountain states to it in Danfer Steven since 20s to Aurora and Steven since Toyota west in Lakewood to it is the official vehicle of dnvr Keep in the party going here on the dnvr rocky's podcast. We are live and And uh and moving forward on this victory Thursday heading into a weekend here It's technically an extended weekend right we got Memorial Day on Monday So we got a little bit of a labor day, but yes labor Same thing that's the same thing I somehow still functioning on like two hours of sleep um And I've I've just found ways to to mask it, but really there's not a lot going on up there So we're we're getting through it Um drop us a comment in the chat We're talking about Warren shafery here or we're about to talk about Warren shafery here What do you guys think how do you think he's done as the manager of the Colorado Rockies this season?

17:59I know there's a lot of opinions and I think as this season has progressed People have become more aware more vocal I think at the beginning of the year people just kind of didn't even really think about the fact that Warren shafery was the manager We were more focused on the players right guys on the field that kind of stuff and then and then it kind of became a little bit more of Okay, how is Warren you know this team isn't going to the playoffs. So how is Warren Playing certain players. What's the strategies that they're going that they're going for the mixing and matching all of that kind of stuff So I think it's it's worth getting into that conversation now and I want to start by saying this I personally from the conversations I've had around the organization the people I've talked to things I've heard Warren shafery is coming back next year I have no reason to believe that the Rockies would move on from Warren shafery in 2027 and I don't think it's necessarily because The Rockies think he's done an amazing incredible job that you know that he's the best manager in the world I'm sure there is going to be areas of improvement for him

19:01He would probably say that there are things he needs to work on and improve for next year But I think I think it's just more of a matter of You got to give a guy a few years right like especially when you are not in a position where you're competing for a playoff spot in this very moment where you know Okay, if there's some decisions a managerial decisions that maybe Warren shafery gets wrong at this point You're not costing the Rockies a playoff spot if that makes sense So I think it's very similar the the giants just announced the other day that they were that bus to posi was not going to fire Tony Vittello after this Year despite a very underwhelming season for the giants I think it's the same kind of thing for the Rockies You're caught you're gonna lose close to 100 games But Warren shafery absolutely is going to be the manager in 2027 because they need some consistency They need to be able to Allow him to to work through his systems through his processes over an extended time not just give someone a year So I wanted to throw that out there on the table before we even dive into this conversation as a whole because I think there's a lot of people out there

20:04Maybe not a lot, but there's a handful of people on social media that are starting to kind of come into this like Warren shafer Is a problem for the Rockies and has made mistakes and you know Maybe they're they're going to let the let Warren shafer go this off season And I just want to say it's not going to happen I'd be absolutely floored if Warren shafer wasn't the manager in 2027 that being said like I said I think this is a fair space to Be critical of the things that has that have gone right But also the things that have gone wrong and where where he needs to improve in the long-term outlook So let's have that conversation and Spencer. I'll ask you how do you think just from your perspective Warren shafer has done As the Rockies manager in 2026? I think he's done a Serviceable job. I'm not going to say he's done a great job because I think there are definitely some decisions out there That he's made where you kind of question it and you think is he I think one of the kind of the main topics We've talked about this year is it feels like sometimes they're over managing a little bit right and and I think one of the things that we

21:10I crashed out about last year a little bit and it's still One of their their baselines is they they give guys days off Almost sometimes too much is what it feels like to me where if You know and going back to bud black and obviously that was a whole he was a solid manager The Rockies had a good team when he took over the team and then it kind of came to an end where it was like guys It's just it's just a bad relationship bad baseball team. He needed to go and he got released last year And but but black always had a rule like if a guy homers he's playing the next day no matter what and there's no sort of rules like that with war and shaffer and the current Front office and I think one of the things that a lot of Rockies fans get annoyed about I think Warren shaffer doesn't have as much autonomy as you as we'd all like to think right or fans would like to think where it's like You know, he just goes out there and does what he wants with the line of like this is very much We got the feeling especially going to winter meetings and meeting the whole you know at that time

22:14There was no alone Lyshman they he got hired literally during winter meetings But it from the guys that were part of the team at that point the Josh Burns the Paul D. Poudest as Warren shaffers and when we talked to them It was very much a collaborative effort and so I think that I'm not saying Warren doesn't make a lot of decisions He decides who gets up in the bullpen with you know probably Jeff Pickler and some of the other coaches that they're like hey Where's their other teams lineup going what guys do we need to get up? Do we need to get lefty up? Do we need to write you up? How is that going to go? But I think a lot of decisions that are made especially day-to-day and lineup to lineup are One analytic space which is something that's new for us here in Colorado and two I think it's a collaborative effort with a lot of the guys in The front office and Warren shaffer like hey, we need to get this guy some at bats or this guy's got a really good matchup today Let's play him like it. It's not just all on Warren shaffer And I think he's done a decent job. There are some decisions He's made where you want to pull your hair out and you're like why did you bring this guy in but I think a lot of the

23:19Fan reaction and the vitriol from the fans comes down to Number one, they want to see guys like Zach being play more that's kind of the most recent one is like oh Jordan Bex terrible Why are we seeing him play and it's like well? Zach being doesn't hit lefty's well and Jordan Bex does so it's pretty pretty simple and Warren shaffer is in this weird spot where he Doesn't have the greatest chess pieces on the board right? He doesn't have a bunch of all stars where like How easy and I'm not saying it's an easy job to be an M.O.B. manager But like a guy like the fillies manager you throw out shorber you throw out trade turner You throw out rice Harper like it's not hard to put a lineup together when you got a bunch of all-star But when you got a bunch of guys that are kind of the either mediocre You know just coming up from triple A or don't really know what they are as a pro yet Or we do know what they are as a pro and that's kind of just a backup level player You got some rookies in the lineup So there's a lot of moving pieces and there's a lot of different ideas of okay Get all the young guys some playtime but Warren shaffer also is very

24:23As any manager or any coach or anybody in major league sports They want to win games and sometimes it feels like you have to put the players in that you think will help you win Sometimes they don't sometimes they do but it's not just about the fans get a little bit to One-sided in thinking a guy is better or or the hope of a guy is better than a guy that he's playing When in reality the numbers bear it out that this guy has a better shot To have a couple of base hits or drive in a run against You know the pitcher that's there and and like a guy playing a guy like Ezekiel Tovar all year you It's it is frustrating and he does have a lot of bad at bats But you're kind of trying to hope that I mean the Tovar we saw two years ago Everybody thought he'd be the shortstop for the Rockies for a decade And so you're trying to figure figure out those things on the fly Also while trying to win games and another thing that a fans crash out about that it makes me want to crash out on them is

25:23They're like why did you bring this guy in from the bullpen? And it's like guys we have our bullpen is our bullpen They don't just you can't just randomly spawn a joe hand or a you know Mason Miller Chapman out of there Mason Miller out of the bullpen and pitch him and And the reality of the situation is with the Rockies this year We haven't seen it as much I mean we kind of have in the last five days because they haven't had a day off And they had to have a actual bullpen game But the reality of the situation is the Rockies starters have not been good enough over the whole Course of the season where they can just have a Seventh inning guy an eighth inning guy and a ninth inning guy and go from a solid quality start from a pitcher Six innings and then go to your seventh go to your eighth go to your ninth and have a game like I think we had one like two weeks ago And I was like oh that's how this should look and it was like I think it was Jimmy Hill Or a Jimmy Hill Jordan jade and hill to Jimmy Hurgate to Jordan Romano and a little bit of bread and Bernadino mixed in there So that's how it should look

26:25But when you're behind and when your starters are going three to four innings and you're having to pitch guys in the fourth and fifth Ending your bullpen guys There's not a lot you can do and like yesterday was a peak example of that Everybody in the bullpen was gassed you got Jimmy Hurgate out there He had a good ending got you out of the top of the tenth with no runs And then what'd you have to do in the eleventh inning because you all your other guys are probably down for the day Yeah, to go to blaskastano who shout out Eli Whitney who's no longer a part of the beat there and and part of the rockies anymore He's going to to take on a greener pasture and different job But like he loves blaskastano. What is he re is he actually a good majorly pitcher? Probably not right like he's just another triple a level guy But you had to bring him in and what does he do he gives up two runs And that was a moment where in before they walked it off all the fans are like I can't believe you'd bring this guy in well Bernadino's pitch four days in a row So is jade and hill you already used multiple guys in the eighth seventh eighth and ninth inning today like you can't just spawn new guys

27:25These are the guys you got so you got a pitch him, you know like it's just I think that's one of the things where He can't just make a lineup that has shorber and Harper in it and then have a bullpen with Mason Miller in it Like these are the guys we got you have to play them and yes Some of them aren't as good one may he has a six year a But like you got to pitch these guys these are the guys you got So I think overall relating out to Warren shaffer. There's definitely some decisions made that make you scratch your head and think Why are you we doing this or let's get this guy some playing time but at the same time I think he's if you end up with 15, you know, it's going to be at least 15 to 20 more wins Then you had last year and then you bring Warren shaffer back next year There's going to be some more expectations And then if that team can if the next year's team looks like this year's team and has this same record I think then it's time to have a real conversation about his Warren shaffer the guy But right now he he they've had substantial growth They're not a good baseball team yet But they've had substantial growth from where they were at last year

28:26And I think Warren shaffer's been a big part of that not only in who he plays every day in the lineups But all the work that he and the front office put in in the offseason to go get guys and figure out who's going to Work at Kours Field. There's been a lot of success stories this year with individual players And I think part of that can be credited to Warren shaffer and the work him and his team bench coach pitching coach batting coach have done over the offseason spring training and throughout the season Yeah, totally I think the conversation with Warren shaffer kind of boils down to two sides right You've got the off the field stuff and the on the field stuff as a manager and Depending on the context of where you're at as an organization The priorities between those two sides get weighted differently. So right now in 2026 the Rockies are on pace to You know lose roughly around a hundred games and that's still going to be about a 20-game improvement from what they had last year

29:27So they're taking a step forward. I'll be it not a huge one But they are making improvements this year to take a step forward But they're nowhere near the playoffs. They're nowhere near being a good team and nobody expected them to be that this year The identity of the Rockies this year has been Young you know developed see what we have with these kind of guys piece it together island of misfit toys type vibe And when you have something like that a traditional manager like bud black done Mattingly like those kind of guys don't typically work as well Because there's a lot of different personalities a lot of young players that you have to manage off the field So from my perspective the priority as a manager Becomes more around how is this manager managing things off the field the clubhouse the confidence in players the adjustments the The discipline all of those types of things that's a huge part of being a manager Then the other side of that is the on the field decisions right it's who's playing what are the matchups?

30:31What what kind of decisions do you make in these specific type of situations in game? I think Warren Schaefer if I had to look at strengths and weaknesses Warren Schaefer is is a very very good Off the field manager his players from everyone I've spoken to respect the hell out of him They love playing for him. They love the intensity that he brings I mean guys are willing to die for this guy and and and that's the type of manager that you want off the field And I think for where the organization is right now That's necessary. I think that's that's what you need in a guy right now Now some of his on the field decisions you can debate and I think any manager you can have that conversation with by the way But you know Warren Schaefer is a young manager and I think he can over cook things sometimes I think he does a lot of the little things really well, but sometimes it can get a little too Complex it can get a little too over cooked and like I said, you know, you're playing the matchups games But you're doing it so much and I think that's sometimes where he gets in trouble

31:32And I think sometimes that's where the fans come in last year for example Kyle Freeland was you know one inning away from a complete game shutout the Rockies had scored a bunch of runs So they wasn't like he was fighting to keep the lead or anything like that Warren Schaefer took him out in the the end of the eighth inning He didn't let him come back out for the ninth inning and I remember After the game we asked him about it and he said if I had to redo it I would I would do it differently I'd let him go back out and get that complete game like I think that was him being so System oriented seeing the The pitch count seeing the the analytics all of that stuff and looking at it and being like no, no He can't come back out right we got to go to our bullpen here We got to go close to this game out and then he stepped back and was like You know what I should have just let him play ball there right like I should have just let him play baseball there I think that's where Warren Schaefer gets into trouble But what I'm not going to sit here and say that that doesn't matter But to me it matters less this year than it will in the future because of where you're at organizationally

32:34So yes, Spencer you're right Next year the year after that the year after that it's going to shift the priority is gonna go From you know more heavily weighted towards the off-field stuff to you got to make decisions in game that are going to win You baseball games right and that needs to be fine tuned and it needs to to work to your advantage And you got to get better at that as time goes on but right now I think what the Rockies need is a guy who owns that clubhouse with respect and with with determination and with inspiration And Warren Schaefer from everything I've seen behind the scenes and in front Is that guy and so that's kind of my big takeaway with Warren Schaefer is that I think given where the organization is right now right now I think Warren Schaefer is still the best option. I don't know if an older manager a traditional manager would come in and do anything better And I don't know if another young manager like Tony Vitello type of guy would come in and do anything better either I think the organization is set up in a way that that Warren Schaefer is exactly where he needs to be

33:36Now what we got to take our first our second break, but after the break we'll kind of look long-term right what do we need to see for Warren Schaefer to be that guy three years from now what what needs to change what are what are his strengths and weaknesses moving forward But that's kind of my takeaway on it. So let's let's pause for our next break after the break We'll talk about strengths and weaknesses long-term outlook and we'll keep the party wrong Well, if you were heading out to the ballpark At any point throughout the remainder of this season you got to check out our friends at game time They are the best place to go to get all of your ticketing needs taken care of and so whether it's baseball games College football NFL Broncos back in action here soon And of course concerts theater events whatever you need to use a ticket for to get in the doors Game time has you covered and I absolutely love using the game time app because not only is it super easy to navigate It's very very affordable But they've got great deals great deals great customer service as you get closer and closer to the start of your event Your tickets are going to get cheaper and cheaper

34:37That's the game time guarantee and they have their game time ticket coverage Which means your purchase is covered with the most flexible customer service policy in the ticketing industry One of my favorite parts about it too is that all of the fees are included So when you go and you're actually clicking on your seat and it says your seat is $25 That's what you're going to pay you're not getting hit with any fees at the end of it that doubles the price when you go to check out It's as you see transparency. So take the guess we're kind of buying tickets with game time download the game time app create an account use code DNVR for $20 off your first purchase again use that code DNVR for $20 off your first purchase term supply That's DNVR for $20 off download the game time app today Also got to check out our friends at Xfinity if you are looking to upgrade your Wi-Fi I recently just moved into a new home Which I don't recommend by the way having a brand new baby and moving into a new house Not ideal, but you know what is ideal is going with our friends at Xfinity for my Wi-Fi needs We got a little bit bigger of a house and so we had to change up our plan a little bit

35:39And it's been incredible Not only has Xfinity still given me great great deals and affordability and great quality But their customer service is great their customer service reps have helped me every single step of the way to make sure all of my stuff gets transferred over and so that my new home is covered with the most intelligent reliable Wi-Fi on the market And right now you can take advantage of Xfinity's five-year price guarantee where if you lock in your price today You pay that exact same price every single month for the next five years no price sites no changes That's the Xfinity five-year price guarantees so lock in that price and unlock possibilities with Xfinity learn more at Xfinity.com Xfinity imagine that select plans only restrictions apply Hey while we're talking about Warren Schaefer here I wanted to bring this up because we talk about kind of the difference between his off-the-field stuff on the field stuff There was a there was a very interesting and strategic decision that Warren Schaefer made Late in the game yesterday. I don't know if you guys caught this But it was high level high high level baseball IQ

36:40I don't know if it was Warren Schaefer I mean he was the one who pulled the trigger on the move But it could have been one of his bench coaches You know that whispering in his ear either way It worked for the Colorado Rockies and so this was the rule the it was it was at the very end Basically when Hunter Goodman made the final out of the 10th inning the Rockies then lost their DH They brought in reliever Blasca Stonio 400 Goodman right so you bring in a pitcher to replace Hunter Goodman in the D in the the the DH spot in the 11th And then that allowed Connor Norby to be the ghost runner not Kastonio because Basically the the rule basically meaning that like a pitcher is not going to run for himself So it re it resorts to the the last batter So basically Warren Schaefer knows that if the pitcher is in the last badded spot in the lineup You have the option to skip the pitcher and go back one batter in this case Connor Norby got to start at second base again little things

37:41But being able to know that kind of stuff like I had just said before the break Warren Schaefer does the little things well And and that's a perfect example of like I think a lot of people probably missed that But there are managers out there specifically Don Mattingley Who completely messed that up when he was with the Marlins in a big way Not that long ago So it's not a guarantee that even some of the best managers in baseball understand all of the strategy now again Warren Schaefer still has a lot of things to improve on and I think If I was to have to say like weaknesses from my perspective, you know, we're talking about strengths and weaknesses here I think some of his weaknesses can be the fact that he overanalyzes over Analytics the the approach sometimes and he loses a little bit of the feel for the game now I know that's the way baseball has played. I understand that the Rockies are pushing a shift towards that because they're one of the last teams to do that at least do that at the level that other teams are doing it Um, but again Warren Schaefer has given examples of times where that has been

38:45That has been something that he's struggled with right or he's Learned from in the past where he's made a decision and said you know what I would have done it differently if I had to redo that so I do think some of the fans tend to get a little bit too Narrow-sided around, you know, like the Zach Venexample Zach Vinover Jordan back against left these like there's a good reason why that's why Warren Schaefer's making that decision Spencer you argued the whole the whole reliever thing which is a great point um But that would be my weaknesses. I still think strengths, you know, the little things and and overall just management of his team Which people forget how big of a deal that is people think you know being a good Majorly baseball manager is just they don't know well. Yeah, they don't know what it's like in a clubhouse They don't know what it's like to be a player and respect your manager not respect your manager Nobody none of us fans or nobody that's out there that just goes to course field or it all likes to hate on the Rockies understands the the quality of a guy that Warren Schaefer is behind the scenes and how the players react to that

39:46Like you'll never quantify that as a as a as a fan It's just it's and you said something in your in your last rant a little bit before The the last break that kind of got me thinking where you know, if we're talking about where Warren Schaefer needs to go in the future is he is very much a Manage on numbers and doesn't have quite the feel as a manager yet And that's like the comment from Felix Warren is super young and has lots to learn. He's solid for us though Like Warren Schaefer is a young manager. He's a young like he's He had he got thrown. I think you you said it a couple of times last year He got thrown under the Titanic and he's just rearranging deck chairs last year and trying to save the ship It's sinking no matter what they were they were a terrible baseball team. There's not much you can do This year he's had a little bit more hands-on in terms of selecting the roster the players that they let go Give it to more tools players that they picked up. Yeah, exactly But he does and and hopefully he will as as he grows in the managerial role

40:48Learn to manage with a little bit more feel then straight up like Just looking at numbers and analytics and saying oh, I feel like this matchup is better You know if you if you're seeing something from a guy in the game or you you know You think that this guy has a better chance to get a hit in this big moment against the picture They're bringing in just go with your gut sometimes I feel like there's a lot of times where Warren Schaefer doesn't really make a gut call It's just it's purely based on what they're looking at numbers wise And I think that's a big piece of being a good manager is growing into trusting certain players or knowing what you're going to get out of a certain player on a certain day or in a certain situation And he'll grow with the team and learn that now if he doesn't and it's just it's just a lot of you know Not trusting your gut or not it's like growing with like yeah If it's if it's continues to be robotic then you need to have a real conversation If you have a group of good players and a lineup of decent pictures and you feel like okay What what's missing here this team should be good?

41:48What's missing is and usually that's when the manager of the coach takes the fall if that team comes up Short of expectations, but the realistic thing about the Rockies this year is they don't have really expectation And if they did and you were realistic about the expectations for the Rockies They've already exceeded those by the amount of wins and losses they've had and basically Clearing their last year's win total in the middle of August or early August at the point that they won that 44th game So the the realistic expectations Yes, we all want the Rockies to become a playoff team But if you take a step back and Look at what it's going to actually take for them to get there Winning 60 to 65 games this year is a step in the right direction and next year it becomes hey We can't lose 100 games again. Absolutely not or that's a heads will roll at that point whether it's players Pictures pitching coaches coaches managers whoever but next year. It's like all right now. We have some realistic expectations of can we win 70 plus games? Can we become a

42:50500 baseball team in the middle of june or july and have a Realistic chance at checking the wild card standings for where we're at six seven eight games out not 20 25 at that point So there's realistic expectations and if you if you take back what the Rockies kind of should have done this year and we hope they would do In light of what happened last year. They're kind of on pace for that So Warren Schaefer as the players need to grow and the team needs to grow and the players need to get better So does Warren Schaefer, but that doesn't mean you just fire him and go higher a Don maddingly or somebody older that will just all of a sudden take this team from being what they are to being An 80 win baseball team. It's just not realistic Yeah, and the reality is When this team becomes a competitive team again even just you know middle of the wrong competitive Everything that Warren Schaefer does in game is going to become Magnified to the nth degree. I mean Brett says why does why did he have Mickey hitting in the 10th lefty lefty though

43:55I didn't like that. I don't know if there was a if like that was his only option You know, I don't remember looking at the uh they did watching the game at least in the 11th They definitely said on the broadcast like they're out of players. Yeah, so a lot of really cash show was down yesterday Like you don't hit once again Just like you can't spawn a mason Miller You can't spawn another player to just come out and play you know and not that not shitting on you Brett or saying that But like at the same time Imagine if Jordan Bex available in that spot and you bring Jordan Beckon and he strikes out and you're like We have Mickey Moniak. We just signed him to do your extension. Let's let him hit like if the results don't work out You can always look back and say it wasn't a bright decision But in the moment you want to have Mickey Moniak at the place not a great lefty on lefty guy But the realistic situation is the Rockies and we've talked about this. Yeah, they have a shitload of lefties They got a lot of lefties in the line. So sometimes those guys just got to hit They got to go up and try to hit against the lefty. Yeah, and again I go back to this I'd had this conversation with with Patrick Saunders our old friend from the

44:56formerly the dent on the Denver Post now retired And he had you know, we were kind of joking about how Tiring it can be Seemingly the same questions, you know at this point of the season because you know the season's not going anywhere It's team isn't going to the playoffs. So it's like there's not a lot to like unpacking. We were saying you know if this team Was in the playoff race even a wild cover race I mean god even if you're in the conversation right like if you go on a 2007 Rocktober run you could get to the playoffs like realistically Or feasibly Like it changes everything it changes the conversations we have as media have it changes the questions that get asked I mean postgame we're sitting there questioning like like Brett says hey, shape Why did you do things this way and if he gives an answer you don't like it becomes a follow-up of okay But I still don't understand like it lost you the game. So like what was the the reasoning behind that you know like everything changes right now It's like okay, you brought you know You haven't been been hitting Zach Vienn against lefties and he's not doing great against lefties

45:59You know fans are upset, but like I'm not gonna ask that you know like we're not like we're not gonna dive deep into that because you're not going anywhere with that so It's it just changes everything and so yes next year that you're after that like you know the on the field stuff It's not to say that it doesn't matter now But it becomes more and more important than it has been this year this year It's been a team trying to learn how to be competent again It's a team trying to learn how to play baseball at the big league level You got you know half your lineup is rookies or guys in their sophomore season The other half are guys who are ready to retire in a year, you know like it like that's that's the identity of the Rockies right now and so You've got a manager who's trying to balance that and I'll say this before we hit our last break You talk about the off field stuff that I think is so important in an in an identity Organiz and an organization that identifies the way is that it is right now with the Rockies being so young Trying to just figure things out right now. Look at what happened with the Giants the Giants went out and they got Tony Vittello

47:06from Tennessee a man who has never stepped foot coaching in a big league or even minor league stadium He has coached in college baseball He makes the leap from college baseball to the pros. He becomes this higher of He's got the energy. He's got the feel. He's a clubhouse guy He's a players coach a players manager That's why what Tony Vittello was was hired to be for the San Francisco Giants But the Giants are set up in a very different way and the Giants have some huge superstars You got Matt Chappen Ruffiel Devers you've got Willie Adamis like you've got some big name players and It hasn't been great for the San Francisco Giants. We saw what happened with Devers him showing up his manager when When Vittello was telling him to come out of the game for a pinch runner and Devers basically just saying no screw you We've seen all of the You know obviously the controversial stuff with the um, you know the pictures coming in with the the bible versus on their hats like like

48:07There has been controversy after controversy for the Giants and Vittello is stuck right in the middle of that Now maybe not all of that's Tony Vittello's fault But it's not happening with Warren Schaefer the the closest we've even gotten to that was cold carrot flipping off opposing fans and you know We talked about that last show and I you know, it's like I understand the Rockies punishing him I personally didn't love the way that Schaefer handled that but that's the closest we've had to a controversy Within the Colorado Rockies this year. So Warren Schaefer has managed this team In a way that's been consistent that's been respectable that's been motivating that's been disciplined And that's all you can ask for at this point. You're not gonna get a wildcard team a playoff team No matter who your manager is So I'll take what Warren Schaefer is giving us for now that conversation will continue to evolve in the years after this When this team hopefully becomes more competitive But for right now Warren Schaefer I think has done a perfectly adequate and good job as the Rockies manager

49:11So Let's pause for our last break after the break. I want to talk a little TJ rum field will also wrap things up by previewing our upcoming series That's coming up after this last Well, just because summer is wrapping up doesn't mean that you are putting the sunglasses away right we live in Colorado It's sunny 360 days out of the season and out of the year And you got to have sunglasses that are up to the task Shady raises the place to go and Shady raise has incredible sunglasses We were up at the rooftop the other day And we are Shady raised with us because Shady raise is a proud sponsor of Friday rooftop club And we have people coming up and asking us about about the sunglasses. They look great. They feel great They're affordable. They've got polarized options You just can't go wrong with Shady raise and on top of that they've got the best customer service policies in the industry If you lose or damage your Shady raise they'll send you a new pair for free. No questions asked And right now take advantage of an awesome deal. Let's go on if you head to Shady raise calm Use that code that you see on your screen if you're watching on youtuber TV

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52:17Had some good hits had some great at bats. He had that obviously that clutch to run home run um Not yesterday but the day prior to that tj rumfield has been great this year. There's there's no arguing that but the real argument becomes is Is he getting Is he getting improperly shunned out of the rookie of the year conversation now i'll start by saying He's not going to win wuk wuk wuk wuk wuk wuk wuk wuk I thought you know we had talked about it for a while there was a chance if he had kind of gone on a bit of a heater and maybe JJ weather hole Slow down a little bit that tj rumfield could be that guy but JJ weather holds playing incredible baseball You also got south steward who is playing very very well So you it's probably going to be between one of those two guys, but The national media still somehow doesn't know that that tj rumfield exists despite him having a 3.3 war In his rookie season. He's got a 290 batting average with a 3.83 on base percentage

53:23I honestly think the the only thing truly holding him back and I tweeted this the other day The only thing truly holding him back from being like front and center of this conversation at least alongside south steward and jj weather hole Is the fact that he doesn't he's not hitting 30 home runs? You know, I I I think The fact that he is kind of just quiet in everything that he does He's just consistent. He's not super fast. He's not super flashy He's just he's just been a stud. He's just been super consistent mr. consistent It I think people don't even know he exists, you know, which I mean hey great for the Rockies, but I I keep seeing people talking about the whole rookie of the year thing and they're not even putting tj in the top five And I'm like, it's just insane. It's just insane I know we go circles on this kind of stuff So I'm not going to get too heated about it But it's just crazy to me that people just Completely forget that this guy has a 3.3 war Better than Carson Benj better than McLean like he's at least top four in my opinion Yeah, they showed they had the graphic on the screen during the game yesterday and it was taught it was the five

54:28Kind of candidates for and I'll rookie the year and it had rum field it had weather hole It had steward it had bench and then one One other guy, but I think tj was leading or tied for the lead and with all of them in opus He had the highest average, but Average is one of those things where I still think it matters like I still like to see a guy hit 270 to 280 You know it used to be 1090s like if a guy doesn't if a guy doesn't hit 300 It's not good right? It's not he's not a good hitter But the numbers have changed and home runs are at a premium and and south steward hits a lot of those South steward also has I believe 103 RBI's like a lot of RBE's driving in a lot of runs For the big red machine in Cincinnati, but When you look at the numbers all across the board of the comparison of those five guys Rumfield leads or is just you know just behind I think weather hole leads everybody in war He's up in like four point five or something like that So it's gonna be a close race and and a lot of the guys do have different

55:33positives about them or or things that are better about them than the other Rookie of the year I think weather hole being in the St. Louis market, which is obviously huge baseball market and steward Just hitting as many home runs as he's hitting and driving in as many runs as he has give them the kind of the upper hand in the terms of the National media and the eyes, you know like like you said home runs or one of the things that if rumfield had 23 or 24 home runs he might be The leader the leading candidate for rickid year obviously that would shoot his war He'd be him and sals Stewart at least yeah, but we know exactly what he is I mean yesterday perfect example. This is last night yesterday's game. He comes in in the 11th ending the Rockies Just gave up to you're like oh god, just end this you know this game is gonna be a loss. Let's just get out of here He fights through in it bat gives you I mean he's walked like 12 times in the last week and a half So nobody cares about that like right? That's not a flashy. Oh my god. This guy walked 200 times

56:33He's also the slowest player on planet earth. So it doesn't always help yeah Walking he him walking is him running basically like him walking as as fast as he gets yeah But nobody's gonna care about how many walks he had you know obviously that helps his OPS and helps son base percentage but That's not a flashy play and the play he made or the the hit that he had in the 11th ending yesterday like Yeah, he could have hit a bomb to right field and tied the game in that moment everybody. Oh my god TJ run pill whatever no what he does he has a 10-pitch at bat he fights off pitches He he spits on a few that are really close and then he flicks his bat Todd Hilton-esque Flicks his bat gets a base hit to left center field scores the the first run Which the Rockies couldn't score run in the 10th ending to win the game there Scores the first run and gives you a little bit of hope right he gets on base You got it one run in you got the tying run on base now in a in a two run deficit in the 11th ending And then they end up going on to win the game he scores that tying run and and win so it's

57:35The little things that he does that we as Rockies fans see every day Taking great at bats taking walks being as dingers burner said There's a lot of games where in the top if you're the the Rockies of the away team in the top of the first ending Jake McCarthy Who no shade to him been unbelievable this year he'll swing at the first pitch and be out and then you whoever hits in the two Hole does the same thing and then you finally get to rumfield and you're like Can we have like can we allow this pitch your three pitches here? Yeah, like yeah Can we allow him somebody to get deep into account and deep into in it bat? So that's why TJ is a perfect Edition to this roster in this lineup in the way they play baseball But it's also we you know we talked about it earlier in the year He doesn't play for a big market team. He doesn't play for a team that everybody pays attention to and he does all the little things Well, so great player for the Rockies very excited to see how he grows in his sophomore season and the future feel like we finally I we're gonna say this again and hopefully this time it sticks. This is no Michael to Michael tolia situation

58:38The Rockies have found their first future first basement for the next decade and that is one TJ rumfield And he's also great defensively doesn't make flashy plays defiantly defensively sometime You know, but defensive run saved. He's up there near the tops of the league So he he does everything well. It's just the little things and not the the big things like the home runs and driving in 100 plus runs and And having insane speed or athleticism none of those things you'll find it Most first basements don't by the way, so you know I you know, I had posted the other day that saying like if TJ Ops his power next year That he could be the the Rockies all-star, you know replacement or both him and hunter And someone was like yeah, let's just like change who he is as a player. That's a good good one Ha ha you know, I'm like I'm not saying he needs to hit 50 home runs if he can be a 25 home or kind of guy That's solid you're you're a six-foot five two hundred and fifty pound or probably less two hundred pound First baseman, right? Like I'm not saying he needs to become a different type of player

59:38I love his plate discipline. I love who he is in his abats I'm just saying that's part of development. You get a little bit more strength in the offseason You get a little bit bigger You start to add a little more power there 14 or you know, he probably finished the season with 16 home runs 17 home runs And with 22 home runs next year and then 28 home runs the year after that next thing You know you're you're hovering between 25 and 30 home runs every year like that's great That's what you need out of a out of a first baseman who can get on base at the at the level that he does Shout out to TJ Rumpfield had himself a great series as always Last thing before we head out of here because we had to get out of here Wolfgang real quick says hey guys been meaning to ask you now that Kronke is buying the angels Do you think that motivates the Walton Pena group to buy out the rest of the rocks? I encourage you to go back to our Thursday show last week Just one week ago. We talked extensively about that On that show kind of went into like more of the scenarios and all that kind of stuff The long answer made short. I think the new cba has everything to do with it

1:00:41I don't think the art a morano selling the the angels to the kronkeys although that was that is pretty pretty impressive that that did happen Um, I don't think that motivates the the penners. I think the cba Depending on how that outcome Happened so the potential lockout, you know, the new negotiated deal all that kind of stuff That has more to do with a possible sell up the Rockies Which I do believe will end up happening within the next five years That's just just my personal opinion on that But all right, we got to wrap things up here on the show. I got to jump into a meeting here Thank you guys for hanging out with us. We'll be back next Tuesday and Thursday 10 a.m. Show times as always Thanks for watching. We'll see you guys next time right here on the DNVR Rockies podcast