Bud Black’s firing was inevitable, but messy, even by the Rockies’ standards

Sunday was a bizarre day at Coors Field even by Rockies standards The club s decision to fire manager Bud Black was no surprise It was like a thunderstorm building over the Rockies Anyone paying attention could see it coming Big-league managers don t survive - starts after back-to-back -loss seasons Black surely saw it coming too though he never revealed so publicly He remained classy upbeat and professional until the end We never saw a change from him veteran third baseman Ryan McMahon commented But the timing of the Rockies decision was awkward And the explanation provided by owner Dick Monfort made Black if not the scapegoat then certainly the general fall guy for a dysfunctional franchise that s on pace to lose more games than any crew in big-league history Let s begin with the ill-timed announcement About minutes after the Rockies beat the Padres - to snap their third eight-game losing streak of the season the club disclosed that it had fired Black and bench coach Mike Redmond Considering that Colorado had lost - to the Padres on Saturday night firing Black on Sunday morning seemed more sensible But it was weird General manager Bill Schmidt had informed The Denver Post on Saturday that the club wasn t ready to fire Black I think our guys are still playing hard and that s what I look at Schmidt declared at the time Guys are working hard every day they come with strength for the the majority part I don t think we are at that point of firing Black Guys still believe in what we are doing and where we are headed We are all frustrated Less than hours later Black was gone Schmidt revealed the excruciating - loss was not the latest point yet he knew Sunday morning that Black was done So why did the Rockies wait until after one of the club s scarce feel-good moments of the season to fire their manager Related Articles Keeler Bud Black Fall guy If Rockies Dick Monfort are serious about change they ll fire GM Bill Schmidt Warren Schaeffer Rockies interim manager brings high vigor to job candidates who could replace Bud Black as next manager of the Rockies Rockies fire manager Bud Black bench coach Mike Redmond amid historically bad start German Marquez Hunter Goodman lead Rockies to - win over Padres Trying to get everything in place this morning was gonna rush it Schmidt explained noting that the Rockies were about to start a six-game road trip in Texas on Monday So I made the decision we d do it post-game win or lose So I know it took a little air out of winning the meeting but I think the right thing you don t put somebody on a plane and do it in Texas you do it here So that s why we made the decision Several Rockies players including McMahon and right-hander German Marquez who had pitched Colorado to a rare win unveiled the timing odd to say the least Yeah I ll be honest that kind of sucked McMahon announced But it is what it is man This is a business at the end of the day They have to make hard decisions like this I guarantee if you ask anybody in the front office they perhaps didn t want to do this but they felt like it was necessary It was left to Schmidt not Monfort to tell the players and staff that Black was fired In his written message Monfort declared Our play so far this season especially coming off the last two seasons has been unacceptable Our fans deserve better and we are capable of better While we all share responsibility in how this season has played out these changes are necessary Monfort is the ultimate decision-maker at th and Blake but he has not met with media members to field questions about his decisions And his biggest in current years was to give Kris Bryant a seven-year million contract before the season Bryant who was transferred to the -day injured list on Sunday because of his chronically angry lower back might not play again this season He has played just games across his four seasons in Colorado with only homers and a minus- total WAR He s making million this season The Rockies could have brought in two solid players for that kind of money and then Black wouldn t have had to field a Quadruple-A gang this season Black never one to throw his players under the media bus inevitably stood up for Bryant But countless in the organization consider Bryant s contract an albatross even if they won t say it on the record Sometimes the manager takes the fall and it sucks because we all love Buddy Bryant recounted The Post s Sean Keeler on Sunday I just appreciate how he s handled all of my problems with grace and understanding That s all you can really ask for from a manager He doesn t swing the bat or throw the ball right And he can only do so much McMahon announced the players have to put a lot of the blame on their shoulders You know we feel like we let Buddy down a little bit he reported I ve already had a couple of conversations with guys you know just feeling down in the dumps feeling like you know we definitely played a part in this happening But talking to Red and Buddy they both stated Don t put that on your shoulders But you can t help it The final word on Black s final day with the Rockies came from Dodgers manager Dave Roberts He and Black are close friends and live a limited blocks away from each other near San Diego Roberts was on Black s staff when Black managed in San Diego and considers him a mentor I don t think Hall of Famer Casey Stengel could change the outcome of that ballclub and that s not the manager s fault Roberts informed reporters Sunday But obviously they felt they needed a change in voice or direction But for me there aren t various people who are better than Buddy Black So yeah that s very disappointing It is certainly not his doing Want more Rockies news Sign up for the Rockies Insider to get all our MLB analysis