DENVER — In a monumental day for the Colorado Rockies, the franchise introduced Paul DePodesta as its new president of baseball operations Thursday.
It’s what Rockies fans wanted to see: Somebody from outside of the organization with no ties to the Monfort family and no ties to the Rockies whatsoever who can come in with a fresh set of eyes and change the losing culture that's been here for years.
DePodesta, whose analytics savvy and ability to play salary cap tetris with the Oakland Athletics was chronicled in the 2011 movie Moneyball, appears poised to fully take the reins on the baseball side.
I specifically asked owner Dick Monfort on Thursday what his role would be moving forward in baseball operations. Rockies fans for years have been calling for him to step away from the baseball arm or even sell the team.
- Hear Lionel's gut reaction to the introductory press conference in the video player below:
“I think they're sort of pushing me out. Doesn't it feel that way?” Monfort quipped. “Much has been said about what I do and don't do. [...] But I'm here to support people.”
“I'm not as bad as anyone thinks I am. I do care. I think that's where it sort of gets foggy.”
He said he's specifically there to support his son, Walker, who's the executive vice president, and DePodesta. Now all we can hope is that DePodesta has the autonomy and the power to make baseball decisions – something he said was part of his conversations with the Monforts over the last several weeks.
“I got that sense that, [the owners believe] ‘We've done things a certain way for a while, they haven't worked the way we wanted to. We're ready for a change, and we're ready to bring someone in here to effect that change’” DePodesta said Thursday.
He spoke of the task before him with a team that plays in a top-tier venue and has a regional fanbase but an on-field product that suggests an apathetic front office in recent years.
“Thirty different Major League Baseball teams all have their own challenges, and they're all interesting challenges,” DePodesta said. “But let's be honest, there's no challenge as compelling as this one.”
Things, of course, will be intertwined. Walker Monfort will handle the business side, and he and Dick Monfort will write the checks for what DePodesta wants to do. There is no complete separation of baseball operations and business – but it is a fresh start.
You have to love what DePodesta said Thursday about his winning pedigree and changing the culture in Denver. The vibe we got at Coors Field was what fans have been hoping for: A new era on the baseball side of the Rockies organization.
Denver7 digital journalist Landon Haaf contributed to this story.
