Colorado Rockies should go extreme with their pitching experiement

The Rockies should go all out with their unconventional thought.

Sorry Rockies fans, it looks like you are stuck with it.

Despite the public outcry, despite the national experts mockery, despite conventional wisdom suggesting it is a bad idea, and despite mixed results at best, the Colorado Rockies announced this week that they would stick with their paired-pitching experiment into the 2013 season.

The quasi pitching system has been anything but a success. The limited amount of better pitching that the Rockies have seen could easily be correlated to Bob Apodaca being moved to a different spot within the organization rather than their crazy pitching experiment.

However, Dan O'Dowd, seemingly shooting for the next Hollywood movie made for him, has deemed it a success, telling Troy Renck of the Denver Post that the club will head into 2013 using the system. However, there will be a twist. Instead of four starters with three "piggy-back" relievers, there will now be an equal number of "piggy-backers," meaning the Rockies can pair a righty with a lefty, guaranteeing awkward match ups for the opposition.

Colorado Rockies rally falls short, but excitement in full swing

Drew Pomeranz has shown flashes of brilliance.

It was ugly. It was a reminder of everything that is wrong with the Colorado Rockies. Then suddenly it looked like the Rockies would overcome everything that was so ugly.

Dreams of a sweep ended quickly when the Dodgers put up six runs in the 3rd inning. However, the Rockies mounted an impressive comeback, plating seven runs in the 8th inning only to fall short, losing 10-8 on a hot afternoon at Coors Field.

The early part of the game was exactly what has hurt the Rockies in 2012. Starting pitcher Drew Pomeranz was great in the first two innings, requiring just 24 pitches to get through the first two frames. As good as the first two innings were, the third was equally as bad. Six Dodger runs came across in the inning and the Rockies were dead in the water.

Rosario leads the charge for surging Colorado Rockies against Dodgers

The Rockies young players are fun to watch.

The Colorado Rockies continue their charge. On Tuesday night they soundly defeated the team that has made the most headlines over the past week for the second night in a row, the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Rockies won 8-4, soundly defeating Chris Capuano, a pitcher who dominated them less than three months ago. The crazy part of the Rockies sudden resurgence is the fact that they are doing it with players who most fans didn't know would factor in to the 2012 season.

The lineup didn't include anyone with the last name Tulowitzki, Gonzalez, Helton, or Cuddyer. In fact, the lineup only had three people who were on the Opening Day roster. The reality for the Rockies has been the fact that these young players have been more exciting than the veterans who aren't in the lineup.

Youth continues to drive Colorado Rockies to resurgence

Wilin Rosario has been impressive at the plate for the Rockies.

Most baseball fans don't know the names of the majority of the guys in the starting lineup for the Colorado Rockies on Monday night.

The Rockies were supposed to be the other team in the continuing Los Angeles Dodgers celebration tour following their acquisition of Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett and the injured Carl Crawford. The young Rockies, coming into their own, spoiled the party, putting up an 8-run 8th inning in route to a 10-0 victory.

The calendar flipped from July to August and suddenly the Rockies are playing good baseball. They aren't getting lucky. They are playing fundamental baseball, moving runners over, hitting the ball to the right side, taking good at-bats, and, most importantly, throwing strikes.

The Rockies young players have added a new dynamic to this team. For whatever reason, Colorado is now playing with confidence, hitting to all fields, and playing the game the right way.

Dodgers trade shows that the Colorado Rockies need to be more precise

The Dodgers move made things clear to their opponents.

The new Los Angeles Dodgers ownership group didn't waste much time in showing the rest of the National League West that there is a new kid on the block.

The Dodgers completed a huge trade on Saturday, acquiring Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett and Carl Crawford from the Red Sox in one of the biggest blockbuster deals in recent memory.

The trade means very little to the Colorado Rockies in 2012. The team is going nowhere. Despite a 5-2 road trip on the heels of a 5-2 home stand, the Rockies are mired in a year that is going to take a very good September to avoid the worst season in their club's history.

Andrew Brown smashes first career home run in Colorado Rockies win

Andrew Brown won't get back his first HR ball.

Someone forgot to tell these young Colorado Rockies players that they aren't a good team. They also forgot to tell them that they aren't supposed to win on the road. The Rockies walked away with a 4-3 victory on Saturday at Wrigley Field.

Since the youth movement has begun in earnest, the Rockies have been playing inspired baseball. Suddenly, they are no longer playing like they can't wait for the season to end, but instead playing as if they love playing baseball and want to win as many baseball games as they can. Suddenly, the fact that the Rockies are dead last in the National League West doesn't effect the amount of effort put forth on the field.

On Saturday Andrew Brown launched his first Major League home run onto Waveland Avenue. His home run tied the game at three. Earlier, Josh Rutledge smacked a two-run homer that put the Rockies on the board.

Bullpen crumbles as Colorado Rockies winning streak ends in Chicago

Despite Friday's struggles, Belisle has been huge for the Rockies.

Don't dust off the parade confetti just yet.

The Colorado Rockies couldn't hold a 3-0 early lead over the Chicago Cubs. They were plagued by poor work from the bullpen, and the sloppy defensive play that Rockies fans have become accustomed to in the 2012 season.

Starting pitcher Drew Pomeranz continues to show flashes of why he was so highly thought of when the Rockies sent Ubaldo Jimenez to the Cleveland Indians in exchange for the lefty as the centerpiece of the deal. He went five strong innings, giving up just two hits. However, both of those hits were solo home runs, helping the Cubs chip away at the 3-0 deficit before his departure. In 72 pitches, Pomeranz threw 43 strikes, a step in the right direction.

Pomeranz left the game with a 3-2 lead, and a chance to win his second game of the season. However, an area of strength for the Rockies all season long finally failed them.

Colorado Rockies go back to 5-man rotation, but stick with 75-pitch limit

The Rockies continue to play well, but the 75 pitch limit remains.

These Colorado Rockies are looking more like a good team than a team that was on a collision course with 100 loses less than two weeks ago.

On Thursday afternoon in New York, the Rockies completed a four-game sweep of the Mets, their second in as many years. They won in a different fashion to complete the sweep, winning 1-0 in a rare pitchers dual.

The Rockies win spoiled a phenomenal Major League debut from Mets starter Collin McHugh. The rookie baffled Rockies batters for seven innings. He gave up just two hits, walking one and striking out nine. It would have been a more memorable debut, however, if the Rockies pitching hadn't have been just as tough.

Starter Tyler Chatwood, despite not giving up a run, was lifted after three innings. Adam Ottavino, Rex Brothers, Will Harris, and Matt Belisle combined for six shutout innings in relief, giving up one hit apiece.

Despite the success of McHugh, the Rockies pitching staff kept the team in the game long enough to scratch a run across. That run came in the 8th inning, when Tyler Colvin drilled a triple to center field, barely getting over the glove of Jordany Valdespin. Immediately following, Chris Nelson trickled a grounder passed a drawn in infield for the games only run.

Colorado Rockies continue to roll in New York

Rosario has been a bright spot.

The Colorado Rockies, the team that went into August as just a few games better than the lowly Houston Astros has suddenly found their stride. The Rockies took their third straight game from the New York Mets 5-2 on Wednesday night.

Colorado, with the win, has won six of their last nine games on the road, a place where even the best Rockies teams have struggled. The Rockies have a rare opportunity to sweep the Mets in a four game series for the second time in as many years.

Matt Harvey thoroughly dominated the Rockies for the Mets. He struck out nine in his six innings of work, giving up only one run. With Harvey dominating, the Rockies were given a break when he replaced by Ramon Ramirez in the 7th inning.

Ramirez is a very good late inning reliever, but the Rockies seemed to have his number. Wilin Rosario, who would have far more attention had Bryce Harper not made his big league debut, and the Rockies not been so far out of the race, launched a moon shot down the left field line. The ball sailed so high and so close to the line that the questions were both whether it could be foul, and whether it would make it to the seats. It did both.

Jhoulys Chacin returns to Colorado Rockies and looks great

Jhoulys Chacin had a glorious return to the Rockies.

Suffering Colorado Rockies fans were reminded on Tuesday night why they had so much hope heading into the 2012 season.

Jhoulys Chacin returned from a nearly four month absence due to injury and looked like the Chacin that the Rockies thought was going to be their future ace before he became the first of many head-scratchers that the Rockies have encountered in this failed season. Tuesday saw Chacin help the Rockies to a 6-2 victory.

Chacin pitched brilliantly. He gave the Rockies six innings, giving up just one run on four hits. He didn't walk anyone and struck out two. The return to the mound had Rockies fans wondering what might have been had the Venezuelan been healthy all season long.

Tyler Colvin continues to be a great pickup for the Colorado Rockies

Tyler Colvin has been a great addition to the Rockies.

As much heat as Dan O'Dowd takes, there is one thing that is certain. His trade of Ian Stewart and Casey Weathers to the Chicago Cubs for Tyler Colvin and DJ LeMahieu was a huge win for the Colorado Rockies.

On Monday night, the Rockies got another huge game from Colvin. The 26-year-old recorded two of the Rockies six hits on the night. He also was the first to conquer one of the National League's best starting pitchers in RA Dickey. The knuckleballer owned the Rockies lineup until Colvin came to the plate in the 5th inning and launched a knuckleball deep into the upper deck at Citi Field. The bomb tied the game at one and gave the Rockies hope.

Colvin recorded his second hit in the 9th inning, pushing Dexter Fowler to third base and setting up a Ramon Hernandez RBI immediately afterwards as the Rockies added an insurance run.

Jordan Pacheco continues to defy the odds, proves he's an everyday player

Jordan Pacheco has proven he should play everyday.

The Colorado Rockies have known who their third baseman of the future is since the MVP award for the Arizona Fall League was handed to Nolan Arenado last fall. The talk won't quiet down about when it will be the right time to get him to the big leagues.

However, that call to the bigs has been delayed. The delay is courtesy of often-forgotten third baseman Jordan Pacheco.

The New Mexico native was supposed to be a stop-gap. He was drafted as a second baseman, moved to catcher, then moved to third base after finally getting comfortable behind the plate. He was supposed to be a utility infielder, a guy who could come in and play first or third base, or even catch if need be.

Colorado Rockies try, but fail, to overcome Marlins early lead

Rosario is part of a group of Rockies that are fun to watch.

It was the "other" game in Denver on Saturday night.

It is sad when the Colorado Rockies, two years removed from a chance to steal the show in Colorado, are an afterthought compared to a Broncos preseason game, one in which the starters were done by half time.

This is the time of year when fans should be paying attention to the Broncos in the background, knowing that the games a few miles away at Sports Authority Field don't mean as much as the one being played at Coors Field.

However, that simply isn't the case for the Rockies. Their games have been an exercise in futility since the beginning of June.

Colorado Rockies winning streak ends against Marlins

Josh Roenicke has shouldered a huge load for the Rockies.

As Giancarlo Stanton's home run rocketed into the center field bleachers, the Colorado Rockies lead was gone. Three batter's later the Marlins took the lead for good on John Buck's RBI double.

The Rockies still had a chance to take the lead back in the 8th inning, but ultimately the rally fell short and the  Rockies lost 6-5, ending their five game winning streak.

The Rockies lost. They didn't complete the comeback. However, they continue to look like a different team than they were in May, June and July. Suddenly, even in a loss, the Rockies are fun to watch.

For three months the team looked lost. As soon as the starting pitcher gave up the early lead, the game was as good as over. There was no heart in this team. Suddenly, with the emergence of Eric Young, Jr. and Josh Rutledge, Colorado has turned into a team with passion and heart.

Who are these Colorado Rockies and why are they so exciting?

DJ LeMahieu has been a big part of the Rockies great week.

Four in a row. That's right, the Colorado Rockies have won four games in a row.

The Rockies are surprisingly playing good baseball. They are actually exciting to watch. On Thursday night the Rockies continued their great homestand, defeating the Miami Marlins 5-3 at 20th & Blake. They didn't quit, despite being down 3-1, and watching Ricky Nolasco dominate them for the better part of the first five innings.

Colorado got a nice overall performance from their pitchers. Alex White went four innings, giving up three runs before exiting after 74 pitches. Adam Ottavino came in and delivered three innings, giving up only a no-doubt solo home run to Giancarlo Stanton. After that, Matt Belisle did what Rockies fans have become accustomed to, getting out of a jam. This time, however, it was his own jam, not someone else's. Rafael Betancourt closed the door in the 9th inning, recording his 22nd save of the season.

Colorado Rockies win game, sweep series on Tyler Colvin walkoff

EY Jr continues his impressive play.

This Colorado Rockies team is the only team in baseball that gets a 4-0 lead and it feels like they are going to need three or four more runs to win the game. The Rockies walked off to sweep their second series of the season, winning 7-6 on a 2-run Tyler Colvin double.

As has been the case so many times in the 2012 season, the Rockies got off to an early start. Despite their struggles, the Rockies lead all of Major League Baseball in 1st inning runs. However, they also lead the league in most blown leads of three runs or more.

On Wednesday afternoon at Coors Field, the same familiar script looked like it was playing out. The Rockies got left the 2nd inning with a 4-0 lead, but before the game was halfway over, the Brewers owned a 5-4 lead. Starting pitcher Guillermo Moscoso, re-called from Triple-A Colorado Springs before the game, cruised through the first four innings, looking better than he looked in any of his previous appearances in a Rockies uniform.

Colorado Rockies continue to get quiet contributions from Matt Belisle

Matt Belisle has been extremely good for the Rockies.

The Colorado Rockies won their first series at home since the first weekend in June, barely holding on to an 8-6 victory on Tuesday night.

The fact that the Rockies haven't won a series at home since June is enough of a statement itself of the 2012 season. The victory on Tuesday night ended up being a nail-biter after nearly blowing an 8-2 lead in the final three innings.

All of the highlights will show Rafael Betancourt facing Ryan Braun with two men on in the 9th inning. However, the game was won in the 8th inning with Matt Belisle on the mound.

The dependable righty came into the game with two men on and one out. The first thing Belisle did was work Ricky Weeks into hitting a ground ball that rookie Josh Rutledge made a good play on to get before it rolled into left field. However, he turned and threw to second base, pulling DJ LeMahieu off the bag, loading the bases for the Brewers two best hitters, Braun and Aramis Ramirez.

Colorado Rockies youth continues to shine in return to Coors Field

The Rockies have found success from some unlikely sources.

When the Colorado Rockies broke camp in early April, no one anticipated an August lineup that included Eric Young, Jr., DJ LaMahieu, Jonathan Herrera, and Chris Nelson in the same night.

However, that lineup helped the Rockies score eight runs in the first three innings, propelling the team to a 9-6 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday night at Coors Field.

The reality is, the players that were in the lineup on Monday night are the reason that the past week has been better than the majority of weeks that the 2012 Colorado Rockies have experienced.

The lineup has never been the problem, the pitching, obviously, has been the overwhelming issue. However, many of the players who were either in bench roles, like EY, or were in the minors, like LaMahieu, have suddenly made a large impact on the energy that the Rockies are playing with.

Eric Young Jr. has become a force for the Colorado Rockies

Eric Young, Jr. has refused to be ignored in 2012.

Despite a heart-wrenching loss for the Colorado Rockies on Sunday in San Francisco, a game in which the Rockies dropped 9-6 after clawing back from a 3-0 deficit, the club is starting to see a silver lining to a dreary season.

That silver lining is coming in the form of some of the emerging young players, headed up by Eric Young, Jr. The speedster has been written off from the beginning of his career. Despite an abundance of tools, the criticism for Young always seemed to outweigh the praise.

He's bounced back-and-forth between Colorado Springs and the big leagues since 2009. His critics say that he doesn't have a defensive position. They say he doesn't have the quick feet needed to play second base, and doesn't have the arm strength to play in the outfield.

Standard loss for Colorado Rockies on Saturday against Giants

The Rockies lost a predictable game on Saturday.

Frankly, watching the Colorado Rockies play on Saturday afternoon was a waste of a weekend day.

The matchup may have looked intriguing before the game started, and with the Rockies coming off of an impressive 3-0 victory on Friday night, seeing if this team could build on something good was reason enough to pay a little attention.

Matt Cain, honored the night before for hurling a perfect game earlier in the season, was facing Rockies rookie Drew Pomeranz. It was a chance for Pomeranz to step up his game and oppose one of the leagues better pitchers and give his team a chance.

However, without his best stuff, Pomeranz struggled and gave up four runs in four innings. When a guy like Cain is spotted a four run lead, the reality is, the ballgame is generally over.

Colorado Rockies rookies are giving some signs of hope

Tyler Chatwood was phenomenal on Friday night.

The Colorado Rockies 2012 campaign has been nothing short of a train wreck.

Despite shipping out five players who were blamed for contributing to a poor clubhouse culture, the Rockies didn't get better, they got worse. The current bunch of Rockies have made Dan O'Dowd look foolish for blaming those players for a problem that clearly goes well beyond the clubhouse.

However, as the Rockies start to look to the future, there only option in a lost season, there are some signs that they could quickly return to respectability. On Friday night, the club got a huge boost from a guy who they are leaning on heavily for the future success of this team.

Colorado Rockies can't sweep Dodgers in LA

No sweep for the Rockies in L.A.

The Colorado Rockies had a chance to sweep the Dodgers on Wednesday night in Los Angeles. That didn't happen as the Rockies blew an early 2-0 lead and eventually fell 6-4.

A sweep, however, was unnecessary for this team in this series. Given where this team is at, given the fact that they just finished a nine game homestand 1-8, winning just one game in the series would have been seen as a positive.

The Rockies are traditionally terrible at Dodger Stadium. Regardless of how good the Colorado club happens to be, they never seem to do well in L.A. So a team that has been as bad as this 2012 Rockies team is should be lucky to walk out of a three game series with even a single victory.

Colorado Rockies win a series for first time since beginning of June

Josh Rutledge looks like the real deal.

The Los Angeles Dodgers must be the most embarrassed bunch of baseball players around.

The Colorado Rockies nearly shutout the Dodger offense two nights in a row. The Rockies 3-1 win gave them their first series since, ironically, they beat the Dodgers at Coors Field on the first weekend of June.

The consecutive shutouts against Rockies pitching is roughly the equivalent of the Tunisian National basketball team beating Team USA by 40 points.

The Rockies pitching staff has been brutal. They are easily on pace to be the worst pitching staff in Rockies history, a history that is marred with pre-humidor, steroid era Coors Field pitchers who were thrilled if their ERA was below 5.00.

Josh Rutledge continues to have one of the best rookie debuts seen in recent years. The shortstop, who will eventually be the Rockies second baseman, hit three doubles and drove in all three runs for the Rockies. The Alabama native went 4-for-5 on the night, raising his batting average to a remarkable .356. For Rutledge, the honeymoon continues. Usually when a rookie makes a great debut, it lasts for about two weeks. In his case, it has lasted much longer. He is 22 games into his big league career and continues to look like the real deal.

Colorado Rockies have a solid young nucleus

Jordan Pacheco has proven that he is a hitter.

There is plenty to be negative about in this 2012 Colorado Rockies season. However, there may be a silver lining in the whole mess.

That silver lining is that many of the young rookies and younger players have made a big enough impact to be counted on in 2013.  So much so that the Rockies lineup may remind some fans of the good old days when the Blake Street Bombers needed to score eight or nine runs a game to win.

The Rockies are on pace to lose over 100 games. They probably will end up losing closer to 110. Any team in that boat is in trouble. Things have to change in order for a team with that kind of record to expect a turnaround. The culture of the team, starting in the front office, has to change. However, this Rockies team is much more talented than a team that would normally lose 100 or more games.

Colorado Rockies should take a lesson from the Denver Broncos

The Rockies need an owner who is committed.

Colorado Rockies fans have proven themselves to be loyal. No one denies that at this point.

On Sunday, as the Rockies completed a 1-8 homestand and continued their downward spiral, 28,804 fans paid to watch yet another lackluster performance. They bought tickets, they paid for parking, they bought food and drinks from the concession stand.

The fact that fans continue to pour through the gates has started to make fans turn against each other. Many fans believe that the only one way that they can voice their concern and force change in the front office is to quit buying tickets and make it hurt the Monforts where it hurts the most, their wallets.

It is easy to focus on the number of people who are walking through the gates at Coors Field. However, that line of thinking is misguided. The focus should be on how much money the Monforts are leaving on the table by not putting a consistent winner on the field.

Colorado Rockies pitching in a world of hurt

Jeff Francis is coming  back to earth.

Everyone following the Colorado Rockies knows the answer to the question.

The question, what is wrong with this team, can be answered with one simple word. Pitching.

The men on the mound have been absolutely brutal. That is putting it lightly. There is no way to be positive, there is no way to spin this team's pitching into a positive light. They are bad. Very bad.

As bad as they have been, however, fans might need to hunker down and get prepared for the rest of the season, because the team's biggest issue, the issue that has spiked the stock of Pepto-Bismol among Rockies fans, is about to get worse.

The pitching has been bad, but sprinkled into the bad outings has been a few good outings that have been decent enough to save the bullpen, and decent enough to get the team through some tough times. Those outings were coming from guys who are now either hurt or who were pitching above what their talent suggested they were good enough to be pitching at.

Colorado Rockies about to feel the heat of their pitching theory

Don't expect 

Fans of the Colorado Rockies were angry and upset when the team announced a crazy new theory.

The club announced that they would be going with a four-man rotation where the starting pitcher was done after 75-pitches, and another "starting" pitcher would come in afterwards and throw up to 50 pitches. The theory made nearly everyone shake their heads and made the Rockies the butt of many jokes from around the league.

The complaint was that the decision made no sense. The decision was made in an effort to get the starters to throw strikes and become more efficient. However, the critics questioned what it would do to the bullpen. Even with the lack of success from the starters before the implementation, the fact is, every now and then, the bullpen got a few days off here and there, or at least a couple of games now and then that would make the burden a little lighter.

Dick Monfort sends email to Colorado Rockies season ticket holders

On Friday afternoon, Dick Monfort sent a email to season ticket holders. The contents are below.

A Message from Rockies CEO Dick Monfort

Dear Season Ticket Holder,  I have let too much time pass since my last email and for that I apologize as I do feel consistent communication with all of you is very important. Our team record remains far below what we desire. I offer you no excuses and I also refuse to blame any one person. The team performance is our problem and we are going to fix it. As we announced on August 1st, Bill Geivett our longtime Assistant General Manager, former player and with over 30 years of experience in the game, will focus 100% of his time on the Major League team. Bill truly understands the game and is an excellent communicator. His full attention will be on pitching, which includes pitch selection, optimum length and a more aggressive offensive approach; all things necessary to win every series which is our goal. On the field, we are very excited about Josh Rutledge’s performance. He arrived in July, a little earlier than we planned. In a perfect world he would have stayed in Tulsa to be called up in September. But he has played his way into an important role on our club, currently at shortstop and eventually at second base. His excellent play did make the trade of Marco Scutaro somewhat easier to digest. Marco did a great job for us and it was sad to see him go. He was truly a good teammate. As the media portrayed accurately, the trade of Jeremy Guthrie for Jonathan Sanchez was hoping a change of scenery would bring improved performance. We will continue to watch, but so far that has not been the case for either man. The clubhouse chemistry remains incredibly strong and that speaks well for us as we move forward. Our players remain committed to playing the game the right way and despite our team’s poor record, you can be assured there is no giving up! I continue to thank you for your support. Regards, Dick Monfort

Follow me on Twitter @RockiesReview. Like me on Facebook, search "Rockies Review"

Dick Monfort won't let Dan O'Dowd quit as general manager of the Colorado Rockies

Dick Monfort refused to let Dan O'Dowd fire himself. 

If Wednesday's announcement from the Colorado Rockies wasn't depressing enough for most fans, Dave Krieger of 850 KOA interviewed Dan O'Dowd and showed just how bad things at 20th & Blake really are.

The article was posted on the newsstation's website on Thursday. The article is full of comments that show just how out of touch O'Dowd is with reality.

O'Dowd told Krieger that he tried to go into Dick Monfort's office and get fired. He told him that it would be a good opportunity to "throw me under the bus, in some ways, it will be good for me."

However, Monfort wouldn't give in and fire his general manager. When Monfort didn't fire O'Dowd, the general manager quickly decided that sticking around was apparently the best idea for him. He said that anyone else who came in simply wouldn't know how to deal with Coors Field, and that fielding a team in that park requires thinking outside of the box.

Colorado Rockies mix things up in the front office, but nothing really changes

Dan O'Dowd remains in charge of nearly everything.

The Colorado Rockies made some changes in the front office on Wednesday. Well, sort of.

Wednesday started very early for Rockies fans. With whispers at Coors Field, then a report on 850 KOA that Dan O'Dowd had been fired as general manager of the franchise. Twitter went wild with speculation, with everyone looking for a confirmation just after midnight.

Early in the morning, sources were reporting that rumors weren't true and that O'Dowd was still in charge--for the time being. That answer screamed of impending changes, and before noon, fans had their answer. Sort of.

O'Dowd was still the general manager, but assistant GM Bill Geivett would be taking over Major League operations duties, which would not include player personnel decisions, trades, or anything that sounds like anything related to Major League operations. In fact, Geivett still reports directly to O'Dowd.

So what changed? It seems like nothing. Internally there may be some changes, however. The move does take some responsibility off of O'Dowd's shoulders. The responsibility that might be most effected by the move is that Geivett will now directly oversee Jim Tracy.

False Alarm: O'Dowd still in charge of Colorado Rockies for now

The rumors were squelched for the time being this morning by the Colorado Rockies. Dan O'Dowd is still the man in charge of the ball club. For now.

"For now" are the two words that everyone should be paying attention to.

Late Tuesday night, Rich "G-Man" Goins, former 103.5 the Fox morning show host and friend of the Rockies, called in to Andy Lindahl's show after the game on  850 KOA and reported that O'Dowd had been relieved of his duties as general manager and been re-assigned within the organization.

Reports say Dan O'Dowd Fired as General Manager of Colorado Rockies

Reports say that Dan O'Dowd is out as Rockies GM.

Andy Lindahl of 850 KOA is reporting that the Colorado Rockies have relieved Dan O'Dowd of his duties as general manager.

Lindahl reported on his show that Rich "G-Man" Goins, famous for spending 33 days on a billboard in Denver in 1990 during a Broncos losing streak, has said that the Rockies have relieved O'Dowd of his duties and reassigned him within the organization.

If the report is true, the Rockies would be embarking down a new path for the first time in 13 long seasons. In a sports world that is notoriously impatient, the Rockies have been the benchmark of patience throughout the O'Dowd era.