Rockies owner predicts team will win franchise-record 94 games in 2020
Colorado Rockies owner Dick Monfort was the picture of optimism Saturday when he said he not only expects his club to rebound after a disappointing 2019 but that it'll have a franchise-best campaign in 2020, according to Kyle Newman of the Denver Post.
"In '08, with basically the exact same team (as '07), we won 74 games and lost 88," Monfort said. "But like a great American hero, Forrest Gump, once said, '(Stuff) happens.' And that's what happened in '08, because in '09 we won 92 and lost 70. Most of the people I talk to that were on those teams say the '09 team was our greatest team."
Colorado's 74-win season in 2008 was sandwiched between a pair of 90-win playoff runs. Monfort had his team crunch the numbers from those campaigns, which resulted in an encouraging prediction for the upcoming season. After all, prior to a fourth-place finish last year, the Rockies had made back-to-back trips to the postseason.
"I interpolated '07, '08, and '09 - I had an analytical staff go through and interpolate those numbers - and so, in 2020, we'll win 94 games and lose 68."
The Rockies have had a tumultuous offseason, particularly in connection to star third baseman Nolan Arenado, who has been the on-again, off-again subject of trade rumors. As a result, Arenado expressed a desire to be moved because he felt "disrespected" by the club.
A big change for Colorado from 2018 to 2019 was the pitching staff's effectiveness. Rockies hurlers posted a 4.33 ERA in 2018, which subsequently ballooned to 5.56 in 2019. Left-hander Kyle Freeland regressed significantly after a breakout campaign, posting a 6.73 ERA across 104 1/3 innings last season.
Likewise, the bullpen struggled throughout the campaign with a 5.18 ERA. Only the Washington Nationals (5.68) and Baltimore Orioles (5.79) posted worse reliever numbers.
Monfort's optimism in his roster at least partially explains the Rockies' lack of moves this winter. Colorado's only significant transactions have come in the form of short-term extensions to All-Star shortstop Trevor Story and southpaw reliever Scott Oberg.