W hen Colorado Rockies’ starting pitcher Kyle FreelandKyle Freeland choked back emotion at the podium this week, he wasn’t just responding to a question — he was responding to the weight of carrying a franchise that keeps letting him down.
“Keep believing in us,” he told fans, voice cracking after the team’s latest blowout loss — this one a nine-run implosion against the Detroit Tigers. It was heartfelt. Painful. Honest.
And completely misplaced.
If anyone should be showing emotion right now, it’s the men in suits upstairs at 20th and Blake. Because while Freeland wears the losing record and bloated ERA, the real shame belongs to the Rockies front office — and owner Dick Monfort.
Even The Denver Post didn’t mince words. In a recent column grading the Rockies’ performance, Sean Keeler wrote that “this season, CEO Dick Monfort’s masterpiece can’t be easier to watch from the dugout than it is from the stands,” highlighting how far the franchise has fallen.
The Numbers Don’t Lie — But They Don’t Tell the Whole Story
Yes, Freeland’s surface stats are rough. An 0-5 record and 6.41 ERA would suggest a pitcher who’s lost his edge. But dig deeper — and you’ll find he’s one of the unluckiest arms in baseball.
His Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) — a stat designed to isolate a pitcher’s performance from the chaos around him — sits at 3.18. That’s top-15 in the National League.
Let that sink in: Freeland is doing his job. The Rockies just aren’t doing theirs.
When your hometown ace is breaking down on camera and still outperforming what’s around him, the issue isn’t heart. It’s management.
Whether it’s brutal defense, lack of run support, or a bullpen that leaks like a sieve, this team finds new ways to waste competent outings — and crush the few players still giving everything they’ve got.
Ownership Built This Collapse
Let’s not sugarcoat it: this mess starts at the top.
Colorado is barreling toward a third straight 100-loss season, and the last time they made the playoffs, TikTok didn’t exist. The roster is paper-thin, the farm system ranks eighteenth in MLB, and the team spent the offseason shopping in baseball’s bargain bin — again.
This isn’t bad luck. This is a franchise that refuses to rebuild and refuses to spend. It’s the worst of both worlds: no long-term plan, no short-term ambition, and no accountability.
And now, the burden falls on players like Freeland — a Denver native and the last thread connecting the Rockies to their brief #Rocktober glory.
Stop Blaming the Players. Start Blaming the People in Charge.
It’s easy to point at ERA. It’s harder to admit when an entire organization has failed to support the talent it already has.
Freeland isn’t the problem. He’s a symptom — of a team without direction, leadership, or vision. And if he’s breaking down in front of microphones, what message does that send to the rest of the clubhouse?
If Monfort and the Rockies front office won’t cry over what they’ve done to this franchise, they should at least be willing to face it.
Because the Rockies aren’t just losing games — they’re losing the players who still care.
Rockies Don’t Deserve Starting Pitcher’s Tears