May 12, 2025 • 10 mins
BUD BLACK IS OUT AS ROCKIES MANAGER and Voice of the Rockies Jack Corrigan joined me to break down what it means and what the future looks like.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's been tough, extremely tough, but probably tougher for one
of the well half rather of the correct duo we
have here for kowa's broadcast team, Jack Corrigan joining me today. Jack,
is this the first time a manager has ever been
let go right after a win in your in your experience?
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Wow, Off the top of my head, I couldn't tell
you that, Mandy, that's a great question. I mean, for
all the years I've done baseball and managerial changes, I
haven't had too many that have taken place within the season.
And you know, when Jim Tracy replaced Clint Hurdle in
(00:44):
two thousand and nine, I believe that was after a loss.
And the only other time was that in my experiences,
when John mcnamer was let go in Cleveland and they
hired Mike Cargrove. And I'd have to look it up,
but I would I would say, we'd be safe to
(01:04):
assume it's a rarity.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
Yeah, But this there, there was There was no way
this wasn't gonna happen. It's just the way things are going, Jack,
And you know, I watch these games and it has
been it's been very frustrating because it feels like this
team they go out on the field feeling defeated. That's
that's how it looks, and you know you want better
(01:26):
for the players, but is this going to be enough
to significantly move the needle this year?
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Well, I disagree with you a little bit that they
go out there feeling defeated. I think what has happened
with the injuries that sort of happened rapid fire. You know,
right at the end of spring training, Tyro Estrada, who
is going to take over at second base, gets hit
(01:53):
by a pitch and breaks his wrist. Second game of
the season, Ezekiel Tovar hurts his hipp tries to play
through it and can't, and he's missed more than half
the games, although hopefully he'll be back sometime this week.
Brenton Doyle gets hurt and then has to go on
(02:14):
bereavement to leave after getting hurt, and all of a sudden,
the middle of your offense and defense has been has
been put on the shelf. And that didn't help. But yeah,
you know, we knew, Jerry, myself, the people who follow
(02:38):
the team, the team itself knew that it was going
to be a challenge, especially in the first half of
this team as they transition in young people and try
and find out who can play and who can't. I
told people it'll be a much different looking roster come
August than what's going to break camp from Arizona, and
(03:01):
that they'd be a better team as the year went on.
I don't think anybody foresaw the injuries and the struggles
for the pitching staff, most especially the starting pitching staff
and managers, head coaches. I mean, they get they're the
(03:21):
fall guys, and a very good manager happened to be
the fall guy here. And Buddy, why why has it been.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
In your estimation? Why has it been so brutally hard
over the last few years, Because even if we have injuries,
every team has to deal with injuries every team. That's
where you, you know, you've got to have that minor
league system that is just producing guys that are able
to slide in for those games that they need to cover. Right,
maybe not whole season yet, but slide them in for
(03:52):
those times. And it's just this has been just really
rough the last few years.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
Well, I think, and you're I'm not going to disagree
with you in terms of that, Mandy, And when you
look as dispassionately as you can in my chair or
in you know your situation. You know, the strong baseball
(04:19):
fans from the time when in seventeen and eighteen when
they made the postseason, they went through a stretch between
that time, you know, the late teams into maybe twenty
one where they didn't get much out of the draft.
(04:42):
They had a lot of misses, and that's and that's
a problem. And so yes, you talk about finding help
in the minor league system, and for whatever the reasons were,
they weren't as good as people thought. They got hurt
and couldn't perform all those things. There's no doubt when
(05:05):
you're a draft and develop team like the Rockies, because
you're not going to get free agent pictures to come
to Denver with the challenges of bouncing between altitude and
sea level and all those things. So if you're relying
on your international signings and your draft to try and
(05:27):
sustain things, and you have a stretch where you've missed,
that's why you're seeing what you're seeing right now. And
I would hope as the year goes on, not only
are the Rockies going to evaluate Warren Shafer the product
they have on the field, they need to look hard
(05:50):
at how they're running the minor league system, how are
they drafting right? Are they spending you know, fans a
lot of times say, well, he doesn't. The ownership doesn't
want to pay for the big free agents, you know,
Tampa Bay doesn't, Cleveland doesn't, Milwaukee doesn't for the most part.
(06:14):
But what they have spent money on is in their
scouting and in their development, you know, through the ranks
of the miners. And I think that's something the Rockies
are going to have to look very hard at because
they've had too many misses over say, the last ten years,
and the result is what we've seen the last two
(06:36):
years and really much so this year.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
I couldn't agree with you more. I want to leave
this on a high note, though, Jack, because you know,
and I said this at the beginning of the show,
Bud Black had to go right. It's just the nature
of the beast, as you said, and it's just part
of the job. But by all accounts, he's just a really,
really good guy, and I think that makes it harder
when you've got to hire fire a good guy. So
(07:01):
give me your favorite Bud Black memory that you are
gonna you know, have their when you run into them
again to laugh about later.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
You know, Buddy and I have known each other since
nineteen eighty eight when he got traded to Cleveland, and
you know, on and off, and especially since he came
here as the manager. I mean that friendship has lasted,
you know, thirty five plus years. It wouldn't be just
(07:32):
one thing per se other than what I'm gonna miss
when I would go in to his office to do
the Bud Black Show for pregame that interviews, you know,
five minutes and change. Most nights with Buddy and I
was usually fifteen twenty minutes because we'd talk about what's
(07:55):
happened in baseball. We'd a couple of old guys telling stories.
You know, hey remember when Charlie Man, you know, those
kinds of things. That's what I'm going to miss. I
mean those days of knowing, Okay, this is my day
to interview Buddy. Because Jerry and I would go back
and forth, you know, take turns. Somebody didn't have to
(08:16):
have the same guy asking question one hundred and sixty
two times. When I when it was my day, it
was like, oh yeah, I get I get to sit
and Buddies office today, and what do we talk about,
you know, we might talk about a good restaurant or
a movie or a book or anything in addition to baseball.
(08:36):
That's what I'm going to miss, and I look forward
to when we cross as again to renew that relationship.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
Well, you know, Jack, I'm hoping against hope that this
provides some kind of jolt, some kind of you know,
shock to the system that is going to help these
guys write this ship. I'm not convinced it will. If
it's between me and you. I I you know, I
think you and I just talked about some bigger pro
problems that have to be addressed, and so I'm interested
to see what else they do. And I am very
(09:05):
interested to see how the guys respond. And I hope
it's uh. I hope it is a kick in the
pants that is needed to sort of move things in
the right direction.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
You know. And one thing I want to say, Mandy
and he and I were talking this morning Warren Shafer.
You know, people to go, oh, that's just the same.
They just promoted from olymp Van and sometimes you have
to do that in a mid season change. Warren Shafer
is a high energy, high baseball IQ guy who was
(09:39):
going to get his chance to be a manager. And
I hope and in this period of time that that
the ball club does respond to him a little bit.
And at the end of the year it's like, Hey,
we're going to stay with shape because you know he's
he's making a difference. And like the Nuggets with David
Adelman after Michael Malone got fired, never know that new
(10:01):
voice with the same folks produces a better result. And
let's hope that's the case.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
Amen, your lips to God's ears. All right, Jack, we'll
see at the ballpark soon. Sounds good, Have a good one,
that is Jack Corgan
It's been tough, extremely tough, but probably tougher for one
of the well half rather of the correct duo we
have here for kowa's broadcast team, Jack Corrigan joining me today. Jack,
is this the first time a manager has ever been
let go right after a win in your in your experience?
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Wow, Off the top of my head, I couldn't tell
you that, Mandy, that's a great question. I mean, for
all the years I've done baseball and managerial changes, I
haven't had too many that have taken place within the season.
And you know, when Jim Tracy replaced Clint Hurdle in
(00:44):
two thousand and nine, I believe that was after a loss.
And the only other time was that in my experiences,
when John mcnamer was let go in Cleveland and they
hired Mike Cargrove. And I'd have to look it up,
but I would I would say, we'd be safe to
(01:04):
assume it's a rarity.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
Yeah, But this there, there was There was no way
this wasn't gonna happen. It's just the way things are going, Jack,
And you know, I watch these games and it has
been it's been very frustrating because it feels like this
team they go out on the field feeling defeated. That's
that's how it looks, and you know you want better
(01:26):
for the players, but is this going to be enough
to significantly move the needle this year?
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Well, I disagree with you a little bit that they
go out there feeling defeated. I think what has happened
with the injuries that sort of happened rapid fire. You know,
right at the end of spring training, Tyro Estrada, who
is going to take over at second base, gets hit
(01:53):
by a pitch and breaks his wrist. Second game of
the season, Ezekiel Tovar hurts his hipp tries to play
through it and can't, and he's missed more than half
the games, although hopefully he'll be back sometime this week.
Brenton Doyle gets hurt and then has to go on
(02:14):
bereavement to leave after getting hurt, and all of a sudden,
the middle of your offense and defense has been has
been put on the shelf. And that didn't help. But yeah,
you know, we knew, Jerry, myself, the people who follow
(02:38):
the team, the team itself knew that it was going
to be a challenge, especially in the first half of
this team as they transition in young people and try
and find out who can play and who can't. I
told people it'll be a much different looking roster come
August than what's going to break camp from Arizona, and
(03:01):
that they'd be a better team as the year went on.
I don't think anybody foresaw the injuries and the struggles
for the pitching staff, most especially the starting pitching staff
and managers, head coaches. I mean, they get they're the
(03:21):
fall guys, and a very good manager happened to be
the fall guy here. And Buddy, why why has it been.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
In your estimation? Why has it been so brutally hard
over the last few years, Because even if we have injuries,
every team has to deal with injuries every team. That's
where you, you know, you've got to have that minor
league system that is just producing guys that are able
to slide in for those games that they need to cover. Right,
maybe not whole season yet, but slide them in for
(03:52):
those times. And it's just this has been just really
rough the last few years.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
Well, I think, and you're I'm not going to disagree
with you in terms of that, Mandy, And when you
look as dispassionately as you can in my chair or
in you know your situation. You know, the strong baseball
(04:19):
fans from the time when in seventeen and eighteen when
they made the postseason, they went through a stretch between
that time, you know, the late teams into maybe twenty
one where they didn't get much out of the draft.
(04:42):
They had a lot of misses, and that's and that's
a problem. And so yes, you talk about finding help
in the minor league system, and for whatever the reasons were,
they weren't as good as people thought. They got hurt
and couldn't perform all those things. There's no doubt when
(05:05):
you're a draft and develop team like the Rockies, because
you're not going to get free agent pictures to come
to Denver with the challenges of bouncing between altitude and
sea level and all those things. So if you're relying
on your international signings and your draft to try and
(05:27):
sustain things, and you have a stretch where you've missed,
that's why you're seeing what you're seeing right now. And
I would hope as the year goes on, not only
are the Rockies going to evaluate Warren Shafer the product
they have on the field, they need to look hard
(05:50):
at how they're running the minor league system, how are
they drafting right? Are they spending you know, fans a
lot of times say, well, he doesn't. The ownership doesn't
want to pay for the big free agents, you know,
Tampa Bay doesn't, Cleveland doesn't, Milwaukee doesn't for the most part.
(06:14):
But what they have spent money on is in their
scouting and in their development, you know, through the ranks
of the miners. And I think that's something the Rockies
are going to have to look very hard at because
they've had too many misses over say, the last ten years,
and the result is what we've seen the last two
(06:36):
years and really much so this year.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
I couldn't agree with you more. I want to leave
this on a high note, though, Jack, because you know,
and I said this at the beginning of the show,
Bud Black had to go right. It's just the nature
of the beast, as you said, and it's just part
of the job. But by all accounts, he's just a really,
really good guy, and I think that makes it harder
when you've got to hire fire a good guy. So
(07:01):
give me your favorite Bud Black memory that you are
gonna you know, have their when you run into them
again to laugh about later.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
You know, Buddy and I have known each other since
nineteen eighty eight when he got traded to Cleveland, and
you know, on and off, and especially since he came
here as the manager. I mean that friendship has lasted,
you know, thirty five plus years. It wouldn't be just
(07:32):
one thing per se other than what I'm gonna miss
when I would go in to his office to do
the Bud Black Show for pregame that interviews, you know,
five minutes and change. Most nights with Buddy and I
was usually fifteen twenty minutes because we'd talk about what's
(07:55):
happened in baseball. We'd a couple of old guys telling stories.
You know, hey remember when Charlie Man, you know, those
kinds of things. That's what I'm going to miss. I
mean those days of knowing, Okay, this is my day
to interview Buddy. Because Jerry and I would go back
and forth, you know, take turns. Somebody didn't have to
(08:16):
have the same guy asking question one hundred and sixty
two times. When I when it was my day, it
was like, oh yeah, I get I get to sit
and Buddies office today, and what do we talk about,
you know, we might talk about a good restaurant or
a movie or a book or anything in addition to baseball.
(08:36):
That's what I'm going to miss, and I look forward
to when we cross as again to renew that relationship.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
Well, you know, Jack, I'm hoping against hope that this
provides some kind of jolt, some kind of you know,
shock to the system that is going to help these
guys write this ship. I'm not convinced it will. If
it's between me and you. I I you know, I
think you and I just talked about some bigger pro
problems that have to be addressed, and so I'm interested
to see what else they do. And I am very
(09:05):
interested to see how the guys respond. And I hope
it's uh. I hope it is a kick in the
pants that is needed to sort of move things in
the right direction.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
You know. And one thing I want to say, Mandy
and he and I were talking this morning Warren Shafer.
You know, people to go, oh, that's just the same.
They just promoted from olymp Van and sometimes you have
to do that in a mid season change. Warren Shafer
is a high energy, high baseball IQ guy who was
(09:39):
going to get his chance to be a manager. And
I hope and in this period of time that that
the ball club does respond to him a little bit.
And at the end of the year it's like, Hey,
we're going to stay with shape because you know he's
he's making a difference. And like the Nuggets with David
Adelman after Michael Malone got fired, never know that new
(10:01):
voice with the same folks produces a better result. And
let's hope that's the case.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
Amen, your lips to God's ears. All right, Jack, we'll
see at the ballpark soon. Sounds good, Have a good one,
that is Jack Corgan
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