After weeks of searching, the Colorado Rockies have finally settled on a new manager, Walt Weiss.
The former big league infielder was chosen over Jason Giambi, Tom Runnells and Matt Williams. His selection represents a slight deviation from standard operating procedure in Denver, where they have been more than happy to shake up their franchise mostly by promoting internal candidates, as they did when simply handed over some of top executive Dan O'Dowd's responsibility over to his right-hand man Bill Geivett. That's the Rockie equivalent of "firing" their GM.
But with Weiss, they did leave their comfort zone a tiny bit. They didn't go with internal candidates Runnells, their current bench coach, or Giambi, their current bench player, as many expected. No, instead the select Weiss, who played four seasons in Colorado from 1994 to 1997 and then spent several years working as a coach and special assistant throughout the Colorado organization before departing before this season to coach his son's high school baseball team.
While it might have been nice to see Colorado think a little more outside the box, the hiring of Weiss is promising. He was regarded as a, wait for it, scrappy and heady player during his playing days and having been part of the Rockies as a player, coach and front office employee, he is intimately familiar with the challenges that come with trying to field a competitive team in Coors Field.
What remains to be seen now is what kind of roster the Rockies saddle with Weiss with. No matter what kind of managerial chops he proves to have, there is only so much he can do if the front office doesn't do something to improve upon the wretched pitching staff they trotted out last season.
It is also unclear if he will continue to wear his trademark comically oversized Great Gazoo-style helmet while managing, and I think I speak for us all when I say we hope that he does.
