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Is Walt Weiss On The Hot Seat? Rockies GM Says No

By Mark Haas

DENVER (CBS4) - Despite three straight losing seasons, Rockies general manager Jeff Bridich says manager Walt Weiss is not on the hot seat to start 2016.

Jeff Bridich
Jeff Bridich (credit: CBS)

"If it were different we probably wouldn't be talking about him right now," Bridich said recently during an interview at the Rockies spring training facility in Scottsdale, Arizona. "We would have agreed we needed a change."

Entering his fourth season with the Rockies, and final year of his contract, Weiss is the longest tenured head coach or manager of the four major professional sports in Denver.

Since Weiss was hired in 2012:

2013: The Colorado Avalanche fired Joe Sacco and replaced him with Patrick Roy, who won a division title in his first season.

2013: The Denver Nuggets fired George Karl after 9 straight post-season appearances; his replacement Brian Shaw was fired in 2015.

2015: The Denver Broncos fired John Fox after 4 straight division titles; his replacement Gary Kubiak won the Super Bowl in his first year.

So a change certainly wouldn't be out of the question if the Rockies don't take a step forward in 2016.

Walt Weiss
Walt Weiss (credit: CBS)

"I always feel a sense of urgency, whether it's my first year my or fourth year and regardless of my contract my approach isn't dictated by those things," said Weiss. "That's how I was as a player: show up and get better and when the season starts show up and try and win a game."

But the Rockies have lost a lot more games than they've won with Weiss, and come September the only thing they have been battling for is whether or not they finish in last place.

"At the end of the day you can't put that on the manager," said 3rd baseman Nolan Arenado. "I think if you gave (Weiss) a good team we would be saying different things about Walt Weiss."

Colorado Rockies, Coors Field, Generic
The Colorado Rockies observe the national anthem prior to facing the Arizona Diamondbacks at Coors Field on Sept. 1, 2015. The Diamondbacks defeated the Rockies 6-4. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

The players all say good things about their skipper. They say he's the type of guy you want to play for and refuse to blame Weiss for the team's struggles.

"It's probably 70 percent our fault," said outfielder Carlos Gonzalez. "If you don't have the talent and you don't win the games, we are the ones playing. He writes names in lineup and expects us to get the job done."

Walt Weiss
Walt Weiss (credit: CBS)

To be fair, the role of a baseball manager is probably a bit more than just writing out lineup cards, but it's probably also fair to say the verdict is still out if Weiss, who was a high school coach before taking over the Rockies, has what it takes to be successful in the big leagues.

"I think Walt continues to grow as a manager and each season he learns from our successes and hardships and that's one of the things you ask from a man," said Bridich. "I'm excited for this season for him."

Mark Haas is a sports anchor/reporter for CBS4. Read his bio or follow him on Twitter @markhaastv or on Facebook.

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