Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd resigns, Jeff Bridich named replacement
Colorado Rockies general manager Dan O'Dowd and assistant general manager Bill Geivett have resigned from their positions, the team announced Wednesday.
The team named Jeff Bridich the team's new senior vice president/general manager. He had previously been the Rockies' senior director of player development.
Bridich had been senior director of player development since September 2011. He joined the Rockies in 2004 and became senior director of baseball operations in 2006. He worked in the Commissioner's Office before coming to Colorado.
O'Dowd had been the team's general manager since late in the 1999 season and had overseen up-and-down results.
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The Rockies finished above 82-80 in O'Dowd's first full season. The team then had losing seasons each of the next six years before making a surprise run to the 2007 World Series, where they lost to the Boston Red Sox.
Colorado has had just two winning seasons and one playoff appearance since 2007 and finished this year 66-96 to give the team its fourth straight losing season. Overall, the Rockies had 11 losing seasons in O'Dowd's 15 full years.
O'Dowd oversaw the rise of players such as Matt Holliday, Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez. Todd Helton also maintained his stardom throughout the O'Dowd era.
Geivett joined Colorado's front office in November 2000 and was promoted to his current role in August 2012.
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This summer, Rockies co-owner Dick Monfort made headlines when he criticized Geivett for the team's performance while simultaneously defending O'Dowd. That came shortly after news emerged that Monfort responded critically to fans in at least two personal emails, telling one to not come to games if he didn't like the product on the field.
Monfort and his brother Charlie have served as the franchise's majority co-owners since 2005.
- Ben Estes
