Rockies Manager Warren Schaeffer Delivers a Clear Message to His Young Team

Colorado's manager didn't beat around the bush after dropping three out of four to Arizona over the weekend.

Warren Schaeffer | Anna Carrington-Imagn Images

Coming off three straight 100-loss seasons, there is nowhere to go but up for the Colorado Rockies. After an offseason that saw some big changes from the front office all the way down to the roster and like the interim tag from manager Warren Schaeffer, things are slowly trending upwards.

The Rockies began the season 14-18 through the month of April; however, they have hit some roadblocks in May. That is expected for a young team that is expected to go through some growing pains. One reason for the struggles is that injuries have become an issue. Despite all of that, Colorado is playing some close games and winning more of those this season would be a huge step for an organization looking to become relevant again.

Colorado begins a three-game series on Monday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Southern California against the two-time World Series champs. Before heading to Los Angeles, the Rockies dropped three out of four games against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the desert. After Sunday's loss, Schaeffer didn't beat around the bush about what his club needs to do to get out of its latest funk.

Warren Schaeffer Explains What Went Wrong Against Diamondbacks

TJ Rumfield | Anna Carrington-Imagn Images

Arizona won the final game of the series on Sunday, 9-1, but the first three games were close, all one-run. Colorado won the middle game of that stretch on Friday night when they rallied from a 2-1 deficit with a run in the eighth and one in the ninth for a 3-2 victory. In the ninth, it was the young guys, Sterlin Thompson and Chad Stevens, who supplied the big hits.

Other than that, it was a weekend of missed opportunities in the two one-run losses. After Sunday's game, Schaeffer explained what a problem for his team in the close losses over the weekend was.

“We played well enough to win three out of the four games,” Schaeffer said. “Lack of execution loses one-run ballgames. They executed; we didn’t, in general. We just need to get over that hump and start flipping those one-run games our way.”

Execution in games is vital. Right now, the Rockies are not executing at a high enough level to win games against good teams. In the past, it was a season-long issue, but they have slowly turned the corner in that area in 2026, but not enough for Schaeffer's liking.

The Rockies' starting rotation is banged up, which makes execution even more vital going forward and beginning this week in Los Angeles.