Grading the Week: Colorado Rockies have the answer to their recent woes — more Monfort – The Denver Post

Dick Monfort has discovered a solution to the recent woes that have plagued his Colorado Rockies: More Monfort.

It’s a bold strategy from an owner whose franchise hasn’t won a single NL West title in his near three decades of stewardship. Yet it’s one Monfort fearlessly inflicted upon the masses earlier this month with the promotion of his 30-year-old son, Sterling, to director of professional scouting.

Rockies — D+

Luckily, recently promoted Rockies general manager Bill Schmidt is here to clear up any misunderstandings.

Where some cynics might see blatant nepotism, Schmidt sees a young up-and-comer ready to climb the next rung up the ladder as supervisor of the Rockies’ pro scouting department.

“I’ve told Dick (Monfort) this for years. I’ve said, ‘If you sold the club or something, Sterling would get hired — in a heartbeat,’ ” Schmidt told The Post’s Patrick Saunders earlier this week. “There are teams out there that would hire Sterling, as a cross-checker, right now. His work ethic is second to none.”

The Grading the Week staff can’t say for certain if Schmidt was blinking in Morse code as he spoke.

What we can say is that, by all accounts, Sterling is indeed a very hard worker who is focused, affable and driven. If we’re to believe the words of Schmidt, he’s also “very qualified.”

There is, of course, the eight years Sterling has put in with the organization since 2014, first as a scout and later as the assistant director of scouting operations on the amateur side. There’s also his playing career as a first baseman for a state championship Eaton High baseball team and (we wish we were making this up) Rockies draft pick in the 47th round of the 2009 MLB amateur draft.

Still, for a franchise viewed by outsiders as insular and aloof, this week’s revelation felt a lot like business as usual at 20th and Blake. Coming off three consecutive losing seasons, a reasonable person might think it’s time to add some new blood to the upper reaches of their organization. Instead, Dick once again opted for the familiar.

All of which leaves us wondering: When can we expect Sterling to take the general manager’s chair from Schmidt?

Detroit Pistons — A

We might be in the minority, but the Grading the Week staff never wanted to see Bol Bol leave town.

So let us be the first to tip our cap to the Pistons, who put the kibosh on a trade with the Nuggets earlier this week after the 7-foot-2 center failed his physical examination.

Say what you will about Detroit’s puzzling history of reneging on deals — this was the third voided trade for the Pistons since 1994, and second since 2016 — we’re just happy to have Bol back in the warm bosom of Mile High Basketball.

Bol may be broken, but he’s our fallen star. Perhaps some day Michael Malone might let him shine.

CU football — Truant

There’s a hot, new hangout in Boulder.

It’s called the transfer portal, and CU football players are flocking to it like spring break in Cancun.

Starting running back and 2020 Pac-12 offensive player of the year Jarek Broussard became the latest to enter his name into that unseen dimension Thursday.

While it’s great to see that Broussard plans to leave Boulder with his bachelor’s degree in May, we can’t help but be alarmed by all the Buffs fleeing pasture at the base of the Flatirons.

Broussard is the 14th scholarship player to enter the portal since the 2021 season came to a close. If that seems like a big number, it’s because it is. Especially for a program that’s bringing back the same head coach (Karl Dorrell), if not many of the same assistants. Of course, that could be the problem.

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