Pressure on O'Dowd nearing breaking point

Dan O'Dowd won't likely be able to survive 2012 season result

Many Rockies' fans want general manager Dan O'Dowd gone. Different writers have questioned O'Dowd's ongoing employment as well and now the Denver Post, in an editorial, has suggested O'Dowd should be fired.

Is it the general manager responsible for the Rockies' failures or the owner or players? Or is it a mixture of the three?

In the end, the players can be traded or not resigned and an owner might suffer in the court of public opinion and in his bank account but it's usually the manager who gets fired and not the general manager. Yet, the local media who cover the Rockies and fans alike more want O'Dowd gone than manager Jim Tracy, whom is seen as doing the best he can with shoddy parts.

Injuries have been an undeniable reality this season (Jhoulys Chacin, Jorge De La Rosa, Juan Nicasio and Troy Tulowitzki the chief ones) but failed pitching has been the biggest and most glaring one and that's where O'Dowd again is seen as being accountable.

So will ownership force him out? I think it will break under the media and public pressure and ask O'Dowd to resign and he will, knowing he will get another opportunity in baseball. The pressure is just too heavy now and like with Dan Hawkins at the University of Colorado, the negativity is just so overwhelming now that O'Dowd will have to go, either of his own accord or with a push from ownership who really doesn't wish to oust the GM.


Rockies' Prospects Spotlight

Double-A shortstop Josh Rutledge hit his 13th homer on Sunday, his 27th double on Monday and now with five hits combined in those two games, has his average up to .309. He's hitting .406 in July. Rutledge keeps chugging on towards a locker at Coors' Field.

Tyler Matzek

High-A pitcher Tyler Matzek has turned south again as a prospect. He gave up a mess of a line - 9 runs and 11 hits in his 4 innings on Monday. He has now allowed 17 runs in his last 14 1/3 innings for an ERA of 10.67.

Jared Clark

First baseman Jared Clark hasn't given up on his dream to play one day in the majors. It just looks like such a longshot for a 26-year-old player in High-A ball, which is where Clark is stationed at Modesto.

Clark has 18 homers and 67 RBI this season and is his last 140 games at Modesto over the last two years, his totals are impressive - 30 doubles, 25 homers, 100 RBI. The problem is he's just a .244 hitter and one with 155 strikeouts.

A 12th-round pick in the 2009 draft, "Diesel" just doesn't hit for enough average to go along with his attractive power to profile as a success at Double-A next season.