Rockies Journal: Alanna Rizzo not buying Dick Monfort’s tale of woe: “It’s not about winning at Coors Field”

Alanna Rizzo knows baseball.

She covered the game for 18 years. She’s married to a man who played in the major leagues for 14 seasons. She’s well acquainted with baseball insiders in front offices and talks with the well-connected in baseball media.

So, when Rizzo talks, I listen. I might not always agree with what she says, but I listen. And Rizzo has a lot to say about the state of the Rockies under longtime owner Dick Monfort.

For my Sunday feature on the talented trio of Colorado-raised baseball broadcasters, I did a joint Zoom interview with Jenny Cavnar, Taylor McGregor, and Rizzo. They all voiced opinions about the state of the Rockies, but only Rizzo agreed to go on the record.

She blasted the Rockies, particularly Monfort, for complacency and a lack of will to win. What ticked her off the most was Monfort’s recent comments that the free-spending Dodgers represent what’s wrong with baseball and why things must change.

Monfort said that the disparity in payrolls in MLB has become ludicrous. Rizzo doesn’t buy it.

“What I cannot tolerate is an owner who comes out and says that the Dodgers are the poster child of what’s wrong with Major League Baseball,” Rizzo said. “Every single owner has the ability to spend money or choose not to spend money.”

According to Spotrac, the Dodgers’ current total salary allocation is $330.3 million, the highest in the majors. The Rockies, at $122.5 million, rank 21st.

It should be noted that Rizzo was the Dodgers’ primary TV reporter from 2013 to 2020, covering the team in three World Series before moving on to the MLB Network. She said the Dodgers treated her “like a member of the family.” So there is an allegiance there.

But remember that Rizzo is a Colorado native who cares a lot about the Rockies, a team she covered for over five years, beginning with their Rocktober run in 2007. And she’s married to former catcher Chris Iannetta, who played eight of his 14 seasons in Colorado.

Rizzo said she doesn’t believe Monfort reinvests enough in the product on the field, singling out the Rockies’ decision to spend $10 million to build The Rooftop — the so-called Party Deck — that opened in 2014.

“You can choose to turn your outfield (seats) into an entertainment area, which is fine, but you too, Mr. Monfort, can spend money on the team, just as every other owner can,” she said. “Yes, the Dodgers have money, but they reinvest it in their team, just as the Cubs do, just as the Mets do, just as the Yankees do.

“So I don’t want to hear it. Start spending money and put a better product on the field. Or sell the team. Period.”

I think Monfort’s decision to build The Rooftop was a brilliant business move and good for the team’s long-term financial health. But I get Rizzo’s point. After two consecutive 100-loss seasons, the Rockies were off to an ugly 1-6 start entering Saturday night. Now is not the time to cry poor.

“The Rockies are not hungry to win,” she said. “(Met’s owner) Steve Cohen? Granted, he’s got ridiculous money. The Dodgers? Stupid money.

“I get why everybody hates the Dodgers. But you have to have that will to win. You must have creativity and do what it takes to win.”

Rizzo believes the Rockies are too comfortable with how things are at 20th and Blake.

“Coors Field is an unbelievable ballpark,” she said. “Without it, LoDo wouldn’t be LoDo. I mean, people go to games there to have a good time. They aren’t rabid baseball fans there, but they don’t have to be. It’s not about winning at Coors Field.”

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