Time to give ex-rox GM Bridich “some” credit

It’s often said that a broken clock is right twice a day. In the case of longtime Colorado sports piñata Jeff Bridich, you might be able to modify the end of that aphorism to “twice an offseason.”

At least, that’s how it worked out in the winter of 2020-21, when the former Rockies general manager executed the most infamous trade in Colorado baseball history — and also discovered a couple of diamonds in the rough.

Jeff Bridich — B

As sacrilegious as it might sound 14 months after the Nolan Arenado trade, the Grading the Week staff feels compelled to give the man some credit (heavy emphasis on “some”).

Beat writer Patrick Saunders pointed it out on Twitter earlier this week, and we find it impossible to disagree: Bridich hit a pair of home runs when he signed C.J. Cron and Connor Joe to minor league deals prior to the 2021 season.

For those not paying attention — and judging by all those empty seats at Coors Field, there’s a few of you who aren’t — Cron and Joe are two of the most productive players on a surprisingly competitive Colorado roster right now.

Joe, the apple of the Grading the Week staff’s eye, has been an onbase machine (.451 entering the weekend) in purple pinstripes.

He’s a set-it-and-forget it lead-off hitter who just about any MLB franchise would take in a heartbeat at the top of its order.

Meanwhile, Cron entered Friday night leading the majors in home runs (6) and total bases (39) while slashing .333./. 365/.813, with his tape-measure shots now as common at Coors Field as a postcard sunset.

While neither player is of the same stature as, say, one of the greatest third basemen in the history of baseball, they’re just the sort of under-the-radar pick-ups the Rockies need to compete with the deep-pocketed Dodgers and Giants.

For that, we’ll raise a glass to our old pal Jeff… and try not to notice that Arenado is three weeks into what appears to be yet another

Hall of Fame-caliber season.

Nuggets — Inc.

A message to Nuggets executive Tim Connelly: If you’re feeling the urge to make sweeping changes after your team (presumably) gets swept out of the Western Conference playoffs for the second straight year, take a deep breath and go for a walk.

To channel a slightly burnt Frank The Tank in “Old School”: “We gotta keep our composure!“

As much as it might hurt to see Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets take one on the chin yet again in the postseason, what we’ve witnessed over the past week was merely what’s been inevitable since Jamal Murray tore an ACL a little over a year ago in San Francisco.

While it’s happened once or twice before in NBA history, it’s extremely rare for a team to make an extended playoff run without one of its top two players — let alone two of its top three.

Smoke, mirrors and the Joker’s individual brilliance can only take you so far.

While there might be concerns with the roster — like Will Barton’s late-game decision-making, Aaron Gordon’s back-to-back postseason flops and Michael Porter Jr.’s nagging back — the time to pass judgement is at least 12 months out.

Until we see Connelly’s creation as it was originally conceived in the days after the Gordon trade, this team’s ceiling remains a mystery.