Weiss readies for Sunday's team meeting

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Rockies manager Walt Weiss said he has planned his address for the meeting he'll conduct with his players before Sunday's first full-squad workout.

"When I get up there, sometimes I'll veer off, but I've got my essentials I want to hit on," Weiss said. "I think it's important, just to set a tone, set the expectations. Really, we're talking about trying to create an identity of how we play, what we are."

Last year, his first as manager, Weiss called for his club to be aggressive. It seemed to be working when the team was battling for first place in the National League West into June and still relevant at the All-Star break. But by the end, the Rockies sank to the cellar and stayed there.

Injuries to key hitters Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez and closer Rafael Betancourt were the key culprits. But did the aggressiveness Weiss preached play a role? Empty at-bats when runners needed to be moved or the Rockies needed men on base were a problem -- especially on the road, where they went 29-52, hit .246 with a .298 on-base percentage and averaged 3.36 runs per game.

"I don't think it was about being overly aggressive," Weiss said. "Our at-bats got youthful at times. I think that had something to do with it. We need to be quicker to adjust offensively.

"But the baserunning side of it I felt real good. After [Eric Young] was gone, we didn't have a pure basestealer. Yet we stole a lot of bases because we had a lot of guys looking for opportunities. We had a very aggressive mindset. I was very happy with that. We got doubled off sometimes, but that's a result of an aggressive mindset."