GM Bridich: Rockies ‘believe in this group’

DENVER — Rockies general manager Jeff Bridich said there was no inspirational message to be derived from his decision to not make any trades before Monday’s non-waiver Trade Deadline, but it’s OK if players see one.

On Tuesday, the Rockies entered a six-game stretch against the Dodgers and Marlins — the teams that hold the National League Wild Card spots — just 4 1/2 games off the pace.

Modern convention gravitates toward putting teams in one of two boxes — buyers or sellers. The Rockies, with veterans who could have been sold and plenty of prospect currency, instead were one of three teams (the contending Tigers and non-contending Phillies the others) who didn’t make a move.

“It’s our job to understand what’s going on,” Bridich said, referring to the trade landscape. “If there was a message sent, great. But I’m not the right person to ask that. I think it’s consistent in the fact that we believe in this group.

“It’s consistent with the fact that whatever the situation you have at the Trade Deadline, part of the job is to effectively understand your organization and not just everybody else’s organization and their hopes and desires for the Trade Deadline, but effectively understanding what we already have here.”

Some clubhouse takeaways:

• All-Star outfielder Carlos Gonzalez, assumed by many as a candidate to be sent to a team that needed such a talent, saw it as a vote of confidence, but also a challenge.

“Playing meaningful games right now and not seeing guys …

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