My No. 1 priority for the Rockies’ next general manager is that he has no previous association with the Rockies.

– Chruffman, Boulder

Kiz: If the Rockies actually have a way of doing business, 323 losses in a three-year stretch suggest their way of building a winning team might be all wrong. That harsh truth seems to have finally penetrated the stubborn skulls of Dick and Charlie Monfort. But should the first prerequisite for the next architect of a team in Colorado be a need for Google Maps to find 20th and Blake? I think not. Baseball at altitude is a beast. With monumental decisions ahead, the Rockies need to hire somebody who knows the nature of that beast. What worked in Houston or Kansas City won’t necessarily translate to W’s at 5280. 

I have zero care about the next general manager’s specific traits. To me, it’s more about Rockies ownership staying out of the GM’s way.

– Brian, corn fed

Kiz: I’ve got a problem with the list of leaked candidates for the Rockies’ front-office position. Toronto exec James Click was an art history major at Yale, which reminds me of the know-it-all Ivy Leaguer that was Jeff Bridich. Scott Sharp of Kansas City is basically a lifelong scout, which sounds eerily like the career path of the recently fired Bill Schmidt. And Cleveland assistant GM Matt Forman is a former sportswriter in love with analytics, which can’t be any better than Dan O’Dowd, who came up through the business side of baseball. How do any of these guys qualify as meaningful change from the way Colorado has always conducted business?

I want the next Rockies GM to have a history of recognizing talent and the ability to pull the trigger, whether a player is coming or going.

– Dave, eyes wide open

Kiz: If the Rockies truly want to take a new approach, they should hire somebody who has lived and died with baseball. The San Francisco Giants recently turned over their baseball operation to former catcher Buster Posey, a seven-time All-Star. The Rangers president of baseball operations is Chris Young, who has been the winning pitcher in a World Series game. Instead of hiring another pencil pusher, the Rockies could do something innovative and give power to a man who has actually dug his cleats in a major league batter’s box and taken a swing at a 95 mph fastball. 

Kiz, I hear you think Demaryius Thomas ranks No. 2 behind only Shannon Sharpe on your list of top pass-catchers in Broncos history. Lionel Taylor, Steve Watson and Rod Smith would like a word with you.

– RNV, happy old hippie

Kiz: I’m a crazy old punk rocker, but not old enough to say I watched Lionel Taylor with anything more than childlike wonder. With all due respect to Watson and Smith, however, let me share a word from Peyton Manning. After years of throwing passes to Marvin Harrison in Indy, Manning said he never had the pleasure of connecting with anybody like D.T. until becoming the quarterback in Denver.

And today’s parting shot takes note of Shohei Ohtani’s three-homer and 10-strikeout performance in the MLB playoffs.

Ohtani is the greatest baseball player since Babe Ruth.

– Chris, loves the game