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After all, Holliday played for the Rockies during their better times early in his career, then again at the end of his playing days.

鈥淭he organization has a special place in my heart, in our family鈥檚 heart and our lives,鈥� Holliday said on draft night. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 a cool story. It鈥檚 exciting for him and the organization.

鈥淭his year is obviously not going great, but it doesn鈥檛 take much to get things like this turned around.鈥�

Um, yeah, about that ...

The Rockies last reached the postseason in 2018, with current Cardinal Nolan Arenado playing a key role and Matt Holliday chipping in at the end.

After that, Colorado went 71-91 in 2019, followed by a 26-34 finish during the pandemic year. The pain intensified after that with 74-87, 68-94, 59-103, 61-101 campaigns, then a 24-74 struggle this season through Saturday鈥檚 play.

Yes, the Rockies face inherent challenges. Denver is a hitter鈥檚 paradise with its mile-high altitude, and that reality has taken a heavy toll on pitchers. The team has only reached the postseason five times since its 1992 inception.

But ownership malaise has been the biggest obstacle. The Monfort family, with Dick Monfort running point as chairman and chief operating officer, allowed the baseball operation to fall into disrepair.

Coors Field anchors a terrific entertainment district, so fans keep coming for the party despite the perennial failure. The Rockies drew more 2.5 million fans during the previous three seasons.

With revenues still pouring in, the Monforts have felt no urgency to change course. lists the Rockies’ total payroll at roughly $126 million, which ranks in the bottom third of the majors.

This is old guard family ownership having fallen out of step with the aggressive billionaires moving into Our National Pastime. As chairman of the owner鈥檚 labor policy committee, Dick Monfort will likely lead the charge for a salary cap during bargaining for the next collective bargaining agreement.

(Of course, the players association would likely rather force a lockout than agree to a cap. They would prefer a CBA that penalizes also-rans that don鈥檛 spend. Sharing revenues with lesser markets doesn鈥檛 work, as some franchises are content to pocket the money and lose. Our suggestion: force teams to spend to a payroll floor or lose draft positioning and/or some of their international bonus pool.)

Anyway, the only time Rockies management made a huge baseball investment in recent years 鈥� by signing free-agent slugger Kris Bryant, a player Monfort long coveted 鈥� the decision backfired horribly.

Bryant, 33, signed a seven-year, $182 million contract in 2022. Since then, he has hit just 17 homers while struggling with back, ribcage, foot and finger injuries.

And the team鈥檚 suffering continues unabated. With the Rockies careening toward one of the worst finishes in baseball history, maybe, just maybe, the Monfort family is ready to reset.

The changes started earlier this season with the firing of hitting coach Hensley Meulens. Next to go were manager Bud Black, who posted a 544-690 record before finally getting cashiered in his ninth season, and bench coach Mike Redmond.

An epic 21-0 loss to the San Diego Padres was the last straw. That was Colorado鈥檚 33rd loss in 39 games.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think Casey Stengel could change the outcome of that ballclub, and that鈥檚 not the manager鈥檚 fault,鈥� Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts sniffed. 鈥淏ut obviously, they felt they needed a change in voice or direction. But for me, there鈥檚 not many people that are better than Buddy Black. So yeah, that鈥檚 very disappointing. It is certainly not his doing.鈥�

President and Chief Operating Officer Greg Feasel is getting squeezed out after a 30-year front office run. Walker Monfort, Dick鈥檚 son, is assuming day-to-day control.

With changes occurring above and below him on the organizational chart, bumbling general manager Bill Schmidt appears imperiled.

Rival teams are watching this upheaval closely, as third baseman Ryan McMahon, starting pitcher Germ谩n M谩rquez and reliever Jake Bird are among the veterans the Rockies could put on the trade block.

Trading them could bring a nice prospect haul. Such additions, combined with new cornerstone Ethan Holliday and few good young veterans already in place, could create a potential turning point.

Co-owner Charlie Monfort offered fans a ray of hope earlier this season with this admission to the Denver Post:

鈥淚 think we need a new set of eyeballs. We need to give someone the opportunity. Someone who knows baseball and has lived and breathed baseball, and sometimes, died with baseball. Someone who knows everything that all of the good teams we face do, from grassroots on up. Someone who is going to stand by their decisions because they are going to live with it.鈥�

Hmmm ... that sounds like a job for Matt Holliday, who seems ready to jump back into Our National Pastime to give his old team badly needed help.