Arizona Diamondbacks: Hale, Stewart Fly Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
The firing of Chip Hale and Dave Stewart by the Arizona Diamondbacks didn’t surprise anyone. Because that’s the way dysfunctional baseball franchises do things. And if there’s been a poster child for how not to do things in baseball over the past few years, look only to the D-Backs to find your model. And they’re not done yet…
In baseball, it always seems to come down to this, doesn’t it? You have a floundering franchise like the Arizona Diamondbacks operating in a viable business market that decides it wants to be more relevant. (Translation: Win something!)
In 2014, the Diamondbacks Made Some Big Moves
So, they go out and bring in some new and refreshing talent at the top to start with. They begin by hiring Dave Stewart to be their general manager in charge of all baseball operations in 2014. At the same time, they also hire Chip Hale, who played his last game in 1997, as manager. Hale had been serving in the D-Backs organization since 2001 so he was a logical choice to be promoted.
But then, things get a bit complicated and they start to go awry and more eerie. In sync with the moves made above, the Diamondbacks decide to bring in Tony LaRussa as their Chief Baseball Officer. And while no one was ready to challenge LaRussa as a baseball guy, almost immediately the question was raised asking, “What is a Chief Baseball Officer and what does he do?” Add to that, what does Dave Stewart do and how does his role relate to LaRussa’s? Net result, the makings of total confusion and internal conflict.
Bad Baseball Decisions and Bad Luck Make Change Inevitable
The beginning of their current predicament came when the Diamondbacks traded their number one pick, Dansby Swanson, to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for right-hander Shelby Miller. Number ones do get traded, but you’d better get some extra value back in return. Instead, Miller imploded going 3-12 with a 6.15 ERA
The Diamondbacks also plunged into the free agent market signing the biggest fish in the pond, Zach Greinke, to a contract worth more than $200 million. But an early season injury cut Greinke’s production down to a season that resulted in only 13 wins, and most of those came when the team’s season was already in the tank.
Add to that a dash of bad luck with A.J. Pollock breaking his elbow before the gates are even open, and after a 63-99 season, you have the makings of some pretty serious scapegoating that is bound to take place.
The Blame Game Begins
For Chip Hale, he can only be grateful for the fact that he has been set free from what is rapidly becoming a totally dysfunctional organization. And after all, managers can only play with the hand they are dealt. Hale did that as best he could. But the baseball way of doing things is always to make the manager scapegoat number one. And perhaps thinking about his next job, he chose to simply fade away, saying nothing but good things about his experience with the Arizona organization.
More from Call to the Pen
- Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
- Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
- Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
- Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
- 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals
Not so with Dave Stewart though. Lying through his teeth, Stewart told ESPN, “I don’t have anything bad to say about Ken Kendrick. I’m not mad at this guy. He’s different. I’m different. Really, we were oil and water.”
Nice try, Dave, but we can all read between the lines here. You feel like you were thrown under the bus at least by team owner Kendrick, and if anyone asked you, you’d add LaRussa too.
For the moment at least, LaRussa remains with the organization in an unspecified role that has yet to be announced.
What’s Next for this Beleaguered Franchise?
On the playing field, the D-Backs begin next year the same way they ended this season, as the youngest team in the majors. Greinke is too good not to bounce back and be Zack Greinke again. And there’s no reason to believe that A.J. Pollock won’t come back with some power numbers in center field. Mr. Reliable, Paul Goldschmidt, will continue on his way to the Hall of Fame and with the enthusiasm that youth brings, this team can still surprise.
Ownership will bring some new meat in to fill the vacancies upstairs and hopefully a broad plan of attack that all can agree upon will be adopted. But that would be a giant leap from where this franchise stands today.
Next: Tampa Bay Rays Season Rewind
It’s been a ugly week in the desert. The good news is that most of it could be behind them and the suits have four months to get their season together. But the Arizona faithful can only have so much patience. And sooner rather than later, this franchise needs to display a better baseball sense than they have over the past year or two. No more Shelby Millers for your first round draft pick would be a good start.