Arizona Diamondbacks: Torey Lovullo simply tweaked what was there
By Mark Brown
Manager Torey Lovullo of the Arizona Diamondbacks said he found a team in place, and ready to compete.
No one would blame manager Torey Lovullo of the Arizona Diamondbacks for picking a broom and begin sweeping.
What he found in the days after accepting an offer to manage the Diamondbacks could be best described as chaos, disorder, and disarray. Here’s a team which finished 24 games under .500, and had only one season above the .500 mark in the last eight years.
Time to get out the bucket, mop, and boom, and start cleaning out the residue.
Above all, the finances were mystifying, because of the previous regime of general manager Dave Stewart, assistant GM De Jon Watson and Hall of Fame icon Tony La Russa, the organization’s Chief Baseball Officer, shelled out nearly $300 million on three players. That clearly compromised the effort to restructure Paul Goldschmidt’s contract and attract viable free agents.
Plus, field manager Chip Hale, fired the day after the 2016 season, establish troubled relationships with many pitchers, including Patrick Corbin, whom he banished to the bullpen for the remaining two months of the 2016 season.
Immediately, Lovullo walked into the situation clearly devoid of energy, incentive, and purpose. Yet, that was okay with the native of Santa Monica, Calif., because Lovullo brought a clear and sweeping approach.