05 October 2009

Hinch To Winners: Drop Dead

Today the Diamondbacks purged the only remaining men in their dugout with any successful managerial experience.

Chip Hale, Arizona's third base coach since 2007, had managed Dback affiliates six years prior, including three with Tucson's AAA Sidewinders, where he won the Pacific Coast League (PCL) Manager of the Year award.

Lorenzo Bundy, this year's first base coach, managed fifteen years in Mexico and the minor leagues - most recently with the Dodgers' AAA Las Vegas affiliate. He was twice named Manager of the Year in the Mexican League, and had worked with the Diamondbacks, on and off, for about five seasons. The Philadelphia native will have a tumor surgically removed tomorrow.

The dismissals were arranged by front office favorite Andrew Hinch, who supplanted Bob Melvin, the NL's 2007 Manager of the Year, in May. Hinch's voice cracked as he explained his staff's need for "new voices" in 2010.

In his first coaching assignment at any level, and bouyed by breakout seasons from Justin Upton, Mark Reynolds, Miguel Montero and Dan Haren, the deeply sensitive skipper propelled Arizona to a 58-75 mark (.436), good for last place in the National League West.

3 comments:

RMutt said...

I suppose by "new voices" he is talking about ones that won't be slamming the door to his office and telling him how he doesn't know a base from a ball?

Some Clubhouse

Russell said...

Two things surprise me about this.

Firstly that the FO has let a good tumor go to waste, and secondly that there is any need for change after what was essentially a 90 win season.

Diamondhacks said...

RMutt,
Yeah, a secure boss would welcome experienced voices; an insecure one would only feel moreso, surrounded by coaches who command respect, and who could probably do his job better than he can.

Russell,
lol. They're probably angry with Lo for scheduling surgery in the off season. I did note, however, that after Sunday's finale, Daron dredged up one final reference to Doug Davis' cancer.