Since the Earl of Penury has hinted at transformative changes, bigger than Saul Rivera apparently, I guess I should chime in. After all, people used to flock to Diamondhacks from miles around, to get up to speed on all the latest vitriol and schadenfreude directed at our self styled Dream Team. So, if just one person still stumbles in here, by God, I will deliver vitriol and schadenfreude!
After ten straight losses, 31 innings without a run and half a decade without much of a clue, criticizing the Diamondbacks is like shooting large, slow fish in a...well in a desert, frankly. The hoi polloi have coalesced around the intuitive initiative that some combination of Hinch and/or JByrnes needs to go. Having studied Kendrick's tactics for years, however, and listening to his recent comments, I question whether either insider will exit straight away. Ken's odd and obstinate, but he must realize AJ's a bust. How could one not? I imagine he's showing support for Hinch now because he doesnt want to introduce a new manager against June's brutal interleague schedule - an awkward time to be fostering even the illusion of competitive progress.
Besides, Kendrick is almost assuredly more eager to cut costs and float hazy perceptions of long term progress, than invest in easily measured (and judged) short term moves in a 'lost' season. It sounds as if AJ's gonna stick around, at least through the most difficult stretch of games, much like Melvin before him.
And if AJ's safe it's hard to conceptualize Josh Byrnes getting the immediate boot either, despite Nick Piecoro's emphasis on JB's tenuous future. Perhaps an internal promotion, like Woodfork, is possible. It just seems exceedingly awkward for AJ to be thrust upon any GM coming from outside the organization.
Instead, I anticipate player moves to dump salary and prepare for next year and beyond. I also think Mel Stottlemyre Jr will be dismissed. This FO has a long history of blaming low level managers for encompassing, organizational shortcomings, and Stott's dismissal can easily be justified by Arizona's atmospheric ERA. It also serves to at least partially appease a hostile fan base lusting for management blood.
Who will this club's geniuses dump or trade this go round? Here's their priciest long term obligations, in millions: '
Justin Upton $50
Dan Haren $34
CY $24
Reynolds $14
Ed Jackson $12
Snyder $11
Drew *** (arbitration in 2011-2012)
Developing...
2 comments:
I think it's all going very well. A decent home stand and the official line will be that things are not so bad after all.
Followed by another disastrous string of results that eventually leads to changes.
Whether the people who made the previous changes should be in charge of the new ones is a different matter.
R,
Congratulations on your recent snakepit riff garnering more Recs than their previous thousand fan posts combined!!!
I especially enjoyed Jim's peculiar "acknowledgement", about "fixing" your words with his incredibly less funny alternative.
Consider it a warning :-)
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