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| Kevin Towers battling rumors about job security. Photo credit: Getty Images |
In the latest chapter of As the D’Backs Turn, the hiring of Tony La Russa to oversee their baseball operations department has caused quite a stir within the organization. General Manager Kevin Towers was the man that everyone pointed to and thought this hiring would spell bad news in terms of his job security. To his credit though, Towers has continued to do his daily work with the team and not let this news affect how he operates within the organization.
By: Michael Hanley
Kevin Towers recently commented on the hiring of La Russa to Doug and Wolf on Arizona Sports 98.7 in an interview: “I certainly don't want to be a pseudo-GM," Towers said. "The front office role will be new to him and I'm hoping I can help him too, like the daily calendar and what's important in June and July. These are some of the good players in our system -- no different from what Jerry Dipoto did for me in my first year here. He continued on to say:
"I'm hoping that we help one another and as we get to talk that he'll have the confidence in the very near future to let me run the club as I have been but everything will go through him and be shared with him. You'd like to think that our vision and everything is on the same page."
Now it sounds all well and good when you read those comments by Towers. He makes it out to be just a hire that will not affect the organization or daily operation of the team at all and one that won’t have any effect on a power shift within the team. It doesn’t take a scientist to see that there could be the possibility that down the road this hire could be the start of where the rebuild begins. Who is to say that La Russa won’t have power in reshaping the front office into his mold and wanting to hire people for the front office from outside the organization. The Arizona brass did not hire La Russa to just push papers around and be a figurehead, they brought him in with the thought of getting a seasoned baseball man who can give them a fresh take on how they can improve as a whole.
Its a move that definitely can payoff for Arizona and one that unfortunately might cost some people their jobs including Kevin Towers. In a season that has gone completely south on them so far, people have to be held accountable for the lack of performance from the ballclub.Towers constructed this team and made moves to try and improve the team. Unfortunately those moves have yet to payoff and has left the team not overly talented at any position. Arizona needs some ray of hope for the future and La Russa and his track record of success in the major leagues over the years will provide just that. Even more important, he will provide great leadership in an organization that has not had a wealth of that in recent years.
