azdad1978
Championship!!!!
Mark Gonzales
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 15, 2004 12:00 AM
ST. LOUIS - Former Diamondbacks manager Bob Brenly expressed disappointment Thursday that he wasn't allowed to finish the final three months of his contract this season, even as the team shifted toward a youth movement that tumbled into a 111-loss season.
Brenly also said he sensed that he lost support within the organization because Chairman Jerry Colangelo was quietly in the stages of being replaced.
"Looking back now at some of the things he (Colangelo) said, I think he knew more than he was able to let me know, what was going to happen with his situation," Brenly said at Busch Stadium, where he was part of Fox's TV broadcast team for the National League Championship Series. "He assured me if a decision was strictly up to him, it was a decision not to be made.
"As we found out later, there were other people involved in the (firing) decision, and they had other ideas. As for some of the things said on the day I was fired, I now understand where Jerry was coming from."
Colangelo declined to single out any individual for Brenly's firing.
"No one is to blame," Colangelo said in a telephone interview. "Everyone shared in the success and failure. It was a collective decision from our group of people."
Brenly, speaking in a calm tone during a 10-minute interview, said he was baffled by the developments leading up to his firing and the course of the team after his dismissal.
"You'd like to believe as the situation changed, expectations should have changed," he said. "With the injuries and force-feeding the young kids into the lineup and the other factors that went into it, we couldn't realistically expect to win our division with the team we were running out there on a daily basis.
"And it would have been nice to have the opportunity, not necessarily to turn it around, because we saw it didn't turn around, but at least to be able to have the organization have enough patience to allow me to fail."
At the time of Brenly's firing on July 2, the Diamondbacks were 29-50. They had coped with an 11-game losing streak marred by mistakes and inexperience following an array of injuries - most notably to slugger Richie Sexson. That was thought to be the low point for a team seeking to regain the NL West title it earned in 2001 and '02.
The team realigned its staff with replacement manager Al Pedrique and several coaches familiar with Diamondbacks youngsters, but the retooled roster resulted in a 22-61 mark the rest of the way.
Brenly, 50, said he has been in contact with "a few clubs" about a field job and a few others about broadcasting. He understands that some teams will wait until the completion of the postseason until deciding the direction they want to take.
Of all the criticism he took during the first half of the season, Brenly said he was particularly bothered by the suggestions he couldn't work with young players.
"People were saying I couldn't work with kids, but the year before we had a 12-game winning streak with a bunch of kids who were fresh off the freeway," Brenly said. "I didn't feel like there was any problem with the young players. I actually enjoyed working with those kids. It was fun to see them start their major league careers and see them learn on a daily basis and see them get better. There was some information or misinformation out there that kind of painted the thing differently than it was."
Brenly said he appreciated support from Colangelo, as well as calls from former teammates and players, after his firing. He said he sensed his dismissal was somewhat abrupt, considering what the franchise accomplished during his tenure.
"We won the World Series in 2001, we won the division in 2002 and of course all the injuries in 2003 with the two big guys (Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling), that killed us," Brenly said. "The first time there's the least sign of adversity, I got flushed. That was a little frustrating. I would have liked the opportunity to try to do the best I could to reassemble the team and start over again."
Brenly said he felt for Pedrique and his players, particularly veterans Danny Bautista and Shea Hillenbrand, during the second-half slide.
The past three months allowed Brenly to watch his son Michael, a senior at Notre Dame Prep in Scottsdale, play football, as well as watch other teams. Brenly seems ready to rejoin the majors soon.
"We're just going to wait until the World Series and see how things follow up at this point."
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/diamondbacks/articles/1015brenly1015.html
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 15, 2004 12:00 AM
ST. LOUIS - Former Diamondbacks manager Bob Brenly expressed disappointment Thursday that he wasn't allowed to finish the final three months of his contract this season, even as the team shifted toward a youth movement that tumbled into a 111-loss season.
Brenly also said he sensed that he lost support within the organization because Chairman Jerry Colangelo was quietly in the stages of being replaced.
"Looking back now at some of the things he (Colangelo) said, I think he knew more than he was able to let me know, what was going to happen with his situation," Brenly said at Busch Stadium, where he was part of Fox's TV broadcast team for the National League Championship Series. "He assured me if a decision was strictly up to him, it was a decision not to be made.
"As we found out later, there were other people involved in the (firing) decision, and they had other ideas. As for some of the things said on the day I was fired, I now understand where Jerry was coming from."
Colangelo declined to single out any individual for Brenly's firing.
"No one is to blame," Colangelo said in a telephone interview. "Everyone shared in the success and failure. It was a collective decision from our group of people."
Brenly, speaking in a calm tone during a 10-minute interview, said he was baffled by the developments leading up to his firing and the course of the team after his dismissal.
"You'd like to believe as the situation changed, expectations should have changed," he said. "With the injuries and force-feeding the young kids into the lineup and the other factors that went into it, we couldn't realistically expect to win our division with the team we were running out there on a daily basis.
"And it would have been nice to have the opportunity, not necessarily to turn it around, because we saw it didn't turn around, but at least to be able to have the organization have enough patience to allow me to fail."
At the time of Brenly's firing on July 2, the Diamondbacks were 29-50. They had coped with an 11-game losing streak marred by mistakes and inexperience following an array of injuries - most notably to slugger Richie Sexson. That was thought to be the low point for a team seeking to regain the NL West title it earned in 2001 and '02.
The team realigned its staff with replacement manager Al Pedrique and several coaches familiar with Diamondbacks youngsters, but the retooled roster resulted in a 22-61 mark the rest of the way.
Brenly, 50, said he has been in contact with "a few clubs" about a field job and a few others about broadcasting. He understands that some teams will wait until the completion of the postseason until deciding the direction they want to take.
Of all the criticism he took during the first half of the season, Brenly said he was particularly bothered by the suggestions he couldn't work with young players.
"People were saying I couldn't work with kids, but the year before we had a 12-game winning streak with a bunch of kids who were fresh off the freeway," Brenly said. "I didn't feel like there was any problem with the young players. I actually enjoyed working with those kids. It was fun to see them start their major league careers and see them learn on a daily basis and see them get better. There was some information or misinformation out there that kind of painted the thing differently than it was."
Brenly said he appreciated support from Colangelo, as well as calls from former teammates and players, after his firing. He said he sensed his dismissal was somewhat abrupt, considering what the franchise accomplished during his tenure.
"We won the World Series in 2001, we won the division in 2002 and of course all the injuries in 2003 with the two big guys (Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling), that killed us," Brenly said. "The first time there's the least sign of adversity, I got flushed. That was a little frustrating. I would have liked the opportunity to try to do the best I could to reassemble the team and start over again."
Brenly said he felt for Pedrique and his players, particularly veterans Danny Bautista and Shea Hillenbrand, during the second-half slide.
The past three months allowed Brenly to watch his son Michael, a senior at Notre Dame Prep in Scottsdale, play football, as well as watch other teams. Brenly seems ready to rejoin the majors soon.
"We're just going to wait until the World Series and see how things follow up at this point."
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/diamondbacks/articles/1015brenly1015.html
