azdad1978
Championship!!!!
By Scott Bordow, Tribune Columnist
Wally Backman is gone, and the Diamondbacks want to turn the page.
Bob Melvin is the manager, and the Diamondbacks want to move on.
We’re trying to catch our breath after the craziest 96 hours any sports team in the Valley has ever had, and the Diamondbacks are looking ahead.
If it were only that simple. The slate is not wiped
clean because the Diamondbacks determined they could no longer trust Backman to be their manager.
In fact, if this week has taught us anything, it’s that there should be a competency hearing for the suits running Arizona’s baseball team.
But before we get to that, a postscript on Backman.
There’s no question the Diamondbacks erred in failing to conduct a background check on Backman before they hired him.
The fact Arizona never did background checks on former managers Buck Showalter, Bob Brenly and Al Pedrique is not an alibi but an excuse for laziness.
In the end, however, Backman lost the job because of what he did, and what he tried to hide.
The DUI arrest and the misdemeanor harassment conviction were a two-alarm blaze. Backman might have survived the revelations had he come clean with the Diamondbacks.
Instead, when team officials asked Backman on Tuesday if there was anything else in his past they should know about, Backman assured them his closet was empty of skeletons.
As their investigation unfolded, the Diamondbacks discovered Backman wasn’t telling the truth.
At that point, team officials felt they couldn’t trust Backman, and without that trust, he couldn’t be their manager.
"It’s always been the Diamondbacks creed that we want to not only be an organization of competence, but we also want to be an organization of character," said Ken Kendrick, Arizona’s general partner.
"Had we at the time we made the decision had all the facts we ended up having, we would not have made Wally our manager."
Backman’s reputation has taken such a hit, it’s unlikely he’ll get another opportunity to manage a major league team.
It’s a shame, for he’s a good baseball man, but we live in a day where a public figure’s private life is relevant.
Just ask Mike Price.
As for the Diamondbacks, you have to wonder about the adequacy of the men running the franchise.
The ownership group has made two major decisions — forcing out Jerry Colangelo and hiring Backman — and botched both.
Colangelo’s ouster was inevitable — he and Kendrick had different ideas as to how organizational decisions should be made — but it was a messy departure for a man who brought baseball to town and built a World Series champion.
The Backman fiasco has only accentuated the skepticism.
That the Diamondbacks admitted and corrected their mistake is admirable — it’s not easy to fall on a sword — but what choice did they have?
On Monday, Kendrick said of Backman, "He is absolutely a first-class person."
On Friday, he fired him.
"I take full responsibility," Kendrick said.
As well he should, but while confession is good for the soul, it’s not so hot for an organization’s credibility.
The Diamondbacks are laughingstocks today, and you can be sure the rest of baseball is having a chuckle at their expense.
The issue now is how Arizona restores its credibility.
Hiring Melvin was a start. He’s well-respected and, yes, his background check came up clean.
But a new nameplate on the manager’s office door isn’t going to convince fans, the Diamondbacks’ players — and potential free agents — that the organization can spell clue if it’s spotted the C and the U.
"If there are people who don’t want to let go of the fact we made a mistake and we said we made a mistake, well . . . that’s negative thinking. That’s backward thinking," said general manager Joe Garagiola Jr.
No, it’s the kind of thinking that occurs when a franchise trips over its own two feet and lands face first in wet cement.
The best thing the Diamondbacks can do for themselves now is re-sign first baseman Richie Sexson. If he leaves, the single strand of faith fans are holding onto will float away.
"We all know at the end of the day, it’s going to come down to wins and losses," Kendrick said.
He’s right.
When Arizona reports for spring training next February, Backman will be a distant memory, and a season with more wins than losses will completely wipe the egg off Arizona’s face.
But for now, the doubt that’s out there is well deserved.
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=31084
Wally Backman is gone, and the Diamondbacks want to turn the page.
Bob Melvin is the manager, and the Diamondbacks want to move on.
We’re trying to catch our breath after the craziest 96 hours any sports team in the Valley has ever had, and the Diamondbacks are looking ahead.
If it were only that simple. The slate is not wiped
clean because the Diamondbacks determined they could no longer trust Backman to be their manager.
In fact, if this week has taught us anything, it’s that there should be a competency hearing for the suits running Arizona’s baseball team.
But before we get to that, a postscript on Backman.
There’s no question the Diamondbacks erred in failing to conduct a background check on Backman before they hired him.
The fact Arizona never did background checks on former managers Buck Showalter, Bob Brenly and Al Pedrique is not an alibi but an excuse for laziness.
In the end, however, Backman lost the job because of what he did, and what he tried to hide.
The DUI arrest and the misdemeanor harassment conviction were a two-alarm blaze. Backman might have survived the revelations had he come clean with the Diamondbacks.
Instead, when team officials asked Backman on Tuesday if there was anything else in his past they should know about, Backman assured them his closet was empty of skeletons.
As their investigation unfolded, the Diamondbacks discovered Backman wasn’t telling the truth.
At that point, team officials felt they couldn’t trust Backman, and without that trust, he couldn’t be their manager.
"It’s always been the Diamondbacks creed that we want to not only be an organization of competence, but we also want to be an organization of character," said Ken Kendrick, Arizona’s general partner.
"Had we at the time we made the decision had all the facts we ended up having, we would not have made Wally our manager."
Backman’s reputation has taken such a hit, it’s unlikely he’ll get another opportunity to manage a major league team.
It’s a shame, for he’s a good baseball man, but we live in a day where a public figure’s private life is relevant.
Just ask Mike Price.
As for the Diamondbacks, you have to wonder about the adequacy of the men running the franchise.
The ownership group has made two major decisions — forcing out Jerry Colangelo and hiring Backman — and botched both.
Colangelo’s ouster was inevitable — he and Kendrick had different ideas as to how organizational decisions should be made — but it was a messy departure for a man who brought baseball to town and built a World Series champion.
The Backman fiasco has only accentuated the skepticism.
That the Diamondbacks admitted and corrected their mistake is admirable — it’s not easy to fall on a sword — but what choice did they have?
On Monday, Kendrick said of Backman, "He is absolutely a first-class person."
On Friday, he fired him.
"I take full responsibility," Kendrick said.
As well he should, but while confession is good for the soul, it’s not so hot for an organization’s credibility.
The Diamondbacks are laughingstocks today, and you can be sure the rest of baseball is having a chuckle at their expense.
The issue now is how Arizona restores its credibility.
Hiring Melvin was a start. He’s well-respected and, yes, his background check came up clean.
But a new nameplate on the manager’s office door isn’t going to convince fans, the Diamondbacks’ players — and potential free agents — that the organization can spell clue if it’s spotted the C and the U.
"If there are people who don’t want to let go of the fact we made a mistake and we said we made a mistake, well . . . that’s negative thinking. That’s backward thinking," said general manager Joe Garagiola Jr.
No, it’s the kind of thinking that occurs when a franchise trips over its own two feet and lands face first in wet cement.
The best thing the Diamondbacks can do for themselves now is re-sign first baseman Richie Sexson. If he leaves, the single strand of faith fans are holding onto will float away.
"We all know at the end of the day, it’s going to come down to wins and losses," Kendrick said.
He’s right.
When Arizona reports for spring training next February, Backman will be a distant memory, and a season with more wins than losses will completely wipe the egg off Arizona’s face.
But for now, the doubt that’s out there is well deserved.
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=31084
