Is Gibby on the hot seat?

[Desert Glory]

Ok so this is totally going to be a "we just lost, overreact time" post. I know its still only July and we are only 1.5 games back from first place. Its really still too early, no matter how much you hate Gibby, for the following but...... with that said....

Is Gibby's job on the line if we don't make the playoffs this year? How bad would the DBacks have to do for him to get canned at the end of the year? Or do you think he will definitely be the manager of next year's team?


Just some questions for you people, to see what you guys think.

 

[Arizona_Sting]

If we finish over .500 I think he keeps his job... if not, then he could be on his way out of town.

 

[Desert Glory]

Personally BTW, I feel this team has basically been built with Gibby's managing style in mind. This whole "grit" stuff was done by Towers specifically for Gibby, so I think it would take a complete disastrous melt down and loss of the clubhouse for him to get canned. I fully would expect him to be here at the start of next year no matter what actually. However if we tanked this year and then started off horribly next year, then he would be gone.

 

[Jonas_steven]

I am so glad someone finally brought up this topic! The simple answer, Yes!

 

[Jonas_steven]

This team has too much talent and potential to be wasting years of possibly good baseball! Gibby has shown he can't effectively stick with a simple lineup or manage a rotation/bullpen! He makes boneheaded decisions all the time that cost this team runs/games. If we miss the playoffs again, I think we are going to have a new ball coach next spring!

 

[Orange602]

He should be. This is the second straight season that the Dbacks have played flat, heartless baseball. He lit a fire under this team when he took over, but his methods don't appear to be working anymore. The entire coaching staff should be on the hot seat.

 

[Chiledipper]

Interesting discussion thus far. I think any conversation on this topic has to begin with the inescapable fact that Kirk Gibson has managed the team Kevin Towers was allowed to put on the field by Ken Kendricks. Gibson is yet to have a losing season and delivered results with what is arguably one of the worst pitching staffs in the NL for 3 consecutive years running along with what are arguably "retreads" or guys on their last leg in a number of key positions. I know, I know... as far as the pitching staff goes a lot of you are going to immediately reference the Ian Kennedy 21 win season (now almost 3 seasons ago!) as an argument however I think we've all seen that was clearly an aberration.

Is it fair to blame Kirk Gibson for David Hernandez just flat sucking *** this year? Is it fair to blame Kirk Gibson for Heath Bell throwing batting practice in the majority his relief appearances? How about J.J. Putz getting hurt and not being able to throw it in the ocean for the first month and a half of the season? Is it fair to blame Kirk Gibson for Trevor Cahill not being able to find Home Plate this year? Is it fair to blame Kirk Gibson for Miguel Montero not being able to even hit a stinkin' T-Ball this season? How about Eric Chavez getting hurt at a time when he was hot as h*ll... should we blame that on Gibson as well? Or wait a minute...how about Aron Hill getting hurt which in effect actually removed the protection for Goldschmidt? My God...think how much more freakish Goldschmidt's stats might of been with a healthy Aron Hill hitting either behind him or in front of him!!

I don't know maybe it's just me as I despise losing too. Bottom line for me is... I remain reasonably confident that when it's all said and done...the Dbacks will fight this Division race out al the way to the wire. But what not one of you can argue is that Dbacks can't beat is the ungodly power and depth of the Dodger Checkbook.

Want to blame someone? Blame frickin' Ken Kendricks for being a tightwad s.o.b. and to a smaller degree Kevin Towers albeit with handcuffs on.

 

[Desert Glory]

Interesting discussion thus far. I think any conversation on this topic has to begin with the inescapable fact that Kirk Gibson has managed the team Kevin Towers was allowed to put on the field by Ken Kendricks. Gibson is yet to have a losing season and delivered results with what is arguably one of the worst pitching staffs in the NL for 3 consecutive years running along with what are arguably "retreads" or guys on their last leg in a number of key positions. I know, I know... as far as the pitching staff goes a lot of you are going to immediately reference the Ian Kennedy 21 win season (now almost 3 seasons ago!) as an argument however I think we've all seen that was clearly an aberration.

Is it fair to blame Kirk Gibson for David Hernandez just flat sucking *** this year? Is it fair to blame Kirk Gibson for Heath Bell throwing batting practice in the majority his relief appearances? How about J.J. Putz getting hurt and not being able to throw it in the ocean for the first month and a half of the season? Is it fair to blame Kirk Gibson for Trevor Cahill not being able to find Home Plate this year? Is it fair to blame Kirk Gibson for Miguel Montero not being able to even hit a stinkin' T-Ball this season? How about Eric Chavez getting hurt at a time when he was hot as h*ll... should we blame that on Gibson as well? Or wait a minute...how about Aron Hill getting hurt which in effect actually removed the protection for Goldschmidt? My God...think how much more freakish Goldschmidt's stats might of been with a healthy Aron Hill hitting either behind him or in front of him!!

I don't know maybe it's just me as I despise losing too. Bottom line for me is... I remain reasonably confident that when it's all said and done...the Dbacks will fight this Division race out al the way to the wire. But what not one of you can argue is that Dbacks can't beat is the ungodly power and depth of the Dodger Checkbook.

Want to blame someone? Blame frickin' Ken Kendricks for being a tightwad s.o.b. and to a smaller degree Kevin Towers albeit with handcuffs on.

I'm holding out on blaming Kendrick just yet. I know they haven't exactly spent a lot of money (payroll did take a nice jump) but so far I don't disagree with that choice. They have some young really good players that will need contracts sooner or later. I much rather give those guys long term deals once its time. People also forget that when Kendrick took over the team in 2004, we still owed around 200 million to the 2001 team. That just came off the books in the last year, which is insane. It's also what allowed Towers to spend some money recently, even though he didn't exactly spend it the best way. IMO this ownership's "real" tenure as owners is starting right now, so I want to wait and see how they do.

I'm probably one of the few fans on the "supportive" side for Gibby on here, but even I see him getting out managed in plenty of games. I believe Gibby's strength is not in making game decisions, its more in the clubhouse and during practice. I want to give him more of a chance because I really do think the teams like him, but he has to be careful because at some point him getting out managed in games might outweigh his positives.

 

[Chiledipper]

That's all fair.

 

[Protect The Nest]

I would love to see the team Towers could put together with a Dodgers like budget. You can point the finger at Gibby all you want, but during spring training, I don't think anyone expected the D-backs to be hovering around first place this late in the season. With that said, the D-backs haven't made any trade-deadline moves to improve the team. Just think what a difference Cliff Lee or an added bat would make. I guess I have to accept the fact that "tight-wad" ownership isn't going to spend money. God I love the NFL. Salary cap and revenue sharing = fun for everyone.

 

[AZ Sun]

I would love to see the team Towers could put together with a Dodgers like budget. You can point the finger at Gibby all you want, but during spring training, I don't think anyone expected the D-backs to be hovering around first place this late in the season. With that said, the D-backs haven't made any trade-deadline moves to improve the team. Just think what a difference Cliff Lee or an added bat would make. I guess I have to accept the fact that "tight-wad" ownership isn't going to spend money. God I love the NFL. Salary cap and revenue sharing = fun for everyone.

Low budget is not an excuse for failure. The A's have been great the past two years with that awfully low payroll. Other teams can make it work with less money, the D-backs need to also.

 

[Arizona_Sting]

Look at what the Rays and A's have done with a low budget. They have LESS money to work with than us yet they have both been more successful the past two seasons.

 

[Arizona_Sting]

We just need to invest our money better. McCarthy, Ross, Bell, Montero... too much money for guys that aren't contributing. KT should've used that money on a couple really good set up men. Having a good bullpen is very important.

 

[Arizona_Sting]

Also, keeping prospects is smart. We could've had Scherzer and Parker in our rotation right now along with Cargo in our outfield. Sure, Cargo meant Corbin and Skaggs but I'd still take him over those guys.

Take a minute to imagine a Cargo-Goldy 3-4. *gets real moist*

 

[Orange602]

Corbin could become a true ace for this team. I would like to still have Cargo, but I'm fine with what we (eventually) got for him.

As far as how this team spends its money, their biggest acquisitions the past two off-seasons have been Kubel, McCarthy, and Ross. I think those signings speak for themselves.

 

[Desert Glory]

What about now?

 

[Orange602]

I stand by my original post.

 

[Arizona_Sting]

 

[Desert Glory]

BAHahaha

 

[Desert Glory]

Diamondbacks GM frustrated, not blaming manager Gibson for struggles ArizonaSports.com

In case anyone missed it btw.