Trouble brews in Arizona for Dodgers, and it has nothing to do with team on field
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Be afraid of Arizona. Be very afraid.
Nah, not the team. Not this weekend’s series. Not controversial immigration laws. Not its miserable summer weather.
Not even the utterly preposterous scenario of Dodgers hero Kirk Gibson making his managerial debut Friday night against ... the Dodgers?
Really, shouldn’t there be some kind of law against that?
No, be afraid because the Diamondbacks need a new general manager.
Already, rumors are flying that two of the leading candidates to become the new Diamondbacks GM are Logan White and Kim Ng.
OK, a main source is Jim Bowden, the controversial ex-GM of the Reds and Expos/Nationals. A tweet by Bowden about the Arizona general manager candidates listed White at No. 1 and Ng at No. 3.
Before you dismiss the possibility of either Dodgers assistant general manager landing in Arizona because it comes from Bowden, there is reason to believe he is on to something.
The Arizona Diamondbacks’ president is Derrick Hall.
That would be Derrick Hall, the much-admired former Dodgers vice president of communications, the first to survey the landscape of the Frank and Jamie McCourt ownership and decide to get out of Dodge.
Hall and Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick fired GM Josh Byrnes and manager A.J. Hinch on Thursday. Hall’s interim replacement for Hinch is an ex-Dodger.
‘We think Kirk is the logical choice right now,’ Hall said at a news conference Friday. ‘It’s an opportunity to be the manager permanently.
‘He’s ready for this opportunity.’
Hall also said it was an opportunity for interim GM Jerry DiPoto, though he was less effusive and seemed careful to constantly refer to him as the ‘interim general manager’ during the 30-minute news conference.
Kendrick made several references to the Diamondbacks being a mid-market team.
‘We’re dependent upon our draft and farm system,’ Kendrick said. ‘Our farm system has been less than stellar.’
The draft is White’s area of expertise -- he selected Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, Jonathan Broxton, Matt Kemp, Russell Martin and James Loney -- and he also is involved in scouting.
He would seem a very logical choice for Hall.
Ng, who is more involved in contract negotiations and trades, is highly regarded in baseball circles. She previously was a finalist for the Mariners’ GM position.
These are Ned Colletti’s two key lieutenants, and losing either would be a serious blow.
Be afraid of Arizona.
-- Steve Dilbeck