Are You With Kirk Gibson?
By Thomas Lynch
Kirk Gibson is a pretty good manager although I suspect my opinion is in the minority. Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
There was a non-decision earlier this offseason that probably should have gotten a little more play than it did at the time. The Arizona Diamondbacks chose not to pick up the team options on GM Kevin Towers and manager Kirk Gibson after the 2013 season finished. I bring this up because I just read an interview Gibby did with azcentral’s Dan Bickley and found it quite entertaining. You can click here to see for yourself. One line in particular did it for me, when talking about the quality of the D’back organization in light of Opening Day in Australia:
"“We had Goldy go down there, along with Patrick Corbin and Derrick Hall, our president and CEO. Who’s the other team got down there? Are they too (expletive) good? Honestly?”"
As a fan, you should love the bluntness. I know Gibby at times can infuriate all of us with some of his decisions. The two big ones for me are the constant shuffling of the lineup which probably contributed to the team’s offensive woes and using the backup catcher (mostly Wil Nieves) as a pinch-hitter. Those are big issues. However, find me a fan base that is in love with their manager all the time. In the midst of probably his best job as field boss, I can’t tell you how many people wanted Joe Girardi fired from the Yankees. Even when Joe Torre was winning title after title, fans would complain that he was killing the bullpen. Unfortunately, negative headlines sell and those who complain about this manager or that one usually are much louder than those who has the skipper’s back.
For my money Kirk Gibson has been a good manager for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Ask yourself if you feel one of the top managers in the game such as a Terry Francona or Joe Maddon would have guided the Snakes to the playoffs the last two years. I am not putting Gibby on that level, I am merely pointing out that the manager, while not blameless, often feels the wrath of fans first. I am confident the team should stick with Gibby until it is proven the players have stopped trying under him.
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