Kevin Towers Sounds Off: “It’s going to be an eye for an eye”
Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
Arizona Diamondbacks general manager Kevin Towers took to the radio (KTAR, Phoenix) to speak his mind on some of his thoughts on the 2013 D-Backs and their competitors.
First, he talks about his displeasure with some of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ antics.
“I was sitting behind home plate that game and when it showed up on the Diamondvision of stuffing bananas down their throats, I felt like we were a punching bag. Literally, if I would have had a carton of baseballs I would have fired them into the dugout from where I was sitting behind home plate.”He continues the rant, implying his organization has some sort of softness about it.“That’s not who we are as Diamondbacks, that’s not how — I mean, it’s a reflection on (manager Kirk Gibson), on myself, on our entire organization. They slapped us around and we took it, you know?”Towers, however, does not stop there. He then turns his attention from Arizona’s rival to the Diamondbacks themselves.“You’d think the GM comes down and makes it a point to talk to the staff about it that at we need to start protecting our own and doing things differently. Probably a week later Goldy gets dinged, and no retaliation. It’s like “wait a minute.”Finally, he brings up the potential threat of playing having to leave the organization if they do not show a certain amount of toughness.“Some [pitchers], contractually, it’s tough to move. But I think come spring training, it will be duly noted that it’s going to be an eye for an eye and we’re going to protect one another.”“If not, if you have options there’s ways to get you out of here and you don’t follow suit or you don’t feel comfortable doing it, you probably don’t belong in a Diamondbacks uniform.”Clearly, the 51-year-old is still upset with how the season ended up for the Snakes and thinks the organization needs to play with more of an edge. I’m sure seeing the Dodgers celebrating and advancing to the NLCS the other night didn’t make him any more pleased. “I was sitting behind home plate that game and when it showed up on the Diamondvision of stuffing bananas down their throats, I felt like we were a punching bag. Literally, if I would have had a carton of baseballs I would have fired them into the dugout from where I was sitting behind home plate.”“That’s not who we are as Diamondbacks, that’s not how — I mean, it’s a reflection on (manager Kirk Gibson), on myself, on our entire organization. They slapped us around and we took it, you know?”“You’d think the GM comes down and makes it a point to talk to the staff about it that at we need to start protecting our own and doing things differently. Probably a week later Goldy gets dinged, and no retaliation. It’s like “wait a minute.”Finally, he brings up the potential threat of playing having to leave the organization if they do not show a certain amount of toughness.“Some [pitchers], contractually, it’s tough to move. But I think come spring training, it will be duly noted that it’s going to be an eye for an eye and we’re going to protect one another.”“If not, if you have options there’s ways to get you out of here and you don’t follow suit or you don’t feel comfortable doing it, you probably don’t belong in a Diamondbacks uniform.”Clearly, the 51-year-old is still upset with how the season ended up for the Snakes and thinks the organization needs to play with more of an edge. I’m sure seeing the Dodgers celebrating and advancing to the NLCS the other night didn’t make him any more pleased. “You’d think the GM comes down and makes it a point to talk to the staff about it that at we need to start protecting our own and doing things differently. Probably a week later Goldy gets dinged, and no retaliation. It’s like “wait a minute.”“Some [pitchers], contractually, it’s tough to move. But I think come spring training, it will be duly noted that it’s going to be an eye for an eye and we’re going to protect one another.”“If not, if you have options there’s ways to get you out of here and you don’t follow suit or you don’t feel comfortable doing it, you probably don’t belong in a Diamondbacks uniform.”