The Arizona Diamondbacks ushered in the Tony La Russa era in grand style Saturday night, pounding the Los Angeles Dodgers 18-7.
But La Russa's hire earlier in the day as the franchise's chief baseball officer could mean the ushering out of both manager Kirk Gibson and general manager Kevin Towers.
HardBallTalk.NBCSports.com said La Russa's hire is a response to the team's 16-28 start - prior to the drubbing of the Dodgers later Saturday - which is an ominous sign for the current administration in the organization.
La Russa now is boss to both Towers and Gibson.
According to HardBallTalk.NBCSports.com, "It's hard to imagine this not eventually leading to general manager Kevin Towers and manager Kirk Gibson being let go considering how poorly the team has performed and the fact that La Russa will presumably want to shake things up by bringing in his own people."
A statement from team president and CEO Derrick Hall acknowledged the need for change.
"The entire organization is obviously frustrated with the results on the field and we are looking to improve. Tony brings us a wealth of knowledge, experience and success, and will work closely with [general manager Kevin Towers] and [manager Kirk Gibson] in evaluating our current state to determine the future of our baseball operations. He is excited and enthusiastic about the challenge, and we are fortunate to have this Hall of Famer on board and a part of the team."
Gibson is in his third full year with the Diamondbacks, won the 2011 National League West Division crown. But he has just a 307-307 career record since taking over as interim manager in 2010.
Gibson so far has had a much more stellar playing career, winning World Series titles with the Detroit Tigers in 1984 and the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1988 -- he was the NL MVP that season.
AZCentral.com reported that Gibson know the team was looking externally for some help in turning the Diamondbacks fortunes around. But he admitted not being in the loop as to a timetable for that search, which may be another indication that Gibson's days could be numbered.
"We were aware they were evaluating things," Gibson said. "We didn't really know what to expect. Over the past month or so or maybe several weeks we haven't been in constant contact."
Will the hiring of Tony La Russa mean the end of Kirk Gibson's tenure as Arizona Diamondbacks manager? Comment below or tell us @SportsWN.
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