ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

D-backs’ La Russa: ‘We are all responsible’ for disappointing 2016

Jul 26, 2016, 8:03 AM | Updated: 11:32 am

Arizona Diamondbacks Chief Baseball Officer Tony La Russa talks about his upcoming induction ceremo...

Arizona Diamondbacks Chief Baseball Officer Tony La Russa talks about his upcoming induction ceremony to the Baseball Hall of Fame prior to a baseball game Tuesday, July 22, 2014, in Phoenix. (AP Photo)

(AP Photo)

At one point during the 2016 season, the Arizona Diamondbacks were a very good road team.

Despite massive struggles at home, the D-backs had managed to be one of the best road squads in baseball.

Now, even that has gone away. Monday night, the D-backs started a four-game series in Milwaukee with a 7-2 loss. Since sweeping a four-game series in Philadelphia in mid-June, the Diamondbacks are 4-9 in their last 13 away contests.

The struggles have led to rumors about the job status of manager Chip Hale. Reports circulated late last week that the organization was considering making a change and would tab Triple-A skipper Phil Nevin to take over the club. Of course, that hasn’t happened.

Chief baseball officer Tony La Russa isn’t pointing a finger at Hale for the D-backs’ failure this year. He told Fox Sports Arizona’s Jody Jackson Monday night that it’s been a collective losing effort.

“We’re all very disappointed, we’re not playing well,” La Russa said. “The record is not good and we are all responsible.

“I think what (general manager Dave Stewart) came in here to say was that the best approach, is we we were 15 games over .500, there is this urgency that we’ve got to keep winning so we can keep it going. If you’re behind, you can never give in, you can never give up and there were some times there toward the end of the homestand where it looked like the club had maybe started to think ‘look, this is not going to be our year.’ Dave just came in to say, no matter what the injuries are, we’ve got to go out there and play as hard as we can and as good as we can. It was not a focus on Chip. It’s a focus on all of us.”

The D-backs are in last place in the National League West at 41-58 — 17 games behind the San Francisco Giants entering Tuesday night’s game. Not surprisingly, a season like this will lead to speculation about a manager’s future. But La Russa doesn’t think that’s fair.

“It’s one of the irritating things that happens,” he said. “There’s such a rush to scoop or be on top of what’s going to happen and you sacrifice the fact that rumors start and people are affected. I know when Chip had to read about it before he heard anything, other than Stew was coming in, that’s just not fair.”

La Russa was asked specifically if Hale was still doing the things that he was hired to do, and if there could be something that would necessitate a managerial change before the end of the season. La Russa deflected that question and took further personal responsibility.

“If anybody wants to point a finger,” he started. “(The Diamondbacks) gave me this unique responsibility to improve who plays and how we play in October. We’re further from October now than we were last year at this time, so I think we’ve all got to blame ourselves and commit to doing better.”

Arizona Diamondbacks

Blake Snell...

Associated Press

Blake Snell and San Francisco Giants agree to $62 million, 2-year contract, AP source says

Two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell and the San Francisco Giants have agreed to a $62 million, two-year contract.

1 hour ago

Zac Gallen...

Damon Allred

Diamondbacks ace Zac Gallen named Opening Day starter

The Arizona Diamondbacks named Zac Gallen the starter for Opening Day on March 28 when the Colorado Rockies come to Chase Field.

3 hours ago

Merrill Kelly...

Alex Weiner

Diamondbacks’ Merrill Kelly, Zac Gallen building strong outings with Opening Day near

Diamondbacks starter Merrill Kelly followed Zac Gallen's scoreless outing Sunday with one of his own Monday against the Athletics.

4 hours ago

Alek Thomas, Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder...

Kevin Zimmerman

D-backs’ Alek Thomas found confidence with just 2 swings in 2023 playoffs

Two Alek Thomas home runs during the 2023 playoff run for the Arizona Diamondbacks helped build his confidence. You can guess one of them.

8 hours ago

Alek Thomas...

Alex Weiner

NL West preview: Where do the Diamondbacks fit in a new-look division?

No division was more prevalent in the news cycle than the NL West. Here's a preview of the Dodgers, D-backs, Giants, Padres and Giants.

12 hours ago

Corbin Martin...

Alex Weiner

Diamondbacks option RHPs Corbin Martin, Slade Cecconi in final week of spring training

The Diamondbacks continued to clear up roster battles by optioning pitchers Corbin Martin, Slade Cecconi and Blake Walston Triple-A.

13 hours ago

D-backs’ La Russa: ‘We are all responsible’ for disappointing 2016