ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian is not putting the D-backs’ struggles on Chip Hale

Whatever way you want to slice it, the Arizona Diamondbacks have failed to meet expectations this season.

Following Friday’s loss to the Cincinnati Reds, the D-backs dropped to 16 games below .500.

ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian joined Burns & Gambo on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM to discuss Arizona’s fall. With that discussion comes Chip Hale, who’s job security was leading the MLB rumor mills late in the week.

Kurkjian believes it’s unfair to blame Hale for the D-backs’ struggles.

“Shelby Miller, as we all know, has an ERA over seven when he’s supposed to be your No. 2 starter,” Kurkjian said. “Zack Greinke wasn’t very good for about a month and now he’s hurt. Patrick Corbin hasn’t even been close to what they thought he was gonna be and those, technically, are your three best starting pitchers.

“So you lose those three guys at different parts of the season, and then, well I guess, your second-best player A.J. Pollock goes down before the season starts. I don’t think this team had much of a chance with three starting pitchers not being at their best and with, really, other than (Paul) Goldschmidt, the best player on the team hurt all season, I’m just not sure how you get through that, so no, I’m not blaming the manager for this one.”

While Kurkjian didn’t pick Arizona to make the playoffs, he still believes it’s on the players.

“I’m a big believer that (when) players play and players don’t play very well, nobody can manage a baseball team.”

The aforementioned expectations for this season, however, lead to the logical thinking of how Hale could possibly be fired.

“You spend that much money, and you give up that many good young players to get Shelby Miller, of course the expectations are going to go through the roof,” Kurkjian said.

“That’s kinda been the price of expectations, are eventually, people lose their jobs when expectations are not met.”

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