Kirk Gibson: We’re on a mission…

In the classic movie The Blues Brothers Dan Aykroyd’s character Elwood Blues tells a bar full of people that he and his brother are ‘on a mission from God‘. On Friday Arizona Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson told a room full of reporters — admittedly not as much fun as a bunch of inebriated people — something similar.

“We’re on a mission … to compete for postseason ball,” Gibson said. “It takes time. It is a journey. We can’t be deterred from pushing through until we get there. I don’t know how long it’s going to take. I’ve said that several times but we’re not going to be deterred from that. That’s part of our commitment together.”

Gibson seems to have a realistic approach to the D-backs season acknowledging that getting to the post season won’t happen overnight and that’s a good thing. His team has lost 90-plus games in back-to-back seasons and while their 2-3 start is promising, from the stand point of avoiding a rethree-peat performance in the loss column, it doesn’t bode well for a team with playoff aspirations.

It may take time for the club to return to playing in October but you have to like the fact that Gibson isn’t afraid to make it clear to his team, the media and the fans that it is his ultimate goal.

While ‘organizational advocacy’ seems to have been replaced by hard work and commitment, the D-backs will probably won’t have a prayer of making the playoffs. Then again, the Blues Brothers didn’t look like they’d complete their mission and had their prayers answered at the very last second.

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