D-backs assistant GM Fitzgerald says team is pressing amid losing streak
Jun 9, 2021, 11:28 AM
Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo (17) talks to MLB umpire Laz Diaz (63) in the sixth inning during a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Sunday, May 30, 2021, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
The Arizona Diamondbacks have just two wins in their last 22 games, but it isn’t due to a lack of caring, according to assistant general manager Mike Fitzgerald.
“It’s not enjoyable for anybody,” Fitzgerald said Wednesday on Arizona Sports’ Doug & Wolf. “The care level is very high, the frustration level is very high.”
Fitzgerald insisted that the team is still very focused and is putting in the work on a daily basis.
“This is not an effort problem, this is not a guys being checked out problem, this is not a caring problem. If anything it might be too much in the other direction,” Fitzgerald said. “This is such a fine game of skill where trying harder doesn’t seem to reward you all the time.”
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The lack of team success signifies underperformance by several individuals but Fitzgerald did not want to put the blame on manager Torey Lovullo, who is under the final year of his contract.
“It’s evident that these guys still put a lot of trust in Torey and are still very engaged in the messages he is trying to send,” Fitzgerald said.
D-backs owner Ken Kendrick predicted in April that Lovullo would return to manage the team in 2022 after the team started 1-3 in a four-game series opener against the San Diego Padres.
The team has since gone on three losing streaks of six games or more and now sit with the worst record in the MLB at 20-42.
That being said, other personnel changes have been discussed.
“We have to acknowledge where our feet are and our feet aren’t in a great spot right now based on the 62 (games) that we’ve played,” Fitzgerald said.
“There are conversations about what does the landscape of the roster look like moving forward and a massive variable is obviously the conversations that are had with other teams.”
Fitzgerald did not mention specific players or positions groups that have been brought up but mentioned that GM Mike Hazen has been active in those discussions.
“Hazen is continuing to have conversations, we’re having conversations internally,” Fitzgerald said.
Although the going has been tough this season, Fitzgerald said the team is still looking for solutions to turn the year around and at least get things going in the right direction.
“The world has enough problem identifiers and we need to be problem solvers,” he said.
