Major League Baseball

Towers will get D-Backs back on track

Published Sep. 23, 2010 1:00 a.m. ET

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Five years later, the Arizona Diamondbacks got it right.

They hired Kevin Towers to be their general manager.

"Occasionally in life, one gets a do-over," Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick said. "In the case of Kevin, we're getting a do-over, and I'm thrilled about it."

Too bad they had to waste so much time and talent.

The Diamondbacks took the cheaper route five years ago. Then-president Jeff Moorad wanted an inexperienced GM he felt he could control, and despite receiving permission to interview Towers - then the GM in San Diego - Moorad convinced his partners to pass on Towers and hire the less-expensive, less-experienced Josh Byrnes.

Moorad's since put together an ownership group in San Diego, where he fired Towers and brought in another first-time GM (Jed Hoyer) he felt he could control. So, when it came time to clean up the mess that had been created in Arizona, Towers was very available.

The Diamondbacks gave strong consideration to giving the job full-time to Jerry Dipoto, the former assistant to Byrnes, who took over the GM job on an interim basis and made impressive moves in the short time he was on the job to clean up a payroll problem and bring young talent back into an organization which in the last five years had gutted its base of prospects.

In the end, however, Kendrick, president Derrick Hall and the other Arizona decision makers made the decision that they needed a fresh start in their front-office philosophy, and the close ties to Byrnes were too hard to break for Dipoto, who was Byrnes’ No. 1 confidant. Dipoto had hoped what he thought would be an audition for the GM job this summer would help the former big-league pitcher establish his own identity.

Given Towers’ easy-going nature, and the way Dipoto went about his job, the new regime's offered Dipoto a front-office role, but sources close to Dipoto indicate he plans to move on. It was an emotional moment for him when the decision was made. Hall admitted, "I felt like I broke his heart.’’

Arizona’s management, however, didn’t feel it could gamble on potential this time, like it did five years ago. It was more expensive to bring in Towers, but with five years to look back on, Arizona ownership realized the cheaper route cost the franchise dearly the last time.

"Jerry is going to be a general manager," said Hall. "He has proven that he is ready for it. In our current situation, we felt that Kevin Towers is the right man for the position to turn things around right now. We have confidence in Kevin, his track record, his mid-size market success. The fact he can create and build a roster, in my opinion, arguably better than anyone."

Towers’ resume shows 14 years as a general manager in San Diego, during which the Padres won four NL West titles. In those 14 years he hired only two managers, and both have been big-time successes - Bruce Bochy, who was forced out by Padres ownership four years ago, and then Buddy Black.

And what was easily his most impressive building job is one that won’t even show up on his resume - the 2010 Padres, a team that was a consensus to finish last in the NL West, but went into Thursday night sitting atop the division, having spent 147 days in first place.

Having moved into Petco Park in 2004, Towers had to completely revamp the roster construction of the Padres, turning the emphasis into a speed and pitching oriented team that could take advantage of the wide open spaces and heavy air at Petco. And not only do the Padres have the best record (entering Thursday) in the NL West, but their home-field mentality's translated into the NL’s best road record.

A pitching staff that's carried the Padres includes only one arm - starter Jon Garland - who wasn’t put in place by Towers, who thrived despite a franchise that lives in the lower echelons of major league payrolls. The Padres rank 29th out of 30 teams this year, nearly 40 percent less than the payroll commitment Arizona faced when the season opened.

Now comes Towers’ challenge in Arizona.

"I think there’s a lot of good core players here to build around," said Towers. "I’ve watched the ballclub over the past month - probably the last two weeks more intensely when there was a chance this may happen. I like a lot of things that are happening on the field.

"I think it’s a quick turnaround. I’m not a big believer in five-year plans, six-year plans. I want to win next year. I know these guys want to win next year. I know how badly they want to get back to bringing a championship ballclub to the fans here and the Phoenix community. Proof will be in the pudding. Talk is talk.’’

And the pudding will require a major infusion of arms, particularly for a bullpen that's the worst in the big leagues.

That's an area of strength for Towers, a former pitcher himself, who was a first-round draft of the Padres when he came out of BYU, but has his playing career derailed by a series of injuries. The Padres are a testament to his ability to assemble arms on a budget, and he plans the same approach in Arizona.

"I’ve always said that my analogy of a baseball game is like a dining experience,’’ explained Towers. "You can have a great meal with tremendous ambiance and great company, but if you have to wait 40 minutes for a check, you ain't going to remember anything that is good about that dinner.

"Baseball games are no different. You can have a great pitching performance, but if you blow the game, your fans, players, front office, coaching staff - everybody’s going to be unhappy. Bullpens can make managers and people look good. ... A bullpen is not just the closer, you should have five to six guys who can pitch in the seventh, eighth or ninth inning against a middle of the order hitter and be able to get a strikeout. Get your manager options, choices."

First, though, Towers has to make some choices, and he seems ready to get moving in that direction. Interim manager Kirk Gibson seems a lock to get a full-time opportunity. What was supposed to be a 30-minute meet-and-greet between Towers and Gibson on Tuesday turned into a two-hour affair that'll continue when Towers accompanies the team on its season-ending road trip.

Greg Maddux will be asked to join the team as either a pitching coach or bench coach, and it's likely that Alan Trammell, a former teammate of Gibson with the Detroit Tigers and coach for Towers in San Diego, will join the Arizona staff in 2011. The only current coaches expected to remain are first base coach Matt Williams and bullpen coach Glenn Sherlock.

Towers also is expected to reunite himself with former Padres scouting/front office associates Randy Smith, Fred Uhlmann, Jr. and Towers' scouting mentor, Bill Bryk.

It's all part of the job Towers is ready to take on.

After a year as a special assistant for the Yankees, Towers is recharged, ready to take on the challenge of being a general manager again, but with his eyes open to the disappointments that are an inevitable part of the job.

"I want to be here, feeling that pain again," Towers said.

Hall smiled.

"You will," he said.

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