"What are your thoughts on Buster Olney's comment to WEEI saying that there is a lot of discontent in the Boston Red Sox locker room towards the manager?
"He's also discontent that I wouldn't go on the show with him when he does Sunday Night Baseball and he's crying a little here because I wouldn't let him interview me in the fourth inning. So, we have to understand the source here. I understand Buster. He's really a hard-working guy. He's so hard-working he's always on these talk shows that he has to make sure he's gathering information for you guys. Who gives a darn what he says about that situation? Why don't we hear about Kirk Gibson and how many of the players don't like him or about Jim Leyland and who's upset with Jim Leyland's pitching moves? This is absolutely ridiculous, but I think it's good drama so let's keep the ball rolling and maybe it will get Buster more air time. That gets him more tweets and that's how he gets paid."

I think Gibson is the type of manager whose style could wear thin rather quickly with today's players. I actually think a manager like Bob Melvin might be more in tune with the young players playing today. He got a lot out of the 2007 Dbacks and he's getting a lot out of this year's A's.

Casey Stengel said a manger's job was to keep the 10 players who hated him away from the 15 who were not sure.

Isnt it nice to have a guy that used to know casey stenal on the board

First name basis... no less

"Partner, sure as I'm standing here breathing, you're going to see a 3-2 backdoor slider."

And so would Bobby Thomson if they weren't stealing signs...

When Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland stepped down after the playoffs, Gibson seemed like the ideal replacement. He’s the ultimate Michigan man who has a 1,500-acre ranch back home, who has covered most of the state “via horse, snowmobile, my ’79 Blazer, my airplane with pontoons on it or my 50-foot boat that I went sailing on for 51 days during the strike in 1981.”

He is beloved in Michigan the way Mike Ditka fits the Chicago archetype, the way Bill Cowher once symbolized Pittsburgh. And after the Diamondbacks chose not to exercise a pair of team options on Gibson after the 2013 season, he had no reason to show any loyalty to Arizona.

Yet Gibson took himself out of contention before his candidacy could sprout. He didn’t even feign interest to force the Diamondbacks into giving him something of value, namely a contract extension.

That is not normal behavior.

“It is normal … for me,” Gibson said. “I love what I do. I love who I work for. I love the city. I love the fans. I have a great relationship with the fans. One of the first things we did when I got here was bring the organization together. I remember when I first took over and the guys used to say, ‘F the fans.’ We had to change that. But this (current) group of players is good, and they get it. They’re people you want to share with.”

Gibson added that the culture of the Diamondbacks trumped the idea of a homecoming in Detroit, which is a powerful testament to the franchise.

“I’ll give you an example,” Gibson said. “Look at the guys who went down (on a goodwill tour of) Australia for us. Why did they do it? It’s who we are. It’s who the Diamondbacks are. We’re committed to the game of baseball. We’re committed to the community. I’ll put our organization up against anybody’s in terms of doing the right thing.

“We had Goldy go down there, along with Patrick Corbin and Derrick Hall, our president and CEO. Who’s the other team got down there? Are they too (expletive) good? Honestly?”

Consider the latter another log on the rivalry fire with the Dodgers, who partied in the Chase Field pool after clinching the NL West, who will face the Diamondbacks in Sydney to start next season.

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/diamondbacks/articles/20131120kirk-gibson-fired-up-envisions-title-run-arizona-diamondbacks.html?sf19734305=1

Maybe everything Towers touches turns to dung because he touches it long after it's already been digested and has lost all nutritive value.

Any truth to the rumor that he was NOT on flight to SD?