The Arizona Diamondbacks fired manager A.J. Hinch and general manager Josh Byrnes on Thursday night but it is unlikely the changes will help the team vs. the bookmaker baseball odds. The Diamondbacks are in last place in the National League West and they have been a major disappointment in baseball offshore betting this season.
Bookmaker odds do not favor Arizona that often and even with a new manager that may not change. The Diamondbacks promoted bench coach Kirk Gibson to the position of interim manager. Arizona team president Derrick Hall said that the moves are the first steps in a major shakeup of the team. Arizona has had success in the past but this season they have been a major mess vs. the offshore betting baseball odds.
The Diamondbacks hired Hinch as their manager in 2009 even though he had never had any managing experience. He was not able to do much with the Diamondbacks and he didn’t last even two seasons with the team. He has two years remaining on his contract after this year. Byrnes was considered a very good general manager and he has 5.5 years left on his contract. After the Diamondbacks made the NLCS in 2007, he was given an eight-year extension. Jerry DiPoto, who was vice president for player development will take over the GM job on an interim basis.
Kirk Gibson is a big name in baseball circles. He hit .268 with 255 home runs, 870 RBIs and 284 stolen bases in his career. He is best known by those at the bookmaker for his time with the Los Angeles Dodgers when he was NL MVP. He was the hero in the World Series when he hit a dramatic home run against Oakland.
The Diamondbacks may be improved vs. the bookmaker baseball odds simply for the fact that Gibson can’t do any worse than Hinch. Arizona simply wasn’t playing for him. The Diamondbacks were 89-123 under Hinch. The Diamondbacks began a 10-game home stand on Friday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The key for Arizona in terms of improving vs. the baseball bookmaker odds will be to get improved pitching. They are last in the league in ERA. Their bullpen has simply been horrible so Gibson is going to have to find someone to give them some quality innings or his time as manager is going to be very unpleasant.