Diamondbacks Fire Manager Bob Melvin

Bob Melvin has been fired as manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks and replaced by A.J. Hinch, the club’s director of player development since 2006. Melvin was a good guy and a great interview. What he did with the 2007 Diamondbacks was incredible, leading that team to the best record in the National League despite fielding a team that scored 20 fewer runs than it allowed. Unfortunately, that success created unrealistic expectations for 2008 and 2009, and now he’s seeing the fallout of that. Image via Wikipedia Things began to sour for Melvin after his club put up a 20-8 April record last year. Since then, the D-backs have gone 74-89, although much of this year’s struggles can be attributed to injuries to the team’s best pitcher (Brandon Webb) and position player (Stephen Drew). The club also dismissed Rick Schu as hitting coach.  The Diamondbacks were dead last in baseball in team batting average (.222) and on-base percentage (.296) at the ti...