PHOENIX -- Kevin Towers appeared to have a tenuous hold on his job as Arizonas general manager when the Diamondbacks hired Tony La Russa to run their baseball operations. [url=http://www.nmdshoescanada.com/]NMD Canada Sale[/url] . Though the Hall of Fame manager said he was going to evaluate the entir

PHOENIX -- Kevin Towers appeared to have a tenuous hold on his job as Arizonas general manager when the Diamondbacks hired Tony La Russa to run their baseball operations. NMD Canada Sale . Though the Hall of Fame manager said he was going to evaluate the entire organization, it seemed only to be a matter of time before the reins were taken away from Towers. The change came on Friday, when Arizona fired Towers in the midst of a third straight disappointing season, less than four months after La Russa was named chief baseball officer. "Over the past three months, I have had the opportunity to evaluate all aspects of our baseball operations and have decided to restructure our staff in order to improve our decision-making process," La Russa said. "I have the utmost respect for Kevin and a friendship with him that dates back many years which has allowed me to appreciate his talents and experience." Towers was hired in 2010 after 14 seasons as the San Diego Padres general manager. He had almost immediate success, pulling off all the right moves to help Arizona win the 2011 NL West crown, its first division title since 2007. Since then, Towers moves havent paid off quite as well and the Diamondbacks have suffered, following a pair of .500 seasons with a nosedive this year. "You can see it coming but you dont want to believe it," catcher Miguel Montero said. "Its really sad that its come to this." Plagued by injuries and subpar seasons from players it had counted on, Arizona lost 22 of its first 30 games to plummet into last place and never really recovered, entering Friday nights game at 59-81 -- 11 1-2 games behind the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers. "Its a bummer," first baseman Mark Trumbo said. "You never want to see anyone relieved of their role in the organization, especially when it comes as a result of the team underperforming." Towers said La Russa told him he wanted to restructure the front office a couple of weeks ago and was offered another position within the organization. Towers plans to stay with the organization at least until the Diamondbacks hire a new GM and decide on his future once he knows who the new person will be. La Russa said current agent Dave Stewart, a pitcher under La Russa with the Oakland Athletics, and St. Louis farm director Gary LaRocque are on Arizonas list of potential replacements. He also has talked to Diamondbacks scouting director Ray Montgomery, and asked permission to speak with New York Yankees assistant GM Billy Eppler and Los Angeles Angels scouting director Hal Morris. "When I took this job in 2010, we wanted to win a World Series and we won very early here, set high standards for ourselves," Towers said. "Since 2011, we havent met the standards that we hoped, ownership had hoped for and our fan base hoped for, and ultimately Im going to be held accountable for that." With manager Kirk Gibson at the helm, Arizona had a dramatic turnaround in 2011, winning 94 games and the NL West after losing 97 games the season before. The success didnt continue. Arizona went 81-81 the next two seasons despite a slew of moves by Towers and took another step backward this season after Gibson and Towers were given contract extensions. "I look at K.T. and the thing that comes to my mind is how much better the organization is right now than we he arrived," Gibson said. "Hes done a great job." Injuries were a big part of the fall this season. The Diamondbacks lost their No. 1 starter and setup man before the season even started, when Patrick Corbin and David Hernandez underwent Tommy John surgery. Trumbo, the teams key off-season acquisition, was tied for the NL lead in homers and second in RBIs, but went down with a stress fracture in his foot less than a month into the season. Outfielder A.J. Pollock also missed significant time with a broken hand and All-Star first baseman Paul Goldschmidt was lost for the season last month with a broken hand. "Wish we could have stayed healthy and enjoyed success year after year, but this season was a very trying year and when you dont meet expectations, things like this happen -- and I know that," Towers said. Even before the injuries struck, the Diamondbacks laboured after a series of deals by Towers didnt pan out. The big trade under Towers came before the 2013 season, when the Diamondbacks sent outfielder Justin Upton to the Braves for top pitching prospect Randall Delgado and three minor leaguers. Upton has continued to produce in Atlanta while the players Arizona got in return have yet to have much of an impact. Towers also traded away several starting pitchers, including Ian Kennedy, Trevor Bauer, Jarrod Parker and Tyler Skaggs, along with outfielder Adam Eaton. With the team out of contention, Towers and the Diamondbacks began dismantling the team around the trade deadline, pulling off deals that sent right-hander Brandon McCarthy, third baseman Martin Prado -- the key cog in the Upton trade -- and outfielder Gerardo Parra out of the desert. Ultra Boost 19 Sale Canada . Kerber will next play Estonias Kaia Kanepi, who beat American qualifier Victoria Duval 6-1, 6-3. In other first-round matches, Lucie Safarova beat 2010 French Open champion Francesca Schiavone 6-4, 6-4 and American Bethanie Mattek-Sands had a 6-4, 6-3 win over Canadas Eugenie Bouchard. Adidas Superstar Womens Canada Sale . A larger-than-life personality known for his intimidating style in the 18-yard box, Schmeichels career spanned some 20 years -- including a memorable tenure at Manchester United. http://www.nmdshoescanada.com/nmd-racer-cheap-canada.html . The 29-year-old from Port Colborne, Ont., who trains out of San Diego, will fight bantamweight champion (Rowdy) Ronda Rousey on July 5 in the co-main event of UFC 175 in Las Vegas.Hes moved across the country, and to a ballpark that isnt as hitter-friendly, but Robinson Cano remains the best of the bunch at second base. Over the past five seasons, Cano has led second basemen with 142 home runs, 496 runs scored, 513 RBI and a .314 batting average. Gaudy numbers at a position that doesnt have a ton of competition, so it would normally land Cano in the first round and it still could, but there is an argument to be made that Cano isnt going to have the same power numbers in Seattle and there is a difference between a .300 hitter with 25 home runs and a .300 hitter with 18 home runs when it comes to assigning relative value. The closest rival to Cano is Bostons Dustin Pedroia, who has hit .297 over the past five seasons, averaging 88 runs, 71 RBI and 18 stolen bases in that time frame. With those two as the established leaders at the position, the rest are definitely a tier behind. Clevelands Jason Kipnis is closing the gap, with back-to-back 30-steal seasons and Cincinnatis Brandon Phillips wont duplicate his 100 RBI season and doesnt provide stolen bases as he did earlier in his career, but hes in the middle of a productive lineup and has registered more than 600 plate appearances in six straight seasons, so he can help many teams. Another longtime productive option at second base is Ian Kinsler, moving to Detroit from Texas. While Kinsler has dipped from his two 30-30 (HR-SB) seasons, hes in prime position to score a lot of runs and hes topped 100 runs in a season four times. Houstons Jose Altuve offers value in terms of batting average and back-to-back 30-steal seasons, but his overall numbers are limited somewhat by the weak Astros supporting cast. Tampa Bays ultra-versatile Ben Zobrist hold more value because he can play more than one position, and even coming off a bit of a down year, still had his fifth strraight campaign with double-figure homers and steals. NMD R1 Canada. The thing about second base is that, unless youre going after Cano or Pedroia early, you can probably afford to wait and make a value play. Health was an issue for Arizonas Aaron Hill last season, as he was limited to 87 games, but hes been really productive since going to the National League, hitting .300 with an .862 OPS in 1060 at-bats with the Diamondbacks. Veteran standbys Chase Utley, always an injury concern, and Howie Kendrick are worth looking at for middle-infield spots and the Mets Daniel Murphy, a .290 career hitter, added value to his game last season when he stole 23 bases. San Diegos Jedd Gyorko mashed 23 home runs in 486 at-bats as a rookie. If he is healthy enough for 550-600 at-bats, is a 30-homer season within reach? Gyorko is only one of the younger guys that would have potential to help. Milwaukees Scooter Gennett hit .324 in 213 at-bats last season and .297 three-and-a-half minor league seasons. Texas Jurickson Profar is widely considered one of the top prospects in baseball and may be a year or two away from putting up big numbers (and is hurt in camp), but hes going to get a chance to play every day now that Kinsler is gone. Washingtons Anthony Rendon, the sixth overall pick in 2011, is another young player with a chance to break out. He had a .939 OPS in the minors and a .725 OPS in 351 at-bats as a rookie last year. Over a full season, 20-plus homers is possible. For a potential late-round bargain, consider the Dodgers Dee Gordon, the speedster who won the starting job over Cuban import Alex Guerrero and has swiped 66 bases in 182 career games. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. 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