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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. 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. Custom Hockey Jerseys .Before a raucous sellout crowd, the Hawks won for the 29th time in 31 games to extend their Eastern-best record to 36-8.As usual, pretty much everyone chipped in.Four starters were in double figures and backup point guard Dennis Schroder led a spurt at the start of the fourth quarter that helped the Hawks pull away. Cheap Hockey Jerseys China .A. Dickey earned an American League Gold Glove on Tuesday to become the first Toronto Blue Jays pitcher to win the award. https://www.fakehockeyjerseys.com/ . As TSN reported Thursday, the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport is under intense pressure from the federal government to focus drug testing on athletes who compete in international events representing Canada. Since funding for the tests has been frozen and the cost of testing can eclipse $1,000 per test, university athletes in a number of sports are being tested less often. Authentic Hockey Jerseys . Giants manager Bruce Bochy told The Associated Press of the decision before NL West-leading San Francisco opened a 10-game homestand Monday night with the first of three games against second-place Arizona. Fake Hockey Jerseys . Minutes before the final whistle of Sporting Kansas Citys 3-0 victory over a shorthanded Montreal Impact squad on Saturday afternoon, Saputo tweeted: "Our fans deserve better.TORONTO -- It didnt take long for Brian Burke to reach into his Toronto Maple Leafs past in his new job with the Calgary Flames. Late Saturday night, Burkes Flames acquired centre Joe Colborne for a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2014 draft. Colborne was among the players fighting for one of the final spots on the Leafs roster but did not stand out in the pre-season. The 23-year-old joins a host of other young players who are expected to be given big minutes by the rebuilding Flames. "With the opportunity to speak with Brian Burke and learn about Joes hockey sense and character from someone who had him as a player and knows him so well, it became clear to us that this is the type of young, big centre we need," Flames general manager Jay Feaster said in a statement. "He fits in very well with our rebuild and provides size up the middle which we believe is critical going forward. The fact that he is from Calgary is an added bonus. We look forward to welcoming him to the Flaames family.dddddddddddd" Its the second time Burke has traded for Colborne. When he was the Leafs GM, Burke got Colborne from the Bruins as part of a deal that sent defenceman Tomas Kaberle to Boston. Now the Flames president of hockey operations, Burke has some salary-cap space to play with. Beyond Colborne, whos on a one-year, one-way deal that pays him US$600,000, that could mean getting involved in waivers in the coming days. "I would predict that Sunday will be a big day on the waiver wire, and possibly Monday, because the league starts on Tuesday," Leafs coach Randy Carlyle said. Colborne, a 2008 first-round pick of the Bruins, has one goal and five assists in 16 career NHL games for the Leafs. He had three assists in six pre-season games. Toronto said the fourth-round pick it got for Colborne is Calgarys and that it could be upgraded to a third rounder "if certain conditions are met in the upcoming season." Those conditions were not disclosed. ' ' '