It's one thing to take over a championship-caliber club or a team that is in a documented rebuilding process with an eye only on the future. It's quite another thing when a team is making a major transition to youth with a leadership that is used to winning, and is looking for a way to rebuild on the run.
And that's where the D-backs are.
This is an ownership group that created the position of chief baseball officer and then hired Tony La Russa, a Hall of Fame manager with a track record of winning divisions, pennants and World Series championships in 35 years that he filled out the lineup card for the White Sox, A's and Cardinals.