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Hinch wishes to turn the page on transition

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By Barry M. Bloom / MLB.com

07/20/09 7:03 PM ET

PHOENIX -- D-backs manager A.J. Hinch spent the All-Star break with his family vacationing in nearby Flagstaff, Ariz., a mountain town where the National Football League Cardinals train and Phoenicians go to escape the blinding summer heat.

For better or for worse -- and probably much for the better right now -- Hinch said he roamed unrecognized and unbothered. A neophyte manager still very much cutting his teeth, it may not always be that way.

"It was rejuvenating to have three days off in a row," Hinch told MLB.com last week during a wide-ranging 30-minute interview in his Chase Field office. "Once I took this job, it has been nonstop."

Since the break, he's been back at it, although the second half didn't begin much differently than the first half ended for the struggling D-backs, who lost two of three in St. Louis. They must now face the white-hot National League West rival Rockies in a three-game series at Denver, beginning on Monday night.

Hinch's controversial tenure began on May 8 when he replaced the well-liked Bob Melvin as manager. Hinch is a highly personable 34-year-old with a degree in psychology and a Major League career in which he spent parts of seven seasons as a catcher. He came to the new job with no coaching and managerial experience after four years of working the D-backs' farm system as their director of player development. Right now, he's the Majors' youngest manager.

Despite all that, he'd like to turn the page on the second-guessing surrounding his hiring and move on to the next chapter, whatever that might be.

"I knew the criticism was nothing personal -- it wasn't necessarily directed at me as much as it was at the position," Hinch said. "I tried to separate me, the person, and me, the manager. That's really the only way I've addressed it. The knocks on me for lack of experience, the youth, those are facts. There was no reason to fight them. The caveat to that, though, is there's no reason it can't turn out to be a positive move.

"The growing experience has been awesome. It's an opportunity that I cherish and am enjoying even with the controversy. But I think those controversial days are over. The players are adjusting. I'm happy with the mood in the clubhouse. It's time to move on to the next chapter of how we're going to become a more successful team."

The next phase includes a changing of the guard in the clubhouse. Veteran utility man Tony Clark was released just before the All-Star break and second baseman Felipe Lopes was traded this past Sunday. There's sure to be more moves before the July 31 non-waiver Trade Deadline as the 39-53 D-backs begin to reconstitute for next season and beyond.

If there's any doubt among the naysayers about what the future in the D-backs dugout might bring, according to Ken Kendrick, the team's managing general partner, Hinch is here to stay as part of a long-term management team that includes Derrick Hall, the club's president, and Josh Byrnes, its general manager.

Many of the critics might have missed it, but the managerial contract Hinch signed through 2012 that replaced his deal as player personal director, was a statement that management has a lot riding on this trio in the near future. Byrnes and Hall are signed through 2015.

Because of a $50 million investment over the next five years made by the current owners, the club's baseball operations should remain stable, despite a downturn in the economy and this year's unexpected losing season.

The team was 12-17 without former Cy Young Award-winner Brandon Webb (right shoulder strain) and slugger Conor Jackson (complications of valley fever) when Melvin was dismissed. Without those two guys, plus Eric Byrnes (broken hand), it has been 29-36 under Hinch. So any verdict on his nascent talent as a manager has to be placed in abeyance until well into the 2010 season.

"In my mind, the ultimate proof [in Hinch's ability] is to come," Kendrick said. "In terms of what we thought he could bring to the table, we think he's brilliant. One thing that's missing in people's commentary about him is the tremendous relationship he had over four years with all these younger players. He was a very activist player development guy and put a lot of time and energy directly working with them.

"He certainly wasn't a normal, usual choice as manager, but we think he really has special skills. We just need to give him time to exert his influence, and we think we'll get good results."

Hinch's influence actually extends well beyond the younger players who have come up through the system. As player personnel director, he was part of the group that Byrnes turned to when trades and free-agent signings were also made.

To be sure, it was that comfortable give-and-take relationship between Hinch and Byrnes that led to Hinch being hired as manager.

"Josh and A.J. have a strong relationship, and I think that's essential," Kendrick said. "In fairness, you've got to remember that Bob Melvin was not chosen by Josh. It doesn't mean they didn't work well together. I think they generally did work well together. It was right to make the change, regardless of the second guessing, and I think we made a real good choice."

Melvin was hired in 2005 by general manager Joe Garagiola Jr., who's now a vice president of baseball operations for Major League Baseball. Under Melvin, the D-backs went to the 2007 NL Championship Series, and Melvin was awarded Manger of the Year honors for that 90-win season.

Since his own hiring, Hinch has had to fight the perception that he is simply a conduit for Byrnes, who wanted to place a pliable friend in the dugout. Hinch said that hardly has been the case.

"We have a lot of similarities, but we also have a lot of differences," Hinch said about his relationship with Byrnes. "I think it's important to be in sync with what the organization is doing from the ownership to the presidency to the baseball operations to what's happening on the field. There's a link in there that's important, because we're all going after the same thing.

"Josh and I have to be in sync, but we don't always agree. That's one of the things I've laughed about since I was hired -- the notion that I was just going to do everything that Josh wanted. It's one thing to be on the same page, but Josh and I always challenge each other, too."

At the press conference introducing Hinch, Byrnes dubbed the philosophy Hinch referred to as "organizational advocacy." The phrase earned some sarcastic remarks and laughs, but anything outside the normal baseball box tends to be scrutinized. Hinch said he wondered whether people thought he'd be managing in the dugout while wearing a suit, a la Connie Mack, the Philadelphia A's manager and owner who did just that for five decades.

But Hinch said he feels just as comfortable in a uniform as he does in normal street garb. He has no idea what direction his career is going to take from this point -- on the field or back to the front office. He doesn't seem like he cares.

"I'll manage as long as people want me to manage, and if I get back into the front office, that's great," he said. "If I manage the rest of my career and don't go back, that means I've had some pretty good success. That would be great, too. This path that I've taken is certainly different than the one I was on, but they're both equally rewarding."

And both equally anonymous right now, as Hinch's trip to Flagstaff recently proved.

Barry M. Bloom is a national reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.