Off both tracks - Why did the D-backs just give away Dan Haren?

It was fairly amusing to witness, firsthand, Kirk Gibson's first postgame tirade as D-backs interim manager. Two bad errors, sad situational hitting, and this year's standard lack of interest can do that to a fellow - especially someone who has something to lose. But for all of Gibson's theatrics on Friday, that sense of urgency has still not penetrated the collective bubble of indifference that currently pervades the D-backs locker-room. Perhaps until now….

On Sunday, not only did the D-backs prove that almost anyone on their underperforming roster can be traded, but that almost nothing will be expected in return. In case you haven't seen, the return for prized trade asset Dan Haren was little more than a 4th starter and 2nd rate prospects - none on the level of the three (Carlos Gonzalez, Brett Anderson, and Chris Carter) that it took to bring Haren to Arizona in the first place.

The first questions, then, should probably start with "who," rather than "why," which is so readily discernable. (For all those hopelessly engaged in a long, underground, twilight struggle against Robert Sarver, stop and glance at what a real fire sale looks like…)

Who could conjure up such a lame deal for the D-backs best pitcher?

Who can dare explain why this deal is better done now, rather than later?

Who could say the Arizona Diamondbacks could do any worse with their best trading asset than this clearance rack style-pricing?

Clearly, the reports of an "A+" return for Haren were as erroneous as they were disingenuous, as the disastrous effects of a leadership vacuum inside baseball operations race to match the spectacular failings of the on-field product.

That didn't take long….

How long now, before the next trade, and how inviting a proposition for those who need only make their skills and salaries the aggregate match of a cheap plundering of prospects and 29-year-old placeholders.

Perhaps that message will play better than Gibson's: Play well, and you will get traded. The alternative is reserved seating inside this swirling vortex of troubling on-field professionalism, pathetic off-field troubleshooting, and a cost-cutting commitment to rid the organization of any significant salary and, in the process, any relevant stake inside the Phoenix market.

I smell a winning streak!