Green: Who is steering the S.S. Diamondbacks?

A ship without a captain will run aground, and a team without a general manager will at best run in circles.

With the trade deadline looming, the Arizona Diamondbacks don't seem to have the one guy who is ready and capable of guiding them through the perilous waters that lie ahead in the coming days.

Across the street from Chase Field sits the US Airways Center, home of the Phoenix Suns. Like the Diamondbacks, they entered a key time of the year without a true general manager. Instead, the team's owner (Robert Sarver), head coach (Alvin Gentry) and others within the organization navigated the team through the free agency.

How they did, ultimately, will be decided once the games start later this year, but from the looks of it I'd say a real, actual plan was discarded in favor of just adding pieces now and worrying about how they will fit together later. While a different setting in a different sport, the Diamondbacks are on the verge of proving just how necessary it is to have one guy, reaching for established goals, when making decisions.

The firing of Josh "Organizational Advocacy" Byrnes meant any semblance of a plan, even a bad one, was discarded with him. With no true successor, the blueprint for how the roster will be assembled is at worst what it was before, at best a drastic change towards a more successful approach, but more than likely just plain absent.

And that, my friends, is dangerous territory for a team on the verge of trading its best pitcher, even if he's having a down year.

This not to say the Diamondbacks should not be looking to move Haren, because if they can get a good return on him they absolutely should. They are a terrible team, their farm system is lacking talent and depth, and there is really no immediate hope for the team to turn the corner and contend in the mediocre NL West.

But from listening to interviews and reading articles, it is really tough to tell who exactly is in charge of the shaping of the roster. Is it Interim-General Manager Jerry Dipoto? Does Interim-Manager Kirk Gibson have a say? Is Team President Derrick Hall, seemingly the voice of the franchise, calling the shots? Sure seems like it.

One guy we can assume doesn't have a say is owner Ken Kendrick who, for all his faults, does a good job of letting his baseball people call the shots while he signs the paychecks. That strategy doesn't work when you have the wrong people in charge, as Kendrick now knows, but is absolutely the way to run a team.

The Diamondbacks have some big decisions to make in the coming days. While struggling now, the team does have talent, and with the right moves could find itself competitive sooner rather than later.

However, the fans better hope the one calling the shots - whoever it is - is prepared and knows what they're doing, otherwise the S.S. Diamondbacks will find itself floundering at the bottom of the standings for a while.

Adam can be reached with your questions and comments by e-mail here, and you can follow him on Twitter @theAdamGreen