It started out with little nonsensical things – like making Dodgers and Giants fans sitting behind home plate at Chase Field either change out of their Dodger clothing into Diamondbacks clothing or risk be physically removed from their $3,000 seats so that they wouldn’t be seen on television. And then is was Dbacks general manager Kevin Towers throwing a hissy fit when Yasiel Puig fed “King Kong” Juan Uribe a banana after Uribe slugged three home runs in one game against his team at Dodger Stadium.

“I was sitting behind home plate that game and when it showed up on the Diamondvision of stuffing bananas down their throats, I felt like we were a punching bag,” Towers said later on an Arizona talk radio show. “Literally, if I would have had a carton of baseballs I would have fired them into the dugout from where I was sitting behind home plate.”

And then, of course, there was the international incident that Dbacks owner Ken Kendrick and Towers made out of the Dodgers celebrating their NL West-clinching game by taking a dip in their precious swimming pool. But what Dbacks management did on Monday absolutely takes the cake. Allow me to elaborate.

The Dbacks have a 21-year-old top pitching prospect named Archie Bradley. Not only is Bradley the Dbacks 2011 first round draft pick (7th overall), he was among their best pitchers during spring training. Even the biggest skeptics believed that Bradley would make the Dbacks opening day rotation, but it didn’t happen. Instead, Bradley was sent to Triple-A Reno where he has been lights out.

Bradley is 1-1 with a 1.50 ERA in his two starts with the Triple-A Reno Aces thus far this year. He has walked 4 and struck out 8 in his 12 innings of work. It’s hard to find anyone who does not believe that he is MLB-ready – anyone except Kevin Towers, that is. (Photo credit – Matt York)

When Dbacks ace Patrick Corbin suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament during the final week of spring training and had to undergo Tommy John surgery, it left the Dbacks starting rotation in a mess, yet they still did not call up Bradley. And after being swept by the Dodgers this past weekend, they moved their struggling number two starter Trevor Cahill to the bullpen. Did they bring up Bradley? Nope. Instead, Towers called up 26-year-old Michael Bolsinger. Now granted, Bolsinger had a better ERA at Reno… exactly .008 better. Why not bring up your former first round draft pick? You’re going to love this one – it’s so Kevin Towers-like:

“I would not bring him up in this environment the way we’re playing,” Towers told Fox Sports. “I know how it would be perceived if he came up: ‘Archie is going to save us.’ I don’t want to do that to a 21-year-old kid. If it gets to the point where we straighten this thing out and it’s a more positive environment here and he’s throwing the ball well, we’ll do it regardless of the clock.”

Diamondbacks general manager Kevin Towers would rather see his team continue to fail rather than put his trust in Archie Bradley. (Photo credit – Christian Petersen)

So instead of possibly saving them, Towers has opted to allow his team fall deeper into a hole rather than try something (or someone) different. What kind of message does this send to the rest of the team? Or better yet, what does it say about the rest of the team? It basically says “You guys suck,” that’s what is says.

And what does Bradley’s agent Jay Franklin have to say about this?

“I think it’s very apparent what is going on in Arizona,” Franklin said. “Every ballplayer that is playing minor league baseball works his tail off to get an opportunity to play in the big leagues. Archie Bradley has proven to the Diamondbacks organization that he has deserved that opportunity by keeping his mouth shut and letting his numbers speak for his chance to pitch in the major leagues.”

One has to suspect that something’s going to give within the Diamondbacks front office – and probably soon. Whether that means Kirk Gibson goes, or Kevin Towers goes, or perhaps both of them go, but this type of talk can destroy a franchise.

So why do I care?

To be brutally honest, I don’t. In fact, I’m actually loving all of this. This is what happens when you intentionally throw at guys’  heads, or screw with visiting fans, or you say on a radio talk show that you wish you had a carton of baseball to throw at opposing players, or you whine about having the team that just kicked your ass jumping in your pool.

What goes around comes around.