PHOENIX -- Kevin Towers appeared to have a tenuous hold on his job as Arizonas general manager when the Diamondbacks hired Tony La Russa to run their baseball operations. Nacho Fernandez Jersey . Though the Hall of Fame manager said he was going to evaluate the entire organization, it seemed only to be a matter of time before the reins were taken away from Towers. The change came on Friday, when Arizona fired Towers in the midst of a third straight disappointing season, less than four months after La Russa was named chief baseball officer. "Over the past three months, I have had the opportunity to evaluate all aspects of our baseball operations and have decided to restructure our staff in order to improve our decision-making process," La Russa said. "I have the utmost respect for Kevin and a friendship with him that dates back many years which has allowed me to appreciate his talents and experience." Towers was hired in 2010 after 14 seasons as the San Diego Padres general manager. He had almost immediate success, pulling off all the right moves to help Arizona win the 2011 NL West crown, its first division title since 2007. Since then, Towers moves havent paid off quite as well and the Diamondbacks have suffered, following a pair of .500 seasons with a nosedive this year. "You can see it coming but you dont want to believe it," catcher Miguel Montero said. "Its really sad that its come to this." Plagued by injuries and subpar seasons from players it had counted on, Arizona lost 22 of its first 30 games to plummet into last place and never really recovered, entering Friday nights game at 59-81 -- 11 1-2 games behind the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers. "Its a bummer," first baseman Mark Trumbo said. "You never want to see anyone relieved of their role in the organization, especially when it comes as a result of the team underperforming." Towers said La Russa told him he wanted to restructure the front office a couple of weeks ago and was offered another position within the organization. Towers plans to stay with the organization at least until the Diamondbacks hire a new GM and decide on his future once he knows who the new person will be. La Russa said current agent Dave Stewart, a pitcher under La Russa with the Oakland Athletics, and St. Louis farm director Gary LaRocque are on Arizonas list of potential replacements. He also has talked to Diamondbacks scouting director Ray Montgomery, and asked permission to speak with New York Yankees assistant GM Billy Eppler and Los Angeles Angels scouting director Hal Morris. "When I took this job in 2010, we wanted to win a World Series and we won very early here, set high standards for ourselves," Towers said. "Since 2011, we havent met the standards that we hoped, ownership had hoped for and our fan base hoped for, and ultimately Im going to be held accountable for that." With manager Kirk Gibson at the helm, Arizona had a dramatic turnaround in 2011, winning 94 games and the NL West after losing 97 games the season before. The success didnt continue. Arizona went 81-81 the next two seasons despite a slew of moves by Towers and took another step backward this season after Gibson and Towers were given contract extensions. "I look at K.T. and the thing that comes to my mind is how much better the organization is right now than we he arrived," Gibson said. "Hes done a great job." Injuries were a big part of the fall this season. The Diamondbacks lost their No. 1 starter and setup man before the season even started, when Patrick Corbin and David Hernandez underwent Tommy John surgery. Trumbo, the teams key off-season acquisition, was tied for the NL lead in homers and second in RBIs, but went down with a stress fracture in his foot less than a month into the season. Outfielder A.J. Pollock also missed significant time with a broken hand and All-Star first baseman Paul Goldschmidt was lost for the season last month with a broken hand. "Wish we could have stayed healthy and enjoyed success year after year, but this season was a very trying year and when you dont meet expectations, things like this happen -- and I know that," Towers said. Even before the injuries struck, the Diamondbacks laboured after a series of deals by Towers didnt pan out. The big trade under Towers came before the 2013 season, when the Diamondbacks sent outfielder Justin Upton to the Braves for top pitching prospect Randall Delgado and three minor leaguers. Upton has continued to produce in Atlanta while the players Arizona got in return have yet to have much of an impact. Towers also traded away several starting pitchers, including Ian Kennedy, Trevor Bauer, Jarrod Parker and Tyler Skaggs, along with outfielder Adam Eaton. With the team out of contention, Towers and the Diamondbacks began dismantling the team around the trade deadline, pulling off deals that sent right-hander Brandon McCarthy, third baseman Martin Prado -- the key cog in the Upton trade -- and outfielder Gerardo Parra out of the desert. Pepe Jersey .J. -- Travis Zajac of the New Jersey Devils took a lot of grief considering his scored the first of his career-best three goals just 12 seconds into a crucial game against the Florida Panthers. Danilo Jersey . Vonn "reopened" the idea of competing in the season-opening World Cup event on Oct. 26-27 in Soelden, Austria after returning to the slopes last month in Portillo, Chile. http://www.realmadridfcprohop.us/Raphael-Varane-Real-Madrid-Jersey/ . Vettel only needs to finish fifth or better Sunday to wrap up the championship with three races remaining, and bettered his own lap record to claim his third straight pole at Buddh International Circuit.AUSTIN, Texas -- Lance Armstrong talked for several hours with cycling investigators about doping in the sports past, said an attorney for the American who was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles for doping. Armstrong attorney Elliot Peters told The Associated Press that Armstrong set up the meeting and sat for questions for seven hours on May 22, and described the session at a hotel outside Dulles Airport in Washington, D.C., as a "very good meeting." "They asked him about everything. ... If you made a list of all the questions people would want to ask about Lance and his activities in cycling and everything else, those were the questions that were asked and answered," Peters said. The probe has been expected to centre on the International Cycling Unions handling of doping in the late 1990s and early 2000s, especially its links with Armstrong. Armstrongs willingness to meet with investigators has been seen as crucial to their efforts to determine whether former officials with the sports governing body aided his doping as the Texan became cyclings biggest star. Armstrong won the Tour every year from 1999-2005. Those titles were stripped after a massive report by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency detailed doping by Armstrong and his U.S. Postal Service teammates. Peters declined to detail exactly who was in the room or what Armstrong told them, but said Armstrong met with three people "running" the Cycling Independent Reform Commission and their attorney. A spokesman for the group did not immediately return a call or text message seeking comment on Thursday. The commission is chaired by Dick Marty, a Swiss politician and former Swiss state prosecutor. The other members are German anti-doping expert Ulrich Haas and Peter Nicholson, a former Australian military officer and war crimes investigator. Armstrong had previously said hed be willing to talk to the panel, and Peters said Armstrong had him contact the commission to set up the meeting. UCI President Brian Cookkson has said in the past that Armstrongs lifetime ban for doping could be reduced if he provides information which assists other doping investigations. Dani Carvajal Jersey. The panel has the authority to cut deals with cheaters who provide valuable information. But Peters said Armstrong did not ask for, and was not offered such a deal in exchange for meeting with the group. "There is no agreement and that was never discussed. We never asked for one," Peters said. "We do think the ban was unfairly harsh and should be reduced. ... Hes talking in the spirit of not trying to benefit by getting somebody else in trouble, but in the spirit of lets tell the truth." Armstrongs meeting with the CRIC was voluntary but he has been forced to testify under oath in lawsuits in Texas. Last month, Armstrong was questioned in a private arbitration dispute with a Dallas company seeking repayment of $12 million in bonuses it paid him during his career. In late 2013, Armstrong provided sworn written testimony in another lawsuit seeking repayment of other bonus awards. In that testimony, Armstrong named several people he says knew about his performance-enhancing drug use, but also insisted he didnt pay anyone or any organization to keep his doping secret. Armstrong also is facing a federal whistleblower lawsuit filed by former teammate Floyd Landis. The government joined Landis lawsuit and is seeking to recover about $40 million in U.S. Postal Service sponsorship money paid to Armstrong and his teams. Under the False Claims Act, penalties in the case could run as high as $100 million. Armstrong has so far refused to provide sworn testimony to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. USADA has questioned whether Armstrong paid officials at the UCI to keep his doping secret. Armstrong has said in interviews that former UCI president Hein Verbruggen helped him cover up doping at the 1999 Tour, a charge Verbruggen has denied. But Armstrong has denied he paid anyone or any organization to hide his doping. Discount NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys From China China Jerseys Cheap Jerseys NFL China Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping China NFL Jerseys ' ' '