ay.Celtic will finish last in the group and is out of Europe altogether.The Scottish cha

PHOENIX -- The Arizona Diamondbacks had reason to believe their four-year run of mediocrity would end this season, maybe even lead to a playoff berth.The Diamondbacks lured Zack Greinke to the desert, bolstered their pitching staff even more with the acquisition of Shelby Miller and had all those young, talented players coming back. Why not think big?Instead, Arizona fell flat again, costing general manager Dave Stewart and manager Chip Hale their jobs. Chief Baseball Officer Tony La Russa remains, though its unclear what his role will be.We are very grateful to Dave and Chip who are widely respected throughout the game of baseball, Diamondbacks managing general partner Ken Kendrick said in a statement Monday. Ultimately, the results have not been what we had hoped and while that responsibility is shared by all of us, we have decided that a change is necessary.A few of the story lines from this season and the upcoming offseason after Arizona finished 69-93 for its third straight losing season:GREINKES DESERT DEBUT: The Diamondbacks pulled off the biggest surprise of the offseason, luring Greinke away from other top teams with a $206 million contract. The right-hander won the 2009 AL Cy Young Award, was the NL runner-up last year and still considered one of the top pitchers in baseball, so it was a big get for a franchise without a top-end starter since Randy Johnson retired. Greinke showed glimpses of his former greatness, but was inconsistent most of the season. He finished with a team-high 13 wins, but his 4.37 ERA was the second-highest of his career. The pitching, thats mainly what it is. We needed to do better, Greinke said. I dont know if anyone on our team overachieved with what the expectations were.MILLERS STRUGGLERS: Miller was expected to give Arizona one of the NLs best 1-2 starting punches. Instead, the right-hander labored through his first season in the desert, spending six weeks in the minors after struggling. Miller was 3-12 with a 6.15 ERA, which was nearly double his previous worst. He did close the season with two of his best starts, tossing 11 scoreless innings. I wish maybe I would have done this earlier on but the way I just finished these past couple games is huge and just something to build off going into 2017, Miller said.OFFSEASON CHECKLIST: The Diamondbacks have most of their key players signed for at least a couple more seasons, including first baseman Paul Goldschmidt (through 2018) and Greinke. Right-hander Daniel Hudson became emotional after his final game this weekend, a likely sign that he wont re-sign when free agency hits. Arizona has a large batch of players who will be arbitration eligible, including Miller, left-hander Patrick Corbin, catcher Welington Castillo and shortstop Chris Owings. The Diamondbacks will again be young next season, but most of those youngsters gained valuable experience this year.GOLDSCHMIDTS SEASON: Goldschmidt had a rare slow start to the season, hitting .220 the first five weeks. He came around like he always does, earning a trip to his fourth straight All-Star Game while working his batting average to near .300. Goldschmidt finished at .297 with 24 homers, 95 RBI, 33 doubles and 32 stolen bases. At 29, he is still one of the premier players in baseball. Jason Kidd Jersey . -- The St. Johns IceCaps weathered a wild first period with the help of goaltender Jussi Olkinuora, before finding offensive inroads in the second. Cheap Phoenix Suns Jerseys . -- Derrick Rose shook off poor shooting early to hit clutch shots late and Carlos Boozer had 20 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 104-95 preseason victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night. http://www.cheapsunsjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-kevin-johnson-jersey . -- The plastic that was taped across the lockers in Oaklands clubhouse came down and the champagne that was on ice went back into the cooler. Cheap Swingman Suns Jerseys . 4 Villanova with a 96-68 drubbing on Monday. Wragge hit 9-of-14 from behind the arc, matching Kyle Korvers school record for 3-pointers in a game set in 2003, as Creighton (16-3, 6-1 Big East broke a conference record with 21 treys in the rout. Wholesale Suns Jerseys .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. GLASGOW, Scotland -- Lionel Messi steered Barcelona to a 13th straight appearance in the Champions League knockout stage, scoring both goals in a 2-0 win at Celtic as the Spanish team secured top spot in Group C on Wednesday.Messi drove in a 24th-minute opener at Parkhead before converting a penalty in the 55th, putting him on nine goals already in four group games.Five of those have come against Celtic, following his hat trick in Barcelonas 7-0 win at Camp Nou in September.With Manchester City drawing at Borussia Moenchengladbach in the groups other game, Barcelona is four points clear of City and cannot be denied first place heading into the final round of matches in group play.Celtic will finish last in the group and is out of Europe altogether.The Scottish champions hopes of a third memorable win over Barca in 12 years -- after a UEFA Cup victory in 2004 and a Champions League triumph in 2012 -- looked thinn from the moment Messi scored his 91st goal in the competition, meeting a clipped pass from Neymar with a first-time shot inside the near post.ddddddddddddBack after missing Barcas last La Liga game through illness, Messi had already squandered two good chances by then, while Suarez was denied a second goal from a diving header because of an acrobatic save by goalkeeper Craig Gordon late in the half.Barca started the second half sloppily only to be gifted a penalty thanks to a clumsy challenge from Emilio Izaguirre on Suarez.Messi drove his penalty low and straight as Gordon dived to his left.In search of the 38th hat trick of his Barca career, Messi dragged a shot narrowly wide in the 67th. He turned down a shot on goal to tee up Suarez, who struck the post with a close-range shot. ' ' '