Here's what should happen if Ken Kendrick takes the Diamondbacks away from Arizona fans

You’ve got to be kidding me.

Arizona Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick still doesn’t get it.

Instead of using the good vibes from last season’s improbable World Series run to build community connections and momentum for the coming season, he took an opportunity to try to muscle taxpayers into paying for improvements to Chase Field.

Again?

For me, I can’t say this clearly enough: Phoenix doesn’t need the Diamondbacks as much as the Diamondbacks need Phoenix.

Kendrick, at best, needs to figure out a different way to ask for what he wants. Otherwise, he can take his team and go anywhere from Tulsa to Timbuktu.

Kendrick renewed his efforts to secure taxpayer money so he doesn’t have to dip into his own pockets by saying to reporters Monday, “Cities are letting MLB know their interest … They would be happy with a brand-new franchise, but they would certainly be very happy with, frankly, a successful, existing franchise.”

He continued, “It’s not where we’re spending our time or energy. We may run out of time in Phoenix. We hope that won’t happen.”

Then, Kendrick’s right-hand man, team president Derrick Hall went into damage control with an appearance on KMVP-FM on Tuesday, saying “we want to be here” and “we have no plans of going anywhere.”

Enough.

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I don't like bullies

Phoenix needs money for schools, police and roads, among other things.

Kendrick, meanwhile, is talking about cosmetic upgrades just a few years after a $187 million lawsuit in which he wrested control of the stadium from Maricopa County.

I’m never a fan of bully tactics. I didn’t like Kendrick’s play in 2017. I didn’t like learning in 2019 that the team was in talks with a Las Vegas suburb. And I don’t like hearing what’s going on now.

We’re supposed to be excited about the season, wondering whether the DBacks can repeat as National League champs? Whether the new pitcher and third basemen will be good enough to knock off the Dodgers in the NL West? Whether this is the year the Dbacks win it all?

Instead, we’re talking about whether the team will leave town?

How about this, since Kendrick, a billionaire, is asking for a handout, let’s give him one by helping him pack his stuff to leave.

He can try to take the team to Las Vegas like he did in 2018 … except the A’s franchise just moved there.

He can try to take the team to Oakland, California … except why would taxpayers there care about a new team when they didn’t care about their old team?

He can try to take the team to Portland, Oregon … except they need a new stadium up there, and it’s hard to imagine voters in that state doing anything that would in any way benefit a capitalist.

But whatever, if Kendrick has so many cities interested, he can pick one, we’ll be fine.

We don’t need Ken Kendrick or the DBacks to have baseball in Phoenix.

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We keep the name, colors and records

We’ve got the Cactus League, the Arizona Fall League, the Arizona Complex League (rookie ball), plus ASU.

I would just want MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred to make Kendrick leave the team’s nickname, original colors (purple and gray with teal accents and black pinstripes) and records here in Phoenix.

I don’t say this lightly. We should be concerned for the life and stability of people who work for the team in behind-the-scenes roles. And there are also people who make a buck selling food, beer and pedicab rides around the stadium on game nights.

For them, I hope things can be resolved to where the team stays in town.

But for Kendrick? I’d like to hear him defend the need for hundreds of millions of dollars in upgrades.

I’m not sure what he wants to do to a building that was nice enough for the World Baseball Classic … and the Fall Classic … and plenty of classic rock concerts.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t expect much from a ballpark.

I need a shady place to sit, a comfortable chair, a hot dog and a lemonade.

The bathrooms should work. But I’m old enough to remember when men’s facilities were giant troughs full of ice.

It’s a baseball game, not an anniversary dinner.

Kendrick would do well to just learn to ride a wave of good vibes that come with a winning season.

This “bad cop/good cop” thing he has going with Derrick Hall is older than an episode of “Law and Order: Season 1.”

If he learns to play nice, he might find that people want to help him out, instead of finding that people want to help him out of town.

Reach Moore at gmoore@azcentral.com or 602-444-2236. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @SayingMoore.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Ken Kendrick should go, but Arizona fans should get to keep Diamondbacks