Bob Nightengale

USA TODAY Sports

They certainly know of each other, but have never spoken, and now find themselves linked in the Arizona Diamondbacks’ encouraging start to the season.

Telephone calls, e-mails and text messages are pouring into the Diamondbacks' offices these days, congratulating new GM Mike Hazen on his team’s 13-8 record, third-best in the National League.

There also are calls and messages being delivered to a man who now lives 350 miles away in San Diego, but no longer affiliated with the organization.

Dave Stewart, the former GM of the Diamondbacks was fired last September after just two years on the job, along with assistant GM Dejon Watson. Tony La Russa, his boss, was spared, but stripped of considerable influence.

'It sucks': Madison Bumgarner feels like dirt after motor bike accident

Eric Thames proves to be a quick learner

Week 3 MLB power rankings: Nationals overtake Cubs for top spot

“I think all of us will be interwoven in time,’’ Hazen says. “When we came in here, we saw the talent on this roster, and that’s a reflection of what Dave, Tony and Dejon did. We’re appreciative of all of the work they did, and now it’s our job to build upon that.

“We just wanted to bring that all together, and turn that talent into wins. And that obviously was an enormous challenge to figure out a way to do that.’’

Hazen is Arizona's third GM in four years, and often,so many disparate visions in so few years yields a dysfunctional mix.

But Hazen did an admirable remake on the fly, keeping several parts acquired under Stewart and Kevin Towers, dumping others and staying aggressive in all facets.

Hazen hired rookie manager Torey Lovullo, revamped the bullpen, changed the catching corps, acquired starter Taijuan Walker, and voila, the D'backs as of now are the biggest turnaround in baseball. They have outscored teams by 23 runs - second-biggest differential in the majors, though Hazen tries to caution everyone that it’s early.

“We’ve played well, but three weeks barely makes a fraction of the season,’’ Hazen says. “We’ve got a long ways to go. We have a lot to prove. We still have to earn respect.’’

GALLERY: MLB's walkoff wins

For Stewart, who has returned to his player-agent business and is also a TV analyst for the Oakland Athletics, this start represents a measure of vindication.

“This means a lot to me because this is the same team, or very close to the one that I put on the field,’’ Stewart tells USA TODAY Sports. “So basically all of those guys and baseball analysts who said I didn’t know what I was doing, it showed I knew exactly what I was doing.

“Everybody was just beat up and not living up to expectations. So all of a sudden, it’s my fault. Well, it’s not my fault. I couldn’t prevent injuries or jump in their bodies to make them pitch better in the starting rotation. We put the right people on the field. So I don’t think anybody should be surprised how well those kids are playing. They’re healthy now. I knew this was going to happen.

“Everyone should have seen it coming.’’

The Diamondbacks, who played most of last season without starting outfielders A.J. Pollock and David Peralta, are bludgeoning opponents with an offense leading the major leagues with 112 runs and 193 hits, with Pollock and Peralta getting on base atop of the batting order, and Paul Goldschmidt and Yasmany Tomas, and Chris Owings driving them in with 39 RBI.

"t’s awesome having A.J. back,’’ Goldschmidt says. “I don’t think we realized how much he meant to this team, both in the clubhouse and on the field. When he went down, it hurt us pretty bad, offensively and defensively.

"He just brings so much value with all of his energy, he’s huge to this team.’’

This is what Stewart tried to stress last year when he thought it was unfair to judge him on one lousy season, and one ill-fated trade. He simply asked for patience. Just one more year, he told ownership, and the D'backs would turn around their 93-loss season.

He never got the chance.

"The owner [Ken Kendrick] kept preaching patience, but when it came to me,’’ Stewart said, “he showed no patience. I’m not resentful, but he knew what he was doing. When you’re not a big budget team, and have injuries and guys who underperform, you’re going to struggle.

"Pollock was a big loss, but it became a bigger loss when Peralta went down. Now, you just lost two of your big horses for most of the season, and you’re stuck with secondary guys. To me, that was the major difference.

"You lose one of your key leaders, Peralta goes down, Shelby Miller falls on his face, and the pitching staff pitches like it’s their first year in the big leagues. It was the perfect storm. Anything that could go wrong, did go wrong. If the everyday guys stayed healthy, and the rotation pitched the way we expected, we knew we could play like this.’’

Stewart, if he had retained his job, was planning to make changes, too. He was also going to fire manager Chip Hale and replace him with Class AAA manager Phil Nevin, but was stopped by ownership in midseason. He refused to trade Tomas, and tried to trade beleaguered starter Miller to the Miami Marlins, wiping away the remnants from the Atlanta Braves’ trade. He planned to hang onto the rest of the rotation.

If Stewart had one more year, he could have been the one reaping the rewards of Greinke pitching again like one of the premier aces in the game with a 2.93 ERA, Pat Corbin’s resurgence (3.27 ERA), Archie Bradley (0.79 ERA) finding his groove as a reliever, and Tomas’ .939 OPS. Even Miller, after going 3-12 with a league-worst 6.15 ERA, was showing encouraging signs of revival with a 2-2 record and 4.09 ERA until being diagnosed Monday with a strained forearm. He’s scheduled to undergo an additional exam Tuesday.

Still, with or without Miller, there’s belief the D'backs can hang in the race all summer. Sure, it’s early, as Hazen keeps reminding everyone, but April has already exposed flaws in the division’s powerhouses. The San Francisco Giants have never had a worst start in their 115-year history, and are without ace Madison Bumgarner until at least June, and the Los Angeles Dodgers still are struggling with a sub-.500 record.

And if the D'backs keep winning, and reach the postseason for the first time since 2011 - three GMs and three managers ago - they’ll be making a whole lot of folks proud.

Even those no longer working there.

“I have no resentment whatsoever,’’ Stewart says, “and I wish (Hazen) all of the luck in the world. I applaud him for taking the job under the circumstances that he did. If I had known what it would be like when I got there, I never would have taken the job in the first place.

“But it’s different now. He’s certainly in a better place than I was. I really believe he’ll make a difference.

"Tell him I’ll pulling for him.’’

Follow Nightengale on Twitter and Facebook