WE INTERRUPT THE REGULARLY-SCHEDULED BLOG…

By:  Holly Horning

Ok, so today you are tuning in to read Part Two of “Straight from the Horse’s Mouth” that reveals what the national media is saying about the Tigers rebuild. And it’s not here.

Don’t fret. It’s still coming. It’s just that another story hit the wires hours before publication and it’s something we need to address.

The Angels just fired Brad Ausmus.

And I don’t think any of us are surprised.

But some of you may be saying “He’s history. Time to move on. Why are we discussing him when he hasn’t been with the Tigers for two years now.”

(Or you may be saying “Please, no more. My heart can’t take it and my anger management therapy sessions are getting very expensive.”)

And in response, I will say that yes, he is gone, but the people in charge for the Tigers – the same ones while Brad was here – are still around.

Rut roh.

Let’s explore why the Angels action to terminate should be of concern – and a lesson – to Detroit.

First of all, the background.

Ausmus was not fired because of Joe Maddon’s potential availability. No one is going to fire their manager while hoping to hire one who will have many suitors. It’s true that Maddon worked for the Angels for 30 years and has that connection. And he is still employed by the Cubs through October so any contact with him requires the Angels getting permission from Theo Epstein first. So no, the Angels haven’t yet talked to Maddon to gauge his interest.

An equally-compelling case can be made for Joe to go to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Maddon was born and raised there and is fiercely loyal to that city and its nearby towns. He still lives there and has family nearby. He also strongly believes in doing charity work and setting up foundations to help struggling neighborhoods so this may actually be the perfect opportunity for him.

As for Ausmus, the rumors of his demise started over a month ago before anything was really known about Maddon’s tenure with the Cubs. Ironically, it was reported that owner Arte Moreno was livid when the Angels lost 3 out of 4 to the Orioles and 2 out of 3 to the Tigers – and it got him questioning the capabilities of his manager.

It was regularly noted that the Angels underperformed this year and it didn’t help that Ausmus didn’t know how to use the bullpen. If you read their fans’ feedback, it was identical to the comments made by Tiger fans when he was here.

It also didn’t help that, under Ausmus, the Angels had their worst year in 2 decades. They lost 90 games with one of baseball’s largest payrolls and were described as struggling all year. They were outscored by almost 100 runs, had one of MLB’s highest ERAs and routinely finished in the bottom half of most stat categories.

Maybe Moreno saw what happened to the Tigers under Brad. After all, he’s been pouring money into new contracts, including an extension for Mike Trout. And he wants to see results. It would be a crime if Mike Trout didn’t sniff the playoffs again.

It’s also reported that Moreno plans on going after some top talent this off-season. He’s in win-now mode and has been anonymously quoted as wanting an experienced manager.

Maybe Moreno has learned a lesson that the Tigers failed to learn. Maybe Arte saw a team with a huge payroll and lots of stars who failed to win even one playoff game under Ausmus. A manager with a starting rotation of Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Rick Porcello, Anibal Sanchez and David Price.

Maybe he saw a manager who couldn’t get his players into the playoffs for his remaining three years in Detroit. A manager who took all that talent to 2 last-place finishes in his final 3 years. A manager who failed to get top players into even a wild card slot back in 2016.

A manager who had an overall losing record despite the immense talent coupled with one of MLB’s largest payrolls.

And maybe it scared him.

And maybe Arte understands that “fortune favors the bold.”

The Tigers, on the other hand, are anything but bold. They hang onto the same people, the same ideas and the same actions year after year, decade after decade. They rarely rock the boat or go against the status quo.

Even when situations scream for a change.

In 2014, Brad’s first year, the Tigers didn’t win a single playoff game despite the All-Star starting rotation of JV, Mad Max, Porcello, Sanchez and Price. Quite frankly, totally inexcusable and very much a firing offense. And it’s not just me. The national media was all over this at the time.

This was a sign – a big red flag – that the Tigers needed to heed. But they didn’t make a change.

The next year, 2015, found the team in last place. And yet, the Tigers made no changes.

Not even after 2016 when they struggled most of the year and missed the playoffs.

Three years of big red flags, under two different GMs, and what did they do in 2017?

They picked up Brad’s option year.

Seriously, what were they thinking all those years?

Which brings us to today…..

The same people, minus Dave Dombrowski, are still in charge. Still making the same decisions. Still being safe. Still afraid to make moves that may make a difference.

Heck, they can’t even fire a hitting coach who is linked to the overall regression of the entire team’s offensive capabilities.

It’s that bad.

And that is why we need to be concerned. If they couldn’t manage a championship-caliber team, what makes us think that they can manage a rebuild which is much more difficult and labor-intensive?

It took Arte Moreno only 1 year to learn a lesson. The Tigers still haven’t learned theirs.

And they won’t until personnel changes are made.

Maybe Chris Ilitch should review the Tigers history book. Specifically, the section about a previous owner who hired a new GM back in 1978. One year later, this GM snapped up a proven experienced manager despite having hired one just a couple months earlier.

We know how that story turned out.

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OPEN MIKE!

The Tigers’ season is over after today, but we aren’t!  Totally Tigers publishes every day of the year.  Stay with us in the off-season to get your baseball fix, stay informed, participate in intelligent, respectful conversation with fellow fans and get your needed baseball therapy.

It’s the last Sunday of the month, folks, which means it’s your day! This is the day for you to be heard. Today is the one day during the month (normally) where you get the opportunity to comment on the Tiger topic of your choosing.

This is the one day of the week where we open up the comment parameters for you, so you can really get those juices flowing. Comments on THIS DAY ONLY can be expanded to a maximum of 8 sentences.  So pick a topic and let us hear from you!  What’s on your minds?

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 Totally Tigers loves your comments!  But please remember that responses are only published if they address today’s topic, are respectful and do not exceed the maximum response length.  All rules are at:   https://totallytigers.wordpress.com/commentsrules/.

 

 

THE SATURDAY SURVEY

The Saturday Survey offers another way for readers to weigh in on a relevant topic.   So here is a poll to gauge the pulse of our baseball-lovin’ peeps.

As always, we welcome your comments, so please vote and then submit your reasons ( 4 sentences max!) for how you voted in the usual comment box.  Don’t forget to come back later and view the results!

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After 2 years of losing 98 games each, the Tigers will finish this year with over 110 losses and under a .300 winning percentage.   The survey below will determine what our readers think the numbers will look like next year.

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TWICE AS NICE

By:  Kurt Snyder & Holly Horning

The Tigers will close out the season this weekend and if you feel a sense of relief, well, you’re not alone.  It’s time to move on from this and look to the future. Sorry, yes, we are going to take a peek at 2020; in-particular the starting rotation.

Of course, we have to expect some changes and our writers are in the mood to discuss what could change.

Holly and Kurt have not shared their answers to the following question for the purpose of offering a wider range of perspectives.

So let’s get on with it and see what our writers have to say.

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What do you think the Tigers will do about next year’s 5-man starting rotation?

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KURT

Well, are you ready for a Jordan Zimmermann-led starting rotation? Because I believe that’s where we are headed. Expect Matthew Boyd to be traded in the off-season, leaving only JZ to ‘lead’ the rotation coming off his splendid 1-13 season.

As far as the rest of the rotation, it’s a fair (to medium) bet that Daniel Norris and Drew VerHagen will split up and grab rotation spots along with Spencer Turnbull.

A fifth starter could come from anywhere, but certainly not Double A, even though there should be some promotions to Toledo later in the 2020 season. Will that mean Mize or Manning will enter the rotation, say, after the All-Star break or after the trade deadline? I think it’s a possibility. Until then, does Buck Farmer get another shot at starting? Or will Edwin Jackson find himself an opportunity to give it another go in ’20?

If all of this comes to fruition, the Tigers will have the worst rotation in baseball and will work hard and maybe fail to win as many games as they won in 2019.

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HOLLY

First of all, I believe ownership isn’t yet finished with the blood-letting, er, salary dump, as for each of the past 2 years, they have systematically been trading or non-tendering the top most highly-paid players not named Miggy or Zimmermann.

This year, there are a number of pitchers who sit atop that list – and “coincidentally”, all were reported to be on the trading block this past July. I don’t expect that to change so potentially two of them, Norris and Boyd (both arb eligible), may be traded this winter.

Tyson Ross and Matt Moore (remember them?) were under 1-year contracts and will be gone while Michael Fulmer is unlikely to be back until the end of next year (Tommy John surgery) at the earliest so don’t be surprised if he is non-tendered. The Tigers took him to arbitration last year (the first time ever they’ve done that) and he is currently the team’s third most expensive player and due for another arbitration negotiation. Chris Ilitch isn’t going to pay him over $3 mill to sit all year with no guarantees that he’ll be able to return and pitch effectively.

If it all follows this strategy, Jordan Zimmermann returns as a starter, not just for the $25 million he’s owed, but because the Tigers have very few starting pitching candidates.

Their heralded pitching prospects are in AA and with luck, will see AAA this year and maybe Detroit in September if they don’t exceed their pitch limitations. I believe the team will limp through the season with Zimmermann, VerHagen, Turnbull and maybe even Reininger – supplemented by a number of minor league contracts given out to veteran journeyman pitchers like Edwin Jackson as they hope the odds will land them 1 or 2 starters to get them through the year.

I also wouldn’t put it past the Tigers to continue the 4-man rotation they did this year coupled with a bullpen game because ownership has made it clear that the wallet is closed for even the most dire of needs.

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STRAIGHT FROM THE HORSE’S MOUTH – PART ONE

By:  Holly Horning

If you read the major Detroit papers, you may never get the feeling that anything is really too terribly wrong with the Tigers. Or that they are MLB’s worst team.

The bad games and performances are downplayed while feel-good stories are appearing with increasing frequency. And if you are waiting for someone, anyone, to finally publish the horrific stats (or lack thereof) or call out the organization, well, it’s really like waiting for Godot.

But if you get away from that bad baseball bubble, you will hear a completely different tune from the national media. To them, the Tigers are a trainwreck. And it goes well beyond being the worst team in MLB this year.

The drumbeat calling out the Tigers is increasing and even when you hear it from MLB-sanctioned channels (who have to be careful what they say because MLB owns their medium), you know things are of serious concern.

Just within the past week, I’ve read and listened to 3 different reports that sound the bell on what the Tigers are doing – or more importantly, not doing – to their team. One from a well-known sports writer, another from 2 former GMs and the last from a former Tiger.

In today’s blog, let’s review what they are saying. In Part Two (next Monday), we’ll get into the particulars that support why this rebuild – if it really is one – is more than likely to not be accomplished successfully.

In this past Monday’s blog, loyal reader “soclosein67”, mentioned an article published in Sports Illustrated recently. It was entitled The Hopelessness Index: Which MLB Teams Have the Bleakest Outlooks?

The Tigers ranked dead last in an estimate of their return to viability. And if they do? The earliest projection is 2024.

The writer points to two concerns. The first, that there are a couple of bright spots in the farm system but beyond that, there really is nothing. Nothing to suggest that there is a bona fide transformation taking place.

Speaking of transformation, his second concern involves the Front Office. He specifically (and politely) takes aim at Al Avila who has been with the Tigers since 2002 and in charge since 2015 with nary a change in thought or strategy. The assumption being that teams who rebuild successfully make changes to who they hire and what actions they take.

On MLB Radio last week, two former GMs spoke at length about the Tigers “rebuild” and they had nothing positive to say. When asked to describe the Tigers’ return to competitiveness in one word, one GM said “dim” and the other said “distant.”

The former said it broke his heart to have to say what he did because he grew up in Detroit and idolized the Tigers. He went on to add, only half-joking, that the team is so bad – and will be for awhile –  that Eminem is considering leaving town.

The other former GM said (and I counted them) that it would be a “long, long, long, long, long time before this team is competitive again.”

Both agreed that the Tigers overrate their prospects. They mentioned that the team has a couple of good pitching prospects but nothing really beyond them. There is no core or even a hint of one which is crucial to building a team.

And over the weekend, the final nail in the coffin was delivered by a former Tiger in a radio interview. You may not like the man, abhor what he did after he left baseball but he has the ability to clearly identify what others are loathe to do.

He is Denny McLain.

You can’t help but listen to him no matter how you may feel about him. He is articulate and speaks directly to the issue. He is, very simply, a great interview despite all of that baggage. And if you watch and listen to a lot of MLB-sponsored programs, he is in high demand as a guest. He is a regular and a repeat guest on a number of shows.

And on Saturday, on MLB Radio, an interview about the current state of the Tigers (and a short segment on the state of the game overall), which was supposed to go for only 10-15 minutes, ended up going on for an hour. They kept asking Denny to stay.

McLain talked about attending a couple games at Comerica recently. Some with former teammates. And they were shocked at what they saw.

He mentioned the Tigers need to use 32 pitchers this year or as he said “32 men who called themselves pitchers”. An amazing record number that pointed to the team’s lack of viable MLB-level talent.

He railed at the level of defense and discussed how routine plays were regularly not being made. He was especially upset at how often players missed the cut off man. He called the level of play “ridiculous.”

Denny pointed out that no one on the team appears to be able to play a single position competently.

And his biggest question surrounds exactly what, if anything, is being taught within the organization. He questioned the lack of development at the MLB level which, of course, is impacted within the farm system. If they are playing like this in The Show, what is happening in Erie and Toledo?

He also wondered what the coaches were doing, if anything. Especially when it came to Miggy.

The former Tigers in attendance all noticed that Miggy routinely never finishes running to first base in order to complete the play. He often stopped halfway and then headed back to the dugout. (For the record, this also was an issue before he hurt his knee.) This was outrageous to them. Denny said it’s a horrible model for the young players and that it’s Miggy’s responsibility to be the leader on issues like this.

Maybe he was a little stern, but McLain did mention that he didn’t see a single player on the roster who was deserving of returning next year.

On the non-play aspects, he did say that the games he attended had only 2,000 – 4,000 fans there. Laughing, he also mentioned that Chris Ilitch doesn’t need to sell that many tickets because the price gouging going on with the food sales helps to offset the almost-empty stadium.

For the record, Denny liked and appreciated Mr. I. Not much love for his son, Chris, though.

The best part of the interview? The last question from the show’s hosts who teasingly provoked McLain after he spent much time discussing what is currently wrong with the Tigers.

They said (sic) “But Denny, Chris Ilitch said he’s very pleased with Al Avila and the progress he’s seeing with the team.”

There was a short pause…… and then Denny and the 2 hosts broke into laughter.

On Monday, we’ll delve further into what has everyone concerned about the Tigers. And it goes much deeper than the mounting losses and short-term gap players.

We’ll cover Al Avila’s strategy, Chris Ilitch’s statement, the farm system, coaching and signs supporting something other than a rebuild. Oh, and maybe a glimmer of hope. So let’s save any comments about these subjects until then.

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WHAT’S THE REAL SCOOP?

By:  Holly Horning

We are amongst the wreckage of the rebuild – or in the dog days of the salary dump – depending upon your point of view.

And for an increasing number of fans, the resentment towards the decisions the Tigers have made over the past 5 years or so has been building. You see it in the stands and you are also reading an increasing amount in the social media threads attached to the print (online) media and the many blogs that address the Detroit Tigers.

The comments we are seeing are both supportive and (mostly) critical of the moves made by the team. And a lot of them keep replaying in the threads, especially when it involves a former Tiger who is thriving with another team.

The sheer repetition of some of these fans’ beliefs have created urban myth legend. It happens everywhere, even in baseball.

But what is true and what isn’t? If you read the local Detroit papers, you won’t get any information. The Tigers may be the worst team in baseball, but their PR people are still #1 when it comes to keeping controversial news out of the papers.

It helps if you live outside the region. There’s more choice, more information and less bias. And those who report what the Tigers don’t want you to know can’t be punished by the home team and denied clubhouse access. If you watch MLB TV or listen to MLB Radio, information about what really went down is shared regularly. And many of those who work in the industry also write regular blogs where even more intelligence is shared.

It’s interesting to read what many fans believe to be true – whether correct or not. And there are a number of beliefs that are discussed more than others.

Which brings us to these particular “urban myths.” Let’s highlight what may be the Top 10 along with what appears to be the real truth as reported by either the individual in question or information gathered by accredited and established media.

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1. Mr. I was cheap and made a huge mistake by not retaining Max Scherzer.

Mike Ilitch reportedly asked Scott Boras what it would take to keep Max as a Tiger. He was given a number and Mr. I agreed to it. He considered it to be a gentleman’s agreement, but instead, Boras used that salary as leverage with other teams to drive up Max’s asking price.

2. Dave Dombrowski ruined this team by signing both Justin Verlander and Miguel Cabrera to obscene contract extensions several years before their current contracts expired.

It was Mr. I who initiated those extensions because he wanted JV and Miggy to remain Tigers-for-life.

3. Why on earth did Dave Dombrowski hire a rookie manager, Brad Ausmus, to run this team?

Dave himself revealed that he put Jim Leyland in charge of finding his own replacement. The Front Office signed off on Ausmus but Mr. I balked and it took a lot of convincing to get him to reluctantly agree.

4. Dave Dombrowski was fired by Mr. I because Dave said the team needed “rebooting” and as a result, traded David Price, Yoenis Cespedes and Yoakim Soria.

Dealin’ Dave was in the last 6 weeks of his 14-year run as GM (with no World Series ring to show for it) and he had had no contract extension talks with Mr. I, which is telling. He was “released” from his contract because multiple sources reported that Dave saw the end coming  UCB earlier and he had started job hunting while still the Tigers GM.

5. Dave Dombrowski stripped the Tigers farm system bare.

Not clearly a black-and-white decision may be made on this one. While Trader Dave did trade off the most valuable Tiger prospects, the majority of them were not ranked as big impact players.  The Tigers prospect development system was also considered suspect. Dave clearly knew how to sell, but he did leave the system much weaker, plunging it to the near bottom in rankings by most established evaluation systems.

6. Al Avila repeatedly said that the trade market was weak.

Avila actually received 2 offers for Michael Fulmer in which both a young Javier Baez and Alex Bregman were offered to him but he turned both teams down.

7. Al Avila took a poor deal from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for J. D. Martinez because he said they were the only interested team.

He had a much better deal from the Boston Red Sox for J. D. but it was reported that he refused to deal with Dave Dombrowski.

8. The Tigers said that Justin Verlander’s resurgence with the Houston Astros was due to him finally being healthy and reinventing himself as he got older.

JV has done a number of interviews praising Houston’s analytics, hi-tech equipment and staff in helping him understand his strengths and formulating strategies. His form has been tweaked and modern info such as spin rate was introduced to him for the first time which allowed him to pitch more effectively.

9. Justin Verlander did not desire to be part of the Tigers’ rebuild and wanted out.

The Tigers actually created a public situation where they advertised JV’s availability in order to put pressure on him (along with Justin Upton) to accept a trade. In interviews, JV said the decision to leave was the hardest one he ever had to make in his careeer as seen in the signing of the trade agreement just 1 minute before a midnight deadline.

10. The Tigers justified the trade of Justin Verlander as the need for the team to get “younger and leaner.”

A dozen or more former players-turned-analysts as well as former Front Office executives classified the move as a “pure salary dump”, exemplified by the very poor return. They all confirmed that when you accept lesser prospects and have to chip in your own prospect as well – and part of the salary –  it is seen as a desperate move to get payroll off the books no matter what.

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More than a few fans may say that the Tigers “rebuild” is also an urban myth. That may be the case, and there’s certainly evidence, but let’s officially give the team the benefit of the doubt for a few more months before we officially list it as an urban myth.

Are there any more urban myths (with knowledge of some official reporting) we can add to this list?

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QUESTION OF THE WEEK

It’s time again to hear from our readers!   Today is the day to let us know what you’re thinking on a selected topic.

Sunday is the one day of the week where we open up the comment parameters for you, so you can get those juices flowing.

Comments on THIS DAY ONLY can be expanded to a maximum of 8 sentences.

We can’t wait to get your thoughts on the following topic:

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 Next season, in the final year of his contract, Jordan Zimmermann will make another $25M.  If he were removed from the rotation based on his awful 2019 season, the Tigers would have another hole to fill. 

Based on all the factors and given the difficulty they had effectively filling holes left by Michael Fulmer, Tyson Ross and Matt Moore this season, how would you choose to use Zimmermann in 2020?

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Totally Tigers loves your comments!  But please remember that responses are only published if they address today’s topic, are respectful and do not exceed the maximum 3-4 sentence response length.  All rules are at:  https://totallytigers.wordpress.com/commentsrules/.

THE SATURDAY SURVEY

The Saturday Survey offers another way for readers to weigh in on a relevant topic.   So here is a poll to gauge the pulse of our baseball-lovin’ peeps.

As always, we welcome your comments, so please vote and then submit your reasons ( 4 sentences max!) for how you voted in the usual comment box.  Don’t forget to come back later and view the results!

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Given the Tigers’ claim to be rebuilding, let’s chart their progress.  If we remove all pitchers, as well as Miggy, from consideration, how many players from the current roster do you believe will still be part of the Tigers by April 2021?

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Totally Tigers loves your comments!  But please remember that responses are only published if they address today’s topic, are respectful and do not exceed the maximum 3-4 sentence response length.  All rules are at:  https://totallytigers.wordpress.com/commentsrules/.

 

TWICE AS NICE

By:  Holly Horning & Kurt Snyder

With the season drawing to a close in a little over a week, few things are left to talk about here in Detroit. But we have to try, don’t we? Positivity must be found in the mound of rubble also known as Tiger baseball in 2019.

So let’s take a hard look and find that morsel of hope in an otherwise lost season.

Holly and Kurt have not shared their answers to the following question for the purpose of offering a wider range of perspectives.

So let’s get on with it and see what our writers have to say.

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Who or what is your favorite story coming out of the 2019 season?

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HOLLY

Oh, my, it’s so hard to choose…. Maybe it’s JV with his 19-6 record, MLB’s lowest WHIP, no-hitter and soon-to-be 3000 strike-out milestone. Or the re-emergence of James McCann who has hit 17 HRs and reclaimed a decent, if not strong, batting average or even Jose Iglesias with a career high 11 HRs and a .285 BA. And then there’s J. D. Martinez with 35 HRs, almost 100 RBIs, .310 BA and .944 OPS.

What? I have to pick a current Tiger? Oh, crikey…

Well, at least I don’t have many from which to choose.

For me, it’s got to be the maturation of JaCoby Jones because at least when he plays (and not on the IL), he makes the game exciting. He has proven himself to be one of MLB’s top defenders and the emergence of his hitting this year helps me believe that he’ll stick (hopefully with the Tigers).

His athleticism and speed are exactly what the Tigers and a ballpark like Comerica need, given that the centerfield dimensions are among the largest in MLB and the Tigers aren’t known for possessing solid defense. Since JJ went on the IL, the outfield situation became chaotic with collisions/near-collisions being witnessed on a regular basis.

Having fellow outfielders who are both below-average in defense, Jones’ ability to extend his range and help cover for them has been a blessing – and fun to watch.

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KURT

Given how few impactful events or happenings came out of this forgettable season for the Tigers, there really wasn’t too much of a choice to be made.

The biggest story and question that came out of spring training was all about JaCoby Jones. There has been one single storyline since he joined the big club.

And it has been about his speed, athleticism and his ability to run down a baseball in centerfield. He is truly one of the best defensive outfielders in the game today, but was in danger of throwing it all away if he didn’t learn to hit.

Things started slowly and it appeared that we were going to see more of the same from Jones. But after a change in his stance, things began to click and his confidence began to grow.

JaCoby has been disruptive on the bases, but his inability to get on made it all so pointless until he began to produce this season. It is the one and only good story of the year and even that was cut short by an injury. But it is indeed something to continue to watch heading into 2020.

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STATS DON’T LIE

By:  Holly Horning

Earlier this week, I wrote about the changes the Orioles are making to their organization. And on the day that blog appeared, the Orioles announced even more changes to their personnel.

They hired a new Director of Player Development along with a new director of domestic scouting and the head of their new analytics department.

The Tigers, meanwhile, have been making some changes of their own recently but focused on smaller positions within some of their minor league teams. And articles have been written about Ron Gardenhire needing to discuss with Al Avila the status of his coaches.

Which brings us to loyal reader, Sprocket, who wrote to ask the question why Lloyd McClendon still has a job. Let’s dig in, shall we?

Lloyd has received a lot of criticism everywhere you read. But is it fair, you ask?

The Tigers are rebuilding, some say, so isn’t it logical that they are horrible at the plate? Some say these are AAA or AAAA players the team is fielding so we shouldn’t expect the offensive stats to be good by any measure.

And then others opine that given the rebuild, the team needs a strong hitting coach all the more.

But over the past 3 years, maybe more, the offensive numbers have been consistently falling while the excuses for them increase. Comerica’s dimensions are now being blamed for the lack of home runs even though it wasn’t a problem in the earlier years. Even though other teams don’t have problems hitting homers when they come to visit. Even though the Tigers play half their games in other stadiums and don’t hit measurably better in them.

For 2018 and this year, the Tigers consistently find themselves either last or second-to-last in most offensive categories.

They have just recently finished their World Series of Misery with Baltimore as both teams duke it out for the shameful title of MLB’s worst team. Let’s compare the stats of both organizations, ranking them in order from best to worst out of the 30 MLB teams. It’s a really good comparison to show if both teams, almost equally bad, are similar or if one performs measurably better offensively.

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RUNS

Detroit (D) – #30

Baltimore (B) – #23

HOME RUNS

D – #29

B – #22

TOTAL BASES

D – #29

B- #22

RBIs

D- #30

B- #24

BATTING AVERAGE

D- #25

B- #21

ON BASE PERCENTAGE

D- #29

B- #24

SLUGGING

D – #29

B – #24

ON-BASE + SLUGGING

D- # 28

B – #24

STRIKE OUTS

D- #30

B- #16

WALKS

D – #27

B – #25

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Notice the pattern here? Two teams, so close in their performance, and the Orioles are doing consistently better than the Tigers in every major offensive category. And the big diff? Baltimore has Ben doing it without having an analytics department. What does this say about the Tigers program, Caesar?

The Orioles do have a new hitting coach, Don Long, hired as part of their new GM’s initiative to remake the team. And in less than 1 year, he’s shown progress in helping his players perform better.

If we continue to dig further into the Tigers’ batting habits, we see:

– MLB-leading highest average number of SOs per game at 10. (Up from last year.)

– MLB’s worst plate discipline with 37% of pitches swung on that are outside the strike zone. (Up from last year.)

– MLB-leading worst strike-out record as a team at 27%. (Up from last year.)

In reality, fault can be placed with both the level of talent but also with the coach who oversees. Even if there is little talent picking up a bat, it is clear that the habits of the entire team, not just a player or two, are bad – and getting worse.

Look no further than the stat pages of Nick Castellanos, James McCann, Jose Iglesias and others who have performed much better offensively since leaving. One player doing better is a lucky coincidence, but there is a pattern of former Tigers thriving at the plate once they join new teams.

The Tigers have countered this year by telling us all that Lloyd works so hard night and day to help the players. We have no reason to doubt that information.

But the job of a coach is to get the best out of each player – even if that player is not very good. Which players can we honestly say are performing better than expected? And if a coach is working so very hard, and not getting better results, doesn’t this say that he either doesn’t have the necessary skills, that he is ineffective or that simply the players don’t listen to him?

Let’s not confuse hard work with results.

So why does McClendon still have the job as hitting coach?

Part of it is undoubtedly due to the organizational culture of keeping the non-playing personnel despite performance since Dave Dombrowski left. Part of it may also be due to the owner wishing to spend as little as possible on hiring better candidates.

And part of it is because it’s not what you know but rather who you know.

When Dave Dombrowski was the GM, he made a point of saying that his manager was responsible for hiring his own coaches. When Brad Ausmus became the manager, it was reported that some of Leyland’s coaches stayed on because Ausmus was a rookie manager and needed insight into the team he was about to run.

But Ron Gardenhire, a veteran skipper, was only allowed to hire 3 of his 10 coaches. It is unusual to see that in MLB when you hire someone with an extensive track record as manager.

His other 7 coaches were supplied by the Tigers. And most of them have a long history with Detroit. And they also have one friend in common.

Jim Leyland.

JL definitely influences who gets hired as well as signed. He was credited with pushing Avila to sign both Mercer and Harrison. Most of the current coaches also have ties to either working or playing for Leyland. Ramon Santiago did an interview earlier this year and mentioned how grateful he was to Leyland for getting him his first coaching job.

And then there’s McClendon who has the longest and strongest ties to JL. Thirty years and counting.

A player under Leyland at Pittsburgh and then returned to the Pirates as Leyland’s hitting coach. When Leyland was hired by the Tigers, he brought Lloyd with him.

McClendon has served as the Tigers hitting coach for 11 years total – sandwiched in-between a short-lived managerial gig with Seattle. Fourteen years total as the hitting coach for 2 teams.

Lloyd is MLB’s longest-tenured hitting coach. He certainly beats all of today’s coaches by a wide mile. The longest tenured coach other than Lloyd, just released, held his job for 5 years.

For perspective, after the 2018 season, 17 out of 30 MLB teams fired their hitting coaches. Nine of the remaining 13 have only held their position for 2 years. Three of the remaining 4 have held their jobs for 3-5 years. And the one remaining? Fourteen years – or 11 with the same team.

A remarkable run, especially considering the recent track record. And when you don’t see stats that support the coaching being done, or see noticeable improvement, you have to ask why someone is kept in that position for over a decade. It is an anomaly in MLB.

All of today’s new coaches are much younger and come to the game armed with all the newest stats, tools and trends as part of their arsenal because the art of hitting has changed dramatically. And given the changes to pitching, it is much harder to hit in today’s game.

They are hired because of the different perspectives they give to their teams. They now have master’s degrees in exercise science or are accomplished hitting instructors like Robert Van Scoyoc who is now the hitting coach for the Dodgers. His claim to fame? He transformed JD Martinez into a hitting superstar, among others.

It’s no longer about someone’s experience as a player or their views on hitting. Hitting now is all fact-based.

These same new hitting coaches have a more sophisticated, data-driven approach, are well-versed in the newest technologies and have a working knowledge of the body’s kinetic “chain.” Lloyd doesn’t have any of this.

And despite the fact that the Tigers are rebuilding, getting younger and have added analytics to the menu, their MLB-level hitting philosophy appears to be the most out-dated one in both leagues.

In a couple weeks, we’ll know the fate of Gardy’s coaches. Don’t be surprised if no one leaves – or even if some of Gardy’s own guys do.

It could be a sign of the lingering old boys network or a signal that the owner simply doesn’t care.

But if we’re lucky, it will be a sign that no changes are being made because there will be one major change. The name of a new owner.

(Are there topics you’d like to see Totally Tigers address? Don’t be shy – let us know. We won’t publish your request but we’ll give you credit when your question is published.)

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