DIFFERENT TIMES, DIFFERENT STRATEGIES

By:  Holly Horning

You, dear readers, come to our blog because you appreciate the unvarnished observations about our favorite baseball team. You come because you want to read viewpoints and information that is not available in the major Detroit newspapers or on any MLB-owned media. You come because we identify the reasons why the Tigers do what they do by looking beyond the dugout and the playing field.

We are square shooters. We tell it like we see it. And all we ask of you is to consider the information we present. For the record, we, in turn, read your comments and honor all perspectives.

We are grateful that we have a community here in which ideas and opinions can be shared respectfully – and that we can even learn a thing or two from one another. There is no cancel culture here. There is no planned attack to disparage anyone who doesn’t share the identical idea by the poster. Freedom of speech is a wonderful thing. How many other sites can claim this?

What we ask of you is to consider everyone’s opinions. I know we are all tired of those who work overtime trying to validate every bad move made by the Tigers. But in turn, there are also those who can see no good in anything the Tigers do.

Neither of these extremes work.

Shouldn’t we all be willing to escape our comfort zones and explore opinions other than our own? Isn’t that how we learn?

All of this now brings us to today’s blog. A chance to play devil’s advocate and present the case for why the Tigers are currently doing (or not doing) what they are.

I know we’ve been tough on the team. And quite frankly, it’s been hard not to considering what’s been going on since (the most recent years, that is) probably the inexplicable hiring of Brad Ausmus. But running a baseball team is not a black or white issue. It’s complicated. And there are many issues those in charge have to face. And often, those issues compete directly with each other.

Many of them major issues and the determining factors that chart the team’s direction. Many of them issues that the team has no control over.

So let’s tackle that today. Let’s understand what the Tigers can and cannot do. Let’s understand how life today has impacted the team’s actions.

And let’s understand that when anyone makes an argument in favor of the team, that it doesn’t mean that they’ve “switched sides.” In fact, when you can both support and condemn actions of any group, it means you have the ability to make honest observations.

And that is a good thing.

Which brings us to the annual assessment of the Tigers’ actions since that first weekend in October. You know, the zillions of grades by the media and other blogs given in response to the moves made – or not made – by the team. The firings, if any. The hirings. The expected moves that are supposed to so clearly scream improvement.

And we’ve read the ones about the Tigers. The disappointment in the lack of moves. The disappointment in the profile level of the players acquired. The disappointment in the people and players who remain with the team.

But is it fair to blame the entire organization for what has – or hasn’t – happened?

Let’s start with the players Al Avila has acquired since October. Everyone is in agreement that none of them have moved the needle. But is this all upon Al?

Maybe it is to some degree when it concerns the specific players he signs. But let’s also remember that he doesn’t set the budget. Chris Ilitch does. And maybe, just maybe, Avila is hamstrung in the players he can acquire because of that. Maybe his pool of desirable candidates is on the short side because they all want more than he is able to offer.

Maybe he has so many holes to fill that he needs to spread the money around as thinly as possible in order to fill them all. (Those gaps are another issue and deserving of their own extensive discussion, but not today.) Would some fans prefer that he put most of the budget in one player and leave gaping holes everywhere else?

There is one thing for which I am sure. That every GM in the history of the game has used every single dollar he is given to sign players. He’s not saving up to sign Mike Trout. In fact, almost every GM probably goes begging to ownership for more payroll dollars every year in order to sign the players he wants.

So it’s not right to say that Al Avila is cheap. But maybe his boss is.

And then there’s a factor that neither owner nor GM has much, or any, control over.

In a recent survey of baseball agents, they revealed that other than Toronto (for being outside of the US and the complications it creates in travel and relocating one’s family), the one city most players request that they not be traded to – or entertain offers from – is Detroit. Mostly because of the city itself. Secondarily because of the questions surrounding the pace of the rebuild.

And all of that narrows down the field of who you can sign. And how much you need to pay them to reconsider. Let’s not forget how Mr. I had to overpay Pudge Rodriguez in order for him to come to Detroit.

However, the two biggest factors in Detroit’s lack of significant movement this off-season are due to both the industry’s movement and what is going on in the world.

Three letters – CBA. It is expiring in less than a year and reports have both sides doing little to nothing yet when most contract talks start at least a year in advance. Heck, the owners and players are battling it out over small points, like the universal DH, related to this year’s play. This doesn’t bode well, folks.

Everyone is reporting that the animosity between both sides has escalated tremendously and is at its worst in decades. Even the majority of the afore-mentioned agents believe there will be a work stoppage after this year.

Given such, is it in the team’s best interest to invest more in multi-year contracts this year when it is likely that play will be shortened next year? When the players you’ve signed are only going to get older and potentially lose a measurable portion of their value once the game resumes?

Let’s not forget that Chris Ilitch sits on one of the Commissioner’s committees so he is well-informed as to what those involved in the game are saying.

And finally, there is one factor that is the all-time game changer. The one factor that no one can control.

The pandemic.

We’ve just gone through a “season” where teams played a fraction of their games and the seats were empty. Other than media contracts, teams were not pulling in app. 40%-60% of their yearly revenue.

A huge question mark remains over the 2021 season. When will it start? Will the increase in infections and dangerous mutations in the virus shut things down again? And what about the fans? Will they be able to attend? And if so, how many will be allowed? There have been no decisions yet and no ruling on whether or not fans will be allowed to attend this year.

If you’re a smart businessperson – and all of these owners are – how many are going to push all their chips to the middle of the table when it comes to betting against the global scourge?

As it is, every single team after this last year has gone into cost-cutting mode in one or more multiple ways. Some teams have made drastic cuts to their employees and operations. Some so seriously so that it puts their viability within the game at risk.

The Tigers have been one of the luckier organizations, however they have also had to make some significant cuts within their organization. Cuts that need to offset the cash flow issues. Cuts that can’t be used to justify spending more on players.

Simply put, there is a huge question mark hanging over this season and the next one as well. So isn’t it wise for the Tigers to be more cautious right now until everyone learns more about how Covid will impact the 2021 season?

Could the Tigers Front Office also be waiting to make more moves closer to Opening Day when they may be able to strike some very favorable deals and get some bargains as a result? Wouldn’t that be a smarter move?

It’s really too soon to pass judgment on what the team has done so far in preparation for the coming year. It’s a different world, a different time. And it’s a time to do things differently as a result.

Let’s wait just a little while longer before passing judgment.

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