RAPID FIRE – SPECIAL EDITION

By: Holly Horning & Kurt Snyder

On Tuesday, the Detroit Tigers announced changes to their Front Office.  That is today’s Rapid Fire topic.

Our two bloggers share their 5 takeaways from the moves made.  The challenge is to summarize each point in 3 sentences or less.

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HOLLY

1.  I have been blogging all year that Hinch would have influence in changes being made but only after he had the chance to observe and gather the notes and evidence necessary that support reasons for change.  The Tigers have had the reputation of waiting until the very last minute to pull the trigger on decisions even when proof and the need for change was evident.  So seeing this now, a full month before the season ends, is notable and speaks of a new sense of urgency and way of doing things, so don’t be surprised to see many more changes being made from now until February.

2.  Other than Chris Bosio, the Tigers avoid the “fire” word at all costs – instead using terms such as “released” (Dombrowski), “not renewing their contract” (Ausmus), etc. so it’s no surprise that they are diplomatically disguising the demotions of both Dave Littlefield and David Chadd.  Littlefield is losing his VP title and returning to his initial roots with the infamous and mysterious title of “special assistant” (“Littlefield is out of the player development completely.” – Avila) while Chadd keeps his but leaves Detroit (and the inner circle of power) to be based in Wichita with trips to Lakeland.  This could be the method of gradually easing them both out of the organization, esp. when Littlefield’s replacement is found and he begins the process of personnel turnover that is natural to any new head coming in.

3.  The reduction of power for both Littlefield and Chadd is the first sign of the changing of the guard and the breakup of the older clique of guys who all worked for Dave Dombrowski and date back to the Expos and Marlins.  Jim Leyland is also one of those guys so it will be interesting to see what happens to him after this year especially when this team is becoming significantly younger and progressive in their approach to the game.  The trend is now definitely keeping and hiring the young guys in their 30’s with advanced training in stats, all forms of analytics, technology and sports economics and representing a shift in how the team will think and act going forward.

4.  What is happening in the Front Office supports Chris Ilitch’s August statements about turning this organization into a contending and “sustainable” one.  Money is finally being invested into the Front Office on proven minds who are up-to-date on what most MLB teams are doing.  Ilitch has spoken about “building from within” via drafting and scouting which jives with the overhaul of the player development system.

5.  By making these changes, as well as stating that the Tigers are pursuing a new VP of Player Development (most likely from outside the organization), Al Avila has finally acknowledged that the Tigers’ long-time player development program was woefully inadequate.  He has demoted 2 men he’s known for literally decades, one of life’s hardest moves, which tells me he’s now ready to make the changes necessary in order to build a contender.  But was this something he finally came to realize, was he pushed by Chris Ilitch to act, did A. J. Hinch, Sam Menzin and Jay Sartori push him to modernize – or all of the above?

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KURT

1.  These front office moves are not properly executed without the obvious influence of the manager.  All the rumblings early on from fans regarding Hinch continue to be proven wrong the more we watch the organization transition from their archaic ways of doing things.  ‘Hinch can only do so much as the manager’ can now be changed to ‘Hinch can do so much as the manager.’

2.  Youth is certainly being served in the front office and these moves speak to that.  The promotions of both Sam Menzin (31) and Jay Sartori (42) are the examples of young, smart talent taking on high-profile jobs.  Just keep in mind that these guys would not have been promoted without the blessing of you-know-who, which will be the case with each and every transaction.

3.  Transitioning Dave Littlefield (61) to a new role was the nicest way possible to say he was demoted.  His role of VP of Player Development is now open and the Tigers hope to find someone who will revitalize one of the most important areas of the organization.  Hinch’s experience in player development certainly will help in finding another whiz kid to add to the others and I am sure he has a handful of names that he will recommend that the Tigers contact.

4.  Hopefully, many of you remember when I wondered if A.J. Hinch could influence the organization from the manager’s office on up.  He has indeed changed the responsibilities of the field general and he probably would have never taken the job without an agreement from Al Avila that he would be involved in more than just your typical managerial duties.  It’s not a whacky suggestion any longer, this is real.

5.  This front office development really speaks to the future of this organization.  It supports a long range plan that clears a path for Hinch at some point to become the general manager.  The only question is whether Al Avila will choose retirement or a promotion when it’s time to make the transition.

What did you miss on the Totally Tigers Twitter feed yesterday?

Proof that the corporate culture on the team has changed.

In an interview, to whom did Miguel Cabrera give a shout-out?

The lastest CBA proposal. 

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