TIME TO TAMP THE BRAKES

By: Holly Horning

The biggest news – the most unexpected news – hit the media last week with the announcement of promotions and diplomatically quiet demotions within the Detroit Tigers’ Front Office.

The decades-long tight clique of Expos/Marlins/Pirates is finally starting to be broken up.

Many Tiger fans never believed this would happen with the current owner and GM still in charge.

But here it is and now many fans are giddy with excitement.

Given this, fans (and even a reporter or two) are allowing their imaginations to run wild about what else will happen.  Who else will get promoted.

Beliefs that A. J. Hinch will move up to the GM role and Al Avila will ascend to become President of the Tigers.  Part of this also fueled by the great jobs Chris Fetter, George Lombard and Scott Coolbaugh are doing and the need to promote them as well in order to keep them.

Let’s slow this down just a little bit, shall we?

First of all, none of the coaches are going to leave for new jobs, let alone promotions, after only 1 year.  They need to build a track record first before other teams would want to seriously pursue hiring them for bigger and better jobs. And if you leave a new job in baseball, for perceived greener pastures after such a short time, it doesn’t make you look good.  Or loyal.

In the case of Chris Fetter, the reason he came to the Tigers was because of a relationship he built with A. J. Hinch that goes back at least 5 years.  He’s always been a hot commodity in the baseball world and pursued by multiple teams.  Relationships are very important to him and a deciding factor in what he does. As is his desired location to remain in Michigan.

Logically, none of the coaches are thinking about promotions for the next 2 years.

As for Hinch, many believe that he will become the Tigers next GM.  Some, in fact, currently believe he has already turned into a shadow assistant GM.  (Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Sparky….) 

But no one is going to give him the job after managing the team for only 2 years – or even conceivably after the 3-year contract expires. 

And Hinch, as talented as he is, has less than 6 years of managerial experience.  Less than 1 year of it with the Tigers.  A GM needs to know the organization he takes over in-depth.  Let’s not forget that he was given the managerial job with the Diamondbacks at age 34,  MBL’s youngest manager ever, having never managed a single game at the MLB level.  A move that almost everyone blamed on the organization for promoting way too early. 

I believe the day Hinch gets promoted will eventually come.  But I also believe the Tigers will increasingly give A. J. more responsibility and more reach first in a run-up to the eventual GM slot.  But for now, he remains in the managerial role and not in the Front Office.  He’ll remain an influencer, not an executive decision-maker, to Avila, Bream, Menzin, Sartori, et al.

Now, let’s look at Al Avila.

Some journalists have suggested he’s too old now to have the energy to remain the GM.  Mike Rizzo, GM of the Nationals, is very close in age and he has no intention of retiring from his position.

Outside of the ageist attitude, do you really believe he would relinquish the GM role after he’s been through 6 years of rebuilding hell?  After 6 years of fan abuse without rebuilding his credibility?  To allow someone else to come in and reap the recognition when this team finally starts to seriously contend again? 

No.way.

It’s the manager and the GM who garner most of the kudos for how well a team performs, not so much for those who sit higher in the pecking order. 

It’s been suggested that Avila would move up to become team President.  But there are questions that concern that as well.

The Tigers haven’t always had a “President”.  The last was Dave Dombrowski.  Avila is a VP of Baseball Operations.

Before Dombrowski, it was Mike Ilitch.  And currently, it’s Chris Ilitch.  Chris Granger, who oversees the entire Ilitch sports-related holdings, is the only other President.  He is leaving soon and it was announced that they will be going outside the organization to fill that role (which also is much larger in scope than just the Tigers).

But you get the picture.  This is a position reserved primarily for family and for those with an extensive, well-known track record in MLB.

If we return to the reasons for everyone to stay with the Tigers, it’s simple.  They are a team trending upwards. 

The ugly, head-banging days of tear-downs and embarrassment are gone.  Detroit is now a team on the upswing and many want to be part of it.  They want to enjoy the building, the successes and the reaching of goals.  It’s the ideal time to be coaching, managing and directing a team.  The future is becoming brighter.

The Tigers, simply, are just entering that sweet spot where they are not in decline or lacking promise.  To many in baseball, this is where one wants to be.

Lastly, and probably most importantly, is the desire for all involved to see this thing through.  For the Tigers to rise from the ashes and finally get that %&*(%$  ring.  Or at least come close.  The coaches, the manager and the GM. 

To grab that ring from the baseball carousel and claim it for their own.

For Hinch, it would be his second managerial World Championship (if all goes well).  That is a distinction that gets you into the Hall of Fame.

For Avila, his first ring as the GM.  You don’t think that after all the fans’ wrath he’s experienced that he doesn’t want to put a bow on this thing?

So let’s allow this to play out.  For everyone involved to be able to show their strengths and grow with the organization.

For everyone to get their recognition first.

For everyone to be able to put some measurable accomplishments on their resumes first.

Let’s see if this year’s improvements can be duplicated in 2022.

Let’s tamp the brakes a little bit – at least through next year.

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

What MLB Network had to say about the Tigers and their performance this season.

Ex-Tiger Jose Iglesias turning heads again. Is it for the right reason?

The lengths Chris Fetter will go to help pitchers.

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