FIVE FOR FRIDAY

by Holly Horning

The Detroit Tigers are gradually and systematically excising the old and entrenched employees who have followed Dave Dombrowski and Al Avila from Montreal to Florida to Pittsburgh (road trip) and finally, Detroit.

It started at the MLB level.  In the dugout to be precise.

It then migrated to the Front Office and has trickled down into the minor leagues.  Managers, coaches and scouts.  And it continued this week with the departure of the minors Director of Pitching Development/Strategies and the hiring of 2 new AA/AAA Pitching Coordinators.

I fully expect the changes to continue.  Not widespread changes or the brooming of entire departments.  But as the minor leagues continue to grow stronger – and the Tigers get closer to contending – I expect there will be more.

I also suspect that many still in their jobs are on probation as the organization, esp. the new Front Office hires, watch them to see if they can up their game and mesh with the new ideas and practices that are being introduced.

Which brings me to the changing dynamics of this organization.  For some, it’s coming too late.  For others, it’s not coming fast enough.  And for many others, they are still hoping.

So what changes do I want to see before spring training rolls around?

Some of them may not be what you think.  For this exercise, I’ve made the roster off-limits.  So are the unrealistic expectations of changing ownership or the GM that many of you have made a priority.  Not.gonna.happen.

This is a reality-based list that is easily accomplishable this off-season.

I’ve come up with my top 5 things that will make me the happiest to see.  Things that should have happened years ago.  Things that continue to torture me.  Things that will make me break out the bubbly.

But most of all, changes that will make this game eminently much more pleasurable to watch.

Let’s get to it!

NEW TV BROADCAST TEAM

For years now, the tv broadcast crew, even with Mario and Rod, never got above #28 in the media rankings.  The lastest crew has been ranked dead last (and it’s not even close in the grading) ever since Matt Shepard was hired.  I’d be hard-pressed to keep anyone.  And whoever thought that doing half-inning long interviews in the stands with random fans was a good idea should go, too.

I want to see a play-by-play guy who is fully-schooled in baseball and specializes in calling those games.  And a color/pitching broadcaster who is personable and leaves his glory days stories behind.  Screamers and montone guys best suited to calling golf games or helping you with your sleep problems need not apply.

MORE MOMAGERS

The Tigers’ Baseball Operations sector has 29 departments and there’s only one woman in a position of power.  She is Dr. Georgia Giblin, Director of Performance Science.  At the very least, she needs to be given the title of Sr. Director and a higher profile given the increasing importance of data and technology in player development and the push by the Tigers to improve it.  She’s drawing a lot of recognition within the organization and she needs to be promoted.

The Tigers are always among the very last to adopt what other teams embrace such as signing African-American players, building bullpens or using analytics.  I don’t want to see this habit continue.  Outside of Dr. Giblin, the Tigers have no other women anywhere within the organization holding a position of power or influence.  Many other teams do. 

The best reason to hire more women?  Let’s remember that when you hire momagers, stuff gets done.  We take no hostages.

(Sidebar: If you are a newer reader, the term “momager” is a running humorous theme on this site. If you enter it into the search box here, you’ll see the yearly momager columns that appear every year on Mother’s Day.)

MODERN TRAINING AND CONDITIONING

Did you know that Kevin Rand (who goes all the way back to the Expos and Marlins with Dombrowski and Avila) is still in charge of all of this?  Not only that, but he got promoted to oversee the Tigers’ entire T&C program from the majors through the minors.  Doug Teter has been a Tiger employee since 1993.  Are these really the guys you want overseeing the health and injury prevention of the Tigers’ top prospects?

I’ve seen the Tigers – and other teams – train.  I’ve got a lot of experience with personal training methods and I was shocked to see Detroit’s old school ways that haven’t changed in decades.  Meanwhile, every other team is extolling the virtures of including yoga, pilates, core and flexibility training in their programs.  Some teams even require their players to take these classes in the off-season.  It’s just another example of the Tigers being among the very last to adopt new strategies.  It’s also another example of long-term Expos/Florida/Tigers employees being allowed to stay burrowed within an organization for decades.

GIVE UP THE GHOST

Jim Leyland is not just a “special assistant” as we are constantly being told.  He’s so much more.  He’s the man behind the curtain and the “GM Whisperer”.  He’s involved in signings, scouting, draft war rooms and was even in charge of overseeing the minor league system last year.  And every spring, he sits with Al Avila behind home plate evaluating all the players.

How can someone so anti-analytics, so outdated, so old school even possibly exist with employees who could be his great-grandchildren who use terminology and technology that he can’t possibly understand?  You’ve got to believe that the newest Front Office execs don’t appreciate his input or that he plants ideas into Avila’s head that have no data to support.  He makes their jobs harder.

The Tigers need to hold a Jim Leyland Day.  Give him a solid gold cigarette case and send him off.  Invite him back for special celebrations.  Trade him to Pittsburgh in exchange for Donnie Kelly Baby.  But for God’s sake, the Tigers need to change the locks on the Front Office’s doors and make Avila’s phone number unlisted.  It’s also another reason why the Tigers need to hire more momagers.  They’ll get it done.

SHADOW GM

The Tigers need to giving A. J. Hinch more power in deciding how to build the roster.  After many years, Al Avila has a very poor record when it comes to signings.  (See Zimmermann, Jordan.)  Hinch is on the record, most recently about the kind of #1 catcher the Tigers need which is defensively based and “centered on impeccable game planning and overall poise behind the plate.”   So it’s a head-scratcher when the Tigers signed Wilson Ramos who has never been known for his defensive skills.  It’s obvious that Hinch had no input on that move.

We also know that the most successful signing for last year’s roster was Robbie Grossman.  Hinch was the one who pushed for it.  The analytics department was given credit for the Baddoo heist.  It’s just more and more obvious that Hinch and the analytics department, plus the input of Jay Satori and Sam Menzin, need to be the ones who greenlight future signings.

Keeping in mind the rules above, which realistic doable changes would you make before the 2022 season?

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What did you miss on our Twitter feed yesterday? (And why aren’t you following TT yet?)

• The Tigers made 2 new pitching coach hires this week and TT has the news before the official announcement.

• The Tigers’ new pitching coaches/directors have ties to the Tigers. Good ties.

• There are discernible patterns in who the Tigers are hiring. What are they?

• Another potential shortstop of interest to the Tigers just got much more expensive.

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