AND THEN THERE WAS ONE

by Holly Horning

Lloyd McClendon had more lives than a cat.  And it’s perfect proof that it’s not always what you know but who you know.

In this case, his close friend, Jim Leyland.

He started as a player then hitting coach and finally manager of the Pirates both under and after JL.  After being fired, he came to Detroit, once again under Leyland. 

Here, the former manager became the bullpen coach.  Promoted to hitting coach and then to bench coach.

He took a 2-year sabbatical from Detroit to become the Mariners manager but after being fired, he returned to Detroit as the AAA manager.  Despite a poor year, McClendon was again promoted to hitting coach in Detroit.  His second time as such.

The pattern repeated itself.  Once again, another promotion back to bench coach and finally to interim manager.

The arrival of A. J. Hinch left him without a job.  Or so we thought.  The sudden passing of coach Kimera Bartee required an emergency reshuffling of staff with just weeks before spring training.  The newly appointed AAA Manager Gary Jones was promoted to Detroit and the Tigers quickly needed a new AAA manager who had Toledo experience.  Enter Lloyd.

Maybe we should change his nickname from Legendary to Longevity.

He held 8 jobs (3 of them multiple times) with the Tigers in just 15 years.  But he worked with Jim Leyland for 25 years.

And now, as the pattern once again shows, there has been a “mutual parting” between the Tigers and McClendon.  The Tigers rarely use the word “fired.”

It really comes as no surprise.  The only surprising thing is how long he stayed.

How many others teams would have an employee for 15 years, constantly promoting and demoting him and allowing him to hold the same positions multiple times?  Not to mention being able to magically survive 4 different managerial changes.  It’s just insanity when you think about it.

Some will say that McClendon had a winning record in Toledo but that’s not the purpose of the highest farm team level. It’s all about player development and preparing prospects to be successful at the MLB level.

And that didn’t happen this past year.  Just look at Spencer Torkelson’s struggles, not to mention those of a variety of other players.

It’s also proof that McClendon was simply an emergency stopgap solution for a year.  And a year only.

Would he still be with the Tigers if Al Avila was in charge?  Probably.  Maybe not Toledo but the clique would have found some job into which he could burrow.

But this blog is not about Lloyd per se.  It’s about what McClendon represents which is symbolic of what has been going on within this organization for far too long.

The entrenched employees, all connected to one another for decades, hanging onto jobs for which they are no longer qualified.  Still holding power and squelching feedback and fresh ideas from others that would allow this organization to move forward. 

Because allowing new ideas to permeate the organization would put their jobs at risk.  This was a protective mechanism and strategy for self-preservation.

They created conflict with their old outdated ways as they dissed analytics while the organization publicly supported them.  Scouting top prospects but not using the evaluation systems developed and embraced by the other 29 teams.  Instead, saying they “know a good player when (sic) they see them.”

Dave Dombrowski was the first to keep the clique intact by bringing them to Detroit from Montreal and Miami.  And he never fired any of them.

He brought Al Avila.  And he also brought Jim Leyland who then started to build his own Pirates clique within Detroit’s organization. 

In addition to bringing McClendon on board, he also hired Gene Lamont who was his third base coach with Pittsburgh.  Lamont, btw, is JL’s best friend going back over 50 years.

He lasted with the Tigers for 12 years which included a sneaky little strategy to hang onto his job when Leyland retired (from managing the roster, that is).

Dombrowski tasked Leyland with finding his own replacement.  Lamont pushed JL to hire someone he coached while both were with the Astros.  Lamont knew this former player had been interviewing for managerial jobs.

This is how the Tigers came to hire Brad Ausmus.  It was a move created by Lamont and pushed by Leyland, not Dombrowski. 

And conveniently, as one hand washes the other, Ausmus kept Lamont employed as his bench coach. 

Networking at its finest.

This is what happens when friends hire friends.

But now it’s clear that new leadership is forcing them out, one by one.  First, Al Avila.  Then several coaches hand-picked by Al.  Finally, Kevin Rand who had a 30-year career thanks to Dombrowski, Avila and Leyland.

Shortly followed by Al’s friend and closest confidante, David Chadd.  Chadd’s right-hand man, Scott Pleis preceded his boss.

Others who benefited from Jim Leyland’s influence, like Ramon Santiago, got re-assigned to jobs that were better suited at lower levels.  Dave Littlefield got demoted and will probably be gone now that there is new leadership.

But the writing is on the wall.  The old group is gradually being dismantled.  It’s being done slowly and diplomatically so that it doesn’t appear at first glance to be a purge.  But that’s what it is.

And there will be more.  Some whose names we won’t readily recognize.  Others will simply slink away with no announcement.  And some may remain in name only, especially the “special advisors” .  Most will probably see their responsibilities taken away or greatly diminished.  They will be relegated to becoming mere figureheads.

But don’t expect Jim Leyland to wield even a fraction of the power he had under Dombrowski and Avila, sitting with the GM at every spring training game and up in the GM’s box at Comerica during the regular season taking notes. Or even pushing the signing of players who didn’t work out.

Can you see him sitting with Scott Harris and trying to advise him?  Harris will have no part of that.

But it’s not only about the fact that JL is part of that group being let go.  It’s also about the reality that normal MLB teams don’t have former managers hovering over the team and making suggestions.  It is akin to having too many cooks in the kitchen.  Do you think A. J. Hinch enjoys seeing Leyland’s shadow?

But now to the most important part.

First, to clarify that this blog is not about Leyland.  It is an observation of the Tigers overall and how badly they have run themselves that has resulted in where this team is today.  I’d be saying the same thing about any former manager who has been hanging around his team for almost a decade now.

Leyland served a purpose when he was hired back in 2006.  He was the right choice at the right time.

But no longer. There is always an expiration date on everyone.

MLB has moved on from Leyland’s 20+ years as a manager.  And JL has refused to update his skills and learn new tricks.  He has vocally opposed a number of things the Tigers have been trying to do in an attempt to catch up to the rest of MLB.

What this is really about is a group of long-term employees and fast friends who have refused to relinquish power and influence.  This despite clear evidence that the sport has changed dramatically – and they haven’t.

It’s no longer about a group of employees who are trying to bring winning ways to the Tigers. 

It turned into a group whose priority became to protect their jobs.  They are no longer advocates for the Tigers.  Their goals lie elsewhere.

And that’s what this is all about.  You care more about your paycheck and your friends than you do about finding ways to allow your employer to succeed.

Potentially, it’s also about ego.  Trying to maintain a façade of the glory years.  Trying to maintain a sense of purpose and importance.

It’s hard to relinquish power.  Even harder to realize that you are no longer at the top of your game and that baseball has passed you by.

But Chris Ilitch ended up getting the ball rolling by pushing for the hiring of Hinch.  He knew his new manager would be a catalyst for change.

And now Scott Harris is the face of new leadership and change.  And he will continue to make personnel changes.

We know who is next on the list.  Just don’t expect there to be an announcement of his departure. 

But when you no longer see him helping run spring training, scouting or taking notes in the GM’s box, you’ll know that he’s no longer involved.

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