mtutiger

Just making it up as they go along... lol

Agree totally here. It's hard not to look at this topic through the lens of this current roster, but it's not unreasonable to suggest that the roster will look a lot different come Opening Day 2023.

It's not about Miguel for me.... it's about a new GM. One imagines that there is going to be a lot of turnover on this roster this offseason (and probably within the org), but there's a tension in that Miguel, who himself isn't a replacement level player at this point, is perceived to be an untouchable. That's an issue for an incoming GM... maybe it gets resolved with a Pujols like role next year, but it's an issue that will have to dealt with regardless.

Fully appreciate Miguel's contributions, but I would like the new GM to be able to make the decisions that he wants to make in the most unencumbered way possible. Maybe that ends up involving Miguel, but from a purely practical standpoint, it's less than ideal.

Before the end of the year, I doubt much happens to him. We all know he probably needs to retire at this point for health reasons, but realistically, there's little chance that's coming with less than 60 games left. But whoever ends up getting the job should be given latitude with this roster to build as they see fit, even if next year is a rebuilding or recalibration year. There's already a lot of speculation that significant changes will happen whenever that person comes into the picture. Miguel and his status on the roster runs in conflict to that. Hence why it's a space to watch.

Yep. We've heard all week "why won't the DOJ release the docs".... well, now we get to see whether the Trump folks actually want them released themselves.

Garland's press conference was around 2 minutes, but it felt like an earthquake

Is it me, or does it seem like the majority of runs that the Tigers have surrendered in the past three weeks have been unearned?

I shared this in the game thread, but this is gonna be a space to watch with a new GM coming in.

LOL, Willi Castro

Why hire Luhnow when you can hire someone else who can also win for you? I get that guys like Theo Epstein and Jeff Luhnow have a track record, but there was a time where they were once unknown executives who earned jobs in this league as well. I just don't know that this whole "Epstein/Luhnow or bust" mentality is right. I do obviously agree that independent voices would help in ascertaining who the right person is, but the right person doesn't necessarily have to be the big name guy. Go find the next Epstein or Luhnow...

We've come a long way from the "Hinch is gonna opt out" days, haven't we? In all seriousness, I do think it's a positive that Hinch will have a role in this... he shouldn't have the only say in it, of course, but he's been overall a positive for the franchise and it signals that, while significant changes may be made, it may not be a total teardown either.

The hosts on one of The Athletic Baseball podcasts a few weeks ago were talking about a hypothetical Avila firing and said they thought it would be pretty attractive opening, in part for some of the reasons you mention. In general, I think Tiger fans have a more negative view of the state of this org than people nationally do. Not that national folks think this org is in great shape (obviously not if the GM is being fired), but rather that there tends to be a little more perspective when comparing against all 30 teams.

Good point. And the fact that Al Avila sucked at his job isn't really a polarizing opinion or one limited to Detroit sports fans. All of these guys leaguewide know it... for all we know, maybe the Tigers will end up interviewing one of these "longtime executives" that spoke on the condition of anonymity to Ken Rosenthal about Al's tenure. Chris' comment is impolitic, and it elides his responsibility for not acting sooner on the GM. And extending him as well. But it really wasn't inaccurate... the responsibility for the trade is on the GM. And I dont think other MLB Execs think it's inaccurate either.

Sorry. But I dont think his comments matter much in the grand scheme of things.

https://theathletic.com/1146049/2019/08/19/35-under-35-how-pete-putila-deals-with-the-pressure-of-keeping-the-astros-at-the-top-of-the-heap?source=user-shared-article For those with Athletic subscriptions, this is a pretty good read on Putila... There are other good candidates for sure. But he seems like a pretty good fit... especially with his experience in player development and the likely familiarity between him and the manager.

There are only 30 of these jobs... only a handful of which are open in any given offseason. Its not even clear there will be more than 1 of the jobs open in this offseason as well. I suspect there won't be a lack of interest from candidates if they get a call from the Tigers.

Craig Paquette... now there was a beauty. Also loved how they were paying millions of dollars to the corpses of Dean Palmer and Bobby Higginson at the end of their contracts. That era was so bad, and it was only because Mike I got the next hire right that we kinda forget how bad it was.

I wonder how this decision ultimately affects the Miguel situation

Not to defend Chris, because it took him way too long to do what he did today, but he is the type of owner that views the role as being one where he hires somebody to do the job and gives them latitude to make those decisions. Most owners in sports are like this to a degree... they arent all Jerry Jones and Mark Cuban. Having said that, similar to his comments at the Red Wings presser a few months ago, it's another case of him answering a relatively easy question in the worst and most aloof possible way.

From what I caught of Chris I's press conference, not a lot of info, but he kept emphasizing bringing in someone to run Baseball Operations. Leads me to believe that he's not necessarily looking to backfill with a GM. Just hope whoever he gets is the right person for the job.

Any editorial shift coming at Bally State Media tonight?

As a reminder, they hired a bunch of folks from outside of the organization last year around this time. All the old guard need to be swept out, but idk if indiscriminately firing everyone is the right idea either. It all kinda depends on who they hire I suppose... it may not matter depending on who they hire.