Tigers' Den (Home of the Detroit Tigers)

[l3ulvl]

The rebuild was declared over because we were finally in position to have the young talent to go from prospects to talent, this team was well positioned to take the next step, and then everyone got hurt

Avila is the scapegoat, and I'm fine with that, but look at his other picks (you chose the last 3 years, as if those guys will be known MLB studs anyway lol)

Mize, Skubal, Faedo, Manning, all got hurt, we were signing any rando possible to fill the spots

I'm not saying Avila was great, but a team on the cusp, all these young dudes about to realize their potential, sign Baez to solve the long term middle infield issue

We hired a former WS champion manager, Idunno, this was the spot to be a young up and coming team, and injuries combined with Big Mig being nothing more than a fan favorite slap hitter, what else is he supposed to do?

Oh well, I'm grumpy again, as usual, I'd like to have let him see out Big Mig deal he nothing to do with, full seasons with healthy players, but everyone else hated him so


edit: and don't forget Riley Greene!

[l3ulvl]

also, fun stat I saw today, the MLB leader in HRs since 2018 is Eugenio Suarez


that's crazy, he was basically a throw in when we traded Johnathan Crawford for Alfredo Simon, and we were mad about giving up Crawford lol

[pietasterp]

Well, you bring up some good points, but while draft picks can be hit-or-miss, he's consistently failed to properly value our own players or others' prospects, as evidenced by his returns on trades. Just a quick spin through some of the major trades:

- Justin Verlander (once again having a Cy Young worthy year, although to be fair Avila may have had little choice) returned Daz Cameron, Jake Rogers, and Franklin Perez. None of these three players are major league regulars.

- J.D. Martinez currently leads the league in doubles and batting average; Avila traded him in 2017 for Dawel Lugo, Jose King and Sergio Alcantara. I have no idea what any of those guys are doing, but it’s definitely not playing for the Tigers.

- Nick Castellanos returned Alex Lange and Paul Richan. Lange is at least a rotation player, I guess.

- Mike Fiers and Ian Kinsler similarly yielded no useful MLB players.

- Isaac Paredes is killing it with the Rays, and Austin Meadows is....hurt.

Yes, the injuries have killed the Tigers this year. And Avila wasn't responsible for some of the most heinous contracts (Miggy, Jordan Zimmerman). But 7+ years at the controls isn't enough of a sample size to make an evaluation on the guy? As we head toward yet another last-place finish, I don't know how much more you need to see before you cut bait on a guy. It's not about liking or not liking him; the data points toward failure at every level. You could waste another half-decade losing or you can do what needs to be done and move on. Frankly, I think he got 2 more years than he should have, given the trajectory of the franchise.

[l3ulvl]

his trades, that's where we agree, by all accounts he either asked for too much or too little, and when he asked for too much, he didn't compromise or find middle ground


I think what he learned from DD was to try and screw teams over, but DD was a master shyster, that's not a learned skill, AA wanted to ask for the world, without doing the things DD did to sorta "trick" teams into giving in.


I'm good with his draft picks and signings, but he really failed in trades



Like I said, I'm cool with moving on, but the timing is weird, we suck this year, I hate blaming him for why we suck this year with all the variables he can't control, but it's also possible Illitch took this opportunity to move on after years of rebuilding and wants to find someone who can next the step and didn't think AA was that guy

[pietasterp]

I think it's pretty clear the franchise needs a new direction. We still haven't stepped into the 21st century of using available data, metrics, etc. I'm not saying we have to be robo-franchise like the A's or something, but not utilizing (or not even knowing HOW to utilize) the wealth of data available today to incorporate into decision-making is borderline malpractice.

I'd love to get someone like Farhan Zaidi or similar-minded individual to drag this franchise into a much-needed new direction.

[l3ulvl]

https://www.blessyouboys.com/2022/9/...itch-a-j-hinch


I wonder how much it cost to bring this guy to Detroit. If he was as hot a commodity as it sounds, this seems likes a strange landing spot, but we got him, so I'm happy

[pietasterp]

Yeah, ask and you shall (nearly) receive, I guess.

It's not clear how much Scott Harris had to do with the Giants' day-to-day, but he's from the Billy Beane/Theo Epstein school, so even if it doesn't work out, at least it's a step toward dragging the franchise into the 21st century. I'm at least interested to see where this goes, unlike the last 5 years of the Avila regime.