Storyline: It’s not always a matter of losing in sports. It’s often a matter of how you lose.
When coaching hires are made the future is unknown. It’s a given.
Courtesy: gettyimages.com
But the words flowed glibly in November 2013 when the Detroit Tigers announced Brad Ausmus as it new manager: “Rising star.” “Relates well to today’s players.” “Superb communicator.”
The Tigers had pulled off a coup, it seemed, another seemingly brilliant move made by Wunderkind GM, Dave Dombrowski.
But, early in the press conference, a reporter asked Dave why he hadn’t hired a manager with experience, like Jim Leyland. Leyland, who had arrived in Detroit in 2006, came with all kinds of managerial experience, including a World Series ring.
The Tigers could’ve taken the same route. If they had, then there’d be no need for a new man to learn the ropes. It was pause for thought, I thought. Many of us need to “learn our way” into competency. That’s because potential often takes time to bloom.
Consider the case of Michigan State QB Connor Cook. When I first saw him play I wondered why MSU coaches had even bothered to recruit him. It was the MSU Spring Game and Cook was really bad … awful. But, in time, Cook became a starter, turned into an elite player, and won championships.
Cook’s story shows you how important it is to have faith, trust, and … (of course) … hope (for the best). That sentiment keeps you going during good times and bad. And, the Spartans—just like the Tigers’—have had a lot of “in between” years.
Courtesy: USAToday.com
Besides, I thought, the Old English D isn’t just a letter. It’s a symbol, too. Revered and respected it stands for something bigger than athletics, something more important than baseball. It’s about “Detroit Determination,” something that comes from being down but never out.
Well, folks, that’s what I wrote in my very first Sports Column article, which was entitled, Faith, Trust, and Hope: The Batting Order of Life. The column was about Ausmus and his appointment as Tigers’ manager.
I really did have faith, trust, and hope back then. Besides, I thought, what’s the worst thing that could happen?
Perhaps the ‘worst possible thing’ hasn’t happened in Detroit. But, for Tigers’ fans, the reality is pretty darn close. Spoiled by years of division championships, Detroit settled into last place last year. Last place! Detroit is heading in the same direction again—7 games out of first and on a 6-game losing string—as I write this column (May 9).
Oh, how the mighty have fallen! Dombrowski was fired. Key players are gone. And an unsettling pattern of play continues season after season: uneven starting pitching, stretches of indescribably poor hitting, consistently bad relief pitching, and base running gaffes that defy logic. And the worst part of it is this: the Tigers have a knack of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
Just traded Bobby Wilson is greeted by teammate Dilino DeShields on Sunday after haunting Detroit with a GS homer. DeShields followed with a solo blast of his own (photo, foxsports.com)
Sunday was a great (but awful) example. Justin Verlander had thrown a three-hitter through 7 innings. The Tigers led the Rangers 2-0 at home. Relievers took over and things fell apart. Back-to-back homers—one a Grand Slam by a player that Detroit had just traded to Texas—made it 7-2 in the 8th. Texas added another run in the 9th to win, 8-3.
Jeff Seidel of The Detroit Free Press put it this way in his after-game analysis: “It’s like Tigers manager Brad Ausmus is stuck in a burning building—the flames shooting all around him—but he has nothing but a squirt gun, trying to put it out.”
That analysis aside, the headline of Seidel’s article pointed in a different direction: “Fault for Tigers’ troubles should land on players.”
This may not be a ‘this or that’ situation. It’s probably a both-and dilemma.
Courtesy: mlb.com
And I’ll add a third issue: organizational leadership, something I’ve been harping on for nearly two years.
I believe Dombrowski, who was general manager of everything, had too much power in Detroit. You won’t develop leadership sustainability with power centralization.
“Trader Dave,” as Dombrowski is known, is a master dealer. But he didn’t develop the farm system, which is one of the weakest in baseball.
The Tigers have fallen into the trap of believing that “deep pockets” will solve all ills. Big money isn’t the answer. Just look at the KC Royals story.
And I think the Tigers made a big mistake by replacing Dombrowski from within, rotating people into new—and more powerful—positions.
Today the Tigers look, play, and act ‘inept.’ I don’t see any player taking charge. I see very little spark. I see a lot of players going through the motions. And I see the same mistakes being made over and over again. How long does it take—in any reasonable set of expectations—to get relief pitching worked out?
In less than three years, I’ve gone from faith, trust, and hope to impatience, disbelief, and discouragement. And it’s not even a matter of losing. It’s really a matter of how the Tigers are losing.
I don’t see that changing with the current cast in charge. I hope I’m wrong.
(Ah, there’s that darn ‘hope’ again.)
