FILE – In this Nov. 22, 2016, file photo, Chris Ilitch smiles during a press conference in Detroit. … [+] Chris Ilitch has been unanimously approved as the new controlling owner of the Detroit Tigers. As the Tigers prepare for what could be another tough season, Chris Ilitch can look back on a couple success stories from the Motor Cityâs recent past. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)
Detroit Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire announced his retirement effective Saturday night. It certainly is a turning of the page for a franchise in transition. However, it is not a new chapter. The Tigers are still trudging through an incredibly painful rebuild, but on the bright side, the Tigers might be in line for another top 5 draft pick. On the downside, the landscape of player development has completely changed in light of COVID-19 and the Tigers reputation in player development is under heavy scrutiny with every underwhelming call up they make.
The Tigers saw the MLB debut of 6 pitchers who threw enough innings to qualify on Fangraphsâ leaderboards and the early returns are 0.1 fWAR collectively. This is pretty disappointing considering the hype surrounding two of these pitchers are top prospects Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal. Even worse is they are getting out pitched by rookies that are older, younger, on better teams, on (somehow) worse teams-and in Mizeâs case-all were drafted picks behind him. Frankly, the main thing that is propping up Mize and Skubalâs fWAR numbers at this point is they are pitching a fair amount of innings.
It is reasonable to expect rookie pitchers to struggle in their debut seasons, but it is not unreasonable to be disappointed when they underdeliver on lofty expectations. What compounds the issue is, there is no Minor League season to use as a reference to forecast what to expect. Nor was there a Minor League season to track their progress. Everything we know about them was essentially propaganda peddled by the Tigers internal sources. However, problem still remains; the Tigers are pretty terrible at developing players and this seems to have had a profound impact on the development of Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal.
Much like Summer Camp, the Tigers look really good when they are playing themselves. The second they step on the field with another team, they usually look pretty bad. When you look around the league and see a team like the San Francisco Giants make a relatively quick turnaround when they were supposed to be knee deep in their own Tigers-esque rebuild, it reveals that you do not have to tank to be competitive. Much like the Tigers, most people can not name the San Francisco Giantsâ starting nine, but the Giants are still in the thick of the playoff race. And before you mention the extended playoff format, the Giants would still be in the hunt with the regular format.
While, the Giants seem to be a special case, so are the Tigers. The truth is, the Tigers need to burn it all down. The front office, the Major League staff, the analytics department (really what are they doing or if nobody listens to them why are they there?) and the player development staff need to be overhauled. There is more than enough proof that there are executives in the industry that can operate competitive ball clubs on the cheap. With owner Chris Ilitchâs interest in mind, those teams are still very profitable. These days you do not have to spend much money to make money in baseball. You can spend some money and make a lot of money.
While many people complain about the extended playoff format continuing into the 2021 season and beyond, this could actually be a really good thing for the Tigers. They might be able to find an executive to field a competitive team on the cheap like the Tampa Bay Rays, that also never wins âthe big oneâ because they will not spend âthe big bucksâ. The advantage the Tigers have over the Rays is they have a park that does not look like an oversized cat litter box and a market that is actually interested in watching competitive baseball.
The Detroit Tigersâ current method of fleecing their dedicated fanbase by baiting them with false promises, an excellent social media presence and then giving them a substandard on field product can be turned around. The Tigers need to upgrade their grift. Dollars to doughnuts, there is a one hundred percent chance that there are better executives that can field a more competitive team with a smaller payroll and cheaper coaching staff than they have now. Furthermore, the Tigers have a slew of young prospects on the horizon that-if optimized- could be highly valuable and relatively cheap labor for years to come.
The retirement of Ron Gardenhire is the turning of a page, but this season could be the closing of a chapter. If owner Chris Ilitch cares about winning, there is a lot he can do to attain that. But if Chris Ilitch just wants to continue owning a Major League Baseball team and profiting as much as possible, he is going about it the wrong way. The Detroit Tigers can be better and still profitable, hopefully the exit of Ron Gardenhire will be the spark Ilitch needs to burn it all down.
I am a baseball writer, coach and stand-up comedian covering the Detroit Tigers, the San Francisco Giants, and the MLB for Forbes.com. I write about baseball with an
I am a baseball writer, coach and stand-up comedian covering the Detroit Tigers, the San Francisco Giants, and the MLB for Forbes.com. I write about baseball with an emphasis on research and analysis. Formerly, I was a contributing writer at Around the Foghorn (Giants) and the head writer/editor/creator of Detroit Knock City (Tigers). The result of this wide range of experience is an informed perspective on the game, with the ability to approach topics from multiple angles. Whether it be deep statistical dives, video analysis, or player evaluations, I have all of my bases covered. I also try to inject humor into my writing. It doesn’t always work, but I try.
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