Still Looking…
#1 Fire Brad immediately. No more time to waste, if you witnessed me and oldschool, especially myself, suffering and slowly but surely melting like a candle – you’d think we were insane. But we love our team and I find myself unable to stop liking these fantastic players. Therefore, unless you also enjoy the false hope of hovering around .500, go up into the booth and get the guy who actually has answers: Tiger Kirk Gibson.
#2 Guidance. Without anyone in charge, I’m seeing star players struggling to make the adjustment (often mid-game) on their own. We saw this emerging weeks ago, and since, JV and Big Cat, especially Cat, have had outings where some reminders wouldn’t have hurt. Both are so goddamn good at this point in their careers, they tend to overthink basic situations.
Verlander excels after the briefest conversation from his catcher… otherwise he’s sometimes nitpicking the corners and walking snarfs, or concentrating too much on picking off a runner – if someone helped him, he’s listen. He’s a good guy, just like Miguel Cabrera. Who doesn’t enjoy seeing Cabrera fuck with the guy on first? But being afraid to ever say something to him leaves him in streaks where he strays outside of the strikezone. It’s always fresh to receive someone else’s perspective. Too often Ausmus drifts to the back of the dugout, doing some kind of Leyland-impression next to Gene Lamont. Legs down.
Still Waiting…
#3 Small Ball. One of the trickle down effects of not managing = us consistently hitting into double plays and leaving Tigers on base unless we hit a home run. He rarely utilize the bunt, even in obvious situations like the other day with Ian Kinsler and Jose Iglesias on, Cameron Maybin up, no outs. Gibson routinely recommends simple base running moves, but Brad always errs on the side of caution.
He’s ultra conservative trying to have one foot in with moves like a hit and run, too often half-assing it instead of showing any real leadership/balls. Then, he’s got the quick trigger for our pitchers, deferring to spread sheets instead of any discernible instincts. Every time the camera pans him he’s ultimately uninspiring. Sacrificing breeds desire, it brings baseball players and a clubhouse together. We didn’t score 8 runs in the 9th by hitting any extra base hits! All singles and walks plus a sacrifice fly.
#4 Leading us to the last point… the walk. We swing so much without anyone keeping us in check it’s practically intolerable. We’re like little kids salivating at every fastball. I’ve heard Ausmus dismiss the walk before as inferior to a hit. If we made more contact and leveled out our swing or heaven forbid choked up more, these base hits and walks would add up like they did in Tampa Bay. Every single day it’s the same game, just waiting for us to win it.
No one wants anything less than a World Series. If Al Avila is a real GM he’ll fire Ausmus over the All-Star break. If not, his balls are inaction, just like his managers’. I imagine Mike Illitch, having seen the great Gordie Howe pass, doesn’t want to waste many more seasons. So put some pressure on the new GM to make a move, and don’t settle for anything less than Gibson.
(#5 Our players have been killing it and deserve some credit for constantly overcoming Ausmus. SHAME ON THE MLB voting system, Kinsler is having an all-time season at second base, and leaving Nick Castellanos and Victor Martinez at home is highway robbery as well. I thought Michael Fulmer and K-Rod were also snubbed… but if we must rest, let’s take advantage and watch Cabrera parade around! You boys are amazing and deserve a real dughouse presence, so let’s get you one.)
……damn right legs down Brad… we look like we just got off a garbage truck and your airing out your balls jed clampett style…ownership and management don’t exist in Tigertown…find the balls to go get Tiger Kirk before we just play home run derby while every one else plays baseball…you know, bunts, steals, walks, sacrifices, smart base running, heads up D with no unforced errors and you come back to the dugout and share information from your at bat.