I was so happy when they fired Avila in 2022. I thought he was right up there with Millen as the worst GM in Detroit sports history. But baseball is a little bit different. It takes time for those young studs to ripen. Seeing that many of these Tiger’s today are Al’s pics, I do offer my apologies. You did pretty good Al…Under trying circumstances. He wasn’t perfect by any stretch but there definitely was a plan in place.
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Just sucked at FA signing. I think fans want to win now and its been way to long
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Yes, and by association, I just assumed his draft picks sucked too.
I mean at right now. We still dont know much on most
Tigers vs Diamondbacks in WS. 250-1.
Just sayin
His draft picks were never really THAT bad they just were pieces that didnt fit the team or they were so young it wad gonna be 3-4 year before they would get called up.
But i dont think most people looked at his draft picks as his major down fall.
Its was taking a World Series contender and trading away players (or letting them walk) and bringing in absolute garbage. Like half the players arnt even in AAA any more let alone the majors.
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His return on trades was awful but it’s probably tough when the world knows you’re having a fire sale. I’m sure he took the best deal offered.
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IT appeared that the Tigers did not have a holistic plan in place. That each position and position group were not being focused on and built. Clearly the middle infield appeared to be something that was considered not really needed. And true hitters was again not crucial. But piling up pitching was the main focus.
And also the big splashes and FA activities were horrific. But he is not looking nearly as bad as 4 years ago. Definitely not Millen but also did not do himself any favors. I liken it to an MMA fighter losing a fight because he laid there and allowed the other guy to just pound him and not do anything so the fight gets called but complains he was not hurt. Well you sure did not make it look like you knew what you were doing or had any hope or plan so we had to yank you. When maybe if he had ben given time he gets up and hits a haymaker.
I will say that the Manager AH has been great. He was just what the team needed. If anything that has been the biggest change and improvement.
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The tigers are a great example how mental the game is. Once this team started to believe they started to play lights out.
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Doesn’t hurt that Baez has been out for an extended time.
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Yeah, Avila has to take the Baez signing on the chin. Not only has his play been awful, but his attitude and aloofness just seem to be a drag on the team‘s personality. He doesn’t fit in with these guys. Hopefully they figure out a way to get rid of him and that contract.
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None of these players really did anything until the new regime took over and started to properly develop the talent that we had.
If I had to point at one thing that made Avila bad, it would be this.
It has taken almost 2 full years, but we are now seeing what happens when an organization puts an emphasis on developing their players.
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Classic example of addition by subtraction.
Harvy was Al’s career death
Since no one has bothered I will just say it.
Baez is clearly not a MCDC and Holmes dude. And Baez is a prime example of why character and attitude needs to be #1 on the list. Do not allow any one to convince you of that otherwise. And if you really want to get into the weeds. Philly has one of the most talents rosters in all of football…and yet…watching Philly helps me feel better about the Lions passing on Carter more and more on the daily.
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Fits a good point. If you have a hodge podge of players that do not mesh it can drag a team down.
Thats one thing that the Lions seem to do really well.
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Switch this to MLB and Tiger category.
I think it was time for Avila to go when they fired him.
He certainly laid the groundwork but as the article said the other day Harris was the one who knew how to utilize the analytics and build on the foundation. He and the people brought in along wtih Garko who was already here(hired by Avila) know development.
But Avila deserves a fair amount of credit for the guys on the field as many if not most came from his tenure.
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He’s always been an extremely high K% player. That doesn’t help. Sub par defender, minimal effort and yes a shit attitude. But I think if he would have been able to do all the others and have a shit attitude it wouldn’t have been nearly as bad.
There was no way that Avila could have known that Baez would turn into the pile of crap that he did.
There were no signs or red flags at all, other than he struck out alot, which every player does these days.