Al Avila is Terminated! That's right he was Fired! Now Asst. GM Chadd is Fired!

[kalinecountry]

https://totallytigers.wordpress.com/2023/12/07/five-for-friday-94/
FIVE FOR FRIDAY.
Totally Tigers

We are just moving into Scott Harris? 2nd year with the Tigers after an introductory year of re-assessment. A necessary year to put the Tigers onto the right path of success but a boring one for fans.

Things are just starting to get interesting now. New and fresh ideas are being implemented to a degree now where fans are starting to see the differences.

What is becoming increasingly apparent is that all of these changes we?re seeing could never have been implemented by the 2 previous GMs. And to be honest, even to the GMs who came before them.

Dave Dombrowski is not the kind of guy who is brought into an organization to implement organization change or improve the franchise?s infrastructure. His focus with all his former teams was to supercharge the roster and win quickly.

With Al Avila, none of the changes being made now would have even been on his radar. And even if they were, he would never have known where to start. None of it was ever in his wheelhouse.

He got by because he relied upon the tanking strategy and top draft picks to guide him in making decisions. But he never had a big picture in mind of how the organization should function as a whole.

For example, Avila implemented a rudimentary analytics department but couldn?t integrate it into the organization so it became relatively useless. So how could he possibly solve the bigger and long-standing problems of this organization?

Most importantly, he fostered a corporate culture that prevented open discussion among Front Office personnel about how to address these problems. Change and constructive criticism were frowned upon which meant the Tigers would never find the solutions to their problems.

These points keep coming back to me bigger and stronger with every new story about how Scott Harris and his new Front Office are evolving this franchise.

So which new changes has Harris and Co. made so far that have been the most dramatic? The ones that have most significantly changed the direction of this team?

I?ve got my 5???

 

[kalinecountry]

https://totallytigers.wordpress.com/2023/12/13/how-soon/
HOW SOON?
Totally Tigers

 

[kalinecountry]

https://totallytigers.wordpress.com/2024/01/03/not-the-same-old-same-old/
NOT THE SAME OLD, SAME OLD.
Totally Tigers

 

[kalinecountry]

https://totallytigers.wordpress.com/2024/01/10/headed-in-the-right-direction/
HEADED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
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We?re starting to witness proof positive that the changes made to the Detroit Tigers? organization are starting to pay off. Specifically as it pertains to player development.

For the first time in decades, the Tigers? farm system is no longer a laughing joke. Even Keith Law has good things to say about them.

But what is funny is the credit that some fans are giving Al Avila for the rise in prospect rankings and the farm system.

Their rationale?

That Avila drafted most of these players.

To quote Cher from the movie Clueless??.?As if.?

To give the former GM the credit is to believe that once a player is drafted, his skill level is already formed. That he?s not going to improve, regress or further develop his skills.

Or to even credit Avila with the player selection. The Tigers picked #1 and #2 for years under the old Front Office. It?s not like they were actually making the hard decisions about which players to draft. The official prospect rankings essentially took care of that.

To see the measurable progress being made, let?s compare the previous and current Front Offices in their farm system development. (And for the record, I?m not using farm system rankings that assign ?gimme points? solely based upon where the player was drafted, which also unfairly rewards the teams with the highest draft picks. I use the systems that base their evaluations on talent only.)

And to do this, we need to review the rankings during each year. (Please note that many evaluation systems rank 2-3 times every year ? beginning of the season, mid-season/post-draft and end of year.)

 

[kalinecountry]

https://totallytigers.wordpress.com/2024/01/17/still-swiss-cheese/
STILL SWISS CHEESE.
Totally Tigers

Excellent story.

 

[kalinecountry]

https://totallytigers.wordpress.com/2024/02/04/monday-musings-94/
MONDAY MUSINGS.
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Today, it’s about quick hits – bits of news that catch my radar during the week as well as connecting the dots re ongoing stories. Even the quirky.

So let’s get to it! Here are the most interesting topics that hit my radar over the past week………..

 

[kalinecountry]

HOW TO DO A REBUILD

by Holly Horning The Baltimore Orioles serve as the template for how to quickly rebuild a team. They accomplished it in less than 5 years. Needless to say, they did it in great contrast to ho…

totallytigers.wordpress.com

HOW TO DO A REBUILD.
Totally Tigers