The Tigers have fired Al Avila

[buddha]

some of you are very young.

[IdahoBert]

I was born in 1952 and started following the Tigers in 1961 and was huge huge into it through 1968 — baseball cards, glossy photographs of the players on my wall, pennants, all the paraphernalia symbolizing magical amulets that sort of it made me feel good made me feel a part of something bigger and better than myself.

After the World Series victory in ‘68 I had got what I needed in life and was generally disinterested because I was a young man living a young man’s life and that was more nourishing than being a boy and liking a baseball team. It was like in the Bible where you put away childish things. In 1973 I moved to Arizona couldn’t pick up Ernie on the radio and the team sucked so often even a box score disinterested me. I pretty much missed The Bird and only saw him on national TV broadcasts. I was in my 20s and livin’ the life in the mountains and desert and it was better than the baseball team I worshiped as a child  

In 1984 in Tucson where half of my best friends were from Detroit we followed that magical season with shared passion. After games my friends who had lived in Detroit would tell me about going to bar in Corktown and seeing the players there. Gibby once crashed at friend’s house after a night of partying in Ann Arbor. I felt like I was sort of in the mix with my pals that year.

I moved to Idaho in my mid-30s and ‘87 was a good year then hugely disappointing and I totally forgot about the team. Then in 2004 a fast and surprising start and my discovery of MTS through the Internet brought me back into the fold. The responsibility of life in my 30s was exhilarating and oppressive and going back to something from my childhood made me feel better.

Now I’m back to generally not giving a shit. I’m 70 years old I could die in the blink of an instant because people I know are doing that all the time and my time could be better spent on something other than a profoundly unsatisfying team. The only thing that keeps me interested is you morons because I love you more than this stupid blanking team. 

[RandyMarsh]

4 minutes ago, buddha said:

some of you are very young.

I'm officially old now that I'm 40 so I just think you guys are ancient! 😀

[Biff Mayhem]

22 minutes ago, IdahoBert said:

I was born in 1952 and started following the Tigers in 1961 and was huge huge into it through 1968 — baseball cards, glossy photographs of the players on my wall, pennants, all the paraphernalia symbolizing magical amulets that sort of it made me feel good made me feel a part of something bigger and better than myself.

After the World Series victory in ‘68 I had got what I needed in life and was generally disinterested because I was a young man living a young man’s life and that was more nourishing than being a boy and liking a baseball team. It was like in the Bible where you put away childish things. In 1973 I moved to Arizona couldn’t pick up Ernie on the radio and the team sucked so often even a box score disinterested me. I pretty much missed The Bird and only saw him on national TV broadcasts. I was in my 20s and livin’ the life in the mountains and desert and it was better than the baseball team I worshiped as a child  

In 1984 in Tucson where half of my best friends were from Detroit we followed that magical season with shared passion. After games my friends who had lived in Detroit would tell me about going to bar in Corktown and seeing the players there. Gibby once crashed at friend’s house after a night of partying in Ann Arbor. I felt like I was sort of in the mix with my pals that year.

I moved to Idaho in my mid-30s and ‘87 was a good year then hugely disappointing and I totally forgot about the team. Then in 2004 a fast and surprising start and my discovery of MTS through the Internet brought me back into the fold. The responsibility of life in my 30s was exhilarating and oppressive and going back to something from my childhood made me feel better.

Now I’m back to generally not giving a shit. I’m 70 years old I could die in the blink of an instant because people I know are doing that all the time and my time could be better spent on something other than a profoundly unsatisfying team. The only thing that keeps me interested is you morons because I love you more than this stupid blanking team. 

The Life of Bert. It would be an interesting novel. Heck, it could be written "fictitiously" as if you were a character and I think people who enjoy the literary arts would enjoy it; That's how good your written thoughts are.

[1776]

At 67 years young, I do find it pretty cool that there is so much diversity age-wise here. 
Somewhat to Bert’s point, this board is a therapy of sorts for those of us who suffer at the hands of the Tigers prolonged reign of futility. It’s a refuge in times of angst and woe. This place is like the local bar in some ways. You’re free to vent frustrations among other exercises that gives one the impression they’ve actually accomplished something just by showing up. 

[Dan Gilmore]

Born in 1956, never lived in Michigan. As a kid in upstate NY we would visit aunts and uncles by driving across Canada every year. My favorite relatives lived in Dearborn and they made me a Tigers fan (no Yankee love - who needs an overdog). Fast forward to 68 and I am in junior high in central Illinois - pretty solid Cardinal country. One of my teachers had the radio on during class for a game, I don’t recall there being another Tigers fan in the group. That was a sweet victory in so many ways and cemented my fandom. Lots of lean years followed but 84 was magical. And the final week of the 87 season- by then I was in the PNW and it was hard to keep up with games. I would buy The Sporting News and get excited about players (Marshall had great SO numbers!) that seldom made it in the bigs. I still have Bill James abstracts and books from back then. Watched Cecil drive a massive HR against the W Sux with my Dad when we drove up for a game during a visit to Illinois. 2006 was redemption for all the bad years, although, like others I was in to the firepower from the nineties teams. Loved Tony P and others. And the run after 2006 was a lot of fun for the most part. As a final Tigers note, my first born is named Lew (never liked the Lou spelling), partially for Lou. Took him to see the Tigers beat the Yankees when he was getting started at UM.

Lots of great memories, although I am getting fuzzier on many of them. And having this forum (old one included) has been wonderful. When I joined in 2002 or 2003 I had no idea it would be such a regular part of my life. The people on it and the hugely beneficial connection and information for a fan so Far away. Thank you all. Well, almost all. 😎

[mtutiger]

1 hour ago, Biff Mayhem said:

That era was a great time to go to games because you could sit pretty much wherever you wanted. I remember being third row behind home plate when they played the Expos and marveling at what a beast Vlad was. The ushers gave me some grief for sitting there but when I told them that if the seat owners showed up, we'd gladly move. They didn't and we enjoyed the whole game from those seats.

This much is true.... was able to see a lot of great individual performances during that timeframe. I believe there was a game in 2002 or 2003 where CC Sabathia nearly threw a no-no... one of those rare moments where you ignore rooting for the Tigers and just root for the accomplishment. Hardly anyone was there but it was fun to watch.

Edited August 12, 2022 by mtutiger

[Biff Mayhem]

31 minutes ago, 1776 said:

At 67 years young, I do find it pretty cool that there is so much diversity age-wise here. 
Somewhat to Bert’s point, this board is a therapy of sorts for those of us who suffer at the hands of the Tigers prolonged reign of futility. It’s a refuge in times of angst and woe. This place is like the local bar in some ways. You’re free to vent frustrations among other exercises that gives one the impression they’ve actually accomplished something just by showing up. 

When this community began in 1999, those were some lean years so the people that were here were the diehards. It was a really close knit community of friends and there are still a number of us who are still around. We've lost some good ones along the way but we've also gotten rid of some unsavory characters.

You know you're an old timer if "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves" brings back some memories.

[mtutiger]

https://theathletic.com/3498300/2022/08/12/tigers-next-gm-search-opening/?source=emp_shared_article

Behind the paywall, but Cody largely nails it in terms of the desirability of this job.

Among other things, he makes the point that has flown under the radar: the AL Central. Whoever gets this job isn't Mike Elias, rebuilding only to be thrown into the frying pan competing with Toronto and Tampa for a WC spot.... there should be more runway to win a division than a team like Baltimore has.

[RandyMarsh]

Ive only been here since 2010, lurked for about a year prior though but with me seeing my friends less and less these days, my brothers living in across the country and the vast majority of my co workers not being sports fans I find myself discussing sports with everybody on here far more than I do anybody else and when the board was down last year I felt lost not being able to "talk" to people about the things in the sports world.

Sure there is Twitter and I do interact with people there but it's not the same as interacting with posters that you have interacted with for in my case 12 or so years. 

[CMRivdogs]

I came to the old board during the WXYT "word of the day" or whatever it was 20 plus years ago. Part of my wife's job at the time was the supervision of the radio broadcast and the network. She's also supervised the Wings and Pistons as well as U of M. Previously she had the Bears and BlackHawks games. She doesn't like sports.  That part of her career ended around 2005. 

I grew up a Pirate fan, was 8 when Mazoroski hit the home run. My wife once embarrassed Phil Gardner by telling him that our son was born 9 months after the 1979 championship. He's on only child.

I'm primarily a baseball fan and would follow the home team of parent club where we've lived. Detroit was home for about 20 years. I watched the bad in the early 2000's, cheered Maglio's home run in 2006 and felt the pain of losing 2 World Series. I still follow from a distance. Tigers much more than the Pirates. I know very little about the 2 minor league teams within driving distance.

Like Bert at 70 I have no idea what the next several months or years bring. 

 

[gehringer_2]

1 hour ago, Biff Mayhem said:

It would be an interesting novel.

without a doubt that would have to  be a graphic novel.

[mtutiger]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josh_Byrnes

The more and more I read about Josh Byrnes, it seems like he would be a pretty ideal fit if they went the President of Baseball Ops + GM route.... also has AJ connections + comes from the Dodgers, from whom they've done a lot of hiring the past few years.

He's not Theo, but he looks like a guy who can fill that kinda role.

Edited August 12, 2022 by mtutiger

[Tiger337]

1 hour ago, RandyMarsh said:

Ive only been here since 2010, lurked for about a year prior though but with me seeing my friends less and less these days, my brothers living in across the country and the vast majority of my co workers not being sports fans I find myself discussing sports with everybody on here far more than I do anybody else and when the board was down last year I felt lost not being able to "talk" to people about the things in the sports world.

Sure there is Twitter and I do interact with people there but it's not the same as interacting with posters that you have interacted with for in my case 12 or so years. 

I can't be sarcastic or joke on twitter because nobody gets it.  

[RandyMarsh]

Just now, Tiger337 said:

I can't be sarcastic or joke on twitter because nobody gets it.  

Lol yep that's another problem. For awhile I would answer Don Kelly anytime somebody ask anything, like Stark would regularly ask these questions with the answer usually being a top player yet I would respond with Kelly and there was always the one guy who would respond with a response like you were serious. 

[John_Brian_K]

15 minutes ago, Tiger337 said:

I can't be sarcastic or joke on twitter because nobody gets it.  

I do not use or check twitter at all, but back in the day I USED to use italics when I was being sarcastic.  I thought it had a chance of catching on (I did not invent the idea or anything), but I rarely see people using italics for that reason any longer....now people just like to say whatever they want then if called on it, can go back and act like they were kidding or being ironic or something..it is great

Edited August 12, 2022 by John_Brian_K

[Biff Mayhem]

31 minutes ago, Tiger337 said:

I can't be sarcastic or joke on twitter because nobody gets it.  

Nobody gets you here either.

[Tiger337]

3 minutes ago, Biff Mayhem said:

Nobody gets you here either.

Only the smaht ones do.  

[apabruce]

I was born in 1945, I think.  When this most recent rebuild started, I feared I wouldn't make it to a playoff team.  Now, seven years later, I think it's even more unlikely this re-rebuild will preceed my death.  This team is very, very hard to watch.  I continue to watch though.

Edited August 12, 2022 by apabruce

[HeyAbbott]

20 hours ago, casimir said:

Cabrera is unavailable to play.  So how can anyone watch him play?  And how riveting is it watching him plod towards 1B on another futile ground out?

Stop listening to Shep and ignore the shots of the hit and home run totals on the Ballys broadcast.  What exactly does he bring to the team from a competitive standpoint anymore?  Pay him his money, let him sit in the dugout and make cute faces for the camera, but remove him from the active roster.  He’s an absolute joke as a baseball player anymore.

Absolutely agree. If I were the GM, my first order of  business would be to get Miggy retired.

[Jim Cowan]

Bert is a lot older than I am, 10 days I think.  I started following the team in 1962 because that was the first of 3 years that I played for the Tigers.  Kaline, Cash and Colavito.  I was the only Tigers fan at school, everybody was Yankees, with a smattering of other teams.  In 1963 we went to a game at War Memorial Stadium, the Rockpile, in Buffalo to see the Bisons play the Syracuse Chiefs who were the Tigers' AAA farm team.  So yes, I saw Purnal Goldy play.

In 1968 we were playing a high school football game and someone had a radio - a transistor radio - on the sidelines for one of those afternoon World Series games.

My 2 best TV memories were both in hotel rooms.  In 1976 we had just moved to Winnipeg and didn't have an apartment yet, so I was in a hotel for Fidrych's curtain call after the Yankees game.  In 1984 I was in Edmonton for work, and I turned down going out for drinks in the evening so that I could go back to my hotel and watch Gibby drill one into the upper deck against Gossage.

I loved those early 90's teams, but it all fell apart by 1996.  I still enjoy it, but as others have said I wouldn't follow it as much without being able to hang out with this group of people.

[HeyAbbott]

I was born in the very early 1950's. I clearly remember the '61 and '67 seasons. My health is shaky and I know that I too could be gone any moment. I have resigned myself to the fact I most likely will not live to see the Tigers return to greatness, but I am hoping I live to see them have a mediocre (80 to 83 wins) season. Even living that long would be a major miracle. A realistic read of internal talent pushes the expected date of a mediocre season to 2026, with maybe a playoff run to 2027. 

For this team to begin to get better, it will take moves long past due, such as releasing Miggy. He is done. It is embarrassing to everyone to see him play now.  He has been a below replacement player for some time.To get better, one cannot be sentimental. One must make an honest assessment of who stays and who goes, and the GM must remove those who are not part of the future as soon as possible.

 As things stand right now, I think Greene will become a solid everyday player, and Baez might be put in that class. What I see a lot of cannon fodder everywhere else, and most sadly, I put Tork in that group. He has been completely mind fucked by Tigers management and coaching staff. To be competitive, we need 4-6 positional players that will produce an ops of at least .730. Coolbaugh needs to be fired right this very minute. There is a lot to be done.

Edited August 12, 2022 by HeyAbbott
spelling

[mtutiger]

44 minutes ago, HeyAbbott said:

Absolutely agree. If I were the GM, my first order of  business would be to get Miggy retired.

There's a chance that whoever comes in will have to accomodate him or will decide it can work within whatever plan they have. But I really dislike the idea that whatever moves they want to make in the offseason (of which there could be many) are going to be impacted to accommodate a player that is at the stage that Cabrera is at at this point. Whoever is hired is going to be hired with the idea of evaluating the product on the field and should have full latitude to do what they want in order to do improve the product. 

Purely hypothetical here, but if the next person comes in and wants to approach this roster through improvement of the position player core and sees upgrading outfield pieces in free agency as a path they want to pursue, and knowing that Austin Meadows has the deficiencies that he has defensively, it's easy to see how Cabrera can become an obstacle, for instance

Edited August 12, 2022 by mtutiger

[Tigermojo]

Meadows has to be a consideration. He has issues with both Achilles so now you have two guys who need to DH. 

[RatkoVarda]

first interview question should be, what would you do with Miggy?

"that is ultimately your call to pay him $40M not to play, but I would advise that we move on from him as Miggy is exceedingly unlikely to provide even average production from the DH spot, which can better be used by players who need a rest or are defensively deficient."