Here... Now don't say I never give ya nothin'.
You should for this in the future. But I do this as a "sneak preview" of sorts. And I have to help a fellow Tigers' fan out....
A 36-37 record might be cause for distress in Boston or the Bronx, but it's not bad when you've experienced the ugly alternative. No one understands that better than Dave Dombrowski, president, CEO and the man in charge of turning chaos into order in Detroit.
Dombrowski can still recall the events of two years ago, when the landscape was so grim, even franchise icon Al Kaline was tempted to wear a paper bag over his head.
http://espn.starwave.com/media/mlb/2005/0629/photo/i_inge_195.jpg
Brandon Inge just might be the Tigers' MVP to this point.
In the fall of 2003, the Tigers had to take solace in small favors – like going on a roll at the end of the season to avoid tying the modern-day record of 120 losses held by the lovable, eternally hapless 1962 New York Mets (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/clubhouse?team=nym). When the Tigers beat Minnesota on the season's final day to finish at 119 losses, players exchanged hugs, the word "Victory!" flashed on the Comerica Park scoreboard, and Kool & The Gang's "Celebration" played over the stadium loudspeakers.
It was the kind of celebration typically reserved for the fall of an Iraqi dictatorship – or Carrie vanquishing Bo on "American Idol."
Fans in Detroit can still remember Alex Sanchez (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=6739) and his run-til-you're-out baserunning strategy, and a young catcher named Brandon Inge (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=6681)'s batting .203 on top of his .180 and .202 efforts the previous two seasons. They remember Mike Maroth (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=6941)'s reacting with grace while becoming baseball's first 20-game loser since Brian Kingman, and Bobby Higginson (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=5321)'s giving the team one RBI for every $227,884 invested.
During one particularly bloodthirsty week, local columnists urged owner Mike Ilitch to sell the team, but only after firing Dombrowski and dumping manager Alan Trammell.
So with the Tigers poised to have 43 wins by the All-Star Game – which will take place July 12 in Detroit – it's time for gratification and a few back slaps. Two years ago, Dombrowski felt like a rescue worker sorting through tsunami wreckage. Now his team has a chance to finish .500 for the first time since 1993. This is called "progress." <OFFER>
"We knew we had to make some changes," Dombrowski said. "Basically the question was, 'Do you try and piecemeal things, or do you make some major moves?' In our opinion we had to make a lot of moves.''
Those moves still haven't helped the Tigers transcend fourth place in a suddenly formidable American League Central. Ozzie Guillen's White Sox have the best record in baseball. Minnesota, considered by many the model for building from within, is in the mix for its fourth straight postseason bid. And Cleveland, which essentially ripped it up and started over under general manager Mark Shapiro, has gone on a 16-5 roll since June 5 to vault back into wild-card contention.
<!---------------------INLINE TABLE (BEGIN)---------------------><TABLE id=inlinetable cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=3 width=248 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TH style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #000000" colSpan=4>TIGERS TURNAROUND</TH><TR style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ececec" vAlign=top><TD width=234 colSpan=4>Comparing numbers and MLB rankings in statistical categories for the Detroit Tigers over the last three seasons: </TD></TR><TR style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ececec" vAlign=top><TD width=55></TD><TD width=55>'03 </TD><TD width=55>'04 </TD><TD width=55>'05 </TD></TR><TR style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ececec" vAlign=top><TD>Record </TD><TD>43-119 </TD><TD>72-90 </TD><TD>36-37 </TD></TR><TR style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ececec" vAlign=top><TD>Win Pct. </TD><TD>.265 </TD><TD>.444 </TD><TD>.493 </TD></TR><TR style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ececec" vAlign=top><TD>ERA </TD><TD>29th
(5.30) </TD><TD>26th
(4.93) </TD><TD>8th
(3.85) </TD></TR><TR style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ececec" vAlign=top><TD>Opp. BA </TD><TD>28th
(.286) </TD><TD>27th
(.275) </TD><TD>12th
(.259) </TD></TR><TR style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ececec" vAlign=top><TD>R </TD><TD>29th
(591) </TD><TD>12th
(827) </TD><TD>23rd
*(732) </TD></TR><TR style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ececec" vAlign=top><TD>Team BA </TD><TD>30th
(.240) </TD><TD>8th
(.272) </TD><TD>13th
*(.268) </TD></TR><TR style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ececec" vAlign=top><TD>Run Dif. </TD><TD>-337 </TD><TD>-17 </TD><TD>**+12 </TD></TR><TR style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ececec" vAlign=top><TD width=234 colSpan=4>* – projected
** – current stat </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!---------------------INLINE TABLE (END)--------------------->Diehards in Detroit who want Dombrowski to make a playoff push are probably overdoing it. Now that Carlos Guillen (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=6105) is back from the disabled list and Magglio Ordonez (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=5889) is on a rehab in Toledo, the Tigers might want to focus on their first winning season in 12 years. As one American League executive pointed out, Dombrowski's toughest job still lies ahead.
"It's hard to get from 100 losses to .500,'' the official said. "But it's a lot harder to get from .500 to 95 wins.''
Still, the Tigers deserve credit for expediting the rebuilding process. The franchise's turnaround has been a product of astute free-agent signings, productive trades, patient nurturing of younger players and more than a little luck. And it didn't hurt that Ilitch, so often maligned for caring more about the Red Wings than his baseball franchise, bumped the payroll from $50 million to $70 million.
Several baseball executives also credit the methodical approach of Dombrowski, who wins points for his organizational skills and ability to hire capable assistants and let them do their jobs. Dombrowski relies on Scott Reid for scouting advice; John Westhoff for money, legal and contract negotiating input; and Al Avila for a lot of everything.
"David has a terrific memory and the ability to assimilate information and put it into practice," said a scout who has worked with Dombrowski. "He makes the baseball decisions. But he has enough sense to listen to the scouts who are out in the field actually doing it.''
The 2003 season, the mother of all nightmares, was the culmination of years of ill-advised personnel moves, bad drafts and general messing up in Detroit. Among other things, the franchise erred in hitching its wagon to Tony Clark (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=5513), Damion Easley (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=4913) and Bobby Higginson with long-term deals, and in building a pitcher's park and bringing in Juan Gonzalez (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=4398) as the team's marquee player and resident slugger.
<!---------------------PULL-QUOTE TABLE (BEGIN)---------------------><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=2 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD width=4><SPACER height="1" width="3" type="block"></TD><TD>“</TD><TD width=225>You're not happy until you're a postseason contender year-in and year-out. We know we still have some strides to take. But just to see the organization moving – that's what gives you satisfaction. I constantly say to the people in our organization, 'We're in a different phase now.'”</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD width=4><SPACER height="1" width="3" type="block"></TD><TD></TD><TD width=225>— Tigers president Dave Dombrowski</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!---------------------PULL-QUOTE TABLE (END)--------------------->The Tigers were actually quite bad in 2002, when they started 0-6 and Dombrowski fired general manager Randy Smith and manager Phil Garner. He assumed Smith's duties and let Luis Pujols manage the team on an interim basis before bringing in Trammell at the end of the season.
Dombrowski believes the long road back officially began in August 2002, when he parted with Jeff Weaver (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=6200) and acquired Jeremy Bonderman (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=7106), Carlos Pena (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=6621) and Franklyn German (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=7018) in a three-way trade with the A's and Yankees. By the following winter, Randall Simon (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=5903), Mark Redman (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=6285), Robert Fick (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=6139) and Easley were gone – and the revamp was in overdrive.
Dombrowski's biggest moves took place in the span of a month during the winter of 2003-2004. Desperate for a shortstop, Detroit made a run at free agent Rich Aurilia (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=5523), only to watch him sign with Seattle. Dombrowski opted for Plan B, sending two minor leaguers to the Mariners for Carlos Guillen, and hit the mother lode. Guillen made the All-Star team last season, and is hitting .348 in 47 games this year.
The other big move was both symbolic and substantive in nature. Pudge Rodriguez (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=4680), who found a soft market even after leading the Marlins to a World Championship in 2003, worked out a creative four-year deal through his agent, Scott Boras, that protected the Tigers in the event he suffered a recurrence of back trouble. In his first year with Detroit, Rodriguez won his 11th Gold Glove and became the first Tiger elected to start the All-Star Game since Trammell in 1988.
"Pudge was huge for us,'' Dombrowski said. "He provided a face to the franchise. He did so much for us, and all of a sudden he opens the eyes for other people coming to us.''
<!--------------------------START PLAYER CARD------------------><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 align=right border=0 vspace="5" hspace="5"><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD width=8></TD><TD width=180 bgColor=#ecece4><!---------------------HEADSHOT TABLE STARTS HERE---------------------><TABLE cellSpacing=6 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD colSpan=2>Ivan Rodriguez (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=4680)
Catcher
Detroit Tigers</TD><TD width=65 rowSpan=2>http://espn.go.com/i/mlb/profiles/players/4680.jpg</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD width=67>Profile (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=4680)
</TD><TD width=68></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!---------------------HEADSHOT TABLE ENDS HERE---------------------></TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD width=8></TD><TD width=180 bgColor=#ecece4><TABLE cellSpacing=4 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><TABLE cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=0 width=170 border=0><TBODY><TR vAlign=top align=middle bgColor=#002175><TD colSpan=6><CENTER>CAREER STATISTICS</CENTER></TD></TR><TR align=right bgColor=#bcbcb4><TD width="17%">GM</TD><TD width="17%">BA</TD><TD width="17%">HR</TD><TD width="17%">RBI</TD><TD width="17%">OBP</TD><TD width="17%">SLG</TD></TR><TR align=right bgColor=#bcbcb4><TD>1823</TD><TD>.306</TD><TD>255</TD><TD>1029</TD><TD>.346</TD><TD>.488</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!---------------------INLINE MINI-PLAYER CARD ENDS HERE--------------------->The Tigers still have to confront the likelihood that they'll be just an interested bystander helping to drive up the price for some premier free agents. Carl Pavano (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=5945), Steve Finley (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=4307) and Troy Glaus (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=6063) all flirted with Detroit last winter, only to opt for flashier locales. The Tigers wound up signing Magglio Ordonez to a seven-year deal when a lot of clubs were scared off by his knee problems, and added closer Troy Percival (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=5315) after many clubs wrote him off as too much of an age and health risk.
Some of Dombrowski's moves, inevitably, have failed to pan out. Fernando Vina (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=4995) didn't give the Tigers much for their two-year, $6 million investment, and Pena, who looks great in the batter's box, has yet to live up to his early billing at first base. He's currently trying to work his way back after a demotion to Toledo.
But the Detroit farm system is finally showing signs of emerging from a coma. The Tigers have a speedy, homegrown center fielder in Nook Logan (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=7384), who could be a force if he can learn how to hit. Justin Verlander, the Tigers' No. 1 draft pick in 2004, has 122 strikeouts in 100 minor-league innings this season, and was recently promoted to Double-A Erie. He has a good chance to succeed where Mike Drumright, Seth Greisinger (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=6021), Cade Gaspar and some of Detroit's other first-rounders failed.
Joel Zumaya, rated the organization's No. 4 prospect by Baseball America, is also tearing it up in Double-A. He's 6-3 with a 2.93 ERA and 127 whiffs in 95 1/3 innings.
The Tigers were rewarded for their patience with Inge, who is now playing like an All-Star at third base, and for their attentiveness to detail with smaller moves. Dombrowski picked up Chris Shelton (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=7259) and Wil Ledezma (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=7086) in the Rule V draft, added Nate Robertson (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=7014) and Chris Spurling (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=7090) in trades and made a smart, cost-efficient investment in Rondell White (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=5126) two years ago.
White is eligible for free agency after the season, and might be a decent bargaining chip if the Tigers decide to trade him. There are also rumblings that the Tigers might spin Placido Polanco (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=6049), who has played very well since the team acquired him from Philadelphia for Ugueth Urbina (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=5385) earlier this month.
Fans in Detroit who long for a return to the good old division-title contending days still have to come to grips with the fact that the Tigers aren't as good as the White Sox, Twins or even the Indians. As nice as it would be for the team to finish .500, it wouldn't make much sense for Dombrowski to do something rash for the sake of symbolism.
But when the winning percentage was .265 two years ago, it's easier to live with the current .493. The diehards at the Mayo Smith Society, the Tigers' booster club, are considerably less hostile toward Dombrowski than they were in 2003.
"You're not happy until you're a postseason contender year-in and year-out,'' Dombrowski said. "We know we still have some strides to take. But just to see the organization moving – that's what gives you satisfaction. I constantly say to the people in our organization, 'We're in a different phase now.' '' To which baseball fans throughout Detroit would reply, "Thank goodness.''