With Jim Leyland announcing his retirement Monday, Tiger fans can now distract themselves from the insufferableness that will be the Red Sox-Cardinals World Series with endless speculation about who Dave Dombrowski will hire as the team's next manager. Here's what's been opined so far.
The Hang-Up-And-Listen Set's Candidate: Tony La Russa retired as the Cardinals manager following the Card's 2011 World Series championship. La Russa is also Jim Leyland's good friend and one of three people who reportedly knew of Leyland's impending retirement. He's a big flashy name who is also 69-years-old who hasn't shown much interest in coming out of retirement. He's also largely responsible for the bullpen philosophy that led the Tigers to use four pitchers in the eighth inning of ALCS game two. Naturally, the same people who think Leyland should have let--no, made--Max Scherzer throw 250 pitches because old school also desperately want the Tigers to lure La Russa. I'll take your comments off the air.
The Retreads: Manny Acta, Dusty Baker, Charlie Manual, Ozzie Guillen, etc. There is no safer move in sports than hiring a coach or manager who has already crashed and burned somewhere else. Because professional sports are run by rational, thoughtful people.
If They Don't Hire Anyone For The Next Two Weeks: Boston Red Sox bench coach and former Tiger can't miss, but missed prospect Torey Lovullo is a top managerial candidate. He's also a little busy with the World Series. Even odds says, if the Tigers hire Lovullo, one of the first questions asked during his introductory news conference will be whether he'll miss the Red Sox's tradition and majesty. Because it's not like the Tigers are a charter American League franchise or anything.
So Long As Gene LaMont Doesn't Return To 3B Coach: Tom Brookens is considered the best in-house candidate. Miguel Cabrera will likely blow through someone else's stop sign next season. For whatever else, Brookens at least sounds like a smart choice: "I’ve learned the value of some of the newer things, like video and the numbers game. There is value in that. Back when I first got in it, I was thinking, ‘We don’t need all this kind of stuff, you just play.’ But as you experience what’s available to you, and learn how to use it — I’m speaking of statistics and video — it becomes a valuable tool in a manager’s thought process."
The Tigers Front Office Is In The Smallest Box Ever: The Detroit News' John Niyo thinks the Tigers should think outside the box, which apparently means considering hot managerial prospect Brad Ausmus.
It's 1984 Somewhere: Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson's name has been tossed around because he's gritty and 1984. Gibson, however, is under contract with Arizona and he's apparently still made at Dombrowski for firing Alan Trammell. It's like, what, Trammell only lost 300 games in three seasons as the Tigers manager. Why would they push talent like that out the door?
The Award For Excellence In The Field Of Prognostication: You have to hand it to veteran Tigers beat writer Tom Gage. This guy really has the organization wired and his finger on the pulse of what the Tigers will do next. That's why, at 3:31 AM Monday morning, just hours before Leyland announced his retirement, Gage speculated that the Tigers 2014 manager would be Jim Leyland.
