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Dave Dombrowski, the Tigers' president and general manager, will hire his third manager since coming to Detroit in 2001.Dombrowski can get tough guy, but onus now on him, Ilitch
Dog days
Who is most responsible for the Tigers’ disappointing performance this season?
Ilitch next move
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DETROIT -- Another sad day, another good man tarnished, another batch of bloated promises. Goodness, the only thing more pathetic than a Tigers regular season is the offseason ritual, when they again try to figure out what went wrong, and whom to blame.
Alan Trammell did what he could for the franchise he loved, and near as we could tell listening to Dave Dombrowski, Trammell basically was guilty of two things he couldn't change.
He was nice.
He was inexperienced.
Enough with all the double-speak from Dombrowski, who's testing our faith in him. And please, no more gimmicks, no more patronizing.
Trammell didn't prove he was a good major league manager the past three seasons, but the truth is, nobody could have proven it. Call me goofy, but after watching the Tigers post 12 straight losing seasons, I somehow don't think the manager is always the main problem.
As expected, Trammell lost his job Monday, even as Dombrowski praised him and acknowledged the Tigers were crushed by injuries. Today, accountability shifts to everyone else, starting with Dombrowski, who has been here four seasons.
Now he can go get his guy, veteran Jim Leyland, if he wishes, someone to cut through the suffocating losing culture. The players shoved Trammell out with their despicable late-season swoon, leaving Dombrowski no choice but to hire a tougher, no-nonsense leader who can command respect, instead of requesting it. We just hope Leyland has the passion to whip this sorry team into shape.
"We're at a different phase because we have a veteran ballclub, and although it's not a complete necessity, experience would be helpful at this time," Dombrowski said Monday. "I think we need somebody that exudes that type of leadership and experience. Someone who's been there."
Someone like Leyland, who won the 1997 World Series with Dombrowski in Florida. Someone like Scotty Bowman, who brought unyielding leadership to the Red Wings, or Larry Brown, who brought leadership to the Pistons.
(Hey, maybe even someone like Phil Garner, who once was the "problem" here and now is making another postseason appearance with Houston.)
Trammell tried to do it with decency and class, leaning on the professionalism of veteran players. Obviously it didn't work, and after the Tigers crawled to the finish, it was clear some sort of change was necessary. When the team is lost, the manager loses his job. That's the way it works, fair enough.
And now this is what has to change, fair enough. No more excuses from Dombrowski and Mike Ilitch. And certainly no more excuses from Pudge Rodriguez, whose demeanor and performance this season were disgraceful.
He hit .276 with 50 RBI and drew a whopping 11 walks. We know he was going through a divorce, and that is unfortunate. But that's no excuse for mocking Trammell's authority, like when Pudge jetted to Colombia while suspended.
Dombrowski needs to get a grip on this situation. I don't think he can trade Pudge because of his age (33) and enormous contract, and I doubt he wants to try. Leyland handled Barry Bonds in Pittsburgh, so maybe that's the answer right there.
"Pudge did not have a good year offensively but he was very good defensively," Dombrowski said, somewhat defensively. "He was going through a lot of personal situations, and I think it affected his performance and his concentration."
And it ultimately affected Trammell's ability to manage, because it appeared there were separate rules for Rodriguez.
Dombrowski swears the core is in place for a quick turnaround, and maybe it is, although adding a frontline pitcher is a must. But this season, the Tigers rarely had their regular lineup intact. Their top five hitters -- Placido Polanco, Carlos Guillen, Rondell White, Magglio Ordonez, Chris Shelton -- each played slightly more than half the games.
The Tigers finished 71-91, and with that shabby bullpen and mediocre starting pitching and unbalanced lineup featuring right-handed free-swingers, not to mention the injuries, they finished about where they should have. Put Joe Torre in charge and I'm guessing the Tigers are, oh, 73-89.
The Tigers changed the rules on Trammell after the 119-loss season, and in that sense, his firing isn't fair. Then again, he got the job partly as a public-relations gimmick, so he has witnessed both sides of the fairness issue.
Trammell was supposed to grow and develop with a young team but the Tigers were so horrific in 2003, Dombrowski and Ilitch had no choice but to alter the plan. It began with the Rodriguez signing, a good move. But to land him, they had to promise an accelerated timetable, and had to cede power to him.
Is it partly Trammell's fault for not holding veteran players more accountable? Absolutely. Are players such as Rodriguez, Guillen, Dmitri Young, Brandon Inge, Craig Monroe and other potential clubhouse leaders culpable for taking advantage instead of taking charge? Absolutely.
It's on them now, and on Ilitch and Dombrowski, and on whoever takes the challenge next. Another sad season, another sad day, another decent man dumped. Trammell tried and failed, and now here we sit again, a dozen years running, waiting for someone to lead.
You can reach Bob Wojnowski at bob.wojnowski@detnews.com
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