2014: A Season of Change, A Season to Forget
It’s been a long time since I have been active here – life has taken its toll. I graduated from college, traveled Europe for several weeks, am working full time as a software developer, and bought a house last year.
However, I wanted to chime in on last season and lead myself into a post previewing next season and onward.
I was a harsh critic of Jim Leyland. I struggled with his management style, and I felt that a fresh, young manager that could bring some more excitement to the team would be great. When they announced that Brad Ausmus would be the next skipper, I was reserved, mostly considering he’d had zero managing experience at any level of baseball. But at the same time, he was a guy that was fresh out of the game, and I can’t imagine the Tigers brass would have brought in a guy that they didn’t have confidence in. Listening to what he said in his interview and his introduction to the media, I was hopeful. He wanted to get a team that did the little things – bunt, steal, play defense, run the bases efficiently…manufacture runs! All of these aspects were things that Tigers teams under Leyland lacked, year after year.
I probably have more of a NL mentality when it comes to the game. I love the strategy involved and the need to play small ball to win games. Too many times, Tigers teams blew great opportunities to move men over, instead playing for the long ball or the drive to the gap. And as expected, since baseball is a game of averages, you’re going to lose that battle more often than not.
As the 2014 season got underway, I was optimistic about the offense and starting staff. Both looked to be very solid, at least on the same level as some of the better Tigers teams in recent years. Combine that with Ausmus’ plan to play to all fields and manufacture runs by putting pressure on the defense, and we were looking at a dangerous baseball club!
I made mention of Ausmus’ lack of managerial experience. When the first rough spell hit for the Tigers, I sensed a different style of play from the team. Whether that was Ausmus pressing the panic button, or some of the leftovers (Lamont and Jones, I am looking at you…) from Leyland putting thoughts into Ausmus’ head, the whole system seemed to revert back to what we had seen under Leyland. Inconsistent offense, not moving runners over in obvious bunt situations, and mind boggling commitment to under performing players.
The bullpen was the obvious sour point. The entire season was a miserable disappointment in that regard. There was not one player that could be counted on from start to finish last year. What is one thing that every World Series winning team has? I’d be hard pressed to find a team in the past 10+ years that won it all with an even mediocre bullpen. Pitching is the name of the game, and the ability to come in for the 7-8-9 inning and shut the door is imperative to success.
Instead of dwelling on last season, I’d rather look forward to 2015. It was a season that was full of change (many big trades, which I will touch on in my next post) and regrettably, it was a season to forget. I don’t believe that the Tigers moved forward in 2014, and I am fearful that their window to win it all may have already closed.
The Optimist Tiger 