The Detroit Tigers are well on their way to another losing season. After dropping 98 games the past two years, they’re on pace to lose a similar number this season.
However, owner Chris Ilitch is staying positive, and said that he supports general manager Al Avila and skipper Ron Gardenhire during these tough times of the rebuilding process.
“I would tell you and our fans, everybody at the Tigers’ organization is working as hard as ever to advance our plan and our progress as quickly as possible. We all want to get there as fast as we can,” Ilitch said Friday. “What I’ve learned in professional sports is that you need an awful lot of things to go right, but it starts with having a great team of people to go out and assess talent.”
Of course, one reason for optimism for Ilitch is the young talent that will eventually be a regular part of the team, including pitcher Casey Mize.
“I could be accused of following all of our prospects’ progress a little more closely than perhaps I should,” he explained. “Alot of times I’ll pick up the phone and talk to (Tigers general manager Al Avila) and say, ‘Hey, I saw such-and-such happened. What happened here?’ I enjoy it.
“I follow it very closely, and I follow Casey Mize’s progress exceptionally closely.”
Though he knows the rebuilding process can be tough on the fans, he believes that success will be coming soon, and that it will once again bring the excitement back to Comerica Park.
“It’s a big part of my responsibilities to make sure that this ballclub and this organization is moving forward on our plan, and I have a high degree of confidence that we are headed on the right path and we’re seeing great progress,” he said. “That’s what excites me, and ultimately, that’s what I hope excites our fans. They’re smart fans. They, too, are monitoring what’s happening in the minor leagues. It’s our future. I tell a lot of our fans as I see them around town, it’s going to be all the more sweeter when we’re competing in the playoffs and we’re competing for championships. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
