Justin Verlander‘s absolute dominance has continued to solidify the case for Al Avila being fired as general manager of the Detroit Tigers.
Well, Sunday has arrived and Avila is still the GM of the Tigers.
In just a matter of hours, the 2022 MLB Draft will begin and Avila will be in charge of deciding who the Tigers will select with the No. 12 overall pick.
The fact that Tigers owner Chris Ilitch has allowed this to happen proves he has absolutely no clue about how building a baseball team works, yet, here we are.
Justin Verlander continues to make case for Al Avila to be fired
On Saturday, former Detroit Tigers ace Justin Verlander continued his dominance for the Houston Astros as he struck out 10 and gave up six hits while walking zero in six innings during a 5-0 win over the Oakland Athletics.
Verlander is now 12-3 with a 1.89 ERA and 0.88 WHIP on the season.
As I noted in a tweet, since Avila traded Verlander to the Astros, JV is 55-18 with a 2.35 ERA and 0.843 WHIP in 91 starts, which is absolutely absurd. He has already won one Cy Young Award in Houston and if he continues at this pace, he could add another one following this season
Since Al Avila traded Justin Verlander to the Houston Astros, JV is 55-18 with a 2.35 ERA and 0.843 WHIP in 91 starts. The prospects Avila got as a return package are not 55-18 with a 2.35 ERA and 0.843 WHIP in 91 starts. #FireAvila #DetroitRoots
— Don Drysdale (@DetroitLionsGM) July 17, 2022
Back in 2017, Al Avila made the decision to trade Justin Verlander (and eventually Juan Ramirez) to the Houston Astros in exchange for Daz Cameron, Franklin Perez, and Jake Rogers.
As we know, Cameron, Perez, and Rogers have not exactly panned out how Avila thought they would.
What will it take for Chris Ilitch to FINALLY fire Al Avila?
Don – it was purely a money thing. The Tigers never wanted to get rid of JV. He was due for a big contract which the Tigers couldn’t afford. Plus JV was asking to ge traded to a contender. What good would those JV numbers have been in terrible Tigers teams? It would have been a waste of his talent and him being part of the team would not have dramatically changed the won/loss of the Tigers. The same could be said for Sherxer.
I don’t believe Don Drysdale was distraught about JV being traded as much as he was for the basically zero R.O.I It is true and it has been several years now. This has been a norm for Al Avila deals. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut occasionally!
When will they finally fire this writer? It’s clear he doesn’t understand how baseball works. Btw as a Houston resident, thanks
Should have never got rid of Dombrowski. Avila was left a team of future All-Stars, all did WAY better under new management. As long as Avila stays, Tigers not going to win big.
The first thing you have to do is divide the minor leaguers into those who have a chance and those who don’t. When Avila took over Detroit had few if any guys in the minors who even had a chance of being a big leaguer. Then when you look at the guys with a chance about 1 in 10 will actually make it. Some will fizzle out, some will get hurt, etc. A few will crack the majors but not make it. So when you look at that Avila’s trades netted a bunch of guys who had a chance. About 1 in 10 have made it. So it’s pretty much right on the mark. The Tigers rebuild was a 10 year project, and we’re five years in.
I have lost my pure fandom and blind support for the Detroit Tigers as of today, trade deadline 2022. I think any fan who has followed closely since the severe mishandling of the club during the dismantling post DD can understand that. Support can only hurt the ballclub now. The unwavering serious and loud Pressure, with little room for diplomacy from tALL the fans, writers, people in organization and pundits alike has to start ASAP. We will not go to games, watch games, buy merch etc until A. an immediate GM change and B. some statement of failure from Chris Illitch (and his plan to avoid his disregard for the well being of the club) and/or stepping down as head of the hierarchy of the Tigers as it pertains to baseball decisions.
Yes the late Mr. I may have neglected the franchise during the Wings era but that is debatable but what isnt was his commitment and decision making that brought us some incredible teams, and Mr. Avila gets a lot, a lot of credit for that as well, that isnt the issue. Skipping past the embarrassing lack of talent for the returns of JV, JD, Nick etc is all forgiven for a true fan, because we were spoiled (and after the 80s it was pure heaven) for a decade or so.
Blah Blah Blah, but there are no more euphemisms, or cliches, or pleas of patience left for Avila because of what happened Today (not this year and not the free agents and their poor performances, that can happen) Not even a top 30 team prospect for the only minor chips left (as a result of the failed rebuild and signings)! Look at the creativity of other GMs at the deadline, but the same timid, out dated paradigm of GMing by the Tigers brass is inexcusable at best and extremely incompetent being more accurate. Where do we as fans draw a line?