In case you have not yet heard, the Detroit Tigers have relieved Al Avila of his duties as their Executive Vice President and General Manager.
Now the question becomes, who should Tigers Chairman and CEO Chris Ilitch hire to replace Avila?
Here is a letter I wrote to Ilitch a while back asking that he gives a blank check to the best candidate available in all of baseball.
The Detroit Tigers’ replacement for Al Avila is a no-brainer
Dear Chris Ilitch:
I feel like I write a letter like this to you pretty much every single season and for one reason or another, you never seem to take it to heart. (Or, maybe Al Avila is screening your mail in advance)
That being said, on behalf of my fellow Detroit Tigers fans who are sick and tired of losing, here goes nothing.
Chris, as you know (or should know), the baseball franchise that you own is an absolute disaster right now and though you are certainly a part of the problem, the main reason is that Al Avila is still the general manager.
The fact that you are still allowing Al to call the shots when it comes to roster building is an absolute joke and knowing he is going to be responsible for running the draft, which begins tomorrow, is absolutely mind-boggling to a very large number of people (and I am not just talking about the fans).
One thing I have always lived by is to stay away from complaining unless I actually have a solution to the problem.
Well, I do have a solution to your problem but I have to pause for a moment to pass along a tweet that just appeared on my phone.
Harold Castro enters to pitch the ninth inning.
This is his 4th pitching appearance of the season and 7th of his career.
Additionally, catcher Tucker Barnhart is playing third base for some reason.
— Evan Woodbery (@evanwoodbery) July 16, 2022
Do you see this, Chris?!?!
This is exactly what I am talking about. As a die-hard Tigers fan, THIS. IS. EMBARRASSING!!!
A solution for you, Chris Ilitch
But let’s get back to my solution.
Chris, in order to fix the problem that you have allowed to grow much larger than it ever had to be, there are two things you absolutely must do, immediately.
First, tell Al Avila (tonight) that you can still be buddies but he will no longer be the general manager of the Detroit Tigers. Trust me, if he has any clue about how baseball works, he will understand. In fact, he will probably ask you what the hell took so long to make the move?
As soon as you tell Avila to hit the road, smack the street, pound the pavement, or whatever you want to call it, pick up your phone and get a hold of Theo Epstein.
When Theo answers the phone, you absolutely MUST NOT hang up until he agrees to become the next GM of the Detroit Tigers.
Now, Chris, I don’t expect you to know who Theo Epstein is, but trust me, he would be a MAJOR upgrade over your boy, Al Avila. (Also, you can click here to see who Theo is)
Offer Epstein a blank check and 100% full control to do whatever he needs to build a winner in Detroit, including allowing him to spend whenever and wherever he sees fit over the duration of his contract.
Chris, if you are able to pull this off, not only would you regain a little trust with Tigers fans but you may be able to see a team on the field in the not-too-distant future that contends for a World Series title.
Sincerely,
Detroit Tigers fans who demand better
