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"Fans here are some of the most passionate," incoming Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire says at his debut press conference Friday. Sure enough, that's confirmed by strong opinions from sportswriters and ticket buyers about his hiring.
Many reflect optimism, or at least hopefulness. Others do not.
Oakland Press columnist Pat Caputo wonders "if the Tigers actually get why they have fallen behind. . . . This decision suggests they are still the analog Tigers in a digital age."
Ron Gardenhire "hardly feels like the 'new beginning and fresh start' . . . that Al Avila promised," writes Detroit News coluniust John Niyo.
He adds, passionately:
This was not creative at all. This was accepting the biggest name available, who actually fits a contending team much better than a rebuilding one. It suggests the Tigers’ talk about analytics is rooted more in appeasement and lip service than reality.
It’s difficult to imagine Gardenhire managing based on statistical information as much as gut feel.
At The Detroit News, John Niyo also is skeptical, calling Gardenhire "a manager with a decidedly old-school reputation, someone who was late to embrace data-driven decision making, if he even has at all." The columnist adds:
It’s hard to reconcile the double vision here. According to Avila, in comments he made last month announcing Brad Ausmus wouldn’t return as manager, the Tigers were ready to "take a brand-new road and open up to new things."
And yet here they are, getting ready to introduce a manager about to turn 60 whose last four teams in Minnesota finished a combined 118 games under .500. That hardly feels like the "new beginning and fresh start" with "fresh leadership" that Avila promised.
Free Press columnist Jeff Seidel doesn't rap the new guy's abilities -- just those of the rebuilding team he'll oversee for at least three years:
Gardenhire will just be keeping the seat warm. He will be managing games that promise to be painful and forgettable. . . .
If you want to see Gardenhire turn this team into a winner, you are going to have to wait a while.
Similarly, Lynn Henning of The News observes that Gardenhire -- "Gardy" for short -- isn't "a guy with a magic wand." He writes:
This team has a great chance to get socked in 100 games next season. The Tigers are in the process of putting down footings for a total rebuild. Construction is likely to last several years.
This team will not compete for a good, long while, not for serious playoff status, and that will have absolutely nothing to do with Gardenhire or any other manager Avila might have hired.
Another News sportswriter puts the move into colorful context:
#Tigers hiring Ron Gardenhire reeks of a second marriage. The young, vibrant one doesn't work out, so you turn to a safer, loyal choice.
— Tony Paul (@TonyPaul1984) October 20, 2017
Freep reader Steve Galgoul of Washington Township in Macomb County comments on Seidel's column by saying the Tigers "hired a washed-up old guy who pretty much falls into the category of mediocre. . . . I would guess his price was relatively cheap."
One of our readers, commenting under a screen name, notes that Gardenhire's record is "6-21 in the postseason."
And at The News, reader Roger Beaty of Sterling Heights calls the choice "myopic" and posts: "Just what a team that is going younger needs -- an old Wilford Brimley manager. Great foresight, Avila. What, Tommy Lasorda wasn't interested?"
In fairness, the majority of online comments at Detroit's dailies about "Gardy" are positive.
