As I said in the video, I’m generally not crazy about dancing on the grave of guys who lost their jobs. One thing about AJ is that I think he knows which members of his staff are long-term guys and which people he’s still getting a feel for. We saw very little of Keith Beauregard. We see a lot of George Lombard, and we certainly know what Chris Fetter looks like, but the guys who AJ is a little bit iffy on, I think, are often the people who are a little bit behind the scenes. I’m sure he handled this professionally. I believe that there have been instances in the past when this organization didn’t do a great job developing its internal culture. I feel like every few months during the Avila era.
There would be some negative story about ugly things that were going on internally. We very rarely hear about that in the AJ Hinch and Scott Harris era case, and I think that they both deserve credit for that. Just because AJ Hinch isn’t throwing chairs in the clubhouse and berating guys in the dugout, there’s this belief that he isn’t as competitive as some other managers in the league. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Sometimes the quiet, well-reserved guys are the most psychotic and competitive, and I feel like that’s the case with the current people at the top of the Tigers organization.
During the season, I don’t think anything good will come from AJ Hinch going to a podium during a post-game press conference and talking about the fact that there needs to be changes to the staff or that the players need to stop striking out. The numbers don’t lie. At the same time, there’s only so much that Hinch can do. I talked about it in the video. At the end of the day, there is nothing more essential to the success of a baseball team than the players that are on its roster. While I do think that they’re can be good that comes from bringing in a new set of eyes to help coach your hitters, this game is ultimately about the players.
Minor league hitting coaches are more important than those at the big league level. Younger players who are still developing through the system will be more receptive to change. Guys who are playing at the major league level and have succeeded at the major league level are often less inclined to make drastic changes because what they’ve done is what’s worked for them. Do I think there can be room for improvement? Absolutely, and the changes to the staff show that AJ Hinch believes that as well, but anyone expecting that this current roster is all of a sudden going to become one that’s a contact team is going to be left very disappointed.