I'm Really Annoyed

Pick a word. Angry. Disappointed. Disgusted. Hostile. The list could go on for days. Any and all of them describe my feelings about the Detroit Tigers right this moment. It seems like there is a new rumor every day, each making me more frustrated than the last.

For those of you who visit here (thanks to both of you, by the way) and don't follow the Detroit Tigers, let me try and catch you up on the gossip.

Pudge Rodriguez seems to be leading an open revolt in the Tigers clubhouse. This group, which apparently contains Dmitri Young and Magglio Ordonez, wants Alan Trammell fired. They also intensely dislike Tram's coaching staff. This group doesn't think much of Dave Dombrowski, either.

This group is such a cancer that they have apparently already had talks about rumored manager-to-be Jim Leyland. Seems this group of happy campers wearing the Olde English D doesn't like Leyland, either. They think Dombrowski bought the Marlins title he and Leyland won and that neither deserves credit for the championship. This rebellious lot also thinks Leyland is too old.

In the meantime, some believe Young is faking an injury. Both D.Y. and Pudge have refused to pinch hit recently. Pudge has called out his teammates while being the underperfomer of the year.

If you believe the rumors, the front office refuses to discipline Pudge because he is the face of the team and sells tickets, jerseys and other product used to offset his salary. They would rather have him continue his undercutting of management and teammates than ship him out. Pathetic. (See, the negative words get easier and easier to come by.)

The rumor mill also has Magglio trying to convince anyone and everyone he can play, so he can get traded, while Carlos Guillen is hurt worse than is being let on. Seems he may never be an everyday shortstop again. The rumors also have some in the organization already planning on a losing season in 2006. Uplifting stuff, isn't it?

Increasingly the fanbase wants Trammell removed. Did I mention the Tigers are coming off a 6-24 skid? It's about 60-40 against retaining Trammell, but only his status as a Tiger legend keeps that number from being much larger. The heat on Dombrowski has been much less, but it does seem to be growing.

I am so aggravated with this baseball team right now, I don't know what I want them to do. Firing Trammell alone won't make the Tigers winners. It just won't. I think they can hire a guy who would be a better manager right now, but how much is that going to help this situation?

Firing Dombrowski, as some would have Mike Ilitch do, seems even more problematic to me. Sure, they can give him the boot, but how does that appear in baseball circles? If the remove him, who is next in line to get the job? Who would want it?

Between the baseball management careers of Trammell, Dombrowski and Ilitch, who can say he has won in his current role? Only Dombrowski. He is the only one of the group with a proven track record, wasn't he behind Montreal's success and rebuilt the Marlins, too? Dombrowski could land a job pretty quickly if not retained. That shoud say something about his perceived value beyond Comerica Park no matter what the team thinks.

Then there is the team. I am so stinking ticked off that if the Tigers announced that Pudge, DY and Maggs were on the next bus out of town and they were turning to the kids, yes, again, I might approve of the plan even if another 119 loss season ensued.

What the heck right does Pudge or any of these guys have to complain? Yeah, yeah, yeah. They can cry all they want about future Cy Young winner Kyle Farnsworth, but they failed to compete, so the Tigers made a pro-active decision. Did they get quality in return for Farns? Did they trade quality away may be the better question.

Complaining on this level when you are the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox might be tolerated. Winning championships and competing for post-season berths is different than trailing the division leaders by twenty plus games and finishing below .500.

Pudge may not like losing, but he signed with a team that had just lost 119 games. Pudgy, buddy, wake up and smell the coffee. This team was years away. You opted for the payday. Now, you get to cash enormous checks that no one else in the game was willing to give you. That alone should merit the Tigers front office some good will.

Now, common sense tells me that things are never quite as good or bad as they may seem. Winning more games probably quiets this clubhouse dissension down. Yet, that doesn't change the way I feel this moment.

Right now, I feel this franchise is doomed. What on Earth can be done? It's unlikely Pudge or Magglio could be dealt because of their contracts. Even if they could be moved, something that I would love in my current mood, would it yield more wins? If it didn't, wouldn't an increasingly casual fanbase turn their backs on the team again? Can the Tigers afford lower attendance in '06?

The Tigers cannot turn to their farm system, either, as there aren't any everyday players ready to fill in. They can jump into free agency again this winter, but by all accounts it's not a good group to chose from much like last year. Bringing in another would-be cancer like A.J. Burnett seems crazy at this time.

That brings me full circle. The Tigers can't maintain the status quo. Nor can they opt to turn to the farm system. Nor does free agency seem likely to help much. Firing the manager won't make unhappy players happy and firing the general manager would only be telling the fans that the Tigers are rebuilding. Again. It's a horribly frustrating picture. A picture I just don't see improving anytime soon.