FanPost

Defending Brad Ausmus

Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

The Tiger fanbase, particularly on Twitter, has become increasingly hostile to rookie manager Brad Ausmus.

This is most likely due to fan expectations. When seeing a young Ivy league graduate, no doubt many expected a saber wielding stat hound. This expectation, however, should have been dashed by two things: his use of a bunt in a key situation managing team Israel in the World Baseball Classic, and by his own words before the season started, when he dispelled any notion of being a sabermetrician.

Instead, they have seen a manager make all the classic managing moves: particularly moves that infuriate the intellectual corner of Tigers fandom (which I'm happy to say resides right here at BYB). These moves include the following:

1. Sticking to guys in specific bullpen roles (Joba in the 8th, Nathan in the 9th), regardless of performance.

2. Refusal to use younger players, particularly September callups, in favor of veterans, even if the veterans are not performing.

3. Mass substitutions for "defensive" reasons at the end of games, taking key power bats away (particularly JD Martinez and Miguel Cabrera).

4. Playing Don Kelly.

5. A "Classic Hit" for any MLB manager: leaving in a starter too long (Verlander, earlier in the year) or not letting a cruising starter keep going (Rick Porcello, in his recent start against the Twins).

There are other issues, but at least on Twitter, these seem to be the main gripes plaguing the rookie skipper.

The first thing that comes to mind is that problems 1, 2, 4, and 5 were all sins committed by previous manager Jim Leyland on a regular basis. Using defined 7th, 8th, and 9th inning relievers? Check. Refusal to use emerging younger players in favor of scuffling veterans? Check (remember how young he kept throwing Gary Sheffield out there?). Scott Rogoski doesn't need to be reminded of 4, with the former skipper's love for versatile but limited Don Kelly knowing no bounds. And of course, every MLB manager is guilty of number 5, being something like the Kobayashi Maru of baseball management.

The only thing I do not recall Leyland doing is making mass defensive replacements late in games. He certainly did that some of the time, but not as often as Brad Ausmus does, or with as many players. In this respect, I think Leyland was a superior manager: I do not see him allowing the likes of Ezequiel Carrera to lose a game for the Tigers.

That said, Brad Ausmus is mostly managing the Tigers the way Leyland did. He runs a little bit more, but I'm sure "Old Smokey" would have ran more with guys like Rajai Davis and Ian Kinsler on the roster. And Brad has brought defensive shifting to their arsenal, showing that he is aware of modern trends in MLB strategy.

As a result, the Tigers are having very much the type of season they had under Jim Leyland during their current "golden age." Which is to say, a team that looks wonderful during one week, awful the next, stumbles their way to 90 or so wins, and (probably) wins the division.

If this is true, then why the hand wringing on twitter? Why the immense disgust towards Ausmus? As before, expectations. We got to hear Jim Price talking about "smart ball" in spring training, and Brad himself talked about winning games without needing home runs. Oddly, the Tigers sold us on the idea that we'd be a sort of Kansas City Royals "lite," playing better defense and running the bases better (neither of which has happened, at least as a team).

The truth is, that talk was the talk of an organization that had just lost power hitters Prince Fielder, Jhonny Peralta and to a lesser degree Omar Infante. They had no idea what they'd get from rookie Nick Castellanos. They also had no idea they would lose Jose Iglesias and Bruce Rondon, and of course they didn't count on Justin Verlander injuring his core muscles either.

To be quite honest, fans (even the smart ones at BYB) should be fairly satisfied with the results of the Brad Ausmus Tigers, as long as they seal the deal on a division they currently lead 2.5 games as of this writing. And Brad has made some excellent decisions along the way: giving playing time to JD Martinez, trusting Rajai Davis as a mostly everyday player, establishing Joba Chamberlain early as the 8th inning guy (he's reverted to his mean now, but this has mostly paid off), and his best move as a rookie manager: re-igniting the hitting machine known as Miguel Cabrera, by having him DH and even sit in late August and early September. Miggy's a huge gamer and would no doubt play at first every day, and Victor Martinez is a defensive downgrade. Despite this, Ausmus' insistence on resting Miggy has no doubt aided the slugger in his fabulous September results.To put icing on this cake, he even made a smart pinch hitting move against the Royals, inserting Tyler Collins, who rewarded his skipper with a key hit.

The irony is, to find success, the Tigers have had to morph into the "dumb ball" version of themselves: they now rely on starting pitching to avoid taxing their lousy bullpen, while leaning on the big boppers to hit 3 run bombs. Without a career year by Victor Martinez and the stunning surprise of his "brother" JD, we'd be no doubt scrapping for a wild card spot at best.

So stop getting angry every time Brad does something dumb, and enjoy the ride. He's mostly doing a solid job, and the Tigers are looking more and more like another division winner.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of the <em>Bless You Boys</em> writing staff.