How did the Tigers become so talented so fast?

Question

I realize that Justin Verlander is part of the answer. Don't answer Jim Leyland because I don't think managers make much of an impact in the AL.

Answer 1

They had many acquisitions besides the manager which helped them get to where they are now. They signed Kenny Rogers in the offseason and he is now 11-4. 2 years ago they drafted Justin Verlander second overall. They acquired Jeremy Bonderman in a trade with the A's. Pudge was a free agent signing by them 2 or 3 years ago. Their front office made the Tigers a first place team by making many good signings and trades.

Answer 2

Jim Leyland IS absolutely the reason why The Tigers are doing so well this year.

Aside from Verlander, Zumaya, and Rodgers The Tigers have the same team as last year.


THE MANAGER GETS HIS PLAYERS PLAYING THE GAME THE WAY IT SHOULD BE!

IT IS ABSOLUTELY CORRECT THAT JIM LEYLAND IS DA MAN!

Of Course, Dombrowski had all this in the works for the last 4-5 years. His hard work and dedication is paying off.

Jim Leyland has the players believing in themselves. JIm Leyland has the players preparing for the game each day. Jim Leyland has this team focused on the game at hand.

Not to bad mouth Alan Trammell (good player, not so good manager)..but if Trammell was the manager this year---with exactly the same team...no way do The Tigers have 68 wins this early in the season.

David Dombrowski is the mastermind behind the scenes---but it is Jim Leyland's ability to manage that has The Tigers playing so well.

Answer 3

there are many reasons for the tigers sudden success. Yes Jim Leyland is a big part of the reason because of his "Were here to win baseball games mentality." And pudge and mags have been huge for the offense. But i beleive the main reason for their success is the pitching, from rogers to verlander to the back end of their bullpen which has just been sick. And the brightest of the bunch is Bonderman. A guy who 3 years ago lost twenty plus games. That pitcher is long gone now as he become the stopper for the tigers.

Answer 4

Jim Leyland

Answer 5

Fast? How many years have the Tigers SUCKED? From '94 to 2003 under Randy Smith..., that's how long! Dave Dombrowski is the guy who has turned them around. In 2004 Dombrowski showed a willingness to go and try to be a player on the free agent market. In 2004, the team signed or traded for several talented but high-risk veterans, such as Iván Rodríguez, Ugueth Urbina, Rondell White, and Carlos Guillén, and the gamble paid off. The '04 Tigers had a 29-game improvement over the previous season, one of the greatest improvements in baseball history.

In 2005, they signed Magglio Ordóñez and Troy Percival and they traded Ugueth Urbina and Ramon Martinez to the Philadelphia Phillies for Plácido Polanco. And now they have Kenny Rogers and closer Todd Jones.

This turn around was all because they decided to dump Smith and get into the free agent market and Drombowski made good decisions.

Answer 6

first its a fluke and they won't make the playoffs. secondly they have very limited minor league talent contrary to popular opinion. they have brent clevlen and maybin and thats about it. they drafted andrew miller which was a steal..so their future pitching with verlander and bonderman looks good for 1-2-3, but they have no other good pitching prospects coming up, and zach miner isn't good...trust me he's a fluke and will be lucky to be a 5 starter on a mediocre team....oh wait he is a 5 starter on a mediocre team because the tigers aren't that good! Granderson will be a star, but what other young hitters do they have. chris shelton isn't very good.....and then they just have a bunch of aging veterans that won't be around for much longer with guillen, pudge, magglio, dmitri, polanco, thames (career triple A threat as I call him), monroe, and inge sucks even though he has hit 20 homers ---they are empty homers because he strikes out far too often, doesn't walk, and hits for an awful average plus his defense is atrocious. This team needs to develop some young power hitters, because it would be a shame to see their amazingly good 1-2-3 pitchers be wasted by lack of run support in the next few years. plus the tigers have been talking about dealing for another player before the deadline, and without question it will be some player who is 30 or older, thus adding to their already present problem of having too many old players.......to get this aging player they would have to reach deeper into their already weak farm system...most likely giving away their greatest need ---young hitters. They can't afford it. but they have granderson, verlander, bonderman, andrew miller, andfuture closer zumaya so they have pieces they just need to hold on to maybin and clevlen or they are screwing themselves....and if they do that and add a young bat...they will be very very good for years to come. Remeber the smoltz for doyle alexander trade???? They better not do that again.

Answer 7

The Tigers have a wonderful mix of Veteran Leadership with youth talent. Guys like Pudge, Kenny Rogers, Carlos Guillen, and Jim Leyland have tremendous influence over the younger guys (especially on the pitching staff) allowing them to learn to use their talent more effeciantly.

Answer 8

Rookie Pitching and Jim Leyland.

Answer 9

al kaline said a couple of years ago they had some talented young pitchers. they just needed time. they have added the right bats to give run support. in the last couple years they made some smart moves adding pudge, ordonez, and palanco. inge is really playing good ball and jones is great in releif. also, leyland is a great coach!

Answer 10

Hi

Why can't managers make a big difference? They can cause the players to start acting as a team. They can affect the moral of the players. They can implement the correct type of training each play needs. The manger selects the players on the team. On and on..........

LEYLAND

I don't miss many Tiger games. I watched them even when they were crappy.

GO TIGGERS