As of this writing, the Detroit Tigers are on a tear. They have won 12 straight games to open up their lead in the AL Central Division to 7 games. The team is healthy for the most part, the players are playing up to their capable levels and beyond, and the best part it is - the team is having fun. Of course, at the helm of this team is manager, Jim Leyland.
Jim Leyland, the chain-smoking, sarcastic, seemingly hard-headed, stoic manager of the Tigers since 2005. A guy that Tiger fans love to hate on when things aren't going so well, and don't appreciate enough when things are going great. He manages games almost exactly to the unwritten "book" of baseball. 100-pitch counts for his starting pitchers, left-handed hitters don't face left-handed pitchers, hitters bunting whenever they're "supposed" to, the execution of hit-and-runs, and running his bullpen strictly to pre-conceived match-ups. This managerial method works for Leyland, and the Tigers record under him as manager proves it. Leyland also won a World Series as manager of the Florida Marlins. If there is a problem with his ways, is that "the book" can drive even the most casual Tiger fans crazy. Jim Leyland could care less. The passionate Tweeters, Bloggers, Columnists, and Reporters of the Tigers all are quick to judge his methods when he stays with his game plan at all costs.
As the 2013 season unfolds, with the Tigers playing the best baseball that I have seen in recent years, I've been thinking...if the Detroit Tigers were to win the World Series this year, it would almost seem fit to me that Jim Leyland would retire as a champion from the game he has been a part of for 50 years. He would have won a World Series in both leagues and in 2 different centuries, and a Manager of the Year award in both leagues as well. The 68-year old would have nothing left to prove. That is the fairy-tale ending of a storied career, one that could match his close friend and confidant, Tony LaRussa. On the other hand, if the Tigers don't win the World Series this year, the Leyland-era in Detroit could still come to an end, and sooner than most fans may realize. Since 2011, Leyland has only signed mutual 1-year contract extensions, hinting that any coming year may be his last.
So, who to replace Jim Leyland? Ozzie Guillen. Yep, that foul-mouthed, overly passionate, controversial ex-manager of 2 Major League Baseball clubs. Ozzie would be a perfect fit in Detroit. Most people who don't actually know Guillen, write him off as a crazy, sharp-tongued, Venezuelan lunatic who somehow managed to win a World Series. Guillen loves the game of baseball and it's players with a fierce heart. When Leyland leaves in the near-future, he will be leaving behind a Tigers team with several star players still in their prime of their careers . This would be perfect for Ozzie Guillen. Ozzie is not a manager that is cut-out for rebuilding projects, and is more likely to be a short term manager (less than 10 years) wherever he might go. Ozzie's tirades simply wear thin over time, but his passion and emotion while managing could be exactly what the Tigers could immediately need, and would be the opposite of Leyland's approach in the dugout. Guillen has an unparalleled respect for veterans of the game, and will stick by his players through the hot streaks and the slumps. His track record proves it. Nearly a quarter of the Tigers current active 40-man roster is made up of Latino players, with whom Ozzie can identify with being a former player himself. Guillen could nurture the younger Latino players, teach them how to play the game the right way, and also make sure that the veteran players stay content. For the other players, Ozzie only asks that they play the game the way it should be played- with hustle. Respect the game, and he respects the player. As far as his managerial style, I don't think Ozzie has ever read "the book"- in English or Spanish. Guillen simply plays the hot-hand, another refresher from Leyland's style that can give ball players needed experience-either good or bad.
Off the playing field, I think Ozzie Guillen has learned some valuable lessons. His successful tenure as manager for the Chicago White Sox came to an end in ugly fashion. A feud over a contract extension during a poor year with the White Sox pitted Guillen against his General Manager and the White Sox Owner (often times in the media) over the ball club's long term faith in Ozzie. In Miami, the Marlins lured Ozzie from the White Sox into a multi-million dollar deal, which was doomed from the start. He was over-matched with high expectations from a franchise trying to re-invent itself, a $500 million publicly funded new stadium, and several high-priced players who refused to play baseball the Guillen way. Not even a month into season, Guillen was quoted in a national magazine professing his admiration for a dictator for whom many of the Marlins fans and communities defected from. The statement landed him in the non-politically correct hot seat, one which he never got out of.
In Detroit, Ozzie Guillen would walk into a franchise planted firmly in a righteous place. The Tigers owner, Mike Illitch, fully entrusts his organization in the hands of General Manager/Team President Dave Dombrowski who, in turn, addresses his manager's personnel needs as they arise. Dombrowski is a seasoned front-office Major League manager who could give Ozzie the stability he wanted in Chicago but never got. The media attention given to Ozzie in Detroit would certainly be heavy, but I think Guillen would choose his words a little more wiser than in years past. Ozzie Guillen has missed being involved in a Major League Baseball season for the first time in 30 years, most likely because of statements he has made off-the-field. I'm sure Ozzie realizes this, and I think he will be a little more cautious with some of his statements.
With Ozzie Guillen as their manager, I think the Tigers could win multiple World Series Championships in a relative short time with the player-personnel that they already have in place, once Jim Leyland calls it quits.
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