Detroit Tigers: 5 Managerial Candidates for 2016

Mar 10, 2014; Jupiter, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny (22) and Detroit Tigers manager Brad Ausmus (7) chat with former Tigers manager Jim Leyland before the game at Roger Dean Stadium. The Tigers defeated the Cardinals 17-5. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports

The Jim Leyland-era with the Detroit Tigers was always tinged with polarization. You either loved or hated Jimmy. That has not been the case with the Brad Ausmus era.

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Although you might think a lack of polarization among a fan base could be a good thing because most fans are of the same mind. Perhaps it would be, if everyone loved Ausmus, but the second half of last year and all of this year has plainly shown that a vast majority of Tigers’ fans do not like Ausmus and want him gone ASAP.

It may happen. It may not happen. On one hand, you have to believe that Al Avila wants to make his mark as the new general manager of the Detroit Tigers by bringing him his own manager. On the other hand, he stated that he and former GM Dave Dombrowski were lock-step on all the decisions for personnel on this franchise during their years here, meaning Avila was likely on board–or at least pretended to be on board–in bringing in a rookie manager to guide a World Series contending team.

If I had to predict–and since I’m a blogger, it’s kinda my job–I would say there will be a new manager in Detroit in 2016.

So who will it be? There is no home run candidate lingering out there like Terry Francona a few years back (although he hasn’t worked out like Cleveland had hoped in nearly two years), but there are several intriguing names.

One name to keep in mind is Mike Scioscia. He has posted a 1394-1160 (.546) record with the Angels since 2000, winning it all in 2002 and heading to the playoffs in seven seasons, yet his team has underachieved in recent years considering all their talent. Over the past six seasons, Scioscia’s teams have gone to just one postseason, last year, where they were swept in the first round.

They are on the fringes of the AL Wild-Card and should they miss out, I would not be surprised to see the Angels make a change at manager.

Just because it hasn’t worked in Anaheim lately doesn’t mean it can’t work here.

But he is probably not going to be available, so let’s take a look at five that likely will be.

Next: Omar Vizquel

Apr 12, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Detroit Tigers first base coach Omar Vizquel (15) reacts to a fan in the fourth inning against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Omar Vizquel

After retiring from being a future Hall-of Fame player in 2012, Omar Vizquel wanted the next journey of his life to be a manager in the sport he loved.

A defensive-first shortstop, Vizquel was highly sought-after to guide infielders and was hired by Scioscia for his 2013 staff. One of his first duties as Detroit Tigers’ manager, Brad Ausmus added Vizquel to his coaching staff to guide the infielders and coach first base.

Vizquel has been able to help transform a shaky defense into a very serviceable one. While Jose Iglesias has natural skills, he has been the perfect student for Vizquel in that Iggy looks like a young Vizquel.

Credit Omar with also helping to make Nick Castellanos a little more reliable at third base. He’s not Gold Glove-caliber and will never be considered a good defender, at least not at third, but the pair did work hard in the offseason to get better.

Vizquel has the intelligence and experience to succeed at a major league level, however if you name him Tigers’ manager you could run into some sticky issues.

First, he will be a member of Ausmus’ staff. If you’re going to clean house at manager this year, you probably want everyone gone. Also Vizquel will be a rookie manager, so do you really want to follow an inexperienced rookie with another?

I have to believe that Vizquel would be better at the job than Ausmus, but can Avila and Mike Ilitch be assured of this enough to go this way, especially if they are planning on adding to the payroll this offseason?

Next: Ron Washington

May 28, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics defensive consultant Ron Washington throws during batting practice before the game against the New York Yankees at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Ron Washington

Before Ron Washington arrived, the Texas Rangers were a pretty pathetic organization with just 16 winning seasons out of 34 since their relocation to North Texas from Washington, D.C. in 1972. They had never won a playoff series, going 1-9 all-time in three ALDS series losses to the powerful 1990’s New York Yankees.

Washington began building a nice team and winning playoff games and series, as Detroit Tigers fans painfully remember from 2011.

He took them to the World Series two straight years and was just one strike away from winning it all before the St. Louis Cardinals staged a miracle in 2011.

Washington is fiery, so he occasionally rubs some players the wrong way–as was in the rumor that he did not get along well with former Rangers’ star Mark Teixeira, but by and large players love his passion and emotion and love playing for him.

The drawback to Washington appear to be his personal demons. Washington tested positive for cocaine in 2009, though he self-reported himself and admitted remorse over the incident. He also had an affair and resigned from the Rangers near the end of last season to deal with the family issue.

Again, there are drawbacks with every managerial candidate, but after time away from the game (Washington is currently a fielding instructor with the Oakland A’s organization), he could be ready to give it another go in 2016.

Washington has the most victories in Texas Rangers’ history.

Next: Wally Backman

Jun 21, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; The hat of New York Mets relief pitcher Alex Torres (54) shown in the dugout against the Atlanta Braves during the eighth inning at Turner Field. The Braves defeated the Mets 1-0. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Wally Backman

A World Series champion with the 1986 New York Mets, Wally Backman has been honing his craft as the manager of the Mets’ top affiliate for a number of seasons.

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He, unlike Ausmus, has paid his dues since retiring, moving up the managerial ranks after first being the head man of the Chicago White Sox Single-A club, the Birmingham Barons in 2002.

He has experienced a lot of success at his stops, including taking the Las Vegas 51s to the playoffs the last two seasons.

The 55-year old is considered a players’ manager and has an old school style that may sit well with the Leyland-backers in the Detroit Tigers clubhouse and the Comerica Park stands.

Backman is considered one of the up and coming managers in the games and has drawn some interest from the Miami Marlins and Washington Nationals, among others.

Next: Ron Gardenhire

Sep 17, 2014; Anaheim, CA, USA; ESPN broadcaster Manny Acta attends the game between the Seattle Mariners and the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Manny Acta

This one is my personal favorite–Manny Acta. If you look at his career managerial record, you’d think I was crazy. With stops in Washington (2007-2009) and Cleveland (2010-2012) he posted a 372-518 record.

But looking a little further into the numbers, Acta was in a terrible situation with the Nationals. That franchise has become a big-time player in MLB, signing big named free agents like Max Scherzer and grooming notable young stars such as Bryce Harper. So it is perhaps hard to remember how bad the team was while Acta was there.

Baseball pulled a fast one with the Montreal Expos. When their owner Jeffrey Loria tried to con the city of Montreal into building his team a new stadium and it failed, baseball let him basically abandon his franchise and take over the then-Florida Marlins to try his hand at ruining them and conning their city into financing a stadium for a team no one likes.

This meant the Expos fell into control of MLB and they groomed them to move to Washington. Acta’s regime started just two years later and that franchise was just in the beginning stages of their massive rebuild.

His next stop was the Indians, where he stayed neck-and-neck with the Tigers within the 2011 AL Central until a long August-September winning streak for Detroit and a cold couple of months in the second half sunk the Tribe.

That Indians team was a horrible combination of declining veterans such as Travis Hafner, promising young players that ended up sucking like Shin-Soo Choo and guys still ways off such as catcher Carlos Santana. Acta was able to masterfully keep that team motoring for much of the season.

Acta seems to get his teams to overacheive. We have seen that Brad Ausmus often gets his teams to underacheive. Acta, a Dominican, would be very good and able to relate with the Tigers many Hispanic players, likely getting the most of them in most cases.

So who do you think or hope will be the next manager of the Detroit Tigers? Or will Ausmus be here next year? Sound off in the comments below.

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