Chris Ilitch shirks responsibility for Tarik Skubal's Tigers future in rare interview

Tigers fans were forced to give owner Chris Ilitch some credit after Detroit signed Framber Valdez and Justin Verlander within days of one another. Of course, those weren't his strategic decisions, but he ultimately had to sign off on the spending that (along with having to pay Tarik Skubal's $32 million salary) sent the Tigers' spending to new heights.

A Tigers fanbase that has long bemoaned the end of the Mike Ilitch era had to give it to his successor: this was competitive spending. This was the kind of investment that led to a championship.

But the younger Ilitch is still, and probably always will be, on thin ice with Tigers fans.

Giving Valdez a record-breaking contract for a lefty starter was astonishing, and getting Verlander back was both a smart baseball and business move ... but we can't forget about the elephant in the room this year.

Tarik Skubal is going to be a free agent at the end of the season. Most baseball people believe that the Tigers' chances of re-signing him or extending him are slim-to-none. The money any signing team is going to have to pony up — $400 million is the agreed-upon figure — will have to be approved by an owner.

But Ilitch didn't seem to think that he needed to take part in that conversation.

"I would say Scott Harris is always looking to make smart baseball decisions," Ilitch said. "Whether it's acquiring players or investing in infrastructure. I hope it's clear I want to support our team to make sure that we are a championship-caliber organization. So let's let Scott evaluate and decide what he'd like to do."

Chris Ilitch completely zags CBA questions as Tigers push spending to record heights, Tarik Skubal decision looms

That was only one part of a rare, long interview Ilitch gave exclusively to the Athletic and Detroit Free Press, but Ilitch's strategy without seemed be "be as vague as possible and reassign responsibility."

Ilitch was complimentary of Harris, and the two seem to have a good relationship, but almost everything was "up to Scott." Ilitch has long been accused of being tuned out from the team he inherited, and if he's privately not much of a baseball guy — fine, leave the big decisions to the guys who know their stuff. But on the flip side, if Ilitch's heart isn't in this team and he's more interested in saving some money than the success of the club, that's where fans can and should take exception.

He was also asked about the Tigers' spending and the looming possibility of a lockout in Collective Bargaining Agreement talks stall or become contentious. He declined to weigh in.

"I leave all of that to MLB. MLB has taken the lead on that whole process. I've learned very early in my career not to worry about things that I can't control, so I try not to be worried about anything that's outside of my control," he said instead. "That's really in MLB's control and in the union's control. And I'll leave it to them."

But ... Ilitch is one of just 30 owners. This is an exclusive club; rarified air. Owners are going to have to have a opinion when the CBA expires in December. Or will Ilitch leave that up to Harris, too?

Ilitch is keeping his cards close to his chest, which is his right. But for a guy who used the word "championship" ("championship-caliber," "championship-type") six times in a single interview, it'd be a lot more reassuring if he actually had a strong stance on ... literally anything.