Detroit Tigers Poll: When Will Club Fire Manager Brad Ausmus?

Detroit Tigers manager Brad Ausmus looks to be on the hot seat already in 2016. Detroit Jock City asks readers to chime in on how long they think he’ll manage the club.

Despite rumors and reports to the contrary, the Detroit Tigers did not fire manager Brad Ausmus after a tumultuous 2015 season, his second year at the helm of the ball club.

And even though 2016 got off to an initially hot (6-2) start, there were reasons to doubt Ausmus’ abilities as a big league manager. The recent 2-7 skid as put the Tigers’ bench boss back firmly on the wobbly chair.

It’s difficult to know exactly what is meant by a “hot start” but it’s probably safe to assume that falling out of contention would be a bad thing for Ausmus’ future with the Tigers.

They certainly haven’t done that yet, but how much rope does Ausmus have at this point? It’s impossible to say. One could easily imagine Ausmus being ousted next month, but, then again, it’s not a stretch to imagine ourselves back in this very position one year from now with him still in the dugout.

Tony Paul is referring to Phil Garner, who was fired after the Tigers started the 2002 season with an 0-6 record. That situation was a bit different, however as (then) team president Dave Dombrowski was brand new to the organization that season. Dombrowski was hired as CEO and President but installed himself as general manager as well when he fired GM Randy Smith and Garner after the poor first week.

In this case, one of Al Avila’s first acts as general manager was the decision to keep Ausmus. When it was announced that he (i.e. Ausmus) would be back for 2016, Avila took ownership of the decision. It might be tough to so quickly go back on that decision for reasons of wanting his “own guy”. Poor performance, however, might be another story.

Next: 5 Candidates to Replace Ausmus Mid-Season

But firing the manager is the easy part (at least for anonymous internet writers). The actual act of firing him wouldn’t solve any of the team’s problems. The process of identifying and hiring the next long-term winner is the real task and it’s not going to be an easy one.