At 62-89, the Detroit Tigers have the fourth-worst record in baseball and are on pace to post their worst record since going an unfathomable 43-119 in 2003. The Tigers sold at the deadline and, as a result, they've lost 32 of their last 43 games. Ouch.
Wednesday morning, prior to his team's series finale with the Athletics (GameTracker), Tigers manager Brad Ausmus sounded very much like a man who knew he would not be back next season. Check it out:
Brad Ausmus made a joke about next year's manager just now. Asked if he felt his fate has been determined. He said he thinks so
— Katie Strang (@KatieJStrang) September 20, 2017
Further on Ausmus' comments: He was asked whether he felt anything that happens in next few weeks will impact decision. He seemed doubtful
— Katie Strang (@KatieJStrang) September 20, 2017
Ausmus' job security has been in question for quite some time now. Dating back to at least last season. The Tigers somewhat surprisingly decided to bring him back this year, but given their ugly season, it stands to reason a new skipper will be brought in next year. That's usually how rebuilds go. New players and new leadership.
This is Ausmus' fourth season managing the Tigers, and during that time the team has gone 312-323 (.491). That's even after a 90-72 campaign in 2014. Ausmus is not all to blame for the team's terrible 2017 season, of course. His roster has been gutted and there are still a lot of underperformers on the team. He is the manager though, and in situations like this, the manager always seems to get the blame.
Amazingly enough, no manager has been fired yet this season. Not counting seasons with work stoppages, 2000 and 2006 are the only times we've gone through full seasons without a manager being fired in the last 75 years. With 12 days to go, it seems like 2017 will join that list.
