I do not see how you can possibly assert that Buster Olney is qualified to discuss the financial side of the Tigers and Mike Ilitch. Being a baseball guy doesn't give him a degree in business or finance.
He is clearly just talking out his ass. First, you say "Every team that has 'over spent' has fallen off the cliff at one point" then cite one team, and, of course you know this, that is a fallacy. Every team owner is not Mike Ilitch, every team and situation are different. Buster Olney and you, are following "common wisdom" which is generally right, right? But not necessarily so.
"It will happen to the Tigers."
It doesn't have to happen in the same way this post has to appear on this forum after I click on the button.
One of the things Olney is doing is judging Mike Ilitch and Al Avila. I am saying, and I am on 100% solid ground here, that Buster Olney is not qualified to do that. Not in any way shape or from. He is an f-ing sports reporter, even as a good sports reporter that does not make him as smart as a Al Avila and Mike Ilitch about the business of building and maintaining a competitive MLB organization. I mean, that a nit-wit like Mitch Album is a smart sports reporter! (have you read his idiotic books? The man is about as deep as a good hallmark card).
Like some reporters are very smart, highly educated, deeply thoughtful, and incredibly knowledgeable people, NONE of those reporters are sports reporters. Buster Olney is a reasonably smart and unusually competent sports reporter, but with that story he is just trotting out some filler to get through the off season.
The Tigers have some expensive aging talent. What gets forgotten about that is that that talent is top of the shelf good, like the tipy-top. After two more seasons of dealing at his previous level (which he sure seemed capable of doing for 11 games last year) JV will start being talked about as a Hall Candidate, Miggy of course is one. Miggy is able to be effective as heck when injured or tweaked and JV hit the DL for the only time in his career last year. They are both fanatically professional all signs point to them both aging well.
The V-Mart signing was a mistake, but it will end soon, and still might swing (intended) in the Tigers favor.
The other aging contracts have a few years left, they don't really matter as long as there is young talent to replace it or money to replace it on the market. What matters is the answer to this question: Are Miggy and JV singular talents that will age well and be effective, as other greats have been, into their late 30s? If the answer is yes, then Buster's analysis is horseshit. If the answer is no, then the Tigers are in trouble.
For my money, based on watching JV his whole career and Miggy perform the last few years despite being hurt, I see two players that are still going to be capable of competing and contributing just as other HoF players have been able to do well into their late 30s and perhaps beyond.
If the Tigers didn't have some young talent coming up, perhaps Buster'd be right. And if the new GM weren't (A) protecting that talent and (B) setting out to make the farm system more productive we'd have reason to be concerned.
No, the Tigers are in a good space. Upton is for real, I know everyone is concentrating on that 2 year opt out, but I suspect he will perform and not take it, the guy is going to have success here and like it here. He along with JD is 28, if JD gets signed, that gives the Tigers two good, good core players to keep the wheels on the tracks as V-Mart and Kinsler are replaced and young talent developed etc.
No, the Tigers are built for the long haul, they just need to fix the farm system, and get better at finding young talent in unusual places.
There might be down years or Al Avila, his staff, and Mike Ilitch might be way smarter than some ESPN baseball reporter--something that is almost certainly true even if it is one of ESPN's best, Buster Olney.
"Mr. I is a desperate old man who wants a WS. The moves he is making are not in the best interest of the long term success of the franchise."
First, I think that first sentence is some really bigoted bs. Mike Ilitch is old, yes, but he sure as heck seems smart as a heck still. He is desperate for WS but hardly desperate in every way. A more accurate description is that he is a shrewd businessman and MLB owner who desperately wants to win a WS in his life time.
You can say some of his moves have been bad but his open check book which has brought a lot of talent to Detroit is part of that desperation to win it all.
Some of his moves have been bad: V-Mart was clearly from the fan in him and about loyalty. You can fault it but it builds something in the club house and in baseball about the club.
Signing Miggy and JV longterm was just good business. If you can't see that you don't have a clue about it. They sell tickets, pull in fans, raising not just revenue but franchise value. Two real-deal core stars is important and smart. As salaries increase their deals are going to actually start looking pretty good. (Barring bad luck.)
Prince was a mistake, as Chris Davis would've been, but Al Avila stopped that maybe DD wouldn't have.
