Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Burning Questions
Trammell's job as manager is safe for 2006
It's tough to judge him because of injuries, but expect Tigers to tighten the leash next season.
By Lynn Henning / The Detroit News
More burning questions as the Tigers embark on a second half that might not have the significance envisioned during spring training:
Q: Bottom-line question: Does Alan Trammell return as Tigers manager next season?
A: Bottom-line guess: Yes. The Tigers won't hold him responsible for what happened during a season in which injuries -- Magglio Ordonez's, principally -- kept this team from competing as it might have during the first half.
Q: Is the front office doing cartwheels over Trammell?
A: No. I suspect -- and this is straight speculation, because no one in the Tigers' front office says a critical word -- that they wonder if Trammell's tactical command and instincts are what they need to be for him to look at a long-term assignment in Detroit.
Q: Can you be specific?
A: I don't imagine they -- general manager Dave Dombrowski, in other words -- are pleased at how he rested so many players so frequently, particularly during April. There have been times when that lineup was equivalent to waving a white flag. Trammell knows from his playing experience -- and from Sparky Anderson's insistence on resting players -- that you need to keep people fresh. I merely suspect his bosses aren't always wild about his judgment there, in great part because I think Trammell has gotten carried away with the philosophy.
http://www.detnews.com/2005/tigers/0...D07-253644.htm