Tigers fire coach Chuck Hernandez

Or even

Or did they become successful under their minor league pitching coaches? Name one Tiger who has improved over the last 2-3 seasons pitching wise. By that I mean his 2008 numbers are better than his 2007 numbers which are in turn better than his 2006 numbers.

catbox_9 wrote:

Or did they become successful under their minor league pitching coaches? Name one Tiger who has improved over the last 2-3 seasons pitching wise. By that I mean his 2008 numbers are better than his 2007 numbers which are in turn better than his 2006 numbers.

My Point is that pitching coaches are overrated to an extent

Roger Craig was pitching coach in 84 with the Tigers


But he didn't accomplish much after 84

Don't get me wrong;


Hernandez should be gone


But it sounds like he is being made the scapegoat

Leyland deserves the boot, too


I give Hernandez some credit


He was there in Chicago after he was fired

If that had been me; I would have have been home

Don't get me wrong - Leyland should be gone, too. So should the whole coaching staff. I don't know how much blame you can give to coaches, but somebody has to be fired and you sure as hell can't fire the whole roster worth of players. Firing some coaches might send enough of a message to get things going in the right direction.

catbox_9 wrote:

Don't get me wrong - Leyland should be gone, too. So should the whole coaching staff. I don't know how much blame you can give to coaches, but somebody has to be fired and you sure as hell can't fire the whole roster worth of players. Firing some coaches might send enough of a message to get things going in the right direction.

Perhaps


But the Tigers have to make changes to the roster


Major Changes


Not of this tweaking shit Leyland keeps saying

74-88 is unacceptable

More Heads should roll

Wow. Toushe. or however you spell it.

Friday, October 3, 2008
Tigers
Dismissal came as a surprise to former Tigers coach Hernandez
Pitching coach believed he had 'ample time' to straighten out problems that plagued his staff.
Lynn Henning / The Detroit News

DETROIT -- Dave Dombrowski did most of the talking.

Jim Leyland simply began the conversation by telling Chuck Hernandez "a change" was being made that would lead to Hernandez's dismissal as Tigers pitching coach.

"Surprise," Hernandez said of his initial reaction as he recounted Sunday's events at Comerica Park, just before that day's last home game, between the Tigers and Rays.

"I guess that's the right word -- surprise. I thought we had ample time to re-arm and to get things straightened out."

Hernandez spoke Thursday from his home in Tampa, Fla. He said he spent a couple of days privately reflecting on all that had happened, on opportunities that might remain for him in baseball, ahead of any public discussion of his firing as pitching coach three years after Leyland hired him to oversee pitchers on Leyland's first Tigers staff.

That appointment seemed to work neatly for all parties. The Tigers made the World Series in 2006, and Hernandez was praised by Leyland as one of his best-ever staff hires -- a true triumph, Leyland said, given that he and Hernandez were not acquainted and Leyland had hired him following a phone interview.

By 2008, the picture was changing. The pitching staff was unsettled coming out of spring training. Injuries to two star relievers -- Joel Zumaya and Fernando Rodney -- left the bullpen in perilous shape. Then, the rotation fell apart.

Newly obtained left-hander Dontrelle Willis had such horrific control problems he had to return to the low minor leagues for three months. Jeremy Bonderman was lost to surgery for a circulatory problem. Nate Robertson, a one-time 200-inning "bulldog" in the rotation, had an abominable season, finishing with a 6.35 ERA. Justin Verlander, the supposed staff ace, was rarely in sync and finished 11-17.

The Tigers were besieged with walks. The bullpen lost game after game. The Tigers finished last in the American League Central at 74-88.

Hernandez and bullpen coach Jeff Jones paid the price when both were fired with a year remaining on their contracts.

"I tried to work the same both years, I know that," Hernandez said of his efforts in 2006 and 2008, which spanned a so-so year for Leyland's team. "We did the same sorts of things. We didn't change approach."

Asked if the unrest created by so many physical problems had doomed him and the Tigers, Hernandez said:

"That's not my department to judge. I've got to coach the best I can with who's available. With respect to myself and Jeff Jones, there are no excuses in this business. And there's no sense trying to dwell on it. We tried the best we could. Not everyone was satisfied with that."

Although explanations have not been offered in detail from the top, it has been inferred Dombrowski, the team's president and general manager, likely insisted on the firings of Hernandez and Jones.

Leyland was never anything but supportive of Hernandez and Jones, even privately, ahead of last week's decisions. It is also possible Leyland grudgingly will welcome a different influence on his pitchers in 2009 for the simple reason that even healthy Tigers pitchers seemed so often to struggle.

"I guess to me, that's irrelevant," Hernandez, 47, said of those who had found motive to fire him. "I've had closure. I'm moving on. I don't need to sit around and think about why, when, and if, it happened, so I'll move on. That's for other people to answer. There's no bitterness, no animosity toward anybody."

Hernandez said he had two messages that could lead to opportunities elsewhere.

"We'll turn the page," Hernandez said.

You can reach Lynn Henning at lynn.henning@detnews.com

I will give Hernandez some credit

If they fired me on Sunday Night

No way in hell I be sitting in the dugout on Monday

Fired by Tigers, Hernandez offered new job
by Steve Kornacki at mlive.com
Friday October 03, 2008, 12:05 AM

Chuck Hernandez didn't have to wait long to get back into baseball after the Detroit Tigers fired him as their pitching coach.

"I've been offered a job," Hernandez said, pausing for effect.

"It's at Tampa Catholic, where my son, Cody, is a freshman. I'm not sure what they want me to coach, but I will love it."

Hernandez and bench coach Jeff Jones, both of whom had a year left on their contracts, were let go after Detroit's 74-88 season. The Tigers were 12th in the league with a 4.90 ERA, but led the league in 2006 with a 3.84 ERA.

"We did it when it was not expected," Hernandez said. "And when it was expected, it didn't work out."

General manager Dave Dombrowski said "another voice" would have a better chance of getting results with the pitching staff.

Hernandez declined interviews when he was given the bad news Sunday and was not able to speak with reporters Monday, when the season ended.

"I'll think of the good things that happened and always remember them," said Hernandez, 47. "I worked for one of the best managers in the game (Jim Leyland) and one of the best owners in baseball (Mike Ilitch). It was wonderful working for an owner committed to the team, and we went to a World Series.

"But now it's time to turn the page and look for the next job. It's time for a new beginning."

From the ML to High School ... good luck to the pitchers at Tampa Catholic, if Chuck takes the job!