Tigers introduce new manager Brad Ausmus

By Drew SilvaNov 3, 2013, 5:18 PM EST
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The Tigers conducted an introductory press conference for new manager Brad Ausmus on Sunday evening at Comerica Park. Jason Beck, the Tigers beat writer at MLB.com, was on the scene:

“I’m well aware that you don’t generally get dropped into an opportunity with a team like the Detroit Tigers,” Ausmus, 44, told the gathered media members. “I was just playing the game three years ago. I’m not that far removed from the players. I have a pretty good understanding of how the clubhouse dynamics work.”

“We feel that we’ve made a tremendous selection to guide us,” Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski said.

Ausmus is taking over for Jim Leyland, who won 700 games in his eight-year stay. Mighty shoes to fill.

Frontier League team names itself the “Florence Y’alls”

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By Craig CalcaterraJan 23, 2020, 9:24 AM EST
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If you’ve ever found yourself on I-75/71 in Kentucky, just over the river from Cincinnati, you’ve no doubt noticed the water tower for the city of Florence, Kentucky.  Its top is painted with red and white stripes and, instead of featuring the town’s name or the name of the local water concern, it says, “Florence, Y’all.”

The water tower is a nice welcome to Dixie, even if Kentucky isn’t really Dixie. The point is that, if you’re from Ohio or Michigan or someplace and you see it, you know you’re on your way to Lexington or Louisville, or points south. To warmer climes, southern charm and hospitality and, hopefully, a nice little trip.

The folks who support the Frontier League baseball team in Florence no doubt realize the kind of chatter that surrounds that water tower, because they just voted to rename their team:

And they added a handy dandy explainer:

I like it. And I like the idea of naming a baseball team after a notable and much talked-about roadside sign. Which is to say that, if I ever get a baseball team here in Ohio, I’m also gonna name it after a famous sign you see while driving on the interstate not too far from me:

Yeah, that’s a thing. And my baseball team would not even be the first sports thing named after it.

Alternatively, I could put one closer to my house and call it the “ODOT SUCKS.” May be better.

Viva local culture.