Tigers introduce new manager Brad Ausmus

By Drew SilvaNov 3, 2013, 5:18 PM EST
5 Comments

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.

Donald Trump wants Curt Schilling in the Hall of Fame

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By Craig CalcaterraJan 21, 2019, 8:43 AM EST
31 Comments

We’ve talked a lot about Curt Schilling’s Hall of Fame candidacy over the years.

Bill has argued that, if voters are going to use the character clause to keep certain players out, they should keep Curt Schilling out. I’ve differed on that, not because I think Schilling is a good person — he’s loathsome, actually — but because I find the character clause to be illegitimate and would never, if I had a vote, use it to impact my vote. So, yes, I’d put Schilling on my ballot if I had one.

I’m not alone in this, of course. At the moment Schilling has support on about 72% of ballots which have been made public. My guess is that he’ll fall a tad short when results are announced tomorrow — non-public ballots tend to include fewer players on them — but we’ll see.

I am not the only non-BBWAA member who would vote for Schilling. He’s got some top level support too. From the President of the United States:

Ballots had to be submitted by December 31, so it’s not like this is gonna have any impact on the vote totals. If it came earlier, though, one wonders if it would. And one wonders if that’d help Schilling or hurt him.