2006 Season, Roster Management

Dmitri Young Released

72 Comments

The Tigers unconditionally released Dmitri Young.

I have no idea what happened at this time. The press release just came across.

UPDATE: In the News Dombrowski said the move was strictly performance related. I don’t buy it. Something else went down. There are lots of guys slumping, and the Tigers DFA’d Spurling earlier in the day to free up a roster spot for Maroth. This had something to do with what transpired in today’s game, or during the rain delay.

72 thoughts on “Dmitri Young Released”

  1. What does this do for the post season roster? (Assuming there is a postseason)

    I also think there is a lot more to this story that will be coming forth.

  2. If this is true, I guess that the Tigers are trying to get the message across that hacking away isn’t going to cut it any more.

    It might be too late to change the course this season is going, though.

  3. I think they should have released Marcus Thames instead. He is clearly the better option to release.

  4. And on the same day Dan and Michael (apparently) got booted from the site — Dombrowski certainly has a sense of irony.

    Joking aside, I’m very curious to see what this is about. Though I agree wholeheartedly with those who have been saying Thames needs to play more in general and over Young in particular (and I give credit where credit is due to Dan/Michael for being among the first to ring that bell), clearly this is not about hacking away at the plate — DY would have been at least a serviceable pinchhitter.

    Has to be something off the field. My guess is a less than graceful reaction to Hooper pinch hitting for him today, though there are certainly other, um, possibilities given his recent past.

  5. I don’t see it on the Tigers site in their transactions or press releases. I believe you, bilfer. I’m just not finding it.

  6. On the Tigers main Radio Station, they’re confirming the release of Young.

    More info coming from Tom Gage in a few minutes.

  7. Kurt, ESPN is reporting it on their bottom line during the White Sox game. I’m not sure if they broke the report, but looks like it’s true.

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  12. Good news. I assume this means Thames will play every day now, but you never know with Leyland. What about giving Shelton another shot as the everyday first baseman? How did he hit at Toledo? My patience with Casey is wearing thin (although I complained a lot about Shelton when he was playing).

  13. If this is really about performance issues, as it says in the article, this is like being a ten year old and getting kicked out of your house on Christmas Eve if you are Dmitri Young.

    Without him in 2003, the Tigers may have lost 150 that year.

  14. man, the wheels are officially off. i’m not saying it’s all leyland’s fault, but if this team goes 16-34 over the last 50 games, i would not be surprised if he doesn’t come back. and i don’t care what dmitri’s reaction was, with this weak lineup you CANNOT release him. send him home, fine him, whatever, but this is not a college team, you put up with some b.s. to accomplish your ultimate goal. dmitri does seem like a real jerk and borderline felon, but unless he actually hit leyland you can’t release him. i don’t justify whatever he did, but if you’re a career .290 hitter who has endured perez batting second in the lineup and then you are pinch hit by a man who has fewer than 10 major league at-bats, I understand how he could have gone ballistic. i mean you never saw the yanks release reggie jackson after he nearly punched out billy martin.

  16. “”I’m not going to talk,” said Young, whose bags were packed for the upcoming series at Minnesota.” From the ESPN article. Seems he was taken by surprise or something did happen.

    At this point, with a player of his past/potential caliber, he would have had to have had some indication that they were looking to get rid of him.

    They have to pay regardless, so it just seems odd..

  17. there is something else going on here…i agree with stephen…young is not the weakest link here at all. the thing i wonder right now…is this bigger than just young???.

    most times when a team struggles not ALL of the players go in the tank at the same time. most often there is a team chemistry problem and i see that at the moment. was young the problem or was he released to send a message. i wonder if a player bs manager thing is happening right now. JMHO

  19. DD (the GM) screwed up bigtime this year when he failed to go after big bat that was disciplined — someone like Abreu…the Tigers had the extra pitching prospects and could have made the financial commitment that the Yankees made…The last few weeks have really demonstrated that the Tigers offense is not able to provide adequate run support in many close games. Abreu would have been the perfect player to add BEFORE the trading deadline (look at his high OBP)…Illitch said in an interview that he was willing to spend whatever it takes this year to be competitive in the post-season…Why did the President and the GM of the Tigers only get Casey (and Perez)…? We needed a big bat and a consistent RBI producer…DD has a good track record in the past but I do question some of his recent moves.

  20. Kind of late to the party here, but I was wondering why DY didn’t pinch-hit for Infante in the bottom of the ninth of last night’s game. (At the time, I figured it was because no one else – not even Neifi? – was available to play 2nd base if the game went to extra innings.) Maybe that was kind of a tip-off.

  26. DD (the GM) screwed up bigtime this year when he failed to go after big bat that was disciplined — someone like Abreu

    Abreu was only going to waive his no-trade for NYY. That’s why they got him for next to nothing. Soriano’s price was ridiculously high. No one else was any better than Casey. They will trade a couple pitchers (probably the ones approaching free agency) during this off-season when they can get better value for them.

    Billfer, can you post this permanently on the main page so we don’t have to keep re-hashing it?

  28. Glad DY is gone. I do believe he was a less than positive influence in the clubhouse. I understand why some people are down on Casey – he is slow, an average fielder and hits into too many DP’s – but doesn’t he still lead the team in RBI since he was acquired? (don’t have the #’s in front of me) I think he provides some “quality” veteran leadership, as compared to some of the mediocre leadership demonstrated by other veterans.

  29. Two things could happen…
    1. The team could rally around the release or…
    2. The team could revolt because DY was a very popular player in the clubhouse ask Monroe.
    Also I think DY may have gone off on Leyland but in all honesty I can’t blame him. Since coming back he’s hitting 300 with some good power and he get’s pinch hit for by Hooper????
    I’ve supported Leyland all year and I still do but I’m starting to wonder about some of his decisions.
    I’m scared….. very scared.

  30. If Jim Leyland is going to be in charge of the Detroit Tigers, he is going to have his people. That last great (and I didn’t think so at the time) Tigers manager, Sparky Anderson, got rid of Leflore, Kemp, Thompson, Cowens, etc. before he had a TEAM that he liked. Remember, it was over five years that the ’84 team was built (and destroyed much quicker). You have to build around pitching, but hitting has to be adequate. DY is clearly (and has been) a clubhouse concern. Some of these no-character/some-talent guys that Randy Smith brought in … they’re on their way out now. I don’t look for Brandon Inge to be back next year (he’s look good playing for the Astros, in that small park) and perhaps some others will be leaving. Different team, regardless of this season’s performance.

  32. Twins lose 4-2 to Tampa, White Sox win, 8-1 over Red Sox.

    So at worst, we’ll be tied with the Twins after Sunday unless the bats wake the heck up.

  33. There’s no way you do this unless it absolutely HAS to be done. Therefore, I’m giving the benefit of the doubt to Leyland and Dombrowski and assuming that Dmitri did something completely out of line or was becoming a virus on a daily. For all we know, this may be what we need to pop out of this slump. The optimist in me is picturing a team-meeting between the players, happening as we speak. They’re making a rally cry, saying that this season is too special to throw away and its time to stop the bleeding once and for all. There are smiles and laughter and little debbie oatmeal cream pies being passed around. Leyland just bought a laptop to crunch some numbers. Dombrowski just found a way to cross mutate shelton and casey into a productive first baseman. Guillen and Polanco jump out of a birthday cake as healthy as ever. Perez is demoted to batboy. All is well in the world, and the Tigers take 3 out of 4 in Minnesota to all but capture the division.

  35. Sweet is right. Goodbye to DY–should’ve been done months ago–and goodbye to Dan and Michael. Billfer, I admire your restraint. I would’ve booted those two fools that first week they decided to act like 14 year old schmucks on your website.

    What a couple of toolsheds.

  37. Actually, I’m wonderng if Young simply fell off the wagon. I got the very strong impression that

  38. Actually, I’m wonderng if Young simply fell off the wagon. I got the very strong impression that his continued presence on the team was based on the condition that he stayed sober. Which is never easy. Especially during a slump. And I imagine watching his pennant hopes unravel before his eyes put Dombrowski in no mood to have the boundaries pushed.

    That seems the only logical reason for such a drastic move on such short notice.

  39. “It might be too late to change the course this season is going, though.”

    I suspect a few White Sox fans were thinking the same thing about this time last year.

    You gotta believe!

  40. A three hour rain delay. That’s a lot of time to kill. I wouldn’t be surprised if Dmitri got loaded during the break. Who knows, he might have even insulted Neifi Perez. And we all know what happens when you mess with Leyland’s little buttercup. You get the boot.

  42. Does anyone think that there is a possibility that Leyland is starting to lose the team? DY probably was in the wrong, but Leyland hasn’t shown the best managerial skills lately and it could be wearing on the team. There were some late inning situations in the last few days where Casey should have bunted but he did not, and he was not replaced for someone who could bunt, either. The whole thing just seems a little inconsistent, and that has been a hallmark of Leyland’s last 4 weeks or so.

    DY was producing more than most on the team since he came back, so he must have done something bad. I think they needed his bat down the stretch. This team is in big trouble. They’ve lost a LOT of winnable games in the last few weeks.

  43. Ken et all

    ” little debbie oatmeal cream pies” that is funny. good comfort foodd though. I posted on the game entry, yeah too bad about DY, its just seems like his time is up here. Also if Neifi is the bat boy all they need to do is take the number off the back. Not a bad job at 6M a year. My wife and I will not make that much money until 2206 if ever.

    Too bad about Dan and Michael. They would be fun on the ROME show dont you think. I will miss the insight and Billfer you are to be commended they were given plenty of time to play nice, pee in the sand box is not a nice thing.

    Steve

  45. The whole reason for bringing DY back was because it was believed the Tigers needed left handed bats. Seeing how pathetic the Tigers offense has been lately, those left handed bats haven’t helped.

  46. A few more stats. Over the last 30 days, the Tigers are 11th in the AL in runs scored (ahead of the Twins, BTW) with 106 (3.8 per game). Over the same time they’re 3rd in the AL in ERA at 3.60 (behind the Twins). They’ve basically been playing .500 ball, with a bunch of bad breaks along the way. We knew they would hit a stretch like this–although maybe with not as many bad breaks.

    I’d rather lose a bunch of winnable games than a bunch of blowouts. Harder on the fans, but not an indication that the season is unrecoverable.

  47. Kyle, with all due respect, playing .500 ball with a bunch of bad breaks?? Man, you should work for Rumsfeld at the Dept. of Defense. We’d be winning over there too, except for the bad break of sectarian violence. You don’t go 9-19, worst record in the majors over the past 28 games, because of a few bad breaks. What is disheartening is not that the playoffs aren’t still possible, if no longer probable, but seeing no way the Tigers win a playoff series. Major league baseball isn’t like the NBA where you make the playoffs every year, hoping to advance a little further with experience. Baseball, you need to take your shot when you have it. A good case study is the Indians of ’05. God forbid, but either Verlander or Bonderman could break down next year. This year, the team had the inside track for best record and home field advantage throughout the playoffs and world series, but dd couldn’t or wouldn’t come up with two bats.

  48. Which two bats would you have recommended? I, for one, wanted Soriano, but obviously he was priced so high 29 GMs took a pass. I aso wanted Abreu but he said ‘no way’ to Detroit and that was that. What was left?

  49. The day I become a DY supporter (see the game post) is the day he gets released. I should have done it sooner I guess.

    I subscribe to the off-the-field problems theory, but we’re HURTING for offense. So, hopefully this is one of those addition by subtraction moves. More than oatmeal cream pies, we need a nice, chewy Carlos Guillen back in the lineup pronto. We were scuffling while he was still in the there, but he’s even more important now.

  50. I was shocked to read this on ESPN when searching out the BS. The way he’s been hitting of late, it’s definately not going to help our run production.

    On the other hand, as someone pointed out, this means Maggs doesnt need to be our everyday RF any longer. No more half-hearted trots for a dying line drive. It also means, Thames will likely get the constant at-bats most have been clamoring for(will he play RF of LF ya think? I’m guessing LF; Monroe has a slightly better arm). Now we’ll really see if he can keep up his production in the bigs. I admit, I’m still a skeptic.

    Of course, it also provides the option for Shelton to get in the lineup more often, filling the DH or 1B. I guess we’ll see how that works out too.

    By the way…can we package Perez in this deal too?

  51. Holy cow the thought of Thames in the field scares me. There’s a reason he hasn’t been playing with any regularity, and thats because he is a terrible outfielder.

  52. Oh Boy, I was rooting for Dmitri young to be that left hand bat we needed to get going in the pennant chase. But no, denied, and what happened? Dombrowksi did not trade for Soriano…or Abreu…or Tejada…or any big bat that could have helped us. And the Tigers are loaded with pitching prospects. Sanchez, Tata, Juurgens, Colon (who is also young). We need that big bat, but Dmitri wasn’t it, so here’s hoping that Sheltom smokes some of that stuff that made him hit 10 HRS in April

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  54. I was thinking about Thames…I mean, if you wanted to take the official line at face value, you could reason that DD and the management had high hopes for DY just on the basis that he was getting slotted for DH over Thames so many times…still, a move like this could not seem anything but rash, and cannot help but tip the management’s hand. A move like this only indicates to the fans and the other ball clubs that the inner workings of the Tigers is in full-panic mode, which is exactly the kind of impression I thought those guys were trying to avoid.

    If this is only the beginning of things to come then that would be a real bummer. It’s like Bob Dylan was saying about having a favorite team and watching everybody get traded away, so that then it’s a completely different team all of a sudden, all there is to love is the uniform. (By the way, did any of you see him give a shout out to the Tigers in the footnote of his latest Rolling Stone interview? It wasn’t much, and he also mentioned Ozzie Guillen and Derek Jeter in the same breath (and it was probably 2 months ago) but still…it’s Dylan!)

  55. 1) I believe a team with an ERA of 3.60 over the last month has a chance to win a playoff series.

    2) Kurt and Jeff, I guess we need to give up on the Abreu/Soriano argument. Apparently, DD was supposed to trade away four top prospects, take on $25 million in salary for Abreu over the next two years, and allow him to commute from NY.

  56. OK, so I’ve had time to sleep on this one. Now here’s a question for the beloved Weblog:

    What is our record this year with Young and without him?

    Answer:

    26-21 with Young (.553)

    59-34 without Young (.634)

    The difference is striking. I attribute it to the perfect storm for Thames. The trade deadline was looming, Thames was slumping a bit, and Young was activated on July 21, just antecedent to the Tigers awful August. Bilfer noted earlier that Dmitri’s activation was coincident with with Monroe’s surge. Thames had a line of on July 21: .284/.358/.616, Young: .190/.238/.239.

    This is a real slap in the face to what was a middle of the lineup guy that was tearing the cover off the ball for 4 mos. while the Tigers surged and Dmitri Young was quickly falling by the wayside of Tiger history. Thames was the guy GMs were asking about, not Dmitri.

    So my argument is this: it is performance related. If some fans want to turn a couple clutch hits into a decent performer (let alone occupying 3-hole in a division leaders lineup), consider this: the dude hasn’t slugged over .461 at any point this year. His line upon release: .254/.298/.414 with exactly 10 RBI since July 31, the trade deadline.

    As for Thames, despite riding the pine much of August, he has 13RBI since July 31 and still carries a line of .264/.336/.577.

    Anyone for winning a pennant? Thank you DD.

  57. Danny Knobler of the Booth Newspapers says DY was a disruptive influence in the locker room, citing comments from club sources. He also says DY was having trouble dealing with all the things going on in his life this year, which is rather understandable. Salient quote:

    “Dombrowski and manager Jim Leyland would say little else, but club sources suggested that Young had become more trouble than he was worth, that other players were complaining and that he was an unnecessary distraction for a team trying to hold onto first place with 22 games left in the season.”

    Link to entire story:

    http://www.mlive.com/tigers/stories/index.ssf?/base/sports-2/114951481034220.xml&coll=1

  58. He’s off the wagon. That’s it. Enough said. It should be obvious. He made a deal, he broke it, and now he’s gone. Let’s move on. We’ve got a big series coming up!

  59. Although I don’t believe his release was performance related, his performance has been quite bad. I was going to post some stats here but Chris already did it for me. Young did very little this year other than that two week surge when he first returned. Thames is much more deserving of at bats. This move can only help the line-up.

  60. I have to agree with Taylor. What’s done is done, and we just have to believe that this will make us a more unified baseball team. Lets get pumped for this series. We have the upper hand in every pitching matchup, except of course for game 4 with Santana. Break out the oatmeal cream pies boys, its time to recapture our pride.

  61. man, talk about taking a frown and turning it upside down! you fire a man who has hit .292 since returning, was good enough to be the #3 hitter less than 24 hours ago, and replace him with, uh, no one and it’s a cause for celebration? on a team that has absolutely no hitting? at the very least, dy was good for 3-4 pinch hits down the stretch. and a .414 slugging % on this team is positively bondsesque.

  62. ok, a little self-policing. a 414 slugging % is not bondesque on this team. sometimes, the rhetoric gets ahead of the facts. my bad. still, no way i would have released him.

  63. I really believe that DD still sees this year as rebuilding year, this playoff run is suprising (and nice) but not part of his plan. It is just frosting on a cake. Young was reported to out the door after this season. He hasn’t played that well except when you compare him to other tiger batters. Might as well put another guy in his place, and develop him.

    At the trade deadline, the most likely trade was for Soriano and the Nats wanted Mabin. Again – DD is looking to the future when he decided against that deal.

    For those that question it . . .DD has already won his “World Series” this year. He has made the Tigers a contender and most imporantly he has put a ton on butts into Comerica Park. They have got to have already surpased the single year attendance record for Comerica. Illich has his $$, and as an economic entity – DD will have some dough to spend this off season. (“Buy me some bats, boy”)

    For DD – I’m guessing – really doesn’t care if the Tigers win the World Series. He has done what he needed to do this year, and now we see how far we can get with what we got.

  64. Anthony, I agree, Thames in the field scares me as well. But something for every one to consider. Would you rather see a non-hustling but mostly sure handed Magglio in the field, or a hustling but clueless Thames in the field?

  65. Lets get off the hate wagon. This team has been fantastic over the course of the year. Although they keep us on the edge each of the last several losses have been exciting.

    The Tigers need to play out 12-10, even 11-11 the Twins have to go 16-8 and the CWS 16-7 , not likely. The question is can the Tigers win 11 games?

    On DY…. Part of the game, let’s get on with it.

  66. “At the trade deadline, the most likely trade was for Soriano and the Nats wanted Mabin. Again – DD is looking to the future when he decided against that deal.”

    Well, of course that’s looking to the future. That would have been an extremely lopsided sell-out-the-future-to-win-now trade. Maybin isn’t a sure thing (no baseball prospect is) but he’s as close as you can get to it.

    If a reasonable trade could have been made (Sanchez plus one lower level prospect) could have been made, DD would have made it. I have no doubt he wants to win now and would have been willing to give up a bit of the future–just not a big chunk of it.

    Everyone seems to forget that every other team in baseball was unwilling to meet Washington’s demands for Soriano. Does that mean that maybe their demands were unreasonable?

  67. One more thing..It is time for someone to step up hold a players only meeting and say

    We are going to win this no matter what it takes. Wild card isn’t good enough missing the playoffs is unacceptable even having the 2nd best record in the AL is no good. This is about Tiger pride… everyone said this would happen let’s prove them wrong…..Pride Pride Pride Respect Respect Respect.

    Every pitch, every ground ball, every catch, every swing, they all count and each member of the team needs to step up and be counted.

    Who has the heart to not only squeek by, but to win this thing going away.

    Tonight is the night we shake off the last 5 weeks and play Tiger baseball like we played it through July.

  68. “Well, of course that’s looking to the future. That would have been an extremely lopsided sell-out-the-future-to-win-now trade. ”

    Agreed – and I would bet you that if the average age the the starting pitchers for the Tigers was 31 years sold – the trade would have been made in a heart beat. Because a win now atitude would have been more prevelant.

    To have Soriano in our line up right now . . .

    But if we can pair a good young hitter (Maybin) with Bonderman, Verlander, Miller, Zumaya, etc. In future years – You have the makings for a great combination . . .

    Again that is why I think DD is content to see how far these guys will go, and not really care is they win the World Series.

  69. Excellent thoughts there, Marshall in D.C. and Kyle J. Thanks for the different perspective.

    Is it coincidence that things were rolling along and then DY gets called up and things go south? I mean, we all heard the stories about what a cancer he was in the locker room in previous years. DD did the right thing at the right time before anymore of this wonderful unexpected season slips away.

    We had a winning team and that created positive energy and chemistry. Lets hope we can get that back now and play Tiger baseball (before the way we played in August).

    Lets Go Tigers!

  71. LET’S KICK THE CRAP OUT OF THESE STINKIN TURDS!!!

    I hate the Twins. I forgot I hated them for a few there’s when they were the oh so cute, “Little Engine That Could.” I don’t know what came over me.

    These are the jerks with the terrible ballpark, the annoying homer-hankie waving fans. These are the jerks who gave us Kent Hrbek, Gary Gaetti, and Frank Viola. These are jerks who stole OUR ace and won a title with him.

    Ever since 87 I’ve hated this team. And I’m in full, hating, rival-fan mode tonight. Next dude I see in a Twins cap–I’m beating the crap out of him!

    Who’s with me?

    Let’s beat these dirtbags!

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