Joel Zumaya, a former reliever for the Detroit Tigers, has spoken out about the team’s troubles in 2022. He didn’t hold back following his performance on Wednesday.
After a 13-0 loss to the White Sox on Wednesday afternoon—a game in which three position players pitched—A.J. Hinch and his teammates conducted a team meeting. It was as humiliating as it gets, and Hinch questioned the team’s effort in the locker room and in public.
Something needs to happen, and it has to change quickly, or else this season will slip away from them completely.
Zumaya was a member of the Tigers’ World Series-winning teams in the mid-2000s, led by manager Jim Leyland. Zumaya said that the Tigers were in a similar situation at the time, but Leyland expected more.
Joel Zumaya insists that the front office take action first
It’s vital to stress that Zumaya is not employed by the city of Detroit. He’s just a worried former player looking for a better product to see. He’s fed up, like most supporters, following a five-year renovation (I’m being nice) that was supposed to be completed this year.
Instead of reducing frustration, the end result has increased it, and someone in the front office has to be held accountable.
Zumaya singled out Al Avila, who makes the majority of personnel choices, for special attention. Under Avila’s leadership, Detroit completely revamped its roster, adding prospects to the farm system and consistently picking in the top ten. It has yet to produce results in Major League Baseball.
To be fair to Avila, some of those prospects were hurt this year, particularly the starting pitchers. Tommy John surgery is being performed on Casey Mize. Riley Greene is on the mend in the minor leagues. In his first taste of MLB action, Spencer Torkelson, who was a consensus No. 1 pick by most analysts, is struggling.
It’s not entirely his fault, but signing Javy Baez now appears to be a major blunder. The only reason to follow this club on a regular basis is because of Miguel Cabrera and Tarik Skubal.
