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gotigers · 04-17-2015, 08:52 PM

Saturday, March 21, 2015
Lakeland, FL
9:30pm

We had just finished up our spring training game a few hours ago against the Mets, when I received a couple of emails. The first was from my wife, and it was an attached picture of myself, Ian Kinsler, and Justin Verlander when we stopped at a kids hospital earlier this winter during the Tigers' Winter Caravan 2015, with the following writeup from The Detroit News:

The second email was from Mr. Mike Ilitch himself, which is huge because he doesn't normally communicate indirectly. But since I'm in Florida for another week while we wrap up Spring Training, I guess he didn't have a choice:

Pretty straightforward goals, I'd say. The man knows what he wants.

Spring training is actually the busiest part of the year for all of us. Scouting, games. More scouting, more games. Calling other teams, etc. Dave and I work very well together, and Brad is probably one of the smartest managers I've ever seen. We all make a great team.

But right now, our focus is starting to shift entirely to the Twins coming to Comerica in a little over two weeks to kick off the season. Brad is 99.9% sure what the opening day lineup will be, so the rest is just our final evaluations of guys.

--------------------------------------

(phone rings...)

"Hello?"

"Danny, how the hell are you? This is Ernest McFarland. Remember me? We briefly met last year in Lakeland as I was scouting for the independent leagues, and I just heard that you were promoted to GM of the Tigers! Congratulations! What happened to Dave Dombrowski?"

"Hey Ernest, yeah I remember you. How have you been? Thanks! Dave is still here, he is functioning as the assistant GM currently. No bad blood, Mr. Ilitch wanted to shake things up around here a bit because he wants that title and is getting a little impatient. Dave wants to do other things, so he actually relishes the decreased responsibility. What can I do for you?"

"Well, I was curious as if you have any openings for in your scouting department. I'm looking to latch onto a big league club, and I've always had a lot of respect for the Tigers organization. I believe that I can be of great use."

"Actually, not right now Ernest. Currently our Scouting Director position is filled by Scott Pleis, and we really like him. However, I'll get back with you and see if there's a position we can find for you."

"Sounds good, Danny. Thanks! This is my cell so please shoot me a text and I'll call you when I can."

"Will do, Ernest. Thanks for the call! Take care."

"Anytime. Later."

I swear I've heard this name before, outside of the brief meeting we had, so I texted Dave and asked him to call me when he can. About 20 minutes later, the phone rang...

"What's up, Danny?"

"Not much, Dave...I got a phone call not too long ago from a guy named Ernest McFarland requesting to join our scouting department. Do you know him?"

You could hear a pin drop on the other end..

"...Ernest McFarland!? THEEE Ernest McFarland!?!? Do you not know who this guy is?"

"I met him once last year, but I don't know him personally. I swear I've heard his name before, but I'm not sure where. Fill me in."

"Well, Danny, this guy is one of the finest talent evaluators I've ever seen but he's always been insistent on scouting the independent leagues. EVERY team, including myself, has been after him for several years but he's rebuffed every request to come up to a major league team. And let me get this straight...he called you out of the blue asking for a job?"

"Yeah, that's right. But what about Scott? He's always been good to us."

"That's very true, Danny. Scott and his family are good friends of mine....but let's face it....I and Mr. Ilitch are tired of having the worst farm system in the majors year after year. I don't want adequate talent, I want TOP talent and I'm tired of guys not panning out. Look at teams like the Cards, Royals, A's....they build from within and rely very little on free agency. We rely almost exclusively on free agency, and that's unsustainable."

"So what are you saying?"

"What I'm saying is that I'm afraid that this an offer that we absolutely cannot pass up. I'll email you his profile. Let me talk to the Ilitches and I'll get back to you."

"Will do, Dave"

And so, about an hour later...

"What's the word, Dave?"

"Mike has given it the thumbs-up! What's Ernest's number? I'll call him and begin negotiations."

'What about Scott?"

"I'll handle that...I'll keep you posted. I'm emailing you his profile now."

"Sure thing, Dave. Talk atcha later."

So a few minutes later, I check my email..

"Alright, let's see what this guy is about...."

"Holy smokes, Dave wasn't kidding. This guy is a badass!"

So for the sake of comparison, I opened Scott's dossier...

I really like Scott, and he's a very nice, upstanding guy. But man...there is a gigantic difference here. You know what you're getting from Scott. But Ernest...rarely do you find someone his age who is so accomplished and such an eagle eye for talent.

So about 45 mins later, Dave calls back...

"Danny, I think we have a deal. 4 years at $900k per year. He said he'll get back to me in a few days."

"Sounds good, keep me in the loop."

"Will do. Talk to you later."

"Later."

I was really concerned for Scott and his family. He'd just signed a new contract with us. Doing this to him just doesn't seem right. But I guess that's the nature of business...particularly this one. Winning is all that matters...

04-17-2015, 08:52 PM	#2
gotigers Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 49	Saturday, March 21, 2015 Lakeland, FL 9:30pm We had just finished up our spring training game a few hours ago against the Mets, when I received a couple of emails. The first was from my wife, and it was an attached picture of myself, Ian Kinsler, and Justin Verlander when we stopped at a kids hospital earlier this winter during the Tigers' Winter Caravan 2015, with the following writeup from The Detroit News: The second email was from Mr. Mike Ilitch himself, which is huge because he doesn't normally communicate indirectly. But since I'm in Florida for another week while we wrap up Spring Training, I guess he didn't have a choice: Pretty straightforward goals, I'd say. The man knows what he wants. Spring training is actually the busiest part of the year for all of us. Scouting, games. More scouting, more games. Calling other teams, etc. Dave and I work very well together, and Brad is probably one of the smartest managers I've ever seen. We all make a great team. But right now, our focus is starting to shift entirely to the Twins coming to Comerica in a little over two weeks to kick off the season. Brad is 99.9% sure what the opening day lineup will be, so the rest is just our final evaluations of guys. -------------------------------------- (phone rings...) "Hello?" "Danny, how the hell are you? This is Ernest McFarland. Remember me? We briefly met last year in Lakeland as I was scouting for the independent leagues, and I just heard that you were promoted to GM of the Tigers! Congratulations! What happened to Dave Dombrowski?" "Hey Ernest, yeah I remember you. How have you been? Thanks! Dave is still here, he is functioning as the assistant GM currently. No bad blood, Mr. Ilitch wanted to shake things up around here a bit because he wants that title and is getting a little impatient. Dave wants to do other things, so he actually relishes the decreased responsibility. What can I do for you?" "Well, I was curious as if you have any openings for in your scouting department. I'm looking to latch onto a big league club, and I've always had a lot of respect for the Tigers organization. I believe that I can be of great use." "Actually, not right now Ernest. Currently our Scouting Director position is filled by Scott Pleis, and we really like him. However, I'll get back with you and see if there's a position we can find for you." "Sounds good, Danny. Thanks! This is my cell so please shoot me a text and I'll call you when I can." "Will do, Ernest. Thanks for the call! Take care." "Anytime. Later." I swear I've heard this name before, outside of the brief meeting we had, so I texted Dave and asked him to call me when he can. About 20 minutes later, the phone rang... "What's up, Danny?" "Not much, Dave...I got a phone call not too long ago from a guy named Ernest McFarland requesting to join our scouting department. Do you know him?" You could hear a pin drop on the other end.. "...Ernest McFarland!? THEEE Ernest McFarland!?!? Do you not know who this guy is?" "I met him once last year, but I don't know him personally. I swear I've heard his name before, but I'm not sure where. Fill me in." "Well, Danny, this guy is one of the finest talent evaluators I've ever seen but he's always been insistent on scouting the independent leagues. EVERY team, including myself, has been after him for several years but he's rebuffed every request to come up to a major league team. And let me get this straight...he called you out of the blue asking for a job?" "Yeah, that's right. But what about Scott? He's always been good to us." "That's very true, Danny. Scott and his family are good friends of mine....but let's face it....I and Mr. Ilitch are tired of having the worst farm system in the majors year after year. I don't want adequate talent, I want TOP talent and I'm tired of guys not panning out. Look at teams like the Cards, Royals, A's....they build from within and rely very little on free agency. We rely almost exclusively on free agency, and that's unsustainable." "So what are you saying?" "What I'm saying is that I'm afraid that this an offer that we absolutely cannot pass up. I'll email you his profile. Let me talk to the Ilitches and I'll get back to you." "Will do, Dave" And so, about an hour later... "What's the word, Dave?" "Mike has given it the thumbs-up! What's Ernest's number? I'll call him and begin negotiations." 'What about Scott?" "I'll handle that...I'll keep you posted. I'm emailing you his profile now." "Sure thing, Dave. Talk atcha later." So a few minutes later, I check my email.. "Alright, let's see what this guy is about...." "Holy smokes, Dave wasn't kidding. This guy is a badass!" So for the sake of comparison, I opened Scott's dossier... I really like Scott, and he's a very nice, upstanding guy. But man...there is a gigantic difference here. You know what you're getting from Scott. But Ernest...rarely do you find someone his age who is so accomplished and such an eagle eye for talent. So about 45 mins later, Dave calls back... "Danny, I think we have a deal. 4 years at $900k per year. He said he'll get back to me in a few days." "Sounds good, keep me in the loop." "Will do. Talk to you later." "Later." I was really concerned for Scott and his family. He'd just signed a new contract with us. Doing this to him just doesn't seem right. But I guess that's the nature of business...particularly this one. Winning is all that matters... __________________ Please follow my dynasty thread!! http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...ml#post3855110 Last edited by gotigers; 04-17-2015 at 09:37 PM.