Dmitri revisited
posted in Analysis, roster moves |After a loss Wednesday in which Dmitri Young went 0-fer-yet-again, the reporters dug around and what they found was a player who was disruptive to the winning chemistry the Tigers had built up in the months during his rehab. Awhile back, Terry Foster posted a letter from his “insider” who said a lot of the players did not want Young back with the team. This was received in the blogosphere with two distinct thoughts: 1) It might not even be true. If it is true, 2) No one should be airing that laundry anyway. I agreed on both points. It seems Foster and his source were proven right in the end. I still agree with the second point. But I want to try to tie up some knots and get back to the pennant run.
Tom Gage and Jason Beck have articles (thus far that I can find) on the matter and both tell the same story, albeit likely with the same sources, and a story is only as strong as its sources. But I believe this are both seasoned reporters who had to feel very confident about what they were going to report.
To put it bluntly,” said a source within the organization, “he was a growing cancer, someone who cared too much about himself, and not enough about the team.
“I thought this was going to happen. You could see it building. People will say all the right things, but the truth is he won’t be missed by many of us.”
That source just sorta sounds like Terry Foster’s, whoever that might be. I have my speculation but in the end, it doesn’t really matter. The past is done, and I’m going to leave it there. Furthermore, the articles all confirm there was no showdown Thursday. No big bang. It was jus time for DY to move on. More Gage:
No one spoke on the record, but they were more than ready to, off the record.
“We were getting concerned again about his weight,” one source said.
“He wasn’t mixing as he once did,” another said. “He seemed more withdrawn.”
“He was a puzzle,” a third said. “There was more than one side to him. They weren’t all team sides.”
Beck adds to the puzzle:
Though the final straw Wednesday, if there was any, wasn’t clear, a team source indicated that Young had become a distraction in the clubhouse soon after he returned from the disabled list in July. There was support for Young in his effort to overcome alcoholism and depression, but his state of mind and dealing with his issues were preoccupying him by others’ observations, putting much of his focus on himself, rather than the team.
Just to shut the books on the Young story, Drew Sharp wrote a column stating it wasn’t worth the bother to keep Young. On this, I agree. Marcus Thames leads the Tigers in home runs, while losing his spot in the lineup for the better part of a month. If he can help Detroit make the rest of September look like July, mmm mmm mmm will he make the rest of the season much easier to take.
And with that, I close the book on the Dmitri Young story.
In the final act, he was cut.
Sphere It
I don’t understand why Thames hasn’t been given a longer leash this year (does anyone?), but I’m really pumped about the fact he’ll probably play in most of the games the rest of the way. Nice to see him get things going with that two-run jack on Thursday.
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