Detroit — You’ll like the Tigers’ new manager. You’ll enjoy Ron Gardenhire’s blunt humor and friendly manner. You’ll appreciate his traditional baseball sensibilities.
Heck, you might even like some of his strategic moves, not that it matters. That’s not the point of the hire, or the strength of Gardenhire. The point is, the Tigers aren’t going to be any good for a while, and although fans generally accept a rebuild, they won’t accept a sloppy, strife-ridden rebuild.
Gardenhire is here to help make it palatable. He brings respectability to a clubhouse that might not have a bunch, at least from a competitive standpoint.