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Live news is as unpredictable as a wild pitch, a bad hop or a fly ball vanishing in the sun.
Words that seemed safe when Anthony Fenech wrote them Monday and that were in play when the Detroit Free Press published them early Tuesday turned into an error by mid-afternoon.
In a classic example of poor timing, the Tigers beat writer wrote about general manager Dave Dombrowski in the context of his "importance . . . to the organization and its rebooting."
The Tigers have taken the first step by deciding to sell their most prized parts in the name of long-term stability. The next step is to extend Dombrowski.
Perhaps owner Mike Ilitch has tried. Maybe Dombrowski would like to see what the market holds for his services and what other situations arise.
But without him in the fold, free agents wouldn't look at Detroit as the same kind of destination. There would be a lot of luster lost from one of the best franchises in baseball on and off the field.
As it turned out, another situation arose within hours as Ilitch bumped Dombrowski for his deputy, Al Avila.
Anthony Fenech: "Dombrowski did his part to start the rebooting. Now it's Ilitch's turn to reboot his contract."
Sportswriters didn't see that coming. Fenech, who has been on the Tigers beat less than a year and who declined to comment for this article, picked the wrong day in the wrong week to go out on a limb about keeping Dombrowski beyond this month's contract expiration. Editors didn't help by promoting his commentary atop Page One with an upper-case shout -- "Job 1: Extend Dombrowski."
"Whether a contract extension is imminent is unknown," the sportswriter acknowledges while shaping a case for keeping him. To his ears, the GM sounded "like a man who has the Tigers in his future plans" and like a GM putting "plans . . . in place for the future."
Dombrowski did his part to start the rebooting. Now it's Ilitch's turn to reboot his contract so he can execute those future plans.
Or not.
[This article originally said Fenech was nearing his fourth year on the Tigers beat. He has been at the Freep that long, but covering the team only since late 2014.]
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