Open Letter to Jim Leyland

Last may, we made a decision to no longer wear our Tigers hat in public again until Jim Leyland was no longer the manager of the Detroit Tigers. It looks like that isn't going to happen any time soon, so the hat will head back into rotation on an interim basis. But in the meantime, we have a couple requests for the skipper:

- Keep moving guys around to find their comfort zone. You have a knack for solving personnel problems and getting the right guys in the right positions. Very much a positive aspect of your tenure here in Detroit. But. . .

- The Tigers at the plate have a top 10 if not a top 5 offense. Please do not hog-tie it by bunting while down a run in the 4th inning. Jim, you have no idea how many runs the other team will end up with, please do not prevent run scoring for the sake of a 4th inning tie.

- You have no closer. This is actually a good thing. Learn that a closer is not the only guy in the bull pen who can handle the "pressure" of the 9th inning. Sometimes, Jim, facing 3-4-5 in the 8th is more important, and worthy of your top reliever, than facing 6-7-8, just because it happens to be the 9th inning.

- Enough with the LOOGY (Lefty One Out GuY). Your best reliever last season was Bobby Seay, but you refused to use him for more than the one lefty you had him warm up for. Here's a tip: when you did actually leave him in, he was better against rightys than leftys. And a 0.010 benefit from the RHP vs RHH does not overcome the 0.100 drop in talent when you go to someone else.

- Pitch counts. Use them. Know them. Live them. I realize this one will be the hardest to understand, but sending a guy out there to throw 130 pitches every five days does take a toll. It is documented. I know- they used to do it back in the day. But those pitchers, even from the 70's were not facing the batters 1 through 9 they see today. Every pitch is a big one, and it is also proven that pressure pitches take a larger toll than non-pressure pitches.

The Tigers entered play last season prohibitive favorites to win the Central, and finished last. This is directly attributable to the management of the team on the field, costing them countless runs in games that were winnable. The Central is very winnable this season, but they cannot be giving up runs at the plate, and making poor pitching decisions in the late innings.

R.I.P.

It's over.

Go Twins. Beat Chicago.

Go Sawx.


Bobby Seay. Dude's given up 1 run in his last 14 appearances.

Joe Maddon knows this. Joe Maddon also knows that Jim Leyland refuses to let him face right handers. Joe Maddon brings in a right handed batter off the bench, knowing that Leyland will being in Rodney. Leyland follows suit. Rodney gives up two runs on one hit (ONE HIT!!!!) by walking Carlos Pena (!) with the bases loaded and two out in the bottom of the tenth. Tigers lose.

Joe Maddon > Jim Leyland

Atta boy Jimmy!

The Tigers faced the 2008 AL Cy Young Award winner last night. Jimmy Leyland did not play small ball, giving up outs for the sake of one run. The Tigers scored 14 runs.

Now before I go giving Jimmy too much credit, they were playing from behind. So, I'm gonna go ahead and give Jimmy the same advice I (would have, if he would listen to me) gave Lloyd Carr- play like you are behind all the time. Open it up. Let the boys play ball.

And you know what? The boys will put up 14 runs. Against the best pitcher in the league.

Unbe-friggin-lievable

Dump. Jones. Today.

Fire Leyland for using the idiot.

These are not spring training games. This is not Toledo. This is not even Grand Rapids. You are not trying to gain experience for certain guys. You are now 7.5 games back, three days before the All-Star break, and blowing games against the team you are trying to catch.

F-U Leyland
F-U Todd Jones

How many F'n times are we gonna put up with this crap? Enough is enough. How many blown saves do we have to see before Leyland gets it through his smoke filled skull that Jones is worse than Dan Blakeslee, whose fastball, according to the machine at Cedar Point, tops out at 58 MPH?

Leyland has cost the Tigers at least four games this season, including this one, and without the second best lineup in baseball, that number would be 7 or 8. It's time to get someone else in there who doesn't subscribe to the Tony LaRussa school of "this guy is my closer. None other shall pitch in the ninth inning, if the game is within three runs."

I would rather see Brandon Inge close than Todd "Holy crap my shoes are on fire" Jones.

Yes, Joyce made an error, but it didn't cost the Tigers 2 runs...

Go Miggy Go

Finally!


The kid has struggled through his first season with the Tigers, but DD may finally be reaping some of the benefit of discarding his top two prospects during the offseason. Cabrera went four-for-four with two HR's last night, and the Tigers got off the offense schneid scoring 9 times, 7 with two outs, and going 3 for 4 with runners in scoring position. Verlander gave up 2 runs on 2 hits, with only one walk against 7 K's, and Lopez pitched two shutout, walkless, hitless, 3 K innings.

And Jimmy only made one substitution, after the Tigers had a good lead, putting Joyce in for Thames as a defensive replacement.

Keep sitting on your hands Jimmy. Let the kids play.

LET. THEM. PLAY.

I didn't get a chance to watch a whole lot of baseball this weekend, but I watched a little of Sunday's game. I think I was able to watch innings 2-8.

Inning 5: Ryan Raburn (.306 OBP/.438 SLG/.744 OPS) pulls a high fastball about 450 feet off a left-handed Ryan Rowland-Smith into the left-center crowd to tie the game 1-1.

Inning 6: With Rowland-Smith out of the game, in comes right-handed Mark Lowe. Raburn's numbers drop off to (.311/.449/.787) vs RHP (for those of you keeping score at home, yes those numbers did go up. Raburn is hitting better against RHP than LHP). So, naturally, with two out and a guy on first, Jim Leyland takes Raburn out, and puts in left-handed Matt Joyce, he of the (.273/.507/.780 total; .280/.522/.802 vs. RHP) lines.

So, let's take stock. Jimmy takes a guy out of the game in the sixth inning, with two outs and a guy on first. He removes a player who hit a monster shot an inning ago, who is feeling pretty good about himself, for basically the same player who happens to hit left-handed, even though the guy he removed hits better against RHP than LHP, and oh by the way, has NOT been sitting on the bench all game. And for what? With a runner on third and less than two outs, I can see doing it. The 50 points extra SLG might get a warning track fly ball that brings in the run, which helps an offense that is sputtering. But with a guy on first and two outs, you should be letting the players play the game, and if a specialized situation presents itself, then go ahead and remove a player for one with 50 points more SLG. Maybe in the 8th or 9th.

Now, as it turns out, Joyce had a good at bat and drew a walk, which was followed by another walk, which was followed by a pop out. No runs scored, and a player who had to that point accounted for 100% of the offense to that point is no longer available.

Overmanagment is killing this team. Jimmy- please- put a lineup together before the game and do not touch it until the 8th inning at the earliest at home, 9th inning on the road, and even then, only if you need it.

Dude. Just...... Dude.

F-U Jim Leyland.


F-U Todd Jones.


Miguel Cabrera, Placido Polanco, Ryan Raburn, Tigers fans thank you.


FIRE.LEYLAND.NOW

Jim Leyland. Idiot.

Top 6.

Against St. Louis.

2-2 tie.

Runner on third, one out.

AND YOU PULL THE INFIELD IN? SERIOUSLY? TO SAVE 1 FRIGGIN RUN?!?!?!?

An easy ground ball that would have been out #2, ends up being a base hit. Instead of being down 3-2, with 2 out and nobody on, it's now 3-2, with a guy on first and one out, which of course leads to a big inning.

F-U Jim Leyland and you're shitty dead ball era one run plays. Save it for when you have no offense and good pitching, not when you have the second best lineup in all of baseball.

FIRE. HIM. NOW.

F'n Leyland

I may be boycotting my Tigers hat and jersey until Jim Leyland is let go or retires, but this is a hell of a game winning hit...



Let's see- the Tigers have the best lineup in baseball, maybe second only to, oh, I dont know, maybe the Sawx, and YOU ARE BUNTING IN THE FIFTH INNING WITH THE LEAD!!!



Yeah, you know all those extra runs the Tigers have no chance of scoring because you are giving up outs for the sake of 1 run? Yeah, don't worry. We won't need them. Oh wait...



Oh yeah Jim, don't worry. A two run lead in the 6th inning is PLENTY against this team. They can't hit.

If there was such a thing as a moral victory, I would put this in the category of a moral defeat. The bunt in the 9th, OK. That made sense. This goes along with the going for two argument in football. You only bunt for single runs when you NEED IT! Leyland got lucky when the Tigers' bats behind the bunt kept hitting and they actually scored 3. How many could they have scored without the bunt?

You will not see me with my Tigers gear on until the smoking man is gone. This lineup is too talented to play small ball. The defense doesn't look like they know where they should be. The pitching is predictable (Yook with 3 HR's, Lowell with 2 this series!!! Are you kidding?).

OK, I'm done venting I think. Even if the Tigers win tonight, I still may wear the BoSox gear out of spite.