Leyland won't hesitate to make changes as soon as 8/5/08

08/03/2008 2:25 PM ET
Leyland won't hesitate to make changes
Tigers manager says he will not tolerate the lack of production
By Brittany Ghiroli / MLB.com

ST. PETERSBURG -- Jim Leyland made it clear prior to Sunday afternoon's game against the Rays that he won't tolerate the Tigers' lack of production for much longer.

"If people don't start stepping it up, you got to go in different directions," said the visibly frustrated Tigers skipper. "Whether it's calling people up [from Triple-A Toledo] or making other changes."

The Tigers dropped three straight games prior to Sunday's series finale vs. the Rays and Leyland said he has been "disgusted" -- not with the team's effort -- by the lack of production.

"It's embarrassing," he said. "This is a good team we are playing, but we're a good team, too. ... We're too good to be playing like this. I'm ashamed to be playing like this. But maybe I'm the one who's got us overrated, but that's my situation.

"This is not some kind of a threat. I really like this team. But you got to do better. I can't keep putting them in the lineup or giving them the ball to pitch."

Detroit went a combined 32-11 through June and July, and following a resounding sweep over the Royals at the end of the month, the Tigers looked poised to become a threat in the American League Central race. But since collecting the series "W" in Kansas City, the Tigers have gone a dismal 3-6 -- including a split with Cleveland and series losses to Chicago and Tampa Bay.

The club enters Sunday 6 1/2 games behind the AL Central-leading White Sox and six behind the Twins, having gone 9-11 in their past 20 contests.

"The last few weeks, there were situations where we should have dominated the game and we didn't even come close," Leyland said. "I'm not talking about any one individual -- I am talking about all of us -- the managers, the coaches, the players. You got to step up if you want to be in the hunt."

Although Leyland's frustrations have extended from Day 1 of the season, the Tigers' recent performance vs. the Rays certainly hasn't helped matters.

Through the series' first two games, the club has gone 2-for-20 with runners in scoring position, stranding 22 men on base. The production on the hill hasn't been much better, as Detroit has been outscored, 18-7, by the Rays, with the staff issuing 11 walks. The Tigers haven't had a starter last through the sixth inning since Armando Galarraga went seven strong frames on July 23.

Although Leyland declined to single out any specific pitcher or player, the skipper said he planned on sitting down "eyeball-to-eyeball" with those individuals whose production has been in question and said he wouldn't hesitate to make changes to the lineup -- possibly as soon as Tuesday's series opener in Chicago.

"I write their name in [the lineup], the rest is up to them," Leyland said. "At some point, you got to earn [playing time].You have to produce, this is a game about production."

While the Tigers have struggled to hit all cylinders, Sunday afternoon was hardly a case of a manager who had lost faith in his team.

"I've told [the team] a few times, we got two teams ahead of us right now and I wouldn't take either one of them [personnel-wise]," he said.

While Leyland paid the Twins and White Sox due respect, acknowledging that "right now they are better than us," he is hoping in the future that won't be the case.

"You can either sit there as a player and say, 'It just wasn't our year' or you can say ... 'We're still in this thing,'" he said. "There's really two ways to look at [the season]."

Brittany Ghiroli is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

That 32-11 is decieving; Tigers have not played good ball since Early July

Take away that KC sweep and we be out of it

Lucky they still have a shot

But they got to get busy

Heres a change to be made: Get a new closer until Jones get back!
Sounds hard, but if Jonesy was replaced, Rodney can be easily!

gdennis59 wrote:: Heres a change to be made: Get a new closer until Jones get back!
Sounds hard, but if Jonesy was replaced, Rodney can be easily!

Should have before the deadline

I hope we deal him in the offseason. maybe we can pick up a nice reliever for him. Possibly get Grilli back? That would be the shit!

gdennis59 wrote:: I hope we deal him in the offseason. maybe we can pick up a nice reliever for him. Possibly get Grilli back? That would be the shit!

We should get Grilli and Durbin Back

For now, I would guess Clay Rapada will be back in the pen. Maybe Bonine will be back.Timo Perez is on a hitting spree. Hollimon and Clete Thomas are doing well. This will be interesting.

Plus several Major League players were released after the trade deadline!

GoGetEmTigers wrote:: For now, I would guess Clay Rapada will be back in the pen. Maybe Bonine will be back.Timo Perez is on a hitting spree. Hollimon and Clete Thomas are doing well. This will be interesting.

Plus several Major League players were released after the trade deadline!

Who gets the Ax?

Please let it be Rodney

Clay in the pen, Rodney gone, Bonine starts and Nate gets DFA, hopefully he can just go to the minors. Not sure what position Timo plays, but I hope he plays SS cuz Rent is not getting it done.

gs78 wrote:

GoGetEmTigers wrote:: For now, I would guess Clay Rapada will be back in the pen. Maybe Bonine will be back.Timo Perez is on a hitting spree. Hollimon and Clete Thomas are doing well. This will be interesting.

Plus several Major League players were released after the trade deadline!

Who gets the Ax?

Please let it be Rodney

Put everyone's name in the bullpen in a hat and pull out 1, Rapada replaces him. Pull out another, Bonine replaces him. Pull out another...see a pattern? Release Sheffield and Renteria and replace them with Twiddle De and Twiddle Dum. Can't be much worse.

Damn. Our management fucked up big.
We should have Inge at 3rd, Miggy at first. Sheff gone, Pudge still behind the plate, we should have Los DHing. And I think Santiago or Raburn at SS?

I got this off of Detroit Tiger Weblog and agree 100%:

Quote :: Zumaya and Porcello join Galarraga and Verlander in ‘09. Bonderman is an able 5th.

I have been hearing the Zoom as a starter for several weeks on the radio. It would allow him to not have to try and throw 100 mph on every pitch.

Another problem is our bullpen is using a non banned drug to pump themselves up -- Red Bull! Makes Seay and Rodney bounce off the walls! No wonder they have no control!

GoGetEmTigers wrote:

I got this off of Detroit Tiger Weblog and agree 100%:

Quote :: Zumaya and Porcello join Galarraga and Verlander in ‘09. Bonderman is an able 5th.

I have been hearing the Zoom as a starter for several weeks on the radio. It would allow him to not have to try and throw 100 mph on every pitch.

Another problem is our bullpen is using a non banned drug to pump themselves up -- Red Bull! Makes Seay and Rodney bounce off the walls! No wonder they have no control!

I agree except for rushing Porcello into the big leagues;

Tigers outta get rid of Renteria and Sheff; Maybe Even Trade Magglio Sorry

Joyce can play RF everyday

And use the money to get CC

Sunday, August 3, 2008
'Ashamed' manager Leyland lets loose on Tigers' lack of production
Lynn Henning / The Detroit News

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- In fed-up tones that signaled a likely shake-up of the Tigers' lineup and pitching staff, manager Jim Leyland said Sunday he was "embarrassed" and "shocked" by his team's play following three consecutive losses, two of which were ugly affairs this weekend against the Tampa Bay Rays.

But it was not only back-to-back defeats by Tampa Bay, which featured some of the sloppiest baseball displayed by the Tigers this season, that set Leyland off during a media address two hours before the Tigers and Tampa Bay met in a series finale at Tropicana Field.

It was the specter of the Tigers' 2008 season, which was projected to be a pennant-contending year for Detroit; instead Leyland's team entered Sunday with a 55-55 record that has the Tigers stuck in third place in the American League Central Division.

"We've got too many guys not producing," Leyland said in a measured voice during his 20-minute briefing. "This is a game about production. If people can't play all out, we'll put someone else in there who can.

"This is not a threat, I'm not upset, but some things are not acceptable. You can't keep putting the ball in people's hands and not get production."

The Tigers threw 200 pitches Saturday during a shabby 9-3 loss to the Rays. The previous night they failed to take advantage of nine walks from Tampa Bay pitchers in losing 5-2 to the Rays.

Both games were messy affairs that extended well past three hours and were the antithesis to the tidy manner in which big-league baseball is obliged to be played. Leyland, though, was precise in speaking about bad pitching performances and position players whose lack of hustle appears to have become a final straw for a manager who could cite any number of underachieving players as part of 2008's headaches.

Notably, shortstop Edgar Renteria was missing from Sunday's starting lineup, replaced by Ramon Santiago. Renteria has struggled at the plate and his defensive range has been a painful discovery for the Tigers, who acquired him in an expensive trade with Atlanta last October.

Leyland, though, said he was merely resting Renteria. He steadfastly avoided identifying a single player with whom he was irked. He likewise said on several occasions that younger players, likely now in the minor leagues, would be summoned if some of the current personnel don't begin to click.

"I'm getting a little tired of some of these performances. We've got to do better. They (players feeling the heat) can get mad at me 'til the cows come home, but I've got people on my (tail).

"If I were my boss, I'd be ticked off. That can be a trickle-down effect. If I have to tell people 'I'm taking you out of the rotation,' that's what I'll do.

"I won't hesitate to do anything. We're pretty fair here, I'd like to think. But there's a difference between effort and production.

"Hustle should never be in question. Running a ball out, running hard, is a no-brainer."

Leyland said he was feeling no pressure from either the front office, headed by Tigers president and general manager Dave Dombrowski, or from owner Mike Ilitch.

Leyland and Dombrowski met in the manager's office at mid-morning Sunday but Leyland said it was only with respect to a couple of players who have been struggling.

As to Ilitch's disposition, Leyland said: "I think the owner has been absolutely impeccable, absolutely unbelievable.

"But I feel terrible. I've always said, if you play professional baseball for 162 games a season, and if you lose, it's supposed to hurt a bit. It's supposed to bother you a little bit.

"There has to be some kind of problem there. If there's not, you've got a problem."

Leyland's pitching has been an up-and-down project of late, with back-of-the-rotation starters such as Armando Galarraga and Zach Miner having more success than supposed mainstays such as Nate Robertson, Kenny Rogers, and, during his last two starts, right-hand ace Justin Verlander.

The starting rotation has been hit hard by injuries to Jeremy Bonderman and to Dontrelle Willis, a colossal failure who had to return to the Tigers' minor-league camp in Lakeland, Fla., to essentially reassemble his pitching mechanics.

The bullpen, likewise, dealt early with serious injuries that kept two critical relievers, Joel Zumaya and Fernando Rodney, out of the lineup until June.

Leyland certainly had at least one starter in his crosshairs Sunday -- Robertson, for sure -- and he was certainly alluding to more than Renteria. Gary Sheffield has had a brutal 2008 season as he comes back from last autumn's shoulder surgery.

Sheffield, though, has a habit of not running hard to first base on conceded ground-outs, a display that might have begun to anger Leyland as much as it has irritated fans.

"I'm ashamed," he said, "because I think we're too good to be playing like this and losing like this.

"And that's my responsibility. Sooner or later, you have to tell players, and tell the media, and if you can't handle that, it's your problem.

"From the start of the season to this point has been more than disappointing -- I've been shocked by our performance.

"We've got too many guys not producing. And I'm not talking about one or two guys.

"I've told this team on two or three occasions that 'I wouldn't trade this team for anyone else, the White Sox and Twins (first- and second-place clubs in the Central Division), and I mean that, with no disrespect to Chicago or to the Twins. They've kicked our (tails). They're better than we are right now.

"But we've had some performances that have been terrible. I've been disgusted the last few nights. The last few weeks, we had situations where we should have dominated a game and we didn't come close.

"You've got to step it up if you want to be in the hunt. If not, go home and come back next spring training. I'll bring up some kids to play.

"If you don't want to grind it out, then start your vacation early.

"We should be embarrassed," Leyland said, ending his soliloquy. "And I'm not sure enough people are."

You can reach Lynn Henning at lynn.henning@detnews.com

um... helloooooo... it's August Asshat

!! Why didn't you do this in let's say... MAY!! Rolling Eyes

SoulRat wrote:: um... helloooooo... it's August !! Why didn't you do this in let's say... MAY!!

Maybe because Leyland is just as much to blame, as the players, and Jimbo knows it!

Hey, are we gettin' C-mo back? lol
The Twins are done with him!

GoGetEmTigers wrote:

SoulRat wrote:: um... helloooooo... it's August !! Why didn't you do this in let's say... MAY!!

Maybe because Leyland is just as much to blame, as the players, and Jimbo knows it!

Leyland is the biggest problem

Our BP is weak; but he rarely lets our starters go 8 let alone 9

Gally threw 100 pitches; Why not let him throw 10-15 pitches in the 8th instead of bringing in Farnsworth?

He might throw 7-9 pitches and get three outs

Another Problem is that Leyland gives our starting position players too much rest

Look at the lineup last Thursday in Cleveland

Inge was the only player that should have been benched

We need our A lineup everygame

Surprise us, Jimbo, surprise us......

From Billfer at The Detroit Tigers Weblog:

What to make of Jim Leyland
August 3rd, 2008 at 9:19 pm

I’ll be honest. I was going to break my rule about swearing on the blog and use some expletives in the title and direct them towards the skipper. His management - or lack of management - in the final inning of today’s debacle was grossly negligent (I’ll hit this more in a minute). But then I read some of his quotes prior to the game and I don’t know what the hell is going on.

Before the game he essentially ripped into his team. He threatened changes for underperformers and under-hustlers. Some highlights from the Det News article:

Quote :: “I’m getting a little tired of some of these performances. We’ve got to do better. They (players feeling the heat) can get mad at me ’til the cows come home, but I’ve got people on my (tail).

“If I were my boss, I’d be ticked off. That can be a trickle-down effect. If I have to tell people ‘I’m taking you out of the rotation,’ that’s what I’ll do.

“I won’t hesitate to do anything. We’re pretty fair here, I’d like to think. But there’s a difference between effort and production.

“Hustle should never be in question. Running a ball out, running hard, is a no-brainer.”

and he finished with

Quote :: “But we’ve had some performances that have been terrible. I’ve been disgusted the last few nights. The last few weeks, we had situations where we should have dominated a game and we didn’t come close.

“You’ve got to step it up if you want to be in the hunt. If not, go home and come back next spring training. I’ll bring up some kids to play.

“If you don’t want to grind it out, then start your vacation early.

“We should be embarrassed,” Leyland said, ending his soliloquy. “And I’m not sure enough people are.”

Okay, so he’s pissed. He’s feeling the heat. He wishes all the players felt the same heat. And it’s seems like changes are coming. A fact that was probably accelerated by Fernando Rodney’s performance today. Personally I think we see Casey Fien or a member of the 2008 draft class joining the bullpen. And Nate Robertson better pitch a hell of a game on Tuesday because he’s all out of leash as well.

But back to today’s game. I can’t fault the manager for Kyle Farnsworth allowing 2 homers. I have no problem with Farnsworth being in the game at that point. But the 10th inning was a debacle.

Not being privy to the pregame rant, the fact that Rodney was coming in didn’t seem out of the ordinary. (Although I was pleasantly surprised to see Bobby Seay take the mound to start the inning. It would have really sent a message had Seay been allowed to pitch because - you know - he’s the guy in the pen that isn’t sucking) But when it became quickly apparent that Rodney and the strike zone weren’t going to be compatible where was the action in the bullpen?

This is an inning that started out with a walk. Followed by a HBP when the Rays were trying to give up an out. Followed by a sacrifice. Now here is the most telling and at the same time conflicting decision. With the winning run on second, and an open base, Leyland didn’t order the intentional walk. This is a manager that intentionally walks everyone. Yet he didn’t want to have Rodney pitching with the bases loaded. YET NOBODY WAS WARMING UP.

So of course a walk comes anyways. AND YET NOBODY WAS WARMING UP. You’re now in the situation you wanted to avoid, and you don’t have another arm to go to. Rodney should never have been allowed to pitch to Carl Crawford, or Longoria, or Pena. There is no conceivable reason that Rodney was left in the game.

I don’t want to hear “he’s our closer.” This is a guy that got the job last week and has floundered. This isn’t Rivera/Nathan/Papelbon/Jenks/K-Rod. This is a guy who has the job by default. Go get his ass out of the game if he doesn’t have.

Of course we don’t know Leyland’s reasoning because he decided to not explain himself. Instead going with:

Quote :: “You guys saw it,” he seethed, stabbing angrily at a plate of food. “Write what you want.”

In that case - You blew it Jim. Farnsworth blew the game. Rodney blew the game. But in the latter case you allowed it to happen. You’re in the unenviable position of having no one you can trust and limited healthy options. But doing nothing was clearly a ridiculous move. Maybe someone else would have let in the Rodney’s mess. But it became clear that Rodney wasn’t going to get out of it on his own. On the day you threaten changes and demand more from your players, you let the fans down, as well as everyone in that clubhouse.

I put in a post from the Tigers.com website under "Rants Go Here"....pretty much summed up this season for me....sigh ashamed

Fire Leyland

READY FOLKS... HERE IS Asshat

'S NEW UPGRADED LINEUP:

Leyland tweaks Tigers lineup for White Sox

By JON PAUL MOROSI • FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER • August 5, 2008

Two days after Tigers manager Jim Leyland hinted that he could change his rotation and starting lineup, Detroit’s batting order for tonight’s game had a similar look to it – with a little twist.

Ryan Raburn was scheduled to start in leftfield, rather than Matt Joyce or Marcus Thames, who had been playing there regularly in recent weeks.

Here’s the full lineup:

Curtis Granderson, CF

Placido Polanco, 2B

Carlos Guillen, 3B

Magglio Ordoñez, RF

Miguel Cabrera, 1B

Gary Sheffield, DH

Ryan Raburn, LF

Brandon Inge, C

Edgar Renteria, SS

Nate Robertson, P