JIM LEYLAND NEWS

08/31/2008 2:56 PM ET
Leyland looks for improvement in 2009
Skipper takes blame for Tigers' disappointing division play
By David Just / MLB.com

DETROIT -- The Tigers own a 24-35 record against the American League Central this season, a mark that fell far below expectations, and one that manager Jim Leyland said will improve in 2009.

"That's one thing that I'm going to really look into this winter, and we're going to do some stuff in Spring Training," Leyland said. "We haven't been good enough. Last year, we were 12-6 against the Minnesota Twins and 8-1 in the Metrodome.

"It's just one of those things. If we're going to do anything, we're going to have to do better against the White Sox, Minnesota, Cleveland and Kansas City."

Leyland would not point fingers at the underlying causes for his club's underperformance, but said the organization will never stop tinkering with the roster to make it better.

"As a whole, we've all made a big mistake, I think," Leyland said. "I'm talking about myself, the coaches, and the players.

"We're not a perfect club, so you're always looking to improve your club. But to cop out and start blaming people, I think that's a huge mistake. We have a very solid nucleus in place here that has not performed well, and I'm responsible for that."

One possible change could be a permanent rotation spot for Zach Miner, who has dazzled in eight starts this year. Owning a 2.68 ERA and striking out two batters for every walk he issues has gone a long way toward making the leap from reliever to starter.

In 32 appearances as a reliever, Miner has walked more batters than he's struck out and owns a 4.23 ERA.

"Everybody understands what the situation is with the guys we have here," Miner said on Friday, "and you just try to put yourself in a position to succeed and get an opportunity. If it doesn't come to you, you deal with it and adjust."

"I can't speculate on what things are going to look like," Leyland added. "That's why when people ask me about Zach Miner, I don't know. Because I don't know what's going to happen. There are a lot of games left this year and a lot of winter time before Spring Training."

And as for those postseason plans to revamp his club's play in the division?

"I'm not going to talk about that," Leyland said. "That's information that if it gets out, I wouldn't want that information out. But we're going to have a plan."

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

08/31/2008 3:50 PM ET
Leyland tossed in eighth inning
Tigers skipper thrown out arguing close play at third base
By David Just / MLB.com

DETROIT -- Tigers manager Jim Leyland was ejected from Sunday's finale against the Kansas City Royals for arguing a play at third base in the eighth inning.

With the score tied at 2, and runners on first and second, Placido Polanco put down a bunt in front of the plate. Catcher Miguel Olivo fielded the ball and threw to shortstop Tony Pena Jr. at third, where a sliding Brandon Inge was called out by third-base umpire Kevin Causey.

"I don't know about safe or out on the call," Leyland said after the game. "That's not what I was arguing. I was arguing the transfer of the ball. To me, he never got the ball to his hand, and I still believe that. [The umpire] said he was pulling the ball out of his glove, but if you look at the replay, he was taking his glove back and the ball fell out. You have to voluntarily show that you have the ball out, and I don't think he did that."

It was a crucial moment late in the game, but it turned out to be an inconsequential play because Miguel Cabrera came through with a two-run double that won the game, 4-2, for the Tigers.

It was Leyland's third ejection this season.

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

Leyland BETTER improve in 2009, if i was GM he would already be gone.....

Only Leyland News I want to hear is him being fired


Leyland Sucks

09/16/2008 12:57 AM ET
Leyland ejected in sixth
Manager tossed after disputing hit-by-pitch call
By Drew Davison / Special to MLB.com

ARLINGTON -- Detroit manager Jim Leyland was ejected in the sixth inning of Monday night's game against the Texas Rangers, in which the Tigers lost, 11-8, at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

Leyland, who has now been ejected four times this season, argued with home plate umpire Eric Cooper about a hit-by-pitch call involving Tigers reliever Gary Glover plunking Rangers catcher Max Ramirez.

Glover's pitch, though, was questionable as to whether or not it actually hit Ramirez's elbow or his bat. The original call was a foul ball instead of a hit-by-pitch, but Texas manager Ron Washington argued and, after consulting with first-base umpire Angel Hernandez, Cooper changed his call.

An animated Leyland raced out of the Tigers' dugout to challenge the call. After arguing for several minutes, Leyland returned to the dugout without being ejected. But once Leyland was back in the dugout, Cooper then ejected him.

Leyland, of course, came back out to argue, but to no avail.

After the game, Leyland said that the umpires got the call right. Still, he was upset at how long it took Cooper, who was blocked on the play, to consult with Hernandez.

"First of all, the ball did hit the guy," Leyland said. "I was upset that [Cooper] said he was blocked out. If you were blocked out, you should check [with Hernandez] right away. It took him three times to look at Hernandez."

Leyland did not speculate as to why Cooper waited until Leyland was back in the dugout to eject him.

It was a pivotal call in the game, too, as two batters later, the Rangers' Taylor Teagarden blasted a grand slam to put Texas on top of Detroit, 7-5.

Tigers hitting coach Lloyd McClendon took over Leyland's duties to finish the game.

Drew Davison is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

That ump sounds like a bitch to me.

Does he look like a bitch?

gdennis59 wrote:

That ump sounds like a bitch to me.

Does he look like a bitch?

I don't know yet, with the power out, at my house, until 2 AM, I was unable to see the game. I may watch the mlb.tv archived game today to see that happened.

MITCH ALBOM
Leyland wants more time, but he'll have to earn it

By MITCH ALBOM • FREE PRESS COLUMNIST • September 30, 2008

Jim Leyland wanted a vote of confidence. He didn’t get it. He had a talk with his boss, Dave Dombrowski, but when it was done, Leyland had the same one-year left on his contract that he had when it started. After Monday’s loss in rainy Chicago, cementing a last-place, 74-88 finish, Leyland returned to Detroit, packed up and drove home to Pittsburgh.

As the highway rolled past, he thought about what went wrong this year. And Tuesday afternoon, when we spoke for a radio interview, he revealed, for the first time, that his Tigers’ long-term future was up in the air.

“I have not been extended, and I’m not gonna be extended,” Leyland said. “Dave and I have had a conversation. There was some sense of an offer that I did not accept. ...

“I want to manage the Tigers. I have every intention of managing the Tigers. I’m disappointed that I did not get an extension but I understand — well, maybe I don’t understand.”

I don’t understand, either. Unless Dombrowski and Mike Ilitch want to send a message to Leyland that it’s win or leave. And maybe it is. On paper, they gave him the best team since he has been here. And it played worse than the previous two.

Still, how much of that was Leyland’s fault?

“I think we had a great year, I think we had a good year and then we had one disastrous year. … I’ll take my share of the blame for it. ... But you can put several people up on a dart board and if you threw a dart, you’d probably hit the right guy. ... We were all guilty.”

A do-or-die season in ’09

Leyland pulled no punches — but it was clear he was stung by the club’s refusal to extend him.

“Our organization failed this year. … We were bad and we were unfortunate and we absolutely made no breaks and we caught no breaks. …

“If you’re saying do I have any defense for this year, no, I don’t. But the overall picture, I think, it’s pretty fair on my part. But I’m a big boy. I think Dave has tough decisions to make. For whatever reason he chose to go this direction and I respect that. …

“I think if I do a good job next year, I’ll be extended. If I don’t, I’ll be fired.
“If I’d been on the last year of my contract this year, I’d have been fired instead of the coaches, because those guys were scapegoats for people not doing their jobs. …

“I’m not gonna lie to anybody or beat around the bush. Chuck Hernandez and Jeff Jones basically were fired because the pitching was terrible. And people have to be accountable for this. I read one comment where Justin Verlander said, ‘Well, I was probably part of the reason.’ No, not probably. You were one of the reasons.

“And I’m not picking on Justin Verlander, because he’s a horse. … But it’s not ‘probably.’ Lets all face up to the music here. We didn’t do the job, including me. At the head of the class. Did not do the job. Simple. There’s no ifs, buts and all that kind of stuff. I can’t stand that kind of stuff.”

Ready with the pen

Without an extension, Leyland could be a lame-duck manager. And hiring a quality pitching coach might be tough if the boss could be gone in a year.

Still, Leyland clearly holds out hope.

“I don’t need power. I don’t want to get paid when I’m not working. … I don’t want an option. I don’t want a buyout. I want a contact and I will try and earn another contract next year. If I do, fine, and if I don’t, they can make another selection. That’s just the way it is. ...”

I asked if he would sign mid-season — or insist in exploring the market after it was done.

“I would extend tomorrow. I would extend in June. I would extend in July. I would extend in August. I want to manage the Tigers. … And I think I deserve to manage the Tigers. But … I don’t want to be anywhere where I’m not wanted.”

The Tigers would make a mistake letting him go. Think about the managers before him. This was a nutty season of injuries, underachievement, position switching and scrambled lineups. But Leyland voluntarily took more heat than his players did. I’d rather see him here long-term than some of them.

I asked if Tuesday was the longest drive home he’d had in a while. He said a guy at a Hardees at a highway stop did ask him for an autograph.

“So everything’s not for naught, I guess.”

He managed a laugh. Here’s hoping he gets to manage a lot more than that.

I really do think we need to keep Jimbo...

No contract extension 'disappoints' Leyland
Leyland: 'I think I deserve to manage the Tigers, but if you're not wanted, you're not wanted."

FREE PRESS NEWS SERVICES • September 30, 2008

Editor's note: This story was updated at 9:20 p.m.

Tigers manager Jim Leyland said in a Tuesday radio interview with Free Press columnist Mitch Albom that he will not be given a contract extension this off-season, a development that could bring uncertainty to the 2009 season and add complexity to the team’s search for a pitching coach.


Leyland, who is already signed through next year, told WJR-AM (760) that he is “disappointed” to not have a deal for 2010. He discussed his status with team president and general manager Dave Dombrowski prior to the end of the season.

“I have not been extended,” Leyland told Albom, “and I’m not gonna be extended. … There was some sense of an offer that I did not accept.

“I’m not afraid of anything. I want to manage the Tigers. I have every intention of managing the Tigers. I’m disappointed that I did not get an extension, but I understand. … Maybe I don’t understand, but I can live with that.

“I’m certainly not somebody that’s going to sit around and worry about that. I made it perfectly clear that I wanted to manage the Tigers. I think we had a great year (in 2006), a good year (in 2007) and then one disastrous year (in 2008). Overall, we’ve actually done pretty well.”

Leyland emphasized that he would be open to signing an extension with the team at any time.

“I think I deserve to manage the Tigers, but if you’re not wanted, you’re not wanted,” he said. “I don’t want to be anywhere I’m not wanted.”

Dombrowski declined to discuss Leyland’s contractual status earlier Tuesday, in a year-end news conference with local media. Dombrowski could not be reached for comment after Leyland’s radio interview Tuesday evening.

“Jim Leyland is an outstanding baseball man,” Dombrowski said Tuesday afternoon. “He’s a very good manager. We’re fortunate that he’s with us.

“Jim’s his own harshest critic. It wasn’t a good year for any of us … I don’t think anybody’s happy with our situation at this point, and that includes Jim. But I think he’s an outstanding baseball man. I think he’s a tremendous manager.”

Two days after the 2007 season, Leyland agreed to a contract for 2009. The deal will pay him $4 million, according to salary data published by the Boston Globe.

At the time, Dombrowski was prepared to offer Leyland a two-year extension that would cover the ’09 and ’10 seasons. Leyland, though, preferred to revisit his contract on a year-to-year basis.

Of course, neither Dombrowski nor Leyland expected Detroit’s 2008 season to unfold as it did. The Tigers finished 74-88, losing more games than any other team with a payroll of more than $130 million.

Although the team’s season only ended Monday night, some changes have already been made. On Sunday, pitching coach Chuck Hernandez and bullpen coach Jeff Jones were fired. On Monday, Dombrowski announced that the team would decline its $12-million option on shortstop Edgar Renteria.

Leyland, 63, will return next season. But the absence of an extension could invite speculation about his status if the Tigers struggle early, as they did this year.

“I’m sure Dave knows that I’m very disappointed, which I am,” Leyland said. “I make no bones about that, because I want to manage this team. … I’m a big boy. Dave has tough decisions to make. For whatever reason, he chose to go this direction. I respect that.

“I’m not afraid of anything. If I do a good job next year, I think I’ll be extended. If I don’t, I’ll be fired. If I’d have been on my last year of my contract this year, I’d have been fired instead of the coaches. Those guys were the scapegoats for people not doing their jobs.

“It’s that simple: Chuck Hernandez and Jeff Jones basically were fired because the pitching was terrible. People have to be held accountable for this. I read one comment where (Justin) Verlander said, ‘I was probably part of the reason.’ No, not ‘probably.’ You were one of the reasons.

“I’m not picking on Justin Verlander. I love him. But it’s not ‘probably.’ Let’s all face up to the music here. We didn’t do the job — including me, at the head of the class.”

Leyland also said during the interview that he believes coaches should not be under contract for longer than the manager. In that case, the Tigers may need to look for a pitching coach who would be comfortable signing for only one year.

Arizona pitching coach Bryan Price, whom Leyland interviewed prior to hiring Hernandez in 2005, could become available. Price’s contract expired at the end of this season, and he has reached the postseason with both Seattle and Arizona.

GARCIA UPDATE: Peter Greenberg, the agent for Tigers right-hander Freddy Garcia, said the shoulder injury that forced Garcia from Monday’s start was “just tightness in his neck.” Garcia will be eligible for free agency next month.

Contact JON PAUL MOROSI at 313-223-4097 or jmorosi@freepress.com. Check out his Tigers blog at www.freep.com/sports

Too Fucking Bad Jimbo


Be happy that you are coming back in 2009

You ass should have been shown the door after 2008

gs78 wrote:

Too Fucking Bad Jimbo
Be happy that you are coming back in 2009
You ass should have been shown the door after 2008

True! How can he lament about not getting an extension after this year?? In swiss-german there is a saying "lifere statt lafere" which means you have to deliver instead of just talking all the time about delivering someday. Earn your extension.

Wake up Jimbo!

Tigers: Notebook
Leyland is miffed at not getting extension
Dombrowski points to bullpen and starting pitchers as areas to help but doesn't rule out deal.
Detroit News staff and wires

DETROIT -- Tigers manager Jim Leyland says he is "disappointed" general manager Dave Dombrowski hasn't offered him a contract extension.

Leyland told WJR radio Tuesday he doesn't want an option year added to his contract, or a buyout.

The Tigers extended Leyland's contract by one year at the end of the 2007 season, keeping him in the dugout through 2009. But he said he would agree to an extension "tomorrow" if an offer was made.

Leyland, 63, led Detroit to the American League pennant in 2006, his first year with the Tigers. They were 74-88 with a last-place finish in the Central this season.

Dombrowski would not speculate about signing Leyland to a long-term deal, simply saying Leyland was signed through the 2009 season. But Dombrowski said Leyland is his manager for the future.

Brinkman dies
Former Tiger Eddie Brinkman died in his hometown of Cincinnati, the Chicago White Sox announced Tuesday. He was 66.
Brinkman joined the Tigers in 1971 as part of the trade that sent Denny McLain to the Washington Senators.

Brinkman won the Gold Glove in 1972, the same season he finished in the Top 10 for Most Valuable Player, and was named to the American League All-Star Team in 1973.

After his playing career, Brinkman was a coach and scout for the White Sox from 1983-2000.

JIM LEYLAND SPEAKS - PART ONE
Leyland: 'The two major culprits were the pitching and the defense'

Transcribed by Martin Dobek • October 1, 2008

Tigers Manager Jim Leyland spoke with the Free Press' Mitch Albom on Albom's radio show on WJR-AM (760) Tuesday afternoon. Here is part one of the transcript.

Looking back on this season, where does this rank in terms of frustration on what a season was going to be to how it ended?

"I don’t think frustration would be the word but disappointment I think I had, from that standpoint. It was a huge, huge disappointment and I guess that pretty sums it up for me. "

If you had a chance to put a finger on the season and say if this hadn’t happened and this hadn’t happened maybe you wouldn’t be in this situation ...

"I think you got to be careful because when you’re speaking to the public that last thing you want to do is come off like there’s some excuses. I was thinking about it coming home today, and you know its really pretty simple, really. Did you expect Dolsi to be there? Did you expect Fossum to be there? Did you expect Glover to be there? Did you expect Joyce to be there, Larish to be there, Holliman to be there, Ryan to be there? When you think about it you didn’t really expect any of those guys to be there and they were all there, and it certainly was not their fault. I’m certainly not blaming the season on those guys - that’s the last place the blame should be put. We just had one of those weird, weird years, where anything that went wrong, and everything that went wrong possible went wrong and that pretty much sums it up. "

On if the bullpen was questionable from the start

"I think so. I think it even started in spring training. I think it was chaotic in spring training. You know there was position moves and there was (Brandon) Inge floating around, and we just never got in sync. I think there is a lot of different reasons that happened. Even though we didn’t hit like people thought, I never bought into 1,000 runs and all that, but we hit good enough over the course of the year. In reality, if you look at 2006, we won I can’t tell how many games - a tremendous amount of games - where we scored three runs or less and won the game. If I was looking at the two major culprits and without pointing fingers and necessarily individuals, the two major culprits were the pitching and the defense there’s no question about that, it’s a no brainer for me. We didn’t catch the ball very good, we had mediocre pitching with a mediocre defense and that’s a brutal combination, and that’s basically what happened to us in my opinion. "

On if every body was waiting for the next guy on the team to get it started

"I think everybody kind of gave us a building excuse that you know the weather was cold and wait till the weather warms up, so that was kind of a cushion for us and thought that was wrong, I didn’t think that was right at all. I don’t think that we handled the expectations really well and that’s the part that eats at me the most, you know, because I really tried to play on the positive of that, you know, the fact that having huge expectations is a good thing because that means that you have a good club. But for whatever reason, we didn’t handle that very well, and I’ll never figure that out because I tried to press upon them that we got ourselves in a situation now, where with a Boston, Atlanta, New York, I mean the expectations are there for those teams every year because every one talks about those teams all the time and they’re always there. So, I said this was a good thing and for whatever reason the players didn’t really feed off that. I think they went into a little bit of a shell, almost a little bit of embarrassment, and really didn’t know how to handle it. That’s the one thing I look back on and say could I’ve done something different."

JIM LEYLAND SPEAKS - PART TWO

On where your contract extension stands

"I have not been extended and I’m not going to be extended. Dave and I have had a conversation; there was some sense of an offer that I did not accept. I am not afraid of anything; I want to manage the Tigers. I have every intention of managing the Tigers. I’m disappointed that I didn’t get an extension but I understand. But, maybe I don’t understand, but I can’t live with that - I’m not afraid of that. I’m certainly not somebody who is going sit around and worry about that. I made it perfectly clear that I wanted to manage the Tigers. I think we had a great year — I think a good year — and then we had one disastrous year and I think overall we actually have done pretty well with the exception of this disastrous year and certainly I will take my share of the blame for that. I think if you put us all on the dartboard, you know, you can put several people on a dart board and if you threw a dart you would probably hit the right guy with the dart because we were all guilty."

Why they didn’t want to extend your contract?

"Well, I don’t think it will be correct to discuss what Dave and I talked about. I’m sure Dave knows that I’m very disappointed, which I am. I make no bones about that because I want to manage this team. If you’re saying if I have any defense for this year, no I don’t, but I think the overall picture I think it’s pretty fair on my part. But I’m a big boy and I think Dave has tough decisions to make and for whatever reason he chose to go this direction and I respect that. I’m not afraid of anything. I think if I do a good job next year I think I’ll be extended. If I don’t I’ll be fired. If I would have been on the last year of my contract this year I would have been fired instead of the coaches because those guys were the scapegoats for people not doing their jobs, it’s that simple. There is no secret to this stuff. I’m not going to lie to anybody or beat around the bush. Chuck Hernandez and Jeff Jones were basically fired because the pitching was terrible. People have to be held accountable for this. I read one comment where Verlander said something, well I was probably part of the reasons — no, not probably you were one of the reasons. And I’m not picking on Justin Verlander because he is a horse, I think that he is a potential Cy Young winner, I love him. You know it’s not probably, lets all face up to the music here. We didn’t do the job, including me, at the head of the class. There’s no ifs, buts and all that kind of stuff. I can’t stand all that kind of stuff and that’s a fact. "

Does this put you in a tough position to manage the club next year by not knowing your future?

"I don’t need power and I don’t want to get paid when I’m not working by somebody. I don’t want anybody’s money. I’ve never taken anybody’s money. I don’t want an option, I don’t want a buyout. I want to manage the Detroit Tigers. I want a contract and I will try and earn another contract next year. If I do fine, if I don’t then they can make another selection. That is just the way it is. I don’t worry about power. I’m not going to change anything. I’m going to come in and I’m going to work hard. I’m going to try and get the players in the right position, which I don’t think we did this year. We just couldn’t help it the way things worked out but it’s not going to change anything. I’m not going to change how hard I work, how much fun I’m having. I feel great. I got a lot of energy. I think I’m the manager for this team and if they don’t I’m the manger for this team well obviously that’s their business.

If they offered you an extension in the middle of the year next year...

"I would extend tomorrow — I would extend in June — I would extend in July — I would extend in August — I want to manage the Tigers. I can’t make it anymore simple than that to everybody and I think I deserve to manage the Tigers, but if you’re not wanted, you’re not wanted. I don’t want to be anywhere I’m not wanted."

JIM LEYLAND SPEAKS - PART THREE

If you could have done anything different with such a good team on paper this year ...

"I don’t know. I think about it but I think that I was very positive about it and I was sincere about it. So, I guess I don’t think I could of. I think if you can’t play on the fact that everybody thinks we’re good, and we walk on the field and we have a heck of club, I don’t really know if I could handle it any different or not. "

Do you need a combination of star players and hungry young players?

"I don’t think that we really tried to do that. I think we made a great trade. I would have made that trade with Florida, obviously for Miguel Cabrera by himself. I just think that we got a 24 year-old player coming back who is a superstar. I don’t think the payroll necessarily had anything to do with it. I think that possibly involving the payroll in the sense that when you make big money —you’re supposed to play big, you’re supposed to manage big, you’re supposed coach big, and you’re supposed to play big. We didn’t do that. Some guys I really believe can’t handle making the money. I don’t think they can live up to expectations of it. It all sounds good when the agent is talking and they want the contract and they get the money, but truthfully, I believe that there are some players that can’t handle that. They almost go into a little bit of a shell, you know - like 'Oh my god, so much is expected of me.' They’re better players probably when they’re not making quite as much."

Do the Tigers have anyone like that?

"I think so. "

Do changes need to be made to create the right chemistry in the locker room?

"No, I would not call it bad chemistry. I thought we had very good chemistry, but to say we didn’t have some issues, I think would be lying. I think what the issues were, were very simple. I think that the position players under their breath were questioning the pitching. I think that the pitchers under their breath were questioning the defense. It never escalated to anything that really was an issue. It was in fact, a fact. There were times that we did pitch decent, we didn’t catch the ball. There we a lot of times that we didn’t very well and guys were standing around while we were walking people time after time. So, that’s kind of a common thing. That’s really not that uncommon. The chemistry, quote, unquote, I think on our ballclub is overall tremendous. You know we do have quite a few more veteran players and you know I think sometimes when veteran players see, in some cases, some of the people we were pitching that were prospects but not ready — I think it bothered them. I think sub-consciously it takes something out of you. Should it? No. But does it? Yes it does."

On why Verlander has bad records against Central division teams

"I think he gets hyped up a little bit. I’m not sure he’d admit that but I think he does get hyped up a little bit. I think the one thing and this is going to sound crazy, but the one thing that I might do different, looking back at it now and I’m not sure it would have made a difference — but the one thing I might have done different — I would have not started him opening day. I definitely think that he felt he had to be the horse. When Bonderman went down he felt he had to be an even bigger horse. I just don’t he think he was ready for that yet and in defense of him, he’s not supposed to be ready that yet. I mean he’s still a young kid, he’s a young pitcher and maybe I put a little undo pressure on him by naming him opening day and people talking about, well, he’ll have to step it up now. I mean this guy is a tremendous young pitcher and I think he’ll get back to the norm. But that’s the one thing I wondered, you know, driving home today. Maybe naming him the opening day pitcher was a mistake. Is that an excuse for our terrible season? No, but I’m just saying I get pretty deep in this stuff on what I could have done or couldn’t have done and I’m just wondering and I don’t even know if this is a valid point I’m just bringing it up. "

Did you talk to Verlander during the course of year that he doesn't need to be everything to everybody here?

"I did talk to him about that and I also don’t think he handled things very well either. He’s never been an excuse maker but I think he came off that way at times and I talked to him about that. I said look I know you’re not an excuse maker, Chuck Hernandez knows you’re not an excuse maker, but sometimes your comments would come off to the average person reading the paper that you’re making excuses. So, you just try to help players mature and grow and that’s basically what we are trying to do with him. He also hopefully has come down to earth a little bit. I mean a lot of wonderfully things happened to this guy in a short period of time. He’s never had any adversity and hopefully this has been a good lesson for him. If he learns from it I think it will great. I think Justin Verlander is going to be a great pitcher. I think he was basically was just like the team. I think he got in a rut just like the team did and you know we came out of it temporary for there, for one stretch to where we got within about five games or so but we just couldn’t get ourselves all the way out of it. I think it just piled up on us and then without making any excuses, toward the end, no (Carlos) Guillen, no (Todd) Jones, no (Joel) Zumaya, I mean I’m not looking to make any excuses but that’s just the way it was."

Dombrowski: No comment on Leyland’s comments

By JON PAUL MOROSI • FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER • October 1, 2008

In light of statements made by Jim Leland on Mitch Albom’s radio show Tuesday afternoon, Tigers president and general manager Dave Dombrowski declined comment about his manager’s contract situation for the second straight day.

Dombrowski, who was reached at his office this morning, had declined to discuss Leyland’s contractual status earlier on Tuesday in a season-ending news conference, other than to confirm that he is signed through 2009. When then asked about the possibility that Leyland would sign an extension this winter, Dombrowski said: “Any conversations I have contractually are between me and that individual.”

Leyland said Tuesday on WJR-AM (760) that he was “disappointed” to not have a deal for 2010.

Why doesn't Leyland understand why he don't have a deal for 2010?


So he if he is fired after 09 and still be on the payroll! Not gonna be that way!


You just finished in Last Place asshole


Be glad you still have a job

10/01/2008 4:00 PM ET
Leyland's contract status unchanged
Tigers skipper to return in 2009 for final contracted season
By Jason Beck / MLB.com

Jim Leyland won't just be managing the Tigers for a rebound season and postseason berth next year. He will apparently be managing for another contract.

With a flurry of changes already beginning in Detroit after a disappointing 74-88 season, Leyland's contract status will go unchanged. Leyland told WJR-AM's Mitch Albom Show on Tuesday that he will not receive a contract extension for 2010 this offseason.

The news sets up the scenario that Leyland will be back for in 2009 with his current contract in its final season.

Both Leyland and team president/general manager Dave Dombrowski had hinted as much as the season came to an end. When asked about Leyland and any contract talks, Dombrowski simply referred to Leyland's current status.

"At this time, he's signed for 2009," Dombrowski said on Monday.

Leyland said in the season's final couple of days that he knew his situation, but declined to go into details.

The Tigers' World Series hopes this season fell apart, leaving the team in last place in the American League Central for the first time since Detroit's 119-loss 2003 season.

Leyland is under contract for next season, thanks to a one-year extension he signed near the end of 2008. At the time, the Tigers had interest in a long-term extension, but Leyland said that he preferred to go year to year so as not to put the team or himself in a contractual bind.

When he discussed his status last week, he said he wanted to manage well beyond next year, pointing out that the struggles of this season haven't affected his passion for the job.

"I want to manage the Tigers and I want to manage the team longer than next year," Leyland told MLB.com last Wednesday. "That's their decision, [owner Mike] Ilitch and Dave's decision. I just don't want to give anybody the impression that I'm tired or don't want to manage the club, because I want to manage it a lot longer. And I have indicated to Dave that I want to manage longer."

In the same interview, he seemed to anticipate that this situation could occur. He was prepared for the possibility that he might not get the extension that he had hoped to get, and he made a point that his managerial style wouldn't change if that was the case.

"I'm not going to change anything, whether I get an extension or not," Leyland said last week. I'm going to try to manage the best I can. I'm going to work as hard as I can. Dave knows what he's got.

"If I'm not wanted, I'm not wanted. That's their right. Whatever it is, it is. If he gives me an extension, I'll be happy to accept it. If he doesn't, I'll go into next year, work my tail off like I always do, and try to manage to the best of my ability. And at the end of next year, if they think it's worth having me, I'm sure they'll sign me. If it's not, they'll get somebody else. It's pretty simple, really."

Like Leyland, his coaching staff is under contract for one more year. So were pitching coach Chuck Hernandez and bullpen coach Jeff Jones, who were dismissed on Sunday. It remains to be seen how Leyland's one-year status affects the search for a new pitching coach.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

I think i can remember that they offered him an extension last year and he declined it!

swiss_tiger wrote:

I think i can remember that they offered him an extension last year and he declined it!

He should have signed

from tigers.com
Leyland is under contract for next season, thanks to a one-year extension he signed near the end of 2007. At the time, the Tigers had interest in a long-term extension, but Leyland said that he preferred to go year to year so as not to put the team or himself in a contractual bind.

swiss_tiger wrote:

from tigers.com
Leyland is under contract for next season, thanks to a one-year extension he signed near the end of 2007. At the time, the Tigers had interest in a long-term extension, but Leyland said that he preferred to go year to year so as not to put the team or himself in a contractual bind.

But he wants an extension?

Geez!

gs78 wrote:

swiss_tiger wrote:

from tigers.com
Leyland is under contract for next season, thanks to a one-year extension he signed near the end of 2007. At the time, the Tigers had interest in a long-term extension, but Leyland said that he preferred to go year to year so as not to put the team or himself in a contractual bind.

But he wants an extension?
Geez!

Pretty stupid JL! Now he is on a year to year basis and he is complaining.

If Leyland wants a lucrative contract


Win a WS next year!

Ilitch will give him all the money he wants

Wouldn't you want an extension if you were making $4 million a year?

I would want one even if I was making $10 more a year!

JON PAUL MOROSI
Unsigned beyond 2009, Jim Leyland faces a rocky year with the Tigers

October 2, 2008

Tony La Russa and Joe Torre have combined to win six world titles and more than 4,600 games in their managerial careers.

And they did in 2007 what Jim Leyland appears likely to do in 2009: They began a season without having a contract for the following year.

Many in baseball believe a manager with contractual security has the best chance to win games and maintain a harmonious clubhouse. But that is not always the case.

Alan Trammell had one year left on his contract when the Tigers fired him in 2005. Charlie Manuel, in the final year of his deal, led the Philadelphia Phillies to the playoffs last season; he signed an extension last October and won Game 1 of the National League Division Series on Wednesday afternoon.

La Russa missed the playoffs last season but returned to the St. Louis Cardinals on a two-year contract. Torre reached the postseason for a 12th consecutive time but left the New York Yankees for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Every manager-team dynamic is different. So what will the uncertainty mean for Leyland in his fourth season with Detroit? He described it succinctly during a radio interview with Free Press columnist Mitch Albom on Tuesday: "If I do a good job next year, I think I'll be extended. If I don't, I'll be fired."

Wednesday came and went without any sweeping statements from Leyland or his bosses, one day after the manager told WJR-AM (760) that he was "disappointed" to not have a contract extension for 2010. Dave Dombrowski, the team president and general manager, did not respond to Leyland's remarks. Team owner Mike Ilitch could not be reached for comment.

Leyland will be under pressure in 2009, but that has little to do with the date his contract expires. He needs to win because the Tigers were terrible this year.

His unresolved status for 2010 could bring added scrutiny to his game and personnel decisions. He will be the first Detroit manager since Sparky Anderson in 1995 to begin the season without a contractual guarantee for the following year. But it should have very little -- if any -- impact on his relationship with players.

"There are managers who are lame ducks, and then there are lame ducks," said the former general manager of one team, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "When you've got the résumé that Jim Leyland has, you're less of a lame duck than an ordinary guy.

"Jim has so much credibility within the industry that he's not a lame duck. He's going to go about his business the same way he always has."

Three managers began the regular season with contracts that were due to expire at season's end. Toronto's John Gibbons was fired, while Atlanta's Bobby Cox and Baltimore's Dave Trembley received extensions during the year.

This season, the term of a manager's deal had little to do with whether he was terminated. John McLaren of the Mariners, Ned Yost of the Brewers and Willie Randolph of the Mets were dismissed despite being under contract through next year.

Amid the talk of contracts, it's worth pointing out one dynamic within the Tigers: Dombrowski is signed through 2011 and has better job security than Leyland -- contractually, at least.

Dombrowski, who earns more than $2 million per year, is among the highest-paid GMs in baseball. Leyland, at $4 million, has similar status among managers. The size of Leyland's salary appears to be one reason that another year has not been added.

And if Leyland is going to manage for his job in 2009, rest assured that he will insist -- more than ever -- on managing his way.

He acknowledged as much before one game last week, when he said, "I'm tired of worrying about guys being sensitive. ... The best guys will be pitching, and the best guys will be playing. And I don't care what the names are."

During interviews in the last week, Ilitch and Dombrowski expressed doubt that the Tigers will make major investments in the free-agent market. Payroll increased by roughly $40 million last winter, and the win total moved in the opposite direction.

Left-handers Nate Robertson and Dontrelle Willis signed three-year deals totaling $50.25 million. They combined to go 7-13 with a 6.73 ERA.

If the budget tightens, team officials might find themselves choosing between low-cost, high-risk free agents and the same players who were such profound disappointments this year.

"Some guys I really believe can't handle making the money," Leyland said in Tuesday's radio interview. "It all sounds good when the agent is talking and they want the contract and they get the money; but, truthfully, I believe that there are some players that can't handle that.

"They almost go into a little bit of a shell, like, 'Oh my God, so much is expected of me.' They're better players, probably, when they're not making quite as much, when the expectations aren't quite so high. I do believe that."

When asked if the Tigers have any players like that, Leyland replied, "I think so."

Ironically, that might explain why Leyland was not signed to the extension he desired. Burned by the long-term deals they handed out less than one year ago, the Tigers have adopted a more conservative approach.

If they have a good 2009 season, the more aggressive spending might return. If they don't, the mailing address might be the only thing at Comerica Park that stays the same.

Contact JON PAUL MOROSI at 313-223-4097 or jmorosi@freepress.com. Check out his Tigers blog at www.freep.com/sports

Saturday, October 4, 2008
Lynn Henning
Tigers manager Leyland's view out of whack

Not much has made sense about the Tigers. A team picked to win the American League Central Division finished last. A baseball team that fell on its tail set a single-season attendance record of 3.2 million customers at Comerica Park.

And now a manager whose team finished 74-88 and who might have been fired is instead unhappy that his contract was not extended through 2010.

Jim Leyland has committed his first off-the-field blunder as Tigers skipper. He doesn't see it that way. But in the world of professional sports, where Rick Carlisle, Larry Brown and Flip Saunders all can get tossed as Pistons coaches a few games shy of an NBA championship, a man known for perspective seemed to take a hiatus this week.

"I'm disappointed that I didn't get an extension, but I understand," Leyland told WJR radio host Mitch Albom on Monday. "I'm sure Dave (Dombrowski, Tigers president and general manager) knows that I'm very disappointed, which I am. I make no bones about that because I want to manage this team.

"But I'm a big boy and I think Dave has tough decisions to make and, for whatever reason, he chose to go in this direction, and I respect that. I'm not afraid of anything. I think if I do a good job next year, I'll be extended. If I don't, I'll be fired.

"If I would have been on the last year of my contract this year, I would have been fired instead of the coaches (pitching coach Chuck Hernandez and bullpen coach Jeff Jones were both dismissed), because those guys were the scapegoats for people not doing their jobs. It's that simple."

For something so simple, this week has turned awfully complex. I called Leyland on Friday to see if he had any second thoughts about his Monday remarks. I suspected he would. I thought he would appreciate that the fan base was taken aback, which is a polite way of saying they were about ready to riot after he seemed chafed about the non-extension.

I figured, also, that he probably would realize his bosses were peeved. And they surely were. In the world of Mike Ilitch and Dombrowski, keeping issues internal is the law of the land. Leyland is loyal to a fault. But he absolutely created a rift when he made clear Monday -- and again Friday -- he wants an extension he didn't receive.

Leyland's case

Other than that, of course, everyone's in perfect harmony.

"I don't think there's anything to clarify," Leyland said Friday, speaking from his home in Pittsburgh. "All I was simply saying was that I wanted to manage the Detroit Tigers in 2009 and a lot longer than that.

"The club decided at this time not to extend my contract. That's understandable. Does it make me mad? No.

"Am I happy about it? No.

"I understand how people would look at it," he said of fans wondering what the flap is all about when, in their eyes, Leyland's good fortune was to not get fired after a year so disastrous. "When you're in my shoes, you look at it a bit differently."

Very differently, it appears.

If this were a trial -- Indignant Tigers fans v. Leyland -- and if I were Leyland's attorney, the following case would be made for extending his contract:

Leyland put his team into the World Series in 2006, which was no mean feat given the Tigers' preceding 10 years when they were baseball's biggest landfill.

Leyland won manager of the year honors in 2006. The Tigers resurrected. Baseball was reborn in Detroit. The manager got much of the credit, all deserved.

Last season, the team drew 3.1 million fans. This year, it was 3.2 million. Nothing close to those numbers had been seen in more than 100 years of baseball in Detroit. Appropriately, Leyland got an extension last year through 2009. Then, suddenly, injuries and player failures created unimaginable troubles in 2008.

The other side

The counter-argument by those who see nothing unjust about not extending Leyland is just as intact, and, in my view, just as fair:

The team was lousy in just about every category this year, pitching notably. No, it was not Leyland's fault. But neither was it the manager's efforts, exclusively, that explained why things went so well in 2006 and, even in 2007, when a busted-up team held it together to finish 88-74.

You can't have it both ways -- excess credit for winning and zero consequences when things go badly. Leyland was not fired for what happened in 2008. He simply was not given a two-year guarantee.

He will need to earn an extension in 2009. Is that fair? In Leyland's view, no.

But the jury is about to hand down its verdict, which was reached in all of 30 seconds:

You've got it pretty good, Jim. This would be the right time to play small ball.

You can reach Lynn Henning at (313) 222-2472 lynn.henning @detnews.com

well i don't feel any better....

He is REALLY lucky to have a job.

Many managers have been canned for a lot less!