Tigers manager Leyland suspended

Tigers manager Leyland suspended

Manager Jim Leyland of the Detroit Tigers has been suspended for three games and fined an undisclosed amount for his inappropriate conduct during his Club's games against the Texas Rangers on September 15th and 16th at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. Bob Watson, Vice President of On-Field Operations for Major League Baseball, made the announcement.

Leyland's suspension will begin on Friday, September 19th, when the Tigers begin their series with the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field in Cleveland.

That is bullshit

Why don't they suspend Angel Hernandez


That guy has it in for the Tigers

He is the worst umpire in MLB

Even though he does always wear the light blue shirt behind the plate

This is the same idiot who ejected Steve "Mongo" McMichael from the press box after singing the 7th inning stretch at Wrigley Field

If this guy were white; he be let go

But because MLB wants more Latino Umpires

They keep this guy and Umps like CB Bucknor around

Maybe Tigers will get a CG this weekend?

Bye-bye Jim!

mrsrabelo wrote:

Bye-bye Jim!

Please let it be for more than these few games!

GoGetEmTigers wrote:

mrsrabelo wrote:

Bye-bye Jim!

Please let it be for more than these few games!

I agree!

09/18/2008 7:35 PM ET
Leyland suspended for three games
Veteran skipper's conduct during argument inappropriate
By Jason Beck / MLB.com

DETROIT -- Jim Leyland's first suspension as Tigers manager will cost him an entire series. He'll miss the club's next three games and pay an undisclosed amount in fines to Major League Baseball as a result of arguments with umpires on Monday and Tuesday at Texas.

The suspension was announced on Thursday, an off-day for the Tigers. Because it takes effect immediately, it means he'll spend this weekend's series at Cleveland as an observer, watching from somewhere other than the field. Hitting coach Lloyd McClendon, who has taken over as manager over the years whenever Leyland has been suspended during a game, is expected to take over the managerial reins for the series.

The arguments that led to the suspension stemmed from two separate incidents over back-to-back nights. Leyland was ejected from Monday's series opener in the sixth inning after racing out of the dugout to argue with home-plate umpire Eric Cooper, who changed a call from a foul ball to a hit by pitch to Rangers batter Max Ramirez. He had returned to the Tigers dugout by the time that Cooper ejected him, but then went back out to have his say.

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

Leyland's actions the next night were expected to get him some sort of penalty. He was upset when Hernandez, then umpiring behind the plate, declined an appeal to first-base umpire Marty Foster after Hernandez ruled that Michael Young did not go around on a checked swing on a 2-2 pitch in the ninth inning.

Young eventually drew a walk, and the Rangers came back for three runs in the inning and a walkoff victory. Once the game ended, Leyland picked up the argument and followed Hernandez on his way off the field, pointing at him and yelling as Hernandez headed towards the tunnel leading to the umpires' dressing room.

"Michael Young was struck out," Leyland told reporters afterwards. "Everybody thought Michael Young was struck out, including Michael Young. He started to walk away to the dugout. That's no excuse for us not winning the ballgame, but Michael Young was struck out clearly. I don't say anything, but you get tired of not saying something every time."

The irony is that Leyland isn't one to say something very often, despite his fiery attitude. He isn't one to argue with umpires, and he strongly disagrees with the idea that an argument can motivate a team. If he goes out to argue a call, it's usually with the intent of either protecting a player from being ejected by picking up his case or trying to get umpires to confer about a call.

In this case, however, the frustration over a disappointing season likely added to the emotions. The Tigers were expected to be battling for a playoff spot or preparing for an October run at this point in the year, but injuries and inconsistency quickly sent this season off in a different direction. Detroit enters this weekend with a 71-80 record, fourth in the American League Central and just three games out of last place. Two more losses will clinch the Tigers' first losing season since 2005.

Leyland declined to react publicly to the suspension. "I have no comment on any of it," he said Thursday when reached by phone.

Leyland is allowed to be at Progressive Field for the games while suspended, but he cannot be in the dugout.

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

unbelievable.
Lou Pinella and Ozzie Guillen should hang it up then too. They get into it a lot more than Jim does!

Some of the umpires have an attitude problem

Ed Rapuano threw Jim Edmonds out of game on Thursday after a called strike; Edmonds barely said anything

umps are beyond biased!

Yea, there does seem to be a problem with umps this year! I don't blame Jim for some of his rants this week!

Let's sweep the Indians. Three CGs now that JL is not in command! :lol:

09/19/2008 8:05 PM ET
Leyland accepts suspension quietly
Tigers manager plans on remaining out of sight during games
By Jason Beck / MLB.com

CLEVELAND -- Tigers manager Jim Leyland was quite visible during his arguments with umpires earlier this week in Texas. But he's going to take his three-game suspension quietly, so much so that he planned on being pretty much invisible once games start and hitting coach Lloyd McClendon takes the managerial reins.

Leyland began serving the penalty in Friday's series opener with the Indians.

"I'll be on the field and everything up until game time," Leyland said, "and then I'll be totally out of sight. I will not have anything to do with this ballgame tonight in any way, shape or form. I've chosen not to sit up in the press box or in the stands or anything, because what you do is you set yourself up for attention. They're going to have the cameras on you, saying, 'There's Jim Leyland.'

"I don't want that attention. I'm a grown man. I accept my penalty. I'll move forward with it. I'll be out of sight. I'll adhere to what they told me I should do. And that's the end of it."

By rule, Leyland is allowed to be in the ballpark once games begin, but not in the dugout or clubhouse. He can be there before the game.

It's new territory for Leyland in his 17 seasons of Major League managerial experience. He has been suspended before, but not for this long, and not as a Tiger. Since there's no appeals process for managers, the suspension -- handed down Thursday -- begins immediately and runs through the weekend. Effectively, there isn't really much Leyland can say about it, just serve it.

Leyland was in the manager's office in the visitors' clubhouse at Progressive Field as players filed in during the afternoon, and he sat in the dugout for batting practice before heading somewhere else for the game. McClendon, who managed in Pittsburgh for five years, has finished out games managing when Leyland has been ejected, and he usually manages split-squad games in Spring Training, so this was far from a new experience for him.

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

swiss_tiger wrote:

Let's sweep the Indians. Three CGs now that JL is not in command! :lol:

No Way!

Leyland has instructions to yank starting pitchers out

The Bullpen blew it again tonight