Good points about Leyland — he seems genuinely “worried” to me — not knowing exactly what to do… kinda like how Bush looked in the grade school right after he was told the planes hit (although this is no way is a political reference — just a parallel of dumbfoundedness). It seems to me he is walking on eggshells right now, for fear it could get worse if he makes the wrong moves. If he shows “too” much emotion, i.e. getting kicked out of the game, or mixing up the lineup, or bruising egos but shifting batters up/down — or giving them a day off — he might “scare the kids in the classroom” — or, rather, it might send a signal that he is out of control — but by doing nothing, of course, and by just waiting for the tide to turn, that is exactly what he is: out of control.

I’ve always been neutural about Leyland and many times have supported Leyland (and dissed him when called for). Some strongly disagree, but I argued his strength lies in managing and motivating egos as opposed to managing the game — which we all know isn’t his strength — with this particular group of so-called All-Stars Leyland should be an asset. But for the love of Petunia, stir up the lineup and/or kick some sand on the umpires shoes to shake things up. The players will respond.

Unfortunately, Leyland is untouchable. However you feel about him, I’d wager the farm that he’s here for a while. He makes a considerable amount of bone-headed moves. Save for sentiments found in this forum, however, and perhaps some others like it, he’s the Golden Child who can do no wrong. Here’s the perfect recipe for job security: the press loves him, most of the fans love him, DD loves him, Ilitch loves him, and the players love him.

unquote.

I’ve long been a Leyland supporter, but quite honestly, for over a year now I feel like I’m the only one, press, fans, just about everything I see, hear, or read, is ripping him, calling for him to get fired. The fans I’m around are absolutely brutal, insult after insult with only the occasional light of support. If there are supporters out there, that’s great, I just can’t find them.

Having said that, while I still support him, his stock has slipped slightly in my book. The team hasn’t been loafing, but they haven’t been giving a 100% either, they look lethargic. In my humble opinion, it seems to me, their attitude, if they win its fine, if they lose its fine, they’ll put in their hours, clock out, and collect their paychecks, if they’re 0-7 so be it, we’ll keep doing the same things and we’ll start winning eventually, if not, so what, no big deal. This indifference falls on the shoulders of the manager. I’m dissappointed that nothing has been done. Not looking for anything radical, but something. There’s nothing sacred about the lineup order. Shake things up, its not a panic move, if he thinks that, that’s silly. Some managers mix things up continually, win or lose. Inge has the hottest bat right now, have him lead off until he cools down. It doesn’t have to be a permanent move, but while he’s on fire, giving 100%, forcing the defense to make errors because of his hustle, reward him. It’s a miniscule, tiny reward, but its something. Even if its only for a day.

Or, if the current lineup is canonical in his mind for some silly reason….fine. How about showing a little fire. Cabrera was rung up for strike 3……I think it was Saturday, no way did he come even CLOSE to swinging from where I was, he barely lifted the bat off his shoulder(later on, a White Sock went twice as far and didn’t get rung up). The point is, that was the perfect opportunity to light a fire. Cabrera got ripped off on a rotten call, perfect opportunity to start an argument, get kicked out, and maybe inspire something in this listless, apathetic team. Pinella did it last year and it turned around the Cubs season.

Come on Jimmy, be Jimmy.

A seven-game losing streak at the start of the season is no different, from accounting purposes, than one in the middle of June or late August. The only difference is that the consecutive losses stand out more at the beginning of the season rather than later on.

Without controlling for the specific timing of a losing streak, are there past playoff teams that have dropped as many as the Tigers have in a row at some point? There have been many. Over the past two seasons, in fact, five out of the 16 playoff teams have suffered losing streaks of at least seven games. The 2006 Cardinals suffered two separate losing streaks of eight games, and one more of seven, yet they still managed to win 83 games, take the weak NL Central, and go on to win the World Series. Of course, a win total in the mid-80s wouldn’t get the Tigers within pouncing distance of the AL Central this season, but consider that last year’s 94-win Yankees team lost seven straight in late April, the 93-win 2006 Athletics lost seven straight in late May, and last year’s NL champions, the Rockies, dropped eight in a row in late June en route to 90 regular-season wins. Going back further, we find that 23 pre-2006 division title winners also suffered losing streaks of seven or more games, including the 99-win 2005 White Sox.

More good stuff on there, including how this lineup is built to kill lefties, but I don’t want to plagiarize anymore.

That’s not a dumb idea — that’s actually a GOOD idea. However, I don’t think Leyland would ever start to shuffle things around so radically for fear it would send a signal that the Tigers are in panic mode.

No way the Tigers will lose 120 games this year. Come on.

Kathy: I also didn’t expect the Tigers to win yesterday — but I did expect a run to cross the plate and I did expect them to put up a little bit of a fight. That said, I DO expect them to win tonight. But even if they lose, this total lack of offense/preparation — whatever you want to call it — has to stop. If they lost a game where they actually didn’t look like a little league team, I’d still be disappointed, but at least I’d sleep a little better. We’re already over a week into the season and I have yet to see one rally.

Birdy: I agree wholeheartedly. We definitely need Granderson. Aside from the empirical evidence that supports this (I’m not sure what the winning percentage is when Grandy plays vs. what it is when he doesn’t, but I do know it’s considerably higher) there is just something so important to the chemistry to this sluggish/old team when Granderson is in there.

Ron: Unfortunately, Leyland is untouchable. However you feel about him, I’d wager the farm that he’s here for a while. He makes a considerable amount of bone-headed moves. Save for sentiments found in this forum, however, and perhaps some others like it, he’s the Golden Child who can do no wrong. Here’s the perfect recipe for job security: the press loves him, most of the fans love him, DD loves him, Ilitch loves him, and the players love him. If this city can’t get rid of the likes of Millen, someone with the status of Leyland is surely tenured for life. That said, I agree, he does look like a deer in the headlights these days.

Ed in OR: Seven games is WAY to short of a sample to dump Cabrera. Come on. While seven years may be too long a contract, for a number of reasons, I’m still on the Cabrera bandwagon. And think of it this way: If it took the Tigers 3/4 of an entire season to dump a mediocre LFer, with mediocre career numbers, one whom they picked up on waivers — and an entire season to replace a 3rd baseman with below-average career numbers (save for an aberration spurt in 2006) what makes you think they would dump an almost-certain future HOFer — who DOES have a stellar track record — after seven games? I realize you are likely posting facetiously — but it’s still way to early to tell whether we have over paid — (or, likely, underpaid) for Cabrera.

Billfer: If I follow Adam’s advice and take the sabbatical (which seems very sound advice to me), I’ll still stop by the site to keep your traffic numbers up — albeit I’ll immediately close and won’t read anything. (If your advertisers actually read the comments, feel free to delete this one)