Hmm. His bio football highlight is that he once kicked a 50-yd field goal in HS. Well I recall that Inge kicked one from over 50 before a Lions game. So I still say the Tigers could take the Astros in football. I’d put Sheffield on the O-Line, because no defensive end headslap stuff would phase him.

Oh wait, Erstad played hockey too, in North Dakota. Hmm, he sounded a lot wimpier when he was a kicker. Hockey player, that’s different…

I had similar, if less practical thoughts. Less practical because baseball seems to offer no way of punting.

So that’s when sacrificing isn’t giving away an out–when you’re trading an out and an advanced runner for what you deem is a fairly unfavorable risk of two outs.

It looks different to me when I view it as double-play preventing tactics rather than longshot small ball tactics.

[The other time it works to bunt is when, in addition to moving a runner up, you have, say an Ichiro--so you aren't trading a base for an out, it's a base for lower probability for a base hit, how much lower depending on the batter's hitting-bunting-running ability. Granderson is fast enough, so I have to assume he can't bunt well enough. I've seen Inge get the good bunt down well and still come up half a step short. Who else on the team has a decent chance to beat out a bunt?]

Also when Leyland took the job in Detroit everyone questioned why he’d even want to manage in Detroit. He could of landed a sweet gig someplace else. Detroit sucked at that time. Period. We were lucky to get him. Leyland has helped make Detroit respectable again; which was a seemingly impossible task when he took the job.

Manager of the Year Awards

Mike Scioscia- 1
Ron Gardenhire- 0
Tony LaRussa – 4
Bobby Cox – 4
Jim Leyland – 3

You put up a fair fight, but you’re done. Bunting won’t get you anywhere.

Are

you

having issues

playing nice.

And sacrificing is giving away outs. Hence the name sacrifice. If you try to get a hit you’ll get one a little more than a quarter of the time. If you try to make an out you’ll get a hit at a significantly lower rate. Who on this team did you want bunting? The Angels (at least prior to the Teixeira trade) and the Twins don’t have power. They have little fast guys. Small ball probably makes more sense. The Tigers have slow slugging guys. It would be an ineffective use of the players that he had available.

We have more World Series wins than any AL team not named the Yankees/Red Sox/Athletics

Learn from your mistakes? Yes you/I/everyone should and everyone makes them.

Leyland is a Major League Baseball manager… He has the team with the highest payroll besides the Yankees

He has only made the playoffs one time

Each year he has managed the team has collapsed in August and September

Ryan

yes and yes I’ve said plenty of times before this year started that Bonderman and Robertson were the two keys and they still are

Billfer

You are right that sacrifices create outs, but they get guys over (sacrifice hits) and get them in (sacrifice flies), they scratch out runs in innings where usually the Tigers would either get a bunch or none and the latter was usually the case

Would they have made the post season if they would have used small ball often, maybe not but maybe so

but look at it, they had the second worst record in the AL in 1-run games (and that says nothing for 2 run games)

If they practice bunting why can so few do it, they need to be forced to spend more time on it

Giving away more outs?

Wrong

The major league BA this year is .264

Therefore guys get out 73.6% of the time

Guys are going to get out either way, I say make those outs productive, bunt – maybe the fielder fumbles or throws away, but in any event if you can bunt the guy gets from base 2 to base 3 and you can get him in

Ron

Yes, and the Brewers did it this year even during the year and made it

Every manager is under the microscope when they aren’t winning and even moreso when they stink, and even moreso when interest has been recently generated into a team and then they fall into the crapper

The Angels Braves Twins and Cardinals also had kept their GM during those times (until the last year or so for the last two teams mentioned)

Those teams kept their manager because they found a good one and didn’t want to let go

Leyland is not in that class, he is not a Ron Gardenhire, he is not a Mike Scioscia

If he was I would tell you, I’ve watched FSN West and Mike Scioscia actually manages well, I’ve seen Gardenhire enough to know he actually manages well… Leyland doesn’t

Lets look at those 4 and compare their “careers” to Leylands

Mike Scioscia (Angels)
Managed 9 years First place 4 times just under half

Ron Gardenhire (Twins)
Managed 7 years first place 4times just over half

Tony LaRussa (managed White Sox, Athletics, Cardinals)
Managed 30 seasons, first place 11 times ~37%

Bobby Cox (managed Atlanta,then Toronto then Atlanta)
Managed 27 seasons – first place 15 times – over half

Jim Leyland (Pirates, Marlins,Rockies,Tigers)
Managed 17 seasons first place 3x ~~~ 17%

DUHDUHDUH

you lose again

They do practice bunting. It’s the first thing they do in batting practice.

I don’t think people are out of line for calling for Leyland’s head, but I think the in game strategizing should be the last reason. If you want to hammer him for the team’s record in August and September for each of the last 3 years, go ahead. If you want to hammer him for the last place finish this year, I can’t stop you. But because they didn’t give away more outs? I can’t kill him for that.

This team needs to pitch next year. Period. I’d be 100% comfortable with the exact same offensive players at every position next year, if you could gurantee me a solid rotation and a servicable bullpen. (of course, if those offensive players could play defense a little better, it wouldn’t hurt either).

Baseball is all about history. If you can’t deal with losing, that’s a problem. The game of baseball and life for that matter is to learn from your mistakes. Try and try again. Not to quit then try something else.

You have a losing attitude

Every year they don’t win the WS is sad, every year they don’t make the playoffs now is a joke every year they finish below .500 is laughable and every year they come in last is disgusting

Most games weren’t exciting they were sad just a bunch of strikeouts pulled pitches bad starts and blown leads

This team before that disgraceful 20 years was one of the best in the majors

In any event the past is the past, we have an owner willing to get players, a gm who can at least draft some talent and make some good trades

There is no reason why we shouldn’t be making the playoffs year in and year out and people with your attitude are living in the past

Comparing last year to the past 20 is a joke

If last year or the year before it or any year were we don’t make the playoffs is acceptable not to you but to this franchise maybe I’ll become a fan of a winning team like the Angels or the Yankees

This year was a joke and Jimmy was no help