Managing & Strategy

Jim Leyland decided on a lineup, at least for tomorrow. It is:
Curtis Granderson
Placido Polanco
Gary Sheffield
Magglio Ordonez
Carlos Guillen
Pudge Rodriguez
Sean Casey
Craig Monroe
Brandon Inge
No real surprises. I probably would have flip-flopped Ordonez and Guillen because 1) I think Guillen is a better hitter, and 2)It spreads out the left handed bats slightly better, but I don’t [...]

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It appears that Jim Leyland has settled on a lineup that he might use some of the time depending on the handedness of pitchers. One thing he did settle on though is that for the time being Pudge Rodriguez will lead off against left handers and Curtis Granderson will lead off against right handers.
The [...]

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Eric picked this up early on, and I saw the comments posted on MotownSports as well. Jim Leyland was interviewed today on the Stoney and Wojo show on WDFN. Mike Stone asked Jim Leyland, “what does Jim Leyland see in Neifi Perez that we as fans and media members don’t?” The response [...]

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There’s a new Tiger blog, Dtown Baseball. It is authored by DTW commentor Eric Jackson. Eric did some further investigation into Tiger lineup configuration and examined the assertion that the Tigers used 120 different lineups.
Eric raises a great point that there are many distinct lineups, but that there was still considerable consistency. [...]

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This week Lynn Henning wrote an article speculating on the Tigers lineup for next season.
Henning in addition to penning his own lineup, concluded the article with this:
Much of the manager’s disposition there is a matter of what you think about the computer-generated wisdom that it’s better for a team to load the front end of [...]

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Jason Beck has been all over the Winter Meetings. Today he’s got some Jim Leyland nuggets that warrant some discussion.
The leadoff spot
So the Tigers don’t have a prototypical leadoff hitter, or at least prototypicaly in the sense that most people think of leadoff hitters: fast guys who steal bases, bunt, and don’t strike [...]

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As I begin to delve into the merits of various players on the roster, I began to consider how much impact Jim Leyland has on the decisions. While it makes sense he would have a say, his impact probably stretches beyond what happens in organizational meetings.

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Do the Tigers need to change their lineup? Jim Leylandis certainly considering it. The lineup question was one I was going to pursue yesterday before I ran out of time. Last night’s 3 single effort certainly has stirred the pot to the point of action.
The obvious problem with the Tigers lineup is that [...]

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As reported in the comments here, and on Kurt’s blog, Jim Leyland has set his playoff rotation. It will be Justin Verlander, Kenny Rogers, Nate Robertson, and Jeremy Bonderman.
I like that Rogers is set up to pitch twice in Comerica Park. I like Nate Robertson taking the first start on the road. [...]

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Yesterday the Tigers put the game out of reach early with a monstrous 9 run 2nd inning. But that inning almost didn’t happen. In fact, Jim Leyland tried to keep that inning from happening. Here is what transpired:
1. Craig Monroe led off the inning with a double down the line.
2. [...]

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According to Danny Knobler, it looks like Jim Leyland is using the 2 off days this week to realign the rotation for the Chicago series. Kenny Rogers and Justin Verlander will pitch in the Texas series. Instead of going with Wil Ledezma and Nate Robertson the first 2 games of the Orioles series, [...]

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