Leyland vs Washington

by RangerMad on May 19, 2008 5:03 PM CDT

The Tigers have just lost 2 of 3 from the Diamondbacks after being swept by the Royals. Leyland is meeting with Dombrowski today to discuss the situation. Over at http://www.blessyouboys.com/ there is an interesting post discussing the Tigers' problems. The option of firing Leyland isn't mentioned until the last few sentences. Detroit was picked by many to reach the WS. They currently have the worse record in the AL. The Texas Rangers were picked by most to finish in last place in the AL West. After a rough roadtrip and sitting in last place as expected, bloggers, newspaper columnists and grandmothers alike called for Ron Washington to be fired. I haven't checked any Detroit newspapers or blogs to see if they want Leyland fired. But the Tigers' record to date is much worse when compared to their expectations than the Rangers back in late April.

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So...

Is it Leyland v. Wash to see who gets fired first? Or why the title?

I do think that if Detroit is still playing like they are now he will get shit-canned by the ASB. They have too much talent and are in a win now mode. Obviously the Rangers are not.

I think Wash is managing the Rangers longer than Leyland is managing the Tigers.

"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates

by slc ranger on May 19, 2008 5:25 PM CDT 0 recs

I think the point is

to compare the different reactions of the two fan bases.

by FirebatM3 on May 19, 2008 5:29 PM CDT up 0 recs

You mean the differing reactions

between fans of a franchise whose manager won a pennant, and fans of a franchise whose manager has lost a bunch?

"Before I leave, I once again condemn the despicable buffoonery of D.J. Cahill." - Huck

by DJCahill on May 19, 2008 6:02 PM CDT up 0 recs

Washington

to the best of my knowledge has yet to win or lose a “bunch” of pennants. Certainly not more than Jim Leyland.

And yes, I’m talking about the differing reactions between fans of a franchise whose team was supposed to compete and one whose team was fortunate if it were sitting at .500 come October.

by FirebatM3 on May 19, 2008 6:13 PM CDT up 0 recs

I guess I was unclear

Washington has lost a bunch of games, and has taken his teams to two horrible starts. It should be unsurprising to anyone why he gets less rope than a guy who won a pennant. If anyone doesn’t understand that, I just don’t know what to say.

"Before I leave, I once again condemn the despicable buffoonery of D.J. Cahill." - Huck

by DJCahill on May 19, 2008 7:42 PM CDT up 0 recs

wash didnt bring the team to a world series...

of course leyland is going to have some leeway.

Gerald Laird is my hero.

by DSheppard on May 19, 2008 5:38 PM CDT 0 recs

Leyland smokes so much

the entire team is probably short of breath.

...and curse Sir Walter Raleigh, he was such a stupid git.

by t ball on May 19, 2008 8:27 PM CDT 0 recs

Wash

People get confused on why Wash’s head was called for earlier in the season. It’s not that they were losing, we knew they were going to lose. It’s the manner in which they were losing; horrible defense, ugly play, mental mistakes. They were completely unprepared coming out of spring training for the second year in a row.

by badradiorules on May 19, 2008 9:56 PM CDT 0 recs

Not confused at all...

just feel like that was the players fault and not Wash’s. This is not a little league team. These guys know what they have to do to prepare to play a game. If they play shitty it’s their fault, not Wash’s. Just like now when they play well it’s to their credit not Wash’s.

However, as it usually does, when a team plays poorly the manager gets a lot of the blame, but when they play well he gets little or no credit. It really is a no win situation for him in many ways.

"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates

by slc ranger on May 19, 2008 10:15 PM CDT up 0 recs

If that's the case

Don’t have a manager. Let JD fill out the lineup card and have a pitching coach around to manage the bullpen. One of the only responsibilities of a big league manager (or any coach for that matter) is to make sure that his team is mentally prepared to play. They haven’t been the last two years coming out of the gate and that has to fall on Washington’s shoulders.

That being said, I don’t know that there is a better guy in the big leagues to have at the helm once they hit rock bottom than Wash. I don’t think many managers could have gotten them to play as well down the stretch as he did or dig out of the hole they made for themselves this season. He’s so (seemingly foolishly) positive in the face of the worst play imaginable, that his teams seem to drink the kool-aid and believe that they don’t suck, even though they kinda do.

Look, I hear you, much too much credit/blame is laid on a manager for wins and losses in MLB. However, when little league games are breaking out every night two weeks in a row for the second consecutive year, a manager has to take the blame for that.

by badradiorules on May 19, 2008 10:46 PM CDT 0 recs

Let JD fill out the lineup card?

Do I even need to say something?

I don't know Karate...but I know Karazy!

by Clueless on May 20, 2008 10:41 PM CDT up 0 recs

Should Leyland

deserve some slack because of his resume? Look at the expections of the Tigers vs their record and how they are playing. Yet the press and bloggers give him a pass. Now look at the Rangers. Shouldn’t RW also get a pass? The expectations for the Rangers are …. lets say…. low. When they play badly are they not just meeting expectations? Yet in April after their horrible roadtrip, it seemed like everyone expected RW to be fired.

Brandon Boggs 2008 Texas Rangers ROY

by RangerMad on May 20, 2008 12:11 AM CDT 0 recs