Is Leyland Responsible?

The Detroit Tigers open up a three-game series against the mighty Cleveland Indians, Monday evening at Comerica Park under a perfect June sky in the city.

The Indians continue to weave their magical spell over the Tigers and defeated Detroit for the fourth time this season with a 4-2 victory Monday night and pushing Detroit into a corner.

Detroit Tiger manager Jim Leyland still believes in his team’s talent and that they will shake themselves out of a miserable season-long slump but right now thing don’t look so perfect on the diamond.

“We’re in a corner, and we have to find a way to come out punching back. We’ll find out if we do that,” Leyland said about his team’s slump. “As I told them, we ‘re on the ropes and you have to make up your mind, Do you come out swinging or do you want to take a beating? We’ll see.”

Leyland is a manager that players like to play for because he is up front and can be brutally honest with them but he is fair and gives players a real honest chance to play and succeed at the game.

He does not believe in publicly chastise players, he understands that his players are men and can accept the responsibility for underachieving this season.

“The rah-rah stuff doesn’t work in the majors,” Leyland said. “Common sense conversation works. It’s the fact of life. That’s basically what it is. And the fact of life for us right now are that we’re a little wobbly.”

“But it is kind of the same. We’re just not doing enough,” Leyland said. “We have to play better, simple. But more than that, we have to win games.”

Against the Cleveland’s starting pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez, the Tigers could only manage to spray five hits and only one run as Jimenez struggled with 102 pitches and 6 2/3 innings of work.

The sun beams raced across the field and the sprit of the Tigers look alive when rookie center fielder Quintin Berry took a Jimenez pitch off of his calf and later score on the 16th double of the season from Miguel Cabrera.

The promise of the night even looked better for rookie pitcher Drew Smyly, he struck out the side in the first inning and continue to be in the zone in the second inning getting two outs before his slider quit breaking and his fastball found too much of the plate.

“He certainly wasn’t bad-bad,” Leyland said about Smyly. “Some of his off-speed stuff rolled a bit.”

Leyland watched from the dugout the missed swings and his players stand in the batter’s box and watch a perfect pitch that passes through the wheel house untouched which lends the question.

Leyland doesn’t pay too much attention to the criticism of Tigers’ batting coach Lloyd McClendon.

“All of a sudden he’s forgotten everything about hitting? That doesn’t make any sense,” Leyland said.

Leyland is ready to accept any heat that is coming from fans and from the Tigers’ upper management that might not be happy with his performance -he is ready for the worst.

“It is my responsibility to get the team clicking and we haven’t got it clicking-and I scratch my head,” Leyland said. “I know if you look at the numbers, there are several reasons why. But I’m still responsible for that, so you have to take the heat.”

“When you are winning, people say nice things. When you’re not winning, they say bad things, I have no problem with that. I’m not looking for sympathy. You have to keep on grinding. You can’t get caught up in the good, the bad and the ugly.”

The solution for the Tigers is a simple formula and the fans do not care if the victories are good, bad or ugly – just take care of business and win.

Graduated from Eastern Michigan University with a degree in Journalism in the year 2002. Working for local newspaper as a beat writer covering Eastern Michigan University Football,basketball and baseball.