Fernando Rodney Is Officially On Notice!

by Ian Casselberry on Jul 26, 2007 9:52 PM EDT in Detroit Tigers News

Fernando Rodney has been a frequent poster child for Detroit's bullpen woes this season. Before going on the disabled list (and making it clear that he's been fighting with injuries more than he admitted), I think many Tigers fans were sick of watching the guy give up runs and blow ballgames. (So it's at least a little funny that some people are pointing to Rodney's eventual return as a reason the Tigers might not have to trade for a reliever.)

You had to think that Jim Leyland was just as pissed, if not more, about Rodney's ineptness out of the bullpen. He insisted from the beginning that something was wrong, and Rodney was probably hurt. But now that Rodney seems to be recovering nicely, and is set to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Toledo tonight, Leyland wants it known that he's not putting up with any more b.s. from Rodney and his job isn't guaranteed.

"He's going to have to pitch good," said Leyland before Wednesday's game with the White Sox. "I want that in bold print. He's not just going down there and going to come back when he wants to come back. He's going to have to go down there and show that he can pitch and show that he is healthy. That's what he's going to do and that is what the rest of the guys are going to do around here.

"We're going to run the thing. He's not going down there on some kind of vacation to say, 'OK, I'm fine,' after one outing. He's going to show us that he's healthy and can pitch back-to-back. Period. That's the end of the story."

(via The Cutoff Man)

That is awesome. Not only is Leyland trying to guard against any sentiment that the bullpen will be okay once Rodney returns, but he seems ticked off that his reliever wasn't up front about his health, too. No free passes. The Tao of Leyland. Hold a guy accountable for his performance.

Hey, why doesn't he do that with a couple of other guys in the bullpen (Jason Grilli)?

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