Has Jim Leyland Earned a Contract Extension?
by Ian Casselberry on May 12, 2009 3:05 PM EDT
in News
13 comments
Now that the Tigers are 30 games into their 2009 schedule, and have a winning record to show for their efforts, Lynn Henning thinks it's about time Jim Leyland got that contract extension.
Any day now it would be no surprise to see the Tigers announce an extension to manager Jim Leyland's contract.
That's because hiring Leyland beyond 2009 is deserved, no matter what Leyland's critics contend.
Leyland's team was tied Monday for first place in the American League Central Division. The Tigers were 17-13 on the season and playing well despite some obvious roster weaknesses.
To me, this feels a bit early. But I guess I've always felt that the All-Star break was an ideal time to address Leyland's contract situation. However, I agree that Leyland's done a nice job so far, working to help the Tigers win games, rather than sit by passively or desperately tinker, as he did last year. So maybe there's no sense in drawing this out.
When Leyland is given that new contract (I think we've just about moved beyond "if," don't you?), I hope we see the same sort of managing from him when his future employment is on the line. I like the Leyland that calls for squeeze plays, pushes his starting pitchers to go longer into games, sits struggling players down regardless of tenure or contract status, and puts his best team on the field.
Maybe that's a bit unfair, as Leyland simply has a better, more versatile roster to work with this year. But as we've seen several Tigers players become complacent with new contracts, I can't help but wonder if the same might apply on the coaching side of the equation, as well.
So what do you think? Has Leyland earned that contract extension? Should the Tigers just go ahead and get the proceedings over with, so this doesn't become an issue later on in the season?
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sooner is better
as far as I’m concerned, to keep this from possibly becoming a distraction. This team has played well overall this season and appears to be a legitimate contender for a post-season berth. Now would be a great time to extend him through 2010, then address anything beyond that after the season.
alwaysatiger.blogspot.com
by BigJP on May 12, 2009 3:33 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Later
While I like Lynn Henning’s columns, I don’t agree with it. Watch the Tigers til the All Star break and see what direction we’re headed in. And another thing……….
No extension until HE (Leyland) CAN GIVE AN INTERVIEW WITHOUT A FULL MOUTH OF FOOD. It’s disrespectful, Jim. I don’t care how hungry you are.
"It's designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything is new again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops, and leaves you to face the fall alone". A. Bartlett Giamatti
by densogirl on May 12, 2009 3:57 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
later is better
and by later I mean wait until the end of the season. Sports culture is so f**ked up in regards to what happens in the real world and what should happen. Where’s the distraction? The only one’s that may make and create a distraction is the flipping media. So what if he has to fight for his job the entire season or anybody else for that matter. Where’s the logic to sign him for three or four more years and then fire him in two? Wait until the season is over, evaluate his performance and then offer a contract, if warranted based on his results. It’s ludicrous that the Tigers would not offer him a contract extension in the off season (which wasn’t deserved) and then offer him one after only barely into a fifth of the season. Freakin Lynn Henning and media causing controversy or we wouldn’t even be talking about this. Let the man have to fight for his job like everyone else.
by MSU4LIF on May 12, 2009 4:01 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Amen!
"It's designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything is new again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops, and leaves you to face the fall alone". A. Bartlett Giamatti
by densogirl on May 12, 2009 9:08 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Still on the fence
2006 was a fantastic season, but it was 3 years ago. He’s mishandled the pitching staff, continues to trot out Ryan Raburn like the kids got naked pictures of him hidden somewhere and seems to manage according to the old school rules a bit much for my taste. He hasn’t been horrible, he’s been average this year. This club has enough talent to compete, if Leyland can keep the boys in contention I think by July or so something will likely come about, if he wants it too. I’ve read the quotes and it sounds like he wants to stick around, but he’s not a young man and you never can tell when burnout is starting to set in.
by jelletlambie on May 12, 2009 4:13 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
It may be 30 games...
But the season has just begun. We’ve seen the Tigers collapse more than once down the stretch, and I feel if we give him an extension he might relax, as well as the Tigers. I want to win the division, but I’m greedy. I want to win the division by a wide margin. Run the score up on our opponents. I want other teams to be afraid to go up against our offense. I want the opposing starter to cringe at the sight of any of our first 6 batters. After all, isn’t this what was suppose to happen last year when we were winning the World Series?
by ZWC11 on May 12, 2009 4:18 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I've said this before
Give it to him in September as long as the season went well. Around Labor Day is fine.
by MackAveKurt on May 12, 2009 5:48 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
keep it simple, no playoffs, no contract. make him earn it, dont just hand it to him because they are above .500.
by HavocRox on May 12, 2009 6:10 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Sign him
Listen, we’re not going to like every single decision any manager makes. We can nitpick Leyland all we want, but overall he is a good manager.
He as done well this season. It is a relatively small sample size, but we really can’t complain with 17-13 at this point of the season.
Who else are we gonna get that is an order of magnitude better?
Although if we get swept in Minnesota this week my opinion may sour.
by explosivo2k2 on May 12, 2009 6:13 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I’m digging the small ball that I’ve seen so far this season. I think if he keeps that up, he will deserve a contract extension in September (I agree with you, Kurt)
by wepri31 on May 12, 2009 6:43 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Sign Him
I think Leyland deserves a contract extension, and the start to this season has nothing to do with it. From the comments of his players, they have a tremendous amount of respect for him. He is a vintage manager.
And speaking as one involved in management decisions, this notion of making someone play for an extension is counter to what we’ve actually learned about labor psychology: better performance, even in high-pressure jobs, is associated with comfort. If he thinks he’s getting paid well, he will give more. This is because nobody really believes others can really fairly assess our performance.
There are cases where this isn’t true. There are players, for example, who need that carrot at the end of the stick to really get the most out of them. Jim Leyland isn’t that kind of person.
If Jim’s looking over his shoulder, then so do his players when things go bad. If he’s going to be here after they’re gone, that gives him more power over his wards. This effect has been delayed because he took most of these guys to a World Series, and many of them are young. If it goes much past the All Star game, and he doesn’t have a contract, and it becomes a bigger story, it will undermine him.
This is hard for me because I grew up a Tram fan, and he will always be my favorite player as Kaline was for my father and Greenberg for his and Wahoo Sam was for his, but at least I was told by a true insider (in 2003 so take with a grain) that the team didn’t really believe in Alan as a manager. They played beneath themselves. They gave each other looks when he suggested something unorthodox. So he stopped suggesting unorthodox things and the writing was on the wall.
These guys believe in Jim. It started with the older fellas, and the guys they brought from the Marlins who won a World Series with him. Jonesey devoted a column to him. Now — this is just gleaned from articles in Detnews, Freep, MLive, etc. — Guillen and Polanco and Magglio are his flag bearers. Granderson and Verlander and Bonderman too have made comments that go beyond the typical ballplayer’s respect for his skipper. And I’m sure by now we realize Inge is Leyland’s Tiger (at least more so than Marian Ilitch’s).
There isn’t a better manager out there that we could get for this club. No manager is going to make perfect decisions. The top managers in the game (Torre, La Russa, Scioscia, Piniella, Gardenhire, Francona) get criticism galore from their home fans.
And if you add it all up, a good manager versus an average manager only gets you a few games or so. Having a complete incompetent like Eric Wedge or Dusty Baker is the only thing that really affects your team negatively. Really, the measure of a manager is whether people will believe in him when he’s losing. And Leyland brings that by the truckload.
The players like him. The fans like him. He likes us. He’s a good manager. And keeping him on a 1-year lease just makes him less effective. Sign the guy and move on.
by Misopogon on May 12, 2009 7:03 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Jim is an honest man...
I belive Jim will be brought back next year, however, extending his pact this early does nothing for the team, with the passing of coach daly last week, i recalled how he was coaching in the finals without a contract, coach daly knew he would be rewarded, and he was, and I think Leyland realizes if his team delivers this year, he will be back for a couple of more seasons, if they fall apart, he will be gone, its that simple, let the chips fall where they may, I hope Jim is the manager of our team next year, lets not extend his contract 30 games into the season however, we still have the last 2 years where his team didnt deliver on his resume
by johnnymars40 on May 13, 2009 4:11 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
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