. . . about baseball managers commenting to the media is that they are not (or at least, should not be) speaking their mind—they’re talking to an audience that includes their players. Leyland at this point of course ought to be positive in public about the chances of guys like Robertson, Galarrega and Willis—he doesn’t want to discourage them. I suspect, though, that we’ll see Coke given a chance to stretch out as a starter, even so.

I don’t understand why Jim even threw Willis’ name in the mix. I think there’s a chance Bonderman and Gallaraga bounce back, and Robertson to a lesser degree, but I don’t see why we haven’t just cut Willis loose. If my some miracle he did bounce back it would probably be the greatest comeback in the history of professional sports. The guy is done.

The best tool we have to make projections is major and minor league track records and history of injuries. Looking at Armando Gallarraga we see a peak year as a rookie at age 28. He will be 30 this year, past a peak that is not that great. His minor league statistics were nothing we can build our hope on. He is most likely to not make the rotation. Next is Wilis. I cannot recall anyone making it back from the kind of collapse Willis has experienced. The history of baseball is littered with players who lost it emotionally and dropped out for unfathomable reasons, and I think that’s where Willis is. That leaves Bonderman and Robertson. Both had several good years at early enough ages to give one hope that they can bounce back from their injuries and travails. I think both stand a good chance of making the rotation, and at least one of them making it is a good bet. I also think that by mid-season we’ll see someone from the crop of minor league arms float to the majors.

Leyland and Dumbrowski should be on the same page. It’s good business. I think Jim is stubborn at times and has the propensity to make a bad choice in terms of player personnel. Neifi Perez ring a bell, Clete batting 3rd 183 times, pulling Porcello when he did in the do or die game for Minor (who blew it), leaving Rodney in there for 4 innings (brain fart), not pinch hitting for the human ground out (Laird) with a chance to blow the game open. By the way, will someone tel Laird he doesn’t have to swing so hard. With that crappy upper cut swing and swinging out of his shoes each time, he is a tremendous liability at the plate. His defence doesn’t make up for his lack of offense and I don’t understand why they don’t see it.
Not a Leyland fan. He’s better than Trammel, but I don’t like the way he manages a game. There should have been more fallout from the one game playoff decision he made. Frustrating.