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MLB WINTER MEETINGS

December 6, 2005

Jim Leyland

DALLAS, TEXAS

Q. Been fun to see some people you haven't seen this week?
JIM LEYLAND: Yeah. It's been awhile since I've been here. Similar but not quite the same as yesterday. You know, I haven't really been to any exhibits or anything like that. It's a little bit different but it's nice to see some old faces.

Q. Does being in this environment get your adrenaline going to a new level again?
JIM LEYLAND: Yeah, I think so. I think so. That's been going for awhile now so this is 70 days. Somebody said the other day -- like I said, I'm probably the only Detroit person that can't wait for Spring Training.
Things are still settling down after the season, getting ready for the holidays. You know, obviously I'm ready to go. I'm a little anxious, probably a little more anxious than normal. It will be awhile to get everything done.

Q. Are you going to be earlier than usual?
JIM LEYLAND: Yeah, I'm going to go a little bit earlier than normal. I'm going to have a couple of coaches come in. We're going to go down several days earlier actually just to make sure. I kept all my Spring Training stuff. I organized my cast before. I got all that in my files at home.
I want to make sure that goes as perfect as possible. We're going to go down -- I'm Gene -- kind of like Gene and Chuck are both down there. I'm going to go down there early and meet with them several days earlier, make sure everything, hopefully, works like clockwork.
It never turns out that way but you want to make an impression on the players that you're organized and know how to run a camp.

Q. You said the day you got hired you were going to give those guys a chance to air out. Have you since had conversations with the bulk of them?
JIM LEYLAND: I've called several players some -- as you know, sometimes the address on the Tiger thing is the different than the actual address in the wintertime. You can't get ahold of them.
I talked to several of them just to say hello, basically, and kind of introduce myself. I've known some of them. I don't know any of them real well.
I think it was kind of taken out of context a little bit in the press conference when I said I really don't know these guys. I've obviously seen them play.
What I was referring to, I really was -- I don't know what makes these guys tick. I don't know their personalities at all. That's going to take sometime. You can't get that over a phone call. I basically didn't want to -- I really told them nothing about myself. I didn't want to bore them with that.
They've come off a tough season where they lost their manager, lost a lot of games. They didn't meet expectations. They didn't need to hear from a new manager that's all fired up ready to go. They're tired, beaten up.
They need time off. They didn't need to hear from me rah, rah stuff. I did touch base with them and I have a letter all prepared that I'm going to be sending out to all of them shortly. That's it.

Q. Can you say what that letter will deal with?
JIM LEYLAND: Just be a little bit about my expectations, little bit about the things I think are important if you want to create a winning formula.
Not really in-depth about a lot of things. Kind of a general information letter about, like I say, what I expect and I'm sure some of them will read it, some of them will read half of it, some of them will look at it, throw it out. You might get one or two guys that save it. Maybe one other besides myself.

Q. From all the years you've been in the game and spent a lot of time in first place, what is the most critical factor for a winning formula?
JIM LEYLAND: Well, I think the biggest thing is people don't really understand like solving a problem. Some people can get the answer but they're really not sure how they got it. I think basically the formula is more important than the answer.
I think -- you know, you hear all the time a lot of people want to play on a winner. "I want to play on a winner." That can come off as lip service. That's easily said.
But are you really willing to pay the price and go through the formula process that it takes? I think that's one of the key ingredients. So I mean, you know, you have to identify the problem before you can solve it. I'm going to try to identify the problems and then try to help them.
JIM LEYLAND: Seeing if we can solve it.

Q. In that answer you don't say anything about pure baseball ability. It's more attitude.
JIM LEYLAND: I know. I've seen this club on TV, obviously, and in Spring Training some and I've done a lot of statistical surveys over the past month or so. I like to know what makes them tick, you know.
As I said at the press conference, I think you got to treat everybody the same in the sense that it's got to be within the parameters of a team concept. You also have to treat everybody different.
I think that's a big -- I know it sounds crazy to say it like that. You treat everybody the same but you also have to treat everybody different.
So, I have to sort though things out. I'm not going to be able to do it all in two weeks in Spring Training or three weeks. It's going to take a little time but I think I'm be able to figure it out.

Q. No luck so far in getting the closer or getting the starter?
JIM LEYLAND: No.

Q. I know that you've said, "I play the cards that I'm dealt".
JIM LEYLAND: That's -- I'm looking at it like this: I think we're one of those teams that we don't look very good to a lot of people. Maybe we're not. I don't know.
But I also think that we're one of those teams that with just a couple of the right ingredients we can get good quick. I don't think it has to be a long process but we have to get those ingredients.
Can we get them? I don't know. Obviously it's been a great market for players. God bless them. We just haven't been able to cash in on anything yet but we're still going to continue to try. I can't mention names, I'm not allowed to, but, you know, we're still pursuing some things but I'm looking at like this is our club and I'm going to deal with it.
If we get a bonus -- you know, it's almost Christmas time. If we get a bonus, it's like a Christmas present. About whether we get one or not, I don't know.

Q. How important is it to you that whoever it is, you designate one pitcher as the closer?
JIM LEYLAND: As what? How important is it to?

Q. Designate one pitcher as the closer as opposed to saying there's two, three different pitchers here?
JIM LEYLAND: Well, it's a no-brainer for a manager. I mean I don't have to answer as many questions as you guys answer as to why I used this one instead of that one.
Anytime you can get a pure closer, you know, you don't -- that's one question you normally don't have to answer. I don't mind that. I'm going to deal with the hand that I'm dealt. That's the way it is.
I'm not afraid ( inaudible) you know, because I think if you look around baseball it I really shortens up the game a lot. You don't have to worry about the 9th inning, that's -- that makes it 8. That makes -- that's why the 6th inning and 7th I think are so important.
If you can kind of sneak through those and get through the 9th with the guy out there, you can relax. You got -- take your best shot with that guy.

Q. Jim, the way the Tigers were last year in much the same way you were in Pittsburgh with speed and obviously a great defense and starting pitching, especially with your ballpark, is that the way to build a Tiger team these days?
JIM LEYLAND: Well, it is but we already have a lot of our team in place. I don't think we're really trying to build a team. I think we have a pretty good team.
I think if you look at Alan Trammell had a disaster happen to him last year if you wanted to be honest about it. It's kind of not fair. Ordonez was hurt, Guillen hurt.
If you put those guys back in the lineup, those these are two pretty good players. You know, Pudge gets on track and the same type of player he can be, all of a sudden you're looking at Ordonez and Rodriguez, and he's in your lineup again.
The other things we have, I think we have a pretty good offensive club, to be honest with you. I don't think we're so bad. I think we got something to work with. Have we got holes? Sure we've got holes. No question about it.
20-under, we're chasing top four in the American League in pitching. They're in our division. So -- but that's okay. You want to be the best, you got to beat the best. I don't mind that.

Q. Following up on John's question about closers, Jim, are you at all that philosophy that your closer is whoever you wind up using in the 9th?
It doesn't have to be a designated person with that particular profile, you might have three, four late, I think, guys?
JIM LEYLAND: I'd like to have one that I can designate. I'd like to have one going into Spring Training because I think that not only does it -- I'm not really worried about the pressure. Not only does it take some pressure off the manager, it takes some confusion out of your Spring Training.
In other words, you got some three, four guys hey, "I might get a chance to close." I'd rather not have that. Because then it's, "Well, you know, I'm as good as the next guy, I think I can do it. I think I can do it."
Then you're always explaining stuff to players. I really don't want to do that if I can help it. I just don't want to do that. So I'd like to have somebody but we'll see.

Q. Did you have an emotional investment in the Cardinals even though you weren't around for most of the six months, the last two years when they lost in the post-season, was it bothersome to you?
JIM LEYLAND: Well, yeah, obviously. I worked with the Cardinals the last six years. Got to the World Series a year ago and got back -- they didn't get back this year but it bothers you.
I know -- I've been fortunate. I've been -- finished last and I was on a team that won a World Series.
I was also on a team that was one pitch away from going to the World Series. Then you have a friend like Tony LaRussa or any other manager, you know, your heartaches for that guy when he gets that close and doesn't get there because you know how hard it is.
It's hard to win the whole thing. Lot of people found out over the years. It's very difficult to (inaudible).
So, yeah, I know how that hurt Tony. I think even a year ago, when they got swept, that it was a heartache for them. Yeah, you know, it's part of the business. That's the way it is. I've been on both sides.

Q. Jim, considering how many years you spent in the Tiger organization and where you grew up, how important is that going to be for you to put that Tiger uniform on finally?
JIM LEYLAND: I told them in the press conference, I finally had a hat that didn't have the holes in the back, you didn't have to adjust it.
It took me 40 years. I signed in 1963. You know, I don't -- I really want to state that it's one thing -- I don't think I'm as emotional. You guys will all be happy about that as I used to be. I'm going into -- I feel real good about going into the situation.
You know, a little emotional, sure, but most people don't really care about that. I signed with the Tigers in the fall of 1963. I was a no-talented player that never got out of Double A.
I was with that organization 18 consecutive years as a Minor League person. So there's some ties there. But to be honest with you, most of the group that I was on in those days, they're all gone. I had some -- I mean the most influential people in my career came out of that organization. I was a baby and I grew up there.
So there's some ties there but I don't know emotional. I don't think my players -- I bet you most of my players don't even know I signed with the Tigers. You know, I'm sure they have no clue.

Q. Jim, when you were with Colorado in '99 you talked about obviously "burnout" was the phrase that you used. When did you realize that that was an issue or problem and when did you realize you were over that?
JIM LEYLAND: I think you never -- you know, you never lose that feeling of competition. I mean I've always had that but I think probably the biggest thing was being around the Cardinal ballclub the last few years and seeing their veteran players and how they went about their business and seeing that a tremendous -- not only tremendous ballclub they had but the tremendous individuals that they had on that ballclub.
It really got my juices going, "Hey, this could be fun again." I think that was the big thing. I think couple years ago I mean I started to -- I really kind of get the itch and I saw that and, you know, it was such a great atmosphere. You know it can be that way again. I'm taking this job like I took the Pirate job in 1986. That's how I feel about it. We'll see. I know there's some doubters out there.

Q. Same fire?
JIM LEYLAND: I'm fired up. I'm ready to roll. I'm not talking about three years. I hope five at least. It all depends on how we do.

Q. When that feeling wasn't there in Colorado, you were literally living at the park, is it like somebody who gets up and doesn't look forward to going to work?
JIM LEYLAND: No. You know what? I tried everything I knew. It just didn't work. For whatever reason, it just didn't work with that particular group of players, and I knew it.
I could feel it but I wasn't getting through. Like I said before, I'm not going to go into this a lot. I've been through it. It's over with and I'm fired up and ready to go.
You know when you're not putting out little fires that need to be put out and I probably need to get out. I got out. I'm ready to fight those fires again. We'll see. Talk is cheap. I'm not -- I really am not going to get into it a lot. I hope it's a lot longer than three years. That's how good I feel about it. We'll find out.

Q. You say you're fired up. How do you translate that to the players if this is the same team maybe that's coming back from last season, if it's relatively the same team, how do you fire up those players?
JIM LEYLAND: It's a better team than what it showed last season. It certainly wasn't Alan Trammel's fault. I want to emphasize that. What happened to this team last year, in my opinion, is a team that came out of Spring Training -- went into Spring Training, came out of Spring Training with a pretty high expectation.
They got to a certain point in the season, realized they couldn't reach those and everything went to shit. That's what I think. That's that I think happened.
All of a sudden it was not -- all of a sudden the clubhouse wasn't as great as everybody wanted it to be. There's a lot of teams that go through that. It was just not the Tigers. That happens to a lot of teams when those things happen.
The team realizes they're not going to meet expectations. It gets closer to the end of the season, it's easy to start pointing the finger, it's easy to be a little more irritable, it's easy to blame somebody else.
I think a little bit of that happened. I'm not a cure all. I'm not saying everything is perfect there but I think that will be the least of my problems. If it's not, I'll be very disappointed.

Q. Jim, what do you think about THE coaching staff you put together? Obviously almost all these guys go way back with you.
JIM LEYLAND: Well, I've always tried to get a coaching staff that knew a lot and could (inaudible) physical work. I think you need that combination. I really think that Andy Van Slyke is going to be a great outfielder instructor and a great base running coach.
Nobody worked harder than Andy Van Slyke. Lot of times when you see a good player you think that it just came natural and this was all easy. Van Slyke worked as hard as any player I've seen.
In fact, when he told me he wanted to coach, he approached me this summer. I asked him, I said, "Do you think you're going to be able to handle this, not everybody works like you?"
He gave me a good answer. He said, "I'll be able to handle it if they're willing to work. I don't care if they're bad. They won't work, I won't be able to handle it. They work, I'll be able to." (inaudible) job at a hitting coach.
He was the type of hitter that can help our guys because we need to use all fields a little more. Rafael Belliard, he's my infield instructor.
He caught the ball as good as anybody, you know. Gene Lamont, we all know. I think Major League manager for eight, nine seasons. Won't have to go far if I get fired. I can tell you that. Got two of them right there, you know.
Chuck Hernandez is probably -- I did a lot of research. I really didn't know Chuck very well. I did a lot of research on him and I've been in Detroit, we were in Detroit together about three weeks ago and I spent sometime with him and shared my philosophies about pitching, he shared his and I think that's a pretty good fit.
I think the pitchers will like him. I think, you know, it should be a good staff. I mean if the players are good, it will be pretty good. If the players aren't good, it won't be a very good staff. That's the way it works.
I like it. I like -- I think it's going to have energy, going to be an interesting staff. Certainly got -- you know, I'm the low man on the pole. Andy Van Slyke has got several years. All played in the Big Leagues quite awhile. They certainly should have a little credibility. We'll see.

Q. Jim, I'm wondering if you've seen Justin Verlander pitch and what your impressions are?
JIM LEYLAND: I went to the Instructional League to see him. Yes. Saw him the last day we -- last day of the Instructional League and he has electric stuff. We've got a couple more that are pretty young that got that kind of.

Q. Like "Sumya"?
JIM LEYLAND: Yeah, he's pretty good, too. Verlander is a very interesting guy and I'm not afraid to pitch and play young people. I can tell you that. If you're good, you're good. Throw it 98 in Lakeland, it's 98 in Detroit is the way I look at it.

Q. Thank you. How critical do you feel like young pitching, specifically Bonderman, Verlander and Robinson are going to be to your team's fortunes?
JIM LEYLAND: Pitching is critical to everybody. The team that won the World Series had four complete games. That's critical to everybody and us. We have one thing, quite truthfully right up front, we have one little combination that's not the best as we speak today and we've got young starters and young relievers.
That's not the best combination, to be honest with you. But, you know, they pitched a little bit now. They should make some progress, obviously. But I know Bonderman, he's another guy that has electric stuff.
But I don't I really want to -- you know, there's too much emotional emphasis sometimes putting on a guy like Bonderman, "You got to be the guy, you got to be the number one guy." I don't buy all that. You go out there every five days.
You know, I got to have four other guys that go out there and (inaudible) pretty good. I don't want those guys to feel that kind of pressure. Let them be themselves. Take it off of them.

Q. You studied Robertson and thought that maybe you need to perhaps spread out his innings a little bit more to get him stronger in the second half? Have you thought about that further?
JIM LEYLAND: I've been a National League guy and I think -- I don't want to get into a controversy but I think if there's one thing about the American League, everybody normally thinks it's so much stuff to manage in the National League.
I'm not really necessarily disagreeing or agreeing with that but my point is that in the American League -- in the National League you talk about managing a lot of times, you talk about handling your pitchers, handling the pitching is the main thing.
Then it's a little more difficult in the American League. The reason I say that is for the same simple thing you guys can all figure out. You get behind in the National League, at some point you have to pinch-hit.
In the American League you got to pinpoint everything. You might have given up 2, 3 in the 1st. In the National League a lot of those decisions are made for you. I'm not switching any kind of allegiance here since I'm in the American League. I'm making that point.
I think that you have to be careful with your pitching in the American League because your innings are tougher. You don't have an 8th hitter and a pitcher. Nothing against 8th hitter.
In the National League you have an 8th hitter and pitcher. You should be able to cruise a couple times during the course of the game.
In the American League, the pitcher -- you might face Dave Ortiz. Your instincts are a little tougher. The outs are a little tougher for you.
I think you have to be very careful, protect the first half of the season that you don't turn guys out. If I have to, at some point, bring somebody out if for no other reason, to give him a breather.
I mean these jobs are tough. They've got to grind for their outs, not that they don't in the National League but obviously with the pitcher and sometime an 8th hitter, it's not quite as crucial for him.
So I really have to watch that pitching staff in the American League. You got to be very, very careful with it, I think.

Q. How important is a veteran like Pudge to this team? How important is it to you to make sure he has the right attitude and wants to be there?
JIM LEYLAND: Pudge is a -- you know, Pudge is an outstanding player that did not have an outstanding year. So, the only thing that I hope for is Pudge has the type of year he's capable of having numberswise because he is a force.
He can be a difference in a lot of ways in the course of the game. I mean he can throw somebody out. People don't really realize that sometimes. Lot of times people only thing is this guy got a big hit. Pudge can be a force in a lot of ways. You can shutdown somebody's running game. He can lay the bat on the ball, he can hit and run. He can (inaudible) some things.
If we get him back to some type of a normal Pudge numbers, that's very important. He's very important to our ballclub. But you know what? I've never been one of those guys that emphasizes this guy is so important, somebody else is not.
I think the 25th guy on my team is real important. I've always taken pride and made them feel that way. You got to use them all, in my opinion. You got to make them all feel important.
They all got to get the winning hit and knocked in the run. You got to make everybody part of it. Yeah, he's our everyday catcher that shuts down the running game and can hit. He's in the process of having a tremendous career. We need a lot of guys that could have a good year.

Q. Do you feel the Tigers need an outspoken veteran leader to turn things around?
JIM LEYLAND: No. I don't buy that. I'm supposed to be their leader. I can tell you who the leaders are, the guys that hit .330. I've never seen a guy hit .200 was the leader yet.
I'm not into bullshit about the leader stuff. I buy that -- the leader is the guy that goes out and shuts the other team down when he pitches and knocks in big runs, gets two out base hits.
Those are the guys that are leaders to me. I say that, I don't mean it you got some player that -- he's the leader. I'm not sure about all that. I never liked to put that on guys because what happens when they go bad? All of a sudden they're not leading so good. I think that's all overrated. I think the read is good but I think it's a lot of bullshit. I'm not sure.

Q. Jim, you managed a World Series winner in '97 in Florida. What do you think of the turn that that franchise has taken?
JIM LEYLAND: Well, number one, it's none of my business. Kind of breaks your heart. I mean it's sad but I don't know any of the particulars or anything. I'm out of territory now so I don't think it makes sense for me to comment on it. Obviously they're doing something they feel they need to.

Q. How difficult was that '98 season?
JIM LEYLAND: Well, it was difficult in the sense that it was difficult in the sense that the guys were signed to good contracts for awhile. We had a chance to be in the hunt for the playoffs. I'm not saying we would have won anything. We had a chance to be good for quite awhile. That's the thing that hurt the most.
It wasn't like, you know, we weren't going to be some one year wonder. We were going to be pretty good for awhile.
We had guys at good ages, under good contracts for a period of time. That's the thing that I think was -- that hurt a little bit. In actuality, we got our brains beat out the next year. But in actuality -- I know this sounds crazy other than on my personal record -- I mean seriously, but those guys played good and if you look down the road what those guys have finally turned out to be, that was enjoyable.
We played good, believe it or not. We just weren't good enough. We hit the cutoff man, we bunted, we did the right thing. We were just so overmatched we couldn't win a game.
My heartached for those kids. From that standpoint they all held their head above water as individuals that year with their bating averages and stuff. They all did okay.
But as a team, we just couldn't compete. The results was going to be bad every night as far as wins and losses. But as far as those kids getting experience and going through that process, it was a great bunch of kids. They turned out to be pretty good players.

Q. Seems like the '06 team maybe go through the same struggles that the '98 team did?
JIM LEYLAND: I don't know. I really don't know. See, I knew -- they did have some pretty good players in the system. I really don't know the Marlins system that well. I don't know what they have.
I just feel uncomfortable speaking about somebody else's organization. I don't think that's very fair for me to speak about that. I (inaudible) -- that's a tough ticket.
When you're not far off a World Series, obviously you're moving players. I don't know. We couldn't get a stadium. They still haven't gotten one. I don't know what's going on with it, but it's too bad.
There's some good teams and got two World Series there in the last several engineers. That's pretty impressive. I will say this, I'll probably get in trouble for saying this, I can tell you this: South Florida has no excuse. They've got two World Series in the last eight, nine years. So to me they got no bitch, in my opinion. They won two, you know? It's not like they haven't been provided a good team. It's not like they didn't have a chance to (inaudible) something.
I mean I'm going to stop because I don't want to --
Q. Jim, talk about the challenges of having both young starters and young relievers earlier for the first year manager like Joe Girardi coming into the situation is going probably going to have that scenario?
JIM LEYLAND: It's a tough thing because you can always protect one or two, maybe two, but you can't protect a whole bunch of them. That's where you run into a real tough area to manage because, you know, if you get one hurt, you're answering obviously to your General Manager and ownership.
If you got that many young ones somebody has got to be out there. That's always a tricky balance, you know, to try to keep them all healthy and, you know, you always like to have somebody who can take some innings and spare the kid a little bit, make sure you take care of him but we got a little bit of that right now. So, I can protect some of them. I can't protect all of them.

Q. Unlike the Joe Girardi, when you came in the Big Leagues, however, 10, 11, whatever, players, the problem with young starters, young relievers at least you had some sort of feel for this is what I want to (inaudible) pitching wise. How important was that experience for you and how necessary do you think it is that somebody manage as --
JIM LEYLAND: It might not be important at all to Joe Girardo. It was important to me. I had 11 years of managerial experience and four years of Major League coaching before I ever managed a Big League team. To me it was important.
I learned a lot through trial and error and it's tough to have to go through trial and error when you're a Big League Manager but, you know, with the experience that Joe has had, being a catcher, being on the Yankees, he's a very bright guy and I'm going to assume he's going to have a great feel for it.
He's going -- you know, he's going to be surprised about some things, you know, but I think he's going to be great. I think he'll do fine with all that. He's a great guy. Great baseball mind.

Q. One thing you had done that, you stood up in front of a group, your team, be they Birmingham, whatever, and had a chance to sort of polish your delivery and your words and they listened more at the Big Leagues than the Minor League level, kind of perfected the art of get being your point across. Does that matter?
JIM LEYLAND: Yeah, I think it is. I learned a trick on that. I don't ever address my team in the spring as a team. I learned over the years that when you got 55 guys and they walk out there opening day and everybody is pumped up and standing there and the manager big deliverance of what he's going to say to them.
There's ten guys in the back jabbing each other. They don't even know. What I did, I separated it to take my outfielders separate, my infielders separate, my pitchers separate and maybe my catchers in with one of groups.
But that way they all have to look you in the eye when you talk. So they all have to hear you. That's something that I've done over the years and I learned to break it down, don't address the whole team, 55 guys because 25 of them won't hear anything you said.
So I broke it down small groups where they got to look at you and you can look at them and you know who's paying attention, who is not.
You kind of walk away and tell so and so, "Hey". When you look them in the eye, he's paying attention. Might just be being courteous but at least he's paying attention.
There's some little tricks you learn over years to help you. That's something I found out that helped me. It's hard to run when there's only eight or nine of them standing there, they're right there. Hard not to pay attention. They don't feel that way.

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