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AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: TIGERS v ATHLETICS

October 14, 2006

Jim Leyland

DETROIT, MICHIGAN: Game Four

Q. You had said in Spring Training that you didn't know if this team was going to develop a swagger or not. Has that happened? And if so, when did it happen?
JIM LEYLAND: I think we've grown quite a bit. I don't know exactly when it was, but usually winning breeds some confidence and a little swagger, not a cockiness but a confidence.
I always refer to the Yankees that way. I think they're a real confident team, but they do things right. They don't show people up; they play the game right. That's what we try to establish here. I don't know if we're home free yet, but we're on our way. I think we've done a pretty good job.

Q. You said you didn't know that much about Chuck Hernandez before you hired him. What have been the contributions he'd made that have impressed you the most? And what has been his style with your pitchers?
JIM LEYLAND: Well, he's the calm and I'm the storm (laughter). He doesn't get too excited; he just goes about his work. It's got to be -- I'm sure everybody has their story, but it's got to be one of the greatest jobs ever done in my opinion, from a pitching coach standpoint. He's absolutely been fantastic. He's got a good feel.
You know, it's necessary for a pitching coach, a good one, to be a good buffer between the manager and the pitchers. He's excellent with that, but he has his own program and I let him alone. If it's not broke, don't fix it. And he's done a great job.

Q. How much does Granderson getting on base jump start your offense in this postseason?
JIM LEYLAND: That's a real good question, and that's a real big point. It seems like when Curtis has good days we have a great chance to win. He kind of ignites our offense. You know, he's struck out a lot this year, but he's also had a lot of great games where he got us going, and I think he's swinging pretty good right now. So that's obviously a big factor for us.

Q. We've seen you do some things just during the postseason that not a lot of managers do, including things like visit a pitcher or take out a pitcher in the middle of an at-bat. Why do you think you're willing to do some things that other managers maybe seem hesitant to do?
JIM LEYLAND: Well, I think one of the reasons that I go to the mound more so, I guess, than most managers is because that's the way I was -- I grew up as a manager. When I managed in the Minor Leagues, you didn't have pitching coaches. And now almost every Minor League team has a pitching coach.
So the 11 straight years that I managed in the Minor Leagues, I just got in the habit. You had to do it. You were the base running coach, you were the hitting coach, the pitching coach. I think that it's important if you think you have something to say, I think it's important for you to say it. Because you may be able to relay it to a pitching coach, but by the time he gets out there it may not come out the way you want it to come out.
That's the reason I do it. I don't think I'm a pitching coach. I don't know near as much about pitching as Chuck Hernandez, but sometimes the sight part of it, sometimes a manager wants to say something, and I think that's important. That's really been a habit of mine, and I think that obviously was developed when I managed in the Minor Leagues for 11 years without any coaches.

Q. Could you talk about the job that Todd Jones has done, and if there was any point in the season where you maybe thought of taking him out of that role and moving some other guys --
JIM LEYLAND: That never, ever crossed my mind. He's been fantastic. He had one little stretch there, he blew a couple saves and everybody was ooing and ahing, and they wanted him to be a closer. He wasn't even being close to that.
I never wavered on Todd Jones. We signed Todd Jones because Todd Jones walked fewer people than any closer in baseball last year. It's a good feeling -- it's not a good feeling to get beat, but if you get beat, it's a better feeling to know that they hit the ball, they earned it, they got base hits, and you didn't walk two guys in the innings and somebody blooped one in there. So he's been great.

Q. The general manager, Dave, says that when Pudge was acquired, it had a very big impact organizationally, because it sort of opened people to the ideas of things that could happen for the Tigers. Do you think that he also has a pervasive impact inside the clubhouse, and if so, how?
JIM LEYLAND: Well, I think any time you're a future Hall of Famer you get instant credibility. You would almost have to do something drastically wrong to change that. Pudge Rodriguez has been a player for us this year. Quite frankly, I think a lot of people thought I wouldn't get along with Pudge.
But it's been totally opposite. He plays hurt, he plays hard, and he comes to beat the other team. And for me, that's a manager's dream. You can't ask for any more than that. He's been great with the pitchers. He's been great with Chuck in the meetings. He's done everything we've asked and more.

Q. We've seen obviously what Kenny Rogers has done his last two starts. What has surprised you, or what did you not know about him that now you've learned about Kenny?
JIM LEYLAND: Well, I've learned that he can go through the regular season and go about his business the way he does, and I've also learned now just recently that he's got some extra fuel there when he needs it. That's pretty impressive, particularly at Kenny's age.
You know, he's like an old shoe during the season. He's real comfortable for you. And during the playoffs, obviously he's been able to pick it up even a notch more. He's been able to take advantage of the adrenaline situation.
Some guys that works against, some guys it works for, and fortunately, in our situation this postseason, it's worked for Kenny.

Q. What about his personality?
JIM LEYLAND: He's a much more comical person than people would think. He has much more personality, I think, than people would think. I know all about the situation last year and everything. He's a good guy. He's been a total professional in every sense of the word.
You know, he's a little bit of a tough central Florida grow-up kid. I'm sure he's had a pickup truck at some point in his life (laughter).

Q. Last Saturday Jeremy had a lot of success in the early innings pitching with the shadows. And with the sun out right now, are you hoping that will work to his advantage again today?
JIM LEYLAND: Well, the conditions we can't do anything about. When you talk about shadows being in your favor, they also work against you, because the other pitcher pitches in the same shadows.
You know, it's just what it is and you just have to fight through it and maintain your concentration, probably take it to a little higher level. But whatever it is, it is.

Q. What's the status of Zumaya for today?
JIM LEYLAND: I really haven't seen him today. He was better yesterday but could not have pitched yesterday. I doubt that he can pitch today, to be honest with you.
That changes things around a little bit. That makes it a little bit more difficult, when you lose a guy like that, because normally the 6th inning of a baseball game is the toughest inning to manage.
And if you've got Zumaya and Rodney healthy you can use one of them at that point and still have the other one back and still have Jones back. But when you lose a guy like that, it makes it even more difficult. We'll just live with that situation and make do the best we can.

Q. Because of the situation you guys are in today, potential clinching game, do you feel like you need to say something to the team today, or no?
JIM LEYLAND: What?

Q. Do you need to say something to the team because it's a potential clinching game?
JIM LEYLAND: I say something to them every day. I have a little something I say to them right after batting practice. Some of it is very serious, some of it is comical, and some of it is probably boring (laughter).
But I learned a long time ago if you feel something in your heart that you should say to the team and you don't say it, and when that situation comes up you're really second-guessing yourself, and that's when you get one of those sleepless nights.
I don't say something just to say it, but I think most of the time for postseason you can come up with something on a daily basis that makes a little sense.
Like today, I think it's important not to get caught up in the celebration, not to get caught up in winning it for your home fans. We've got to get caught up in Danny Haren today. That's what we've got to get caught up in. You can't get caught up in being happy with your families after the game. If we get fortunate enough to win. You've got to put all those things in the back of your mind and it's hard to do.

Q. The 6th inning of a game is the toughest to manage. Is that because that's when you have to make a decision on the starting pitcher most of the time?
JIM LEYLAND: Is what now?

Q. The 6th inning of a game you said was the toughest inning to manage. Is that because you have to make the decision on the starter?
JIM LEYLAND: Well, it's a combination of that, and sometimes I think people don't realize that the most important out of the game could come in the 3rd inning of the game, it could come in the 6th inning, and it seems like the 6th inning is one where it comes more often than not.
So you're always saying to yourself. Is what I'm bringing in better than what I'm taking out? Is what I'm taking out better than what I'm bringing in? Which guy is it? If this is the most important out, should I have the best guy out there with the exception of the closer? Or can I milk an out?
That's what I've emphasized from Spring Training on. I don't have a 12th pitcher or 11th pitcher. I've got 12 pitchers that are going to have to get a big out at some point during the season.

Q. You've had a group of young pitchers sort of all at the same time become very good performers. Does it remind you of any team from baseball's history, all these guys getting good at the same time? And do you have any theories about why maybe it's happened all at the same time?
JIM LEYLAND: Well, I never compare players or teams, so it doesn't remind me of anybody. I think the simple fact of this is when I went in Spring Training, I knew what the Tigers had had up here in the past, and I knew what I was looking at when I saw these kids in Spring Training, and I've always been a talent guy.
I've always felt like sometimes organizations say, Oh, he's only 21. He's too young. And my philosophy has been Well, is he good? Yeah, he's good. Has he got great stuff? Yeah, he's got great stuff. When you call the bullpen you don't ask how old he is (laughter).

End of FastScripts...

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