Tigers manager Jim Leyland has certainly garnered his fair share of criticism this season. Whether it be his starting lineups, leaving pitchers in too long or not long enough or his coaching staff, fans and media alike always seem to find something to get on Leyland about.
But could Jim Leyland potentially be considered or even win the AL Manager of the Year despite all the criticism?
Right now the Tigers have a commanding 6 game lead over the second place Chicago White Sox and a 6.5 game lead over third place Cleveland. Currently that 6 game lead is the largest margin between first and second place in the American League and the second biggest margin in all of baseball (Philadelphia also has a 6 game lead with Milwaukee possessing a 9.5 game lead).
Now a lot of you are probably wondering why should Jim Leyland get any consideration whatsoever for AL Manger of the Year?
Well let’s take a look at some of the other candidates for the award:
Joe Girardi (New York Yankees) – The Yankees currently sit 2.5 games behind the Red Sox for the lead in the AL East but are 6.5 games ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays for the AL Wild Card. With that said it’s pretty safe to assume that the AL Wild Card will once again come out of the AL East.
Expected? It’s always expected that either the Red Sox or Yankees will make it based on the huge payrolls each of those teams have.
So could Girardi win the award? Sure he could BUT it seems like the Yankees payroll has cost their managers the award in the past. In fact the last time a Yankee manager won the AL Manager of the Year Award was back in 1998 when Joe Torre won. That ’98 team was a special team though and there’s really nothing that truly stands out about this team. Why should this year’s voting be any different?
Terry Francona (Boston Red Sox) – Like the New York Yankees the Red Sox are on their way to the playoffs whether it be via the AL East Division title or the AL Wild Card. Also like the Yankees the Red Sox have a stacked lineup with three potential AL MVP’s in Adrian Gonzalez, Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury.
Now I’ve never been one to punish a manager just because he has an abundant of talent at his disposal. We’ve seen managers and teams with tons of talent in the past fail to get the job done. However the voting for AL Manager of the Year does seem to punish those teams with a nice stock of talent.
The last time a Red Sox manager won the AL Manger of the Year was back in 1999 when Jimy Williams took home the award. Again like the Yankees, why should this year be any different?
Manny Acta (Cleveland Indians) – Manny Acta has done a tremendous job with an Indians team this season that many thought weren’t going to be in the playoff picture at least for another year or two. IF the Indians make the playoffs then Acta should be the odds on favorite to win the award. Again the Indians have to make the playoffs in order for this to happen.
Jose Guillen (Chicago White Sox) – Like Acta, Guillen’s consideration is all dependent on whether or not the White Sox make it to the playoffs. The thing with Guillen though is he could either win the AL Manager of the Year or get fired at season’s end. I’m going with getting fired at season’s end.
Ron Washington (Texas Rangers) – Ron Washington continues to do a very good job with a Texas Rangers team that has a good chance at making the playoffs once again this season. However Washington won the Award last season and no manager has ever won the award in consecutive years in the American League and it’s only happen once in the National League. Bobby Cox of the Atlanta Braves won it in 2004 and 2005.
Mike Scioscia (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim) – Mike Scioscia might be the best manager in all of baseball but like Acta of the Indians and Guillen of the White Sox Scioscia’s chances of winning Manager of the Year is dependent on whether or not the Angels make the playoffs and right now they are two games back of the Rangers.
Again you’ve probably seen a theme among most of those mangers and that theme is the playoffs. If your team doesn’t make the playoffs, you shouldn’t get the consideration. It’s as simple as that.
This is the same for Leyland, if the Tigers don’t make the playoffs then he shouldn’t be considered for the Award. However, the fact of the matter is (as of now) the Tigers do have that 6 game lead in the AL Central and he’s doing it with a team that no one was picking to win the AL Central. He’s also doing it with a pitching staff where two of the five starters have an ERA below 4.00 and with five players in his starting lineup hitting over .300.
When you add all that up, is it a testament to Leyland’s successes as a manager or just luck? The baseball season is a long one and you have to figure that luck will only get you so far.
Source: MLB.com