More fawning bullcrap on the inscrutable wisdom of Obi-Wan Leyland

As a Cub fan I enjoy seeing Neifi in a Tiger uniform. He wears it well...

 

OK, so who needed Vince Lombardi? I guess you substitute with Abe Gibron, Jim Ringo or Rich Kotite, and the Packers still win all those titles, huh?

 

Starman's Leyland rants are about as bad as Spnited's Joe Mauer rants.

 

One did: Belichick.

 

I see Inscrutable Wisdom pulled one out tonight

 

Starman --

While I tend to agree with your position regarding writers who type "breathless" stories about coaches who watch film, so too must there be a counterpoint to "Phil on the car phone" who thinks he could do a better job coaching the team.

He couldn't. Coaching is hard work. There are always a million factors to consider, and just like any job where one is the "decider," you have to make impossible choices. And maybe that's where some of those stories come from, to remind the bloggers of the world that they couldn't run a baseball team better than the manager of their local club just because they've calculated Omar Infante's VORP.

That said, if I read one more story about an NFL coach who sleeps in his office...

 

Bonilla was gone in '92, when the Pirates won the NL East for the last time. He was replaced by the combination of Cecil Espy, Alex Cole, Lloyd McClendon and Gary Varsho.

Post-Bonds? How about post-Bonilla, Drabek and Smiley, too. In two years, they lost their two biggest bats and two 20-game winners. Tough to maintain that standard when you're replacing Barry Bonds with Al Martin.

 

Hahahahah!!

He was also a helluva football player at USC.

 

Do you think the 2004 Red Sox win the World Series with Grady Little? Yes or no. Coaches do make a difference.

 

Grady Little, probably not. Torre, Cox, LaRussa and about a dozen others, probably so.

If individual particular managers or coaches really knew "the right" -- that is, the ONLY "right" --- "...way to play," they would win ALL THE TIME.

 

Yes, there are other good coaches out there. The key is to find the right one for your team.

Before this season, Detroit simply had promising young players, which they've had for years. Suddenly, the promise that so many players had finally came out at the same time. And it just so happened to come with the new coaches.

Now, whether Leyland deserves the credit for that can never actually been proven. But he is the manager on hand to see this surprise season through, so you have to give him credit -- just like you would if they had lost 100 games.