Jim Leyland Steps Down as Tigers Manager

Today, Detroit Tigers Manager, Jim Leyland, officially announced he will step down.  He said he would know when it was time, and the end of the 2013 season marked that time.  Leyland said he had coffee with Tigers President and General Manager, Dave Dombrowski, on September 7, to inform him that he wouldn't be back next season, a decision he started thinking about in June. He sited being travel weary and not having the fuel left in the tank to continue. 

Leyland, despite his success, was constantly under criticism from fans on the way he managed games.  Personally, I think it was unfair.  A lot of Tigers fans have had short memories and have not taken time to enjoy what Leyland has built in his 8 years in Detroit.  He turned around a team that had 12 losing season from 1994-2005, into a perennial contender throughout his tenure.  In 2006, his first year in Detroit, he lead the team to a Wild Card berth, exciting playoff wins against the New York Yankees and the Oakland Athletics, and to their first World Series appearance since 1984 (they would lost to St. Louis 4-1 in the series).  In 2011, the Tigers would win their first Division Championship since 1987, and go on to win the Central Division in 2012 and 2013.  They made their second World Series appearance in 2012 (a loss to San Francisco 4-0), and reached the American League Championship Series this year against Boston.  In all, Leyland and the Tigers made four postseason appearances, three straight Central Division titles, two American League Pennants, and two World Series appearances. He said this year's defeat to Boston stung the most because he felt that the entire team, coaches and players, "Let one get away".

I hope when Tigers fans look back on Jim Leyland's time with Detroit, now that he is gone, that they will appreciate all he did in bringing back the passion for the Tigers and Baseball in Detroit, as it showed every night in Comerica Park.  He did more in his 8 years, than any other Manager in Tigers history outside of Hughie Jennings who lead the Tigers to three straight World Series appearances from 1907-1909. 

Love or hate the way he managed, you have to respect the fact he brought the team back to prominence, and left them with a very bright future ahead.

When Terrorism Hits Home

On days like this, it's hard to find words.  The tragic bombing at the Boston Marathon today, killing at least 3 people and injuring more than 130, there is not much that can be said.  The right words just don't seem to come.  The footage of the blasts, knocking people over, maiming and even killing people, there are not many things that you can do but pray to whatever higher power you may believe in.  One of the things I noticed in the videos, is how many people immediately ran right towards the blasts.  First responders, race volunteers, even spectators, running to lift debris off of victims.  This shows the what good can come in such a tragic event.  People running into a very dangerous situation to help save the lives of complete strangers.  It's quite remarkable what we are capable of in situations like this.

We have been lucky, of sorts, that we don't face situations like this everyday, like other countries do.  The last act of terrorism on United States soil, that I can remember, is the tragic events that took place on September 11, 2001.  Again, on that day, it showed the triumph of the human spirit, with first responders, and others, trying to save as many lives as possible, in such dangerous chaos. 

I hope the Boston Marathon is run for a 118th year next year.  It has endured through World Wars, 9-11, and even scandal.  I believe it will endure through this as well.  It just goes to show, no matter how much security there is at any sporting event, or anywhere a large crowd gathers, tragedy can strike at anytime.  There has always been a fear at a sporting event, where large crowds gather, that something like this could happen.  The Centennial Olympic Park bombing during the 1996 Olympics is another example of that.  The book Black Sunday by Thomas Harris depicts a scenario where a bomb is on a blimp to be detonated during a Super Bowl.  Luckily, that has never happened and hopefully never will. 

Tonight, and in the days ahead, all we can do is pray for the victims, their families, and hope whoever is responsible is caught quickly and brought to justice.  Sometimes when the right words escape us, a hug, a smile, a prayer, or an act of compassion is all we have to give.  It's something we all should do every day.  And there is no better time to do it than today...

Remembering Cory Lidle

Cory Lidle died on October 11, 2006.  Who is he?  He was signed by the Minnesota Twins as an amateur free agent in 1990.  After being released by the Twins, he was signed by the Milwaukee Brewers in 1993.  He was then traded to the New York Mets in 1996.  He made his Major League debut on May 8, 1997.  He participated in the 1994 season as a replacement player, making him ineligible to join the MLB Players union.  He later played for Tampa Bay, Oakland, Toronto, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, and the New York Yankees.  He had a mediocre big league career.  He was 82-72 overall, with a 4.57 ERA.  His best season was with Oakland in 2001, posting a 13-6 record with a 3.59 ERA as a starter.  He won 12 games with Toronto in 2003, 12 with Cincinnati & Philadelphia in 2004, and 12 with Philadelphia & the Yankees in 2006. 

In 2006, he was traded from Philadelphia, along with outfielder Bobby Abreu, to the Yankees in exchange for pitchers Matt Smith and Carlos Monasterios, catcher Jesus Sanchez.  In his debut with the Yankees, he pitched 6 shutout innings, allowing just three hits, in completing a five-game, four day, sweep over the then second place, Boston Red Sox.  He pitched in his final game on October 7, 2006, in an American League Division Series game, against the Detroit Tigers.

In 2006, the Tigers were on their way to making the playoffs for the first time since 1987.  It had been a long wait for us Tigers fans.  Me, being a life long, die hard, Tigers fan (I have a Tigers tattoo on my right arm that I got on October 13, 2000), was excited at the prospects of my team finally making the playoffs after several long, lean years.  They were in a battle for first place with the Minnesota Twins going down to the wire.  The battle came down to the final two series of the year against Toronto and Kansas City.  They lost 2 of 3 to the Blue Jays, but still had hopes of their first division title since 1987, still alive.  In a tough final three games against they Royals, they Tigers ended up getting swept.  A tough finish to a great year.  Luckily, they were ahead enough in the Wild Card standings, that they still ended up making the playoffs with a 95-67 record, six games ahead of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.  With a two or three games to go in the regular season, I was able to buy two tickets to the second home game of the ALDS.  A lot had to happen in order for me to be able to go.  After buying the tickets, I asked my friend, Doug, who lived in Virginia at the time, if he would want to go with me.  We have been friends since sixth grade, and have seen numerous Tigers games together over the years.  Him, being as big a Tigers fan as I am, there wasn't anyone else (maybe besides my Dad), that I'd want to attend this game with.  He said yes, he would make the drive back and go.  Still, the odds were stacked against us.  We didn't know if the Tigers would end up winning the division or make it as a Wild Card.  After being swept by the Royals, the Tigers drew the dominant New York Yankees.  The Yankees could easily sweep the Tigers, so a second home game seemed out of reach.  The Yankees had home field advantage.  This meant they would host games 1, 2, and 5. 

In Game 1, the Yankees scored 5 runs in the 3rd inning, on their way to winning 8-4.  In Game 2, with rookie 17 game winner, Justin Verlander on the mound, the Tigers won the game 4-3.  Verlander pitched 5 1/3 innings allowing 3 runs.  The Tigers bullpen, behind Jamie Walker, Joel Zumaya, and Todd Jones, held the Yankees scoreless, allowing the Tigers to even the series at one game a piece.  This win assured us of a second home game for the Tigers.  Doug made the trip up that Thursday.  We stayed in the Detroit area, with another one of our close friends, Jim.  We watched Game 3 at his house, as Kenny Rogers dominated the Yankees 6-0.  The Tigers were up 2-1 in the series, setting the stage for a possible Game 4 clincher.  Needless to say, we were very excited.

We arrived at Game 4, extremely excited to see something special.  We knew the possibility that the Tigers could lose, but we didn't care.  We were at a Tigers playoff game for the first time in our lives.  This game didn't disappoint.   Jeremy Bonderman started for the Tigers and started off well.  The game was flying by in the first few innings.  Bonderman was dominant with only (approximately) 36 pitches thru 5 innings.  The Tigers jumped out to a 7-0 lead.  I don't think we have ever yelled so much at a game, I know I hadn't.  My voice, for the first time in my life, was almost gone by the 6th inning.  It seemed like fate was aligning.  Bonderman ended up pitching a solid 8 1/3 innings, allowing just 2 runs on 5 hits, striking out 4, and walking just one.  His slider was phenomenal, keeping the Yankees hitters off balance all night long.  The Tigers ended up winning the game, 8-3, and eliminating the mighty New York Yankees.  We were out of our minds with excitement, because our Tigers, were moving on.  They ended up sweeping the Oakland Athletics in the American League Championship Series.  Magglio Ordonez, hit a game-winning Homerun in Game 4 (that ironically, our friend Jim was at) and sending the Tigers to their first World Series since 1984.  Sadly, the St. Louis Cardinals ended up winning in 5 games. 

Quietly in Game 4 against the Yankees, a pitcher who, unless you were a big Baseball fan, people probably didn't know, Cory Lidle, made an appearance.  In the second inning, Lidle relieved starting pitcher, Jamey Wright.  Wright had given up 4 runs.  Lidle pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up 3.  Little did we know, that would be the final game Lidle would ever pitch in his life.

Cory Lidle liked to fly.  Lidle earned his pilots license during the off season between 2005 and 2006.  He had only 88 hours of total flying time under his belt, 48 of them as the lead pilot.  Four months prior to the crash, he had bought a Cirrus SR20, which is a small, light plane.  In July of 2006, he spent three days learning how to fly it.  In those three days he logged 12.5 hours of flight time, mostly in someone else's plane. 

On the morning of October 11, 2006, Lidle, along with a more experienced pilot, took off from Teterboro Airport in New Jersey.  Although the Lidle was the least experienced of the two, he climbed into the lead seat, which is located on the left side of the plane.  They were flying down the East River.  They were in the air about four hours, when disaster happened.  According to witnesses, and the National Transportation Safety Board, the plane was attempting to make a 180-degree turn over the East River.  The plane ended up making a steep turn, and started to wobble.  It ended up crashing into the side of a building, killing Lidle and the co-pilot.  Twenty-one additional people were injured, including several New York City firefighters. 

I was watching CNN that day.  They were showing breaking news of a plane that had crashed into a building.  After September 11, 2001, you think of possible terrorism.  As the story unfolded over several hours, word came that one of the people on board was Cory Lidle.  Thoughts raced through my mind at the time.  Didn't he pitch in Game 4? I wasn't completely sure due to the fact that I was caught up in the euphoria of the Tigers winning.  I ended up looking up the box score and sure enough, Lidle's name was there.  I couldn't believe it.  Just 5 days earlier, I had seen him pitch.  Just 5 days later, than man had died. 

Admittedly, I barely remember him in the game.  I vaguely remember seeing his #30 from my seat high up down the right field line at Comerica Park, giving up an RBI single to Ordonez, and a two run double to Carlos Guillen.  Lidle's delivery during that game is still fresh in my mind today.  I still can't believe I saw a man alive, throwing pitches in a crucial playoff game, then dying just 5 days later. 

Cory Lidle left behind a wife and a six year old son. 

(Information gathered from the New York Times and Wikipedia)

The Oprah Winfrey - Lance Armstrong Interview Part II

Part II of the Lance Armstrong interview just ended.  Again, it's something everyone must see to form their own opinion about Armstrong.  He was more emotional when talking about the effect it had on his children.  His son defended him to his classmates over and over.  He finally had a sit-down conversation with him and his other kids during the holidays, and told him to stop defending him.  Just to tell the other kids that "dad is sorry".  After facetiming with his mom, he could visibly see that his mother was a "wreck" over this.  He never really understood how his actions affected other people until he had to tell his mom and kids that he had been lying all these years.

Armstrong stated that he didn't "deserve" the death penalty, but did deserve to be punished.  He felt that when he came back in 2009-2010 that the sport of Cycling was "clean" and that he was competing on an even playing field.  He had promised his ex-wife that if he did comeback, that he would do it without PEDs.  There is evidence to the contrary. 

Although, Armstrong was a bit more emotional tonight, he didn't shed tears.  Some people who know him well said that it was the most emotion they have seen out of him, others who do not know him, wonder if he wasn't emotional enough.  It's hard to say.  I believe, that when talking about his kids and mother, that his emotion was genuine.  It was probably the most genuine moment of the entire interview. 

I don't think Winfrey's performance was as good as the first installment of this two night event.  There were questions she should have followed up on that she didn't.  When he said that he didn't think that the PEDs caused his cancer, she needed to follow up on it.  When he denied ever offering USADA money and he denied doing it, she should have pressed him harder on it.  USADA CEO Travis Tygart, in his interview with 60 Minutes Sports, was adamant about that it was offered.  She should have pressed him more on Tygart and their relatationship.  I believe Tygart in that Armstrong indeed did.  He denied offering money to USADA to "paying him off", as Winfrey characterized it.  He didn't deny not just offering the money to USADA in general.  Winfrey never pressured him on that point.  Big whiff, in my opinion. 

Armstrong said he is in therapy, on and off, for awhile.  He admitted that he should be in it regularly.  I don't think the second part of this interview did him any good.  Jeffrey Toobin, of CNN, says that he will spend a lot of time in court and should not have done this interview.  In my opinion, he shouldn't have done the interview at this time either.  Reason being, he didn't seem forthright in all of his answers.  He, admittedly, has a long ways to go in this "process" of honesty.  He clearly didn't come fully clean in everything, especially in not addressing the hospital room confession in which Betsy Andreu, and her husband, were present, when he admitted taking PEDs. 

My final take on the interview...I get that people can be unemotional at times.  I am unemotional at times when you should be.  I get it.  But, his body language...the rubbing of the hands, the crossing of the legs, the constantly looking down and not making eye contact in certain situations when you need to...I get that...He never leaned forward, he didn't make eye contact at times when he should have to convey important points...I am not a body language expert by any means, but I know how I act when I am trying to be contrite.  Everyone is different, but there are certain "tells" that everyone has that convey truth and contrition.  He didn't show that at times during this interview.  He may have to do more interviews along the way that brings out more details in this scandal.  Only time will tell if he does more interviews.  There is a lot to digest from this interview.  Again, I implore everyone to watch and judge Armstrong for yourself.  As soon as I can find the complete interview, I will post it.  I believe there is a lot more to this story to come...

The Oprah Winfrey - Lance Armstrong Interview Part I

I, like millions of others, have just watched part 1 of the Lance Armstrong interview that he did with Oprah Winfrey.  While he did admit to use of EPO, testosterone, and other PEDs, in all seven of his Tour de France wins, the manner in which he admitted though was no less astonishing.  Winfrey, the day after she conducted the interview with Armstrong, made an appearance on CBS This Morning, and characterized the way he admitted use, as not the way she expected that he would do it.  There is so much to this interview and it is hard to summarize.  It's something that you just have to watch and come to conclusions on your own.

My take is, that while he did admit to using PEDs, he still was defiant and smug in some of his answers.  I think that's just a part of his character, which obviously, are not good qualities.  While admitting use, he denied being the king pin and in charge of the doping program.  He said he was a bully, yet, he said he lead by example, and not by threatening to kick other riders off the team if they didn't dope.  His answers were contradictory in some respects, and you could tell he was holding back in others.  He flat out wouldn't talk about conversations he had in a hospital room when he was being treated for cancer.  He refused to apologize to certain women he had called "a bitch" or "a whore", although he said he regretted saying it.  Winfrey gave him plenty of opportunity to apologize, but he didn't.  I really don't think this interview has done him a whole lot of good so far.  While it shows a little remorse, it still shows his arrogance and defiance against other key players that were involved in this doping scandal.  You could tell he was still trying to either cover for close friends, or soften the blow to their involvement in this.  It really is just unbelievable, and again, hard to summarize for anyone who did not watch.  It's something that you have to see and decide on your own.

On Winfrey's performance in her questioning of Armstrong.  Her opening line of questioning, asking him to answer "Yes" or "No" to key questions about if he did or didn't dope was brilliant.  Other questions where she should have followed up more on certain things, or was leading on with possible answers to a question she asked, was a mistake.  Her job isn't an easy one.  Overall, she did a lot better than what I thought she would.  She clearly did her homework and was well prepared.  Winfrey has called this the biggest interview she has ever done in her career.  This would be the biggest interview of anyone's career, even someone like Winfrey.  I still would have liked to see someone like Scott Pelley of CBS, or Bob Costas and Dan Patrick of NBC conduct this interview, but clearly, Winfrey, overall, did a great job tonight.  It will be interesting to see part two tomorrow night and what else will come out.  He is supposed to talk about his kids, his mother, and what he would say to all the people who believed and who wear the yellow Livestrong bracelets (which he wore during the interview).  I will be interested in hearing about the latter. 

While Armstrong is trying to clear his own conscience with this interview, he still is not doing himself any favors by still bringing his arrogance into some of his answers.  I will say this one more time, watch it for yourself and come to your own conclusions on Armstrong. 

Part II of Winfrey's interview will air Friday night at 9pm on OWN and Oprah.com...

The Fraud that is Manti Te'o?

Deadspin reported today that Manti Te'o's girlfriend who died of leukemia just hours after his grandmother, was actually not his girlfriend...In fact, she wasn't even real.  The shocking revelation that Deadspin, who seemingly thoroughly investigated this (article found here: http://tinyurl.com/b29k3pd), shows that it was either an elaborate hoax that Te'o was oblivious to or something he could have been a part of.  Notre Dame Athletic Director, Jack Swarbick, who just held a press conference moments ago, is totally behind Te'o in the sense that he was the victim.  He repeatedly called Te'o a victim of a hoax.  The univerisity did conduct their own investigation but never turned it over to law enforcement.  They were made aware of this, by Te'o, on December 26.  Swarbick talked to Te'o on the 27th where he laid out his relationship with the alleged woman posing as his "girlfriend".  Many inconsistencies in Te'o's story remain.  He said he had met her after a game at Stanford and even vacationed together.  He never said it was exclusively an on-line relationship.  He said they had talked on the phone almost everyday.  What is the truth? Swarbick said that Te'o received a phone call on the 26th, when he was at an ESPN awards show, from a number he recognized, and a voice he know.  It was supposedly from the woman who had "died" and said she was indeed alive.  While the university investigated, Te'o remained silent, and has remained silent since the National Championship game loss to Alabama.  Swarbick said that Te'o was going to address the media on this next week.  Now he says that Te'o will have a press conference tomorrow.  Will we ever get the truth from this? Was this an elaborate hoax by some sick people or was Te'o actually in on this? I doubt Te'o will admit he was in on this and will play a victim.  What do we believe?  The same day when we finally will allegedly hear that Lance Armstrong lied about PED use, will we get the whole truth from Te'o? I doubt the whole truth, but then again as sports fan, do we ever? One thing I know...I guess I have to watch the show "Catfish" to get any context of how something like this could even supposedly happen...

The Fraud that is Lance Armstrong

Like many people, I wanted to believe. I wanted to believe in a man who was on his death bed with testicular cancer.  I wanted to believe that the seven Tour de France races he won after being so close to death was done legitimately.  But fairly tales are only in books.  Cycling is a dirty sport and has been for years.  It was naive of us believers to think that in a sport that is so dirty and corrupt, that Armstrong would have won cleanly.  It's a sad story that we cannot have heroes in sports anymore because he could of been it.  Performance Enhancing drugs have been used rampantly in Track & Field, Cycling, Baseball, and many others.  Who can we look up to anymore?  Maybe that's the problem.  We invest so much time in sports and it's players.  We look for good guys that we can like and follow, and even idolize, especially as kids.  As parents (which I'm not one), how do you explain to your kids that their favorite athlete might be a cheater?

I know in 1998, during the great homerun chase between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, I, along with a lot of my friends, wanted to be a part of history.  So we took a trip to Milwaukee to see Mark McGwire make history.  He did hit homerun #65 in one of the games we saw that September weekend.  We were elated that we got to see history.  Then steroid rumors began.  I gave McGwire, Sosa, and others the benefit of the doubt at first.  Then I came to the sad realization that these rumors were indeed true.  McGwire admitted to steroid use.  Sosa has not yet, but evidence is strong.  Needless to say, I was devastated at first.  Then I came to acceptance.  Acceptance that it wasn't just those two guys that used, but many of the era.  So I have accepted the era.  Now I watch sports with caution and skepticism.  When I watch a sporting event, I don't think about who uses PEDs and who doesn't.  I just am not surprised anymore if someone tests positive.  While the testing has become much better over the years, the cheaters are still ahead of the game.  My first introduction to steroid use among athletes was in 1988 during the Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.  Canadian track star, Ben Johnson, obliterated the record in the 100 meters and beat American Carl Lewis.  Shortly there after, Johnson tested positive for steroids and was stripped of his Gold Medal.  I didn't really understand it then at age 9, but I understand now why athletes try to do it.  Everyone wants to be bigger, faster, and stronger.  They feel cheating is the only way to do it.  What they should take note of, is the rise and fall of Lance Armstrong.

When Armstrong was winning, even amongst the loud whispers of doping, people didn't want to believe it.  I didn't want to believe it.  He denied it over and over again.  He was defiant and was hard not to believe.  You wanted to give this cancer survivor the benefit of the doubt that he was clean.  He started the Livestrong Foundation for cancer research.  They yellow bands became a symbol of the cause.  I have worn a yellow Livestrong band for years.  In light of Armstrong reportedly admitting to his use of PEDs in an interview that he will do with Oprah Winfrey that will be taped Monday and aired on Oprah's OWN network and Oprah.com, I've been struggling with the fact if I should still wear the yellow band or not.  Armstrong has distanced himself from Livestrong.  Resigning as it's CEO and not doing anymore appearances.  But the organization still does great things in the fight with cancer; a disease that has affected all of us in some way.  After a lot of thought, I've decided to keep wearing the band...not in support of Armstrong, but in support of the fight against cancer.

In an interview with 60 Minutes Sports, the head of the United States Anti-Doping Agency, Travis Tygart who investigated the Armstrong case, said he found strong evidence and testimony from fellow team members of Armstrong, that the United States Postal Service team, had a very sophisticated system of illegal drug use, lead by Armstrong.  He said that bullying tactics were used to get other team members to use, and imposed a strict code of silence that was equal to the code of silence you would see in mafias.  The details and testimony are damning.  Armstrong refused to fight it.  It has been reported recently that he has reached out to USADA in hopes of lifting his lifetime ban so he can compete in other sports, like triathlons and marathons.  We'll see what comes of that.

Armstrong's rise and fall has been an epic one.  One that every athlete should take note of and think twice before using PEDs.  I hope it will lead to less use, however, we all know that won't happen.  Cheaters will always try to be ahead of the system.  I'm hoping that in his interview with Winfrey, that he will address every single question she poses.  I think Winfrey won't be as tough a questioner as say a Bob Costas or a Dan Patrick who would be more qualified to ask such questions, but I do hope, that whatever she asks he answers honestly and candidly.  In a text to the Associated Press, he said he put no limits on what she could ask.  I just question that she will ask all the right questions and hard follow up questions that need to be posed to him.  I'm sure some clips and quotes will be leaked out from that interview tomorrow and I'm looking forward to watching the full interview on Thursday.

I hate to judge someone before hearing it from them no matter how things look, however, the evidence against Armstrong is so damning that it's hard to not pass judgement.  While we may never get all the answers, I hope the answers that Armstrong does provide will shed light on why he did it and the culture he himself set among his USPS team.  We will see.  Stay tuned...