I've got a few friends who are Tigers fans and really into the whole sabermetrics side of thing, so I've been having to listen to them ramble on about how terrible Leyland is for a while and that the Tigers organization needs to move more toward an ideology that is less old school and more welcoming of sabermetrics.

In other words, they're great examples of letting statistical analysis ruin your enjoyment of the game. THEY'RE IN THE GOD DAMN WORLD SERIES, BE HAPPY, MORONS!

I am a Tiger fan since 1960 and am somewhat frustrated with their reluctance to embrace statistical analysis. But since the Dombrowski hiring they have been a competitive team and after 15 years in the desert that is pretty awesome. Leyland has his quirks and drives me crazy sometimes. In that respect he is like, well, like every other manager I have ever followed. They all have quirks. This is a solid organization. They throw too much money at the wrong guys sometimes, they make clinker trades sometimes, but who doesn't? By and large Dombrowski and Leyland have been very successful. One of the things I wished for all year was that they could come up with a corner OF who could DH and relieve them of the Delmon Young nightmare. Glad it didn't happen. They finally got rid of Brandon Inge when it looked like he was finally done and he went and had a decent year for Oakland and by all accounts made a big difference in the Oakland clubhouse. The more I watch the more I am convinced that whereas the stats types have created a whole new insight into the game, the old coots like Leyland really do know a thing or two. He can have the job as long as he wants in my book.

I couldn't care less if the Tigers adopt "statistical analysis" or not. Dombrowski has done an amazing job no matter what data he relies on to do it.

As for Leyland, he's great at keeping the clubhouse happy, but not so great at in game decisions. If I see him bunt only to open up a base so cabrera can be walked one more time I swear I'll kill the man. If he throws Benoit-Valverde in the 8th-9th one more time, I won't have time to kill him because 3.5 million Detroiters will beat me to it.

But he's so good at keeping the clubhouse in order I'm willing to overlook his deficiencies in managing a game. I'd be fine with him coming back for as long as he wants.

In other words, they're great examples of letting statistical analysis ruin your enjoyment of the game. THEY'RE IN THE GOD DAMN WORLD SERIES, BE HAPPY, MORONS!

While I agree with your main point, it'd be even easier to enjoy the Tigers run this October without you grousing about the team and its fans in every single Tiger-related thread. Give it a rest.

On Leyland, I love him. It's possible we'd win more with a Maddon type, but he wouldn't be half as fun. It's also very possible any manager wouldn't be nearly as good as managing the people and the press.