Yankees 9, Tigers 3: How About Everyone Ease Off Jim Leyland A Little

somewhat gone

"Did MLB issue an edict forbidding use of LH relievers in obvious spots today?" Keith Law asked on Twitter last night, and certainly wasn't the only one questioning Jim Leyland's decision to bring in Al Alburquerque to face Robinson Cano with the bases loaded. As you can see from the above photograph, it is not a move that paid off for the Tigers. Had Leyland gone with a lefty, few would second-guessed the move, regardless of the result, because of the widespread, slavish adherence to lefty/righty that is, in fact, quite dumb. You've got to actually look at the splits; you really shouldn't bat Simpson for Strawberry because there's a lefty on the hill. Possibly a bad example, that, because there's a move totally worked out, but what I am getting at here is merely that Alburquerque, in addition to having the best name ever, is murder on lefties, and Cano hits lefties better than righties, so how exactly is bringing in Alburquerque the wrong move? Yes, it is too bad Cano homered, this is true, but everyone needs to ease of Jim Leyland a little, if for no other reason than that Jim Leyland is super old. Tom Gage of The Detroit News, in particular, should shut it. Here's Gage:


Why did he bring Al Alburquerque, a right-hander, into Game 1 of the Division Series on Saturday night instead of a left-hander to face Robinson Cano with the bases loaded in the sixth inning?


Cano made it a hot topic because he hit a grand slam off Alburquerque in the Tigers’ 9-3 loss to the Yankees, the first home run Alburquerque has allowed as a Tiger.


“To me,” Leyland said, “that’s one for everyone else to second guess. Obviously, that’s one people could talk about. But to me, that was really a no-brainer.


“Alburquerque also has had a tremendous ratio of swings and misses. He had faced Cano one time and had struck him out. He’s been one of the best in all of baseball in swings and misses.


“Left-handers (of which Cano is one) are hitting .177 off Alburquerque. Cano is hitting .320 against lefties and .295 off righties.

“That’s the reason.” 

Correct, those were the reasons. 


A lot of them, in fact. But numbers are just that, numbers -- and they can't overcome the risk of a hanging slider, which Alburquerque threw to Cano. 

That last sentence is truly a miracle. 

I leave it to Neil to bemoan the rest of this rain-suspended first game that suggested -- to me, at least -- that God probably hates Detroit.

KS