The Slacker

I attended my first gaggle of the 2012 baseball season today.  The Gaggle as you may or may not know, is the group presser that Tigers Manager Jim Leyland holds in his office three-and-a-half hours before every game.  It's a pain getting to the ballpark that early, but if you are serious about covering the ballclub, you have to know what the manager is thinking and saying, and to know that, you have to be at The Gaggle.

I've been admittedly remiss in this regard.  The Red Wings had been keeping me busy (not a problem anymore, right?) and I've been travelling the country visiting college campuses with my daughter.  I missed the entire series against Tampa Bay last week for example because we were in Tuscaloosa seeing what the University of Alabama had to offer.

On top of it all, I was a few minutes late to today's gaggle, and I can thank God for that.  Not in the sense of the "thank God" you say when that three-footer you have for par drops, but "thank God" in the sense of, "Thanks, God, for having church run so long this morning that I was a little late in getting to Comerica Park.

I tried to sneak in, but it's a tough sneak when you have to get a tape recorder on the manager's desk when he's sitting right there with his feet resting upon that desk.  Sure enough, as soon as I got my recorder in position, Mr. Leyland (that's what I call him, Mr. Leyland) looks up and says, "Where the heck have you been?"  I was not prepared for this.  In spite of the fact that I am a Gaggle regular--or was last year at least when I hardly missed a one--not once ever has Mr. Leyland referred to me by name. I thought, although I ask plenty of questions, that I had sort of blended into the woodwork as far as he was concerned.  I sort of mumbled something about how I'd been busy with the Wings and my daughter and went back to trying to blend into the woodwork.  Leyland said, "I just want to know I missed you," which I know in my heart is not, strictly speaking, at all true, and I said, "I missed you, too."  Which I had.  I enjoy the give and take at The Gaggle.

Since I was there and all, I had to ask Mr. Leyland why Justin Verlander pitched the night half of yesterday's Day/Night two-game-on-the-same-day deal we had going on here at the stadium since his ERA during the day is about half-a-run lower than it is for night games.  (I can't call it a doubleheader because so to do would violate the Rules of Baseball which plainly state that a doubleheader is two games on the same day played in immediate succession of one another.)  It turns out that Leyland, who first had to say, "It worked out, didn't it?" which it had, of course, had asked Verlander who told him, "Whatever you want Skip." (That's what he calls him, "Skip".)  Leyland then asked Tigers Pitching Coach Jeff Jones who he wanted to pitch which game, and Jones said he preferred to have Verlander go at night.  Leyland declined to elaborate and say why Jones felf that way.  So, I didn't get the answer I wanted, the one which would have satisfied my statistical curiosity, but at least we got some background on what went into the decision and we got to hear from Leyland, and not for the first time, an outstanding example of "what makes [Verlander] such a good teammate."

We're about ready to start the game here.  I'll be busy.  I'm doing updates starting at 2 o'clock eastern from the ballpark.  If you want to turn in, here's where http://www.iheart.com/#/live/1129/?autoplay=true

I hope I don't suck, but it can't be ruled out.  It is live radio, after all.