He's said stuff like this before, but once again Leyland's awesome.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/nat...y_grizzle.html
Before last night's game, reporters in Jim Leyland's office brought up the topic of Ivan Rodriguez's impact on the Nationals. Talk turned to the effect a veteran Hall of Famer can have on a team.
"It's not what Pudge brings into the clubhouse," Leyland said. "It's what Pudge brings on to the field. He's hitting .336! That's the kind of production you want. [Shucks], I can find a nice bunch of guys you want in the clubhouse. I can find that. He's producing. That's what's good. That's how I look at."
The talk turned to how Brennan Boesch -- who has a 1.076 OPS in 15 games -- has sparked the Tigers. Leyland circled back to the same point he made with Rodriguez: the only spark comes from actual production. Leyland related his thought to the Nationals.
"They didn't bring Strasburg up because he's a nice guy," Leyland said. "They brought him up because he's a big talent. He has a chance to be an unbelievable pitcher and he's won two games already.
"Take all that clubhouse [stuff] and all that, throw it out the window. Every writer in the country has been writing about that [nonsense] for years. Chemistry don't mean [anything]. He's up here because he's good. That don't mean [a hill of beans]. They got good chemistry because their team is improved, they got a real good team, they got guys knocking in runs, they got a catcher hitting .336, they got a phenom pitcher they just brought up. That's why they're happy."
"It's not what Pudge brings into the clubhouse," Leyland said. "It's what Pudge brings on to the field. He's hitting .336! That's the kind of production you want. [Shucks], I can find a nice bunch of guys you want in the clubhouse. I can find that. He's producing. That's what's good. That's how I look at."
The talk turned to how Brennan Boesch -- who has a 1.076 OPS in 15 games -- has sparked the Tigers. Leyland circled back to the same point he made with Rodriguez: the only spark comes from actual production. Leyland related his thought to the Nationals.
"They didn't bring Strasburg up because he's a nice guy," Leyland said. "They brought him up because he's a big talent. He has a chance to be an unbelievable pitcher and he's won two games already.
"Take all that clubhouse [stuff] and all that, throw it out the window. Every writer in the country has been writing about that [nonsense] for years. Chemistry don't mean [anything]. He's up here because he's good. That don't mean [a hill of beans]. They got good chemistry because their team is improved, they got a real good team, they got guys knocking in runs, they got a catcher hitting .336, they got a phenom pitcher they just brought up. That's why they're happy."
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