Jim Leyland holds court on the shift

The Tigers, like most teams these days, employ some kind of defensive shift when they feel it’s called for. The Astros do, too. And after a game between the two teams, Astros starter Lucas Harrell mentioned a few hits he gave up that went against the shift.

Jim Leyland, do you have opinions? Perhaps, opinions that aren’t safe for work?

/Leyland taps pipe into ashtray, adjusts ascot, puts hands into front pockets of blazer

”We basically let the pitcher decide if they want that or not. ... Doug (Fister) didn’t want him over there. There was some confusion to start with. I’m not a big shift guy. Some teams are and that’s why I don’t buy it, because you can’t have it both ways. You want to do it or not? Doug saw that he was shifted on the bunt the first time up, so if he wanted to move them he should have moved them. So I don’t play that in between shit. I can tell you that right now. I don’t play that bullshit. Well, that time you should have had him here, this time have him there. That’s bullshit. I don’t buy that at all. That’s total bullshit, I can tell you that right now. That’s weak shit.

”Just like their guy, (Lucas Harrell) I read in the paper: ‘The ball, well, it could have been caught.’ That’s weak shit, I’ll tell you that right now. You can’t have them everywhere. Put them where you want them. You want them here? Put them there. We’ll put them anywhere you want them. I don’t want to hear that bullshit. That’s weak shit. That’s what happens with the shift. When it goes where someone would have been if they hadn’t shifted, well, they shifted. You can’t have it both ways. I think I’m pretty good. I can’t be over there at that desk and be over here on the couch. That’s just as fucking simple as it is. And that kind of weak shit pisses me off, I can tell you that right now.

(pause)

“Do you have any other questions about the shift?”

Jim Leyland has long been weak shit’s only natural enemy in the wild.