Detroit manager Jim Leyland wasn't a happy man after the Tigers fell to the Red Sox on Monday. And for good reason.
One blown call in the second inning seemed to change the entire complexion of the game, turning the tide in Boston's favor for the rest of the tilt.
Mike Aviles appeared to swing and miss at a pitch with a runner on second and two outs. Tigers catcher Gerald Laird seemed to have caught the pitch, but home-plate umpire Jeff Nelson ruled that Aviles tipped the ball and that the ball struck the ground first. Therefore, it was ruled a foul ball, and first-base umpire Bill Welke confirmed the call.
Leyland and Tigers third-base coach Gene Lamont were tossed from the game for aruging the blown call, after which Boston scored three runs as part of the extended inning.
Welke later realized the umpires made the wrong call, but it was hardly enough for a visibly upset Leyland after the game.
"Was that a ridiculous call? Then write it that it was a [expletive] ridiculous call," Leyland said during his rant, getting more and more upset with both the media and the call as he spoke. "Write that it was a [expletive] ridiculous call; not just a bad call, a maybe call, a [expletive] ridiculous call. Write the [expletive] thing. That's all. I protect them more than anybody; I'm not mad at the [expletive] umpires, but [expletive] it's a ridiculous [expletive] call, you saw it, you think it's a ridiculous call, write it, [expletive] I don't have to say it.
"I'm not a [expletive] writer, I'm a [expletive] manager."
Leyland made it clear that there shouldn't have been a second-inning rally. Since he's right, and the call was a bad one, it's hard to fault him for the postgame frustration.
Check out more of Leyland's comments in the video below, courtesy of Fox Sports Detroit.
