[Lefty Noob]

Jimmy Leyland of the Detroit Tigers has been named the AL Manager of the Year. According to the AP, "Leyland turned around the long-moribund Tigers in his first year with the team, leading them to the World Series and their first winning season since 1993. He got 19 of 28 first-place votes and 118 points to beat out Minnesota's Ron Gardenhire, who was listed first on nine ballots and totaled 93 points."

Great choice. I agree 100%. What do you guys think?

[MVB]

Gardenhire deserved this award- after all he took a team that was 15 spots back in the division and won the division. Leyeland couldn't hold on to that 15 game lead... Gardenhire had only one good pitcher (took work with all year (Santana), while Leyeland had an entire rotation of capable arms. Gardnhire only had a couple good hitters ( Morneau, Mauer, Hunter) while Leyeland had a much more solid lineup ( Ordonez, Guillen, Rodriguez, Granderson, Monroe, Thames). Gardenhire had the tougher schedule, more injured players, and more demand from his fans.

Gardnhire definitely should have won... but once again, the ESPN favorite brings home the award.

[ThePundit]

Originally Posted by MVB

Gardnhire definitely should have won... but once again, the ESPN favorite brings home the award.

MVP: The Tigers haven't been .500 in what? 15 years? Are you forgetting about how good Liriano pitched to get them back in the race? And while Brade Radke is not what he used to be, he's still a good pitcher. Throw in the Twins outstanding pen also and the biggest homefield advantage in baseball. .....

So with all due respect, I think your dead wrong on this.

[MVB]

Originally Posted by ThePundit

MVP: The Tigers haven't been .500 in what? 15 years? Are you forgetting about how good Liriano pitched to get them back in the race? And while Brade Radke is not what he used to be, he's still a good pitcher. Throw in the Twins outstanding pen also and the biggest homefield advantage in baseball. .....

So with all due respect, I think your dead wrong on this.

I'm not saying Leyeland did a bad job, he was very good... but he didn't have the difficulties, Gardenhire and the Twins had to work past.

Yeah, Liriano was good, but he only made a couple of starts, before becoming injured. Most teams would fall down helpless after losing a major player, a major key to their winning. But Gardenhire kept the team focused.

Brad Radke was not great at all in '06. Besides his many injuries, Radke posted a 4.32 ERA and allowed 197 hits ( 24 homers) in 162 innings.

The Twins had the most "team victories", where everyone contributed, in the American League. Those team victories come as a result of good managing...

Like Girardi in the NL, Gardenhire managed the rookies ( Garza, Bonser, Tyner, etc...) perfectly. He also had the veterans ( White, Radke, Silva) and the ego of Torii Hunter to handle.

The Tigers had a nice, easy year... in first place the whole time ( either in the division or the wild card). The Twins were 15 games behind, but instead of giving up like some teams did ( BoSox, Indians, Braves), the Twins fought back and won the division.

In a big part, thanks to their manager.