Why do Tiger fans love Jim Leyland? Today's reason: Answering Da Meat Hook

I find it hard to believe that Dmitri Young is clean and sober, as he currently claims, for a couple of reasons.

One, he's trying to make the roster of the Washington Nationals, a National League team. Where in the Hell is he going to play? Left fry cook? 3rd bartender? Designated drinker? The NL is no place for a player whose only true position is as a light switch hitting DH.

I remember the claims that Da Meat Hook was going to play several positions with the Tigers. 3B, 1B, OF, DH were all mentioned. Only it turned out that Young's best position was with his legs spread and hands against the wall. He showed more boxing that baseball ability last spring with his mistress beating ways. The only hitting Young did last season, other than belting around women, was hitting bottles of Wild Turkey. He sure as Hell didn't hit fastballs. Probably because he was seeing 3 of them, along with a pink elephant on the mound...

To think that Young would be an asset to ANY team, let alone a team in a league where you have to more than occasionally whip out the leather, is ludicrous. Young and glove leather mix like Barry Bonds and the 25th man on the Giants roster. Never the twain shall meet...

Then again, the Nats' GM is Jim Bowden, which explains why Young is under contract. This is the same GM who somehow managed to NOT trade Alfonso Soriano, despite the fact that he was going to become a free agent, and would be priced much higher than the Nats would be willing to pay. Bowden then let Soriano walk via free agency, receiving absolutely nothing in return, thus leaving the Nats with players like...Dmitri Young.

It must be God awful to be a Nationals fan. But I digress...

Second, is Young's claim that the Tigers hung him out to dry, and did not support him during his season long "Troubles."

"They were probably saving their own tail, because they thought that the whole court thing there was going to be a distraction for a team that was winning," Young said. "I thought it was a little (unfair) on their part, especially (because of) the time that I spent with the Tigers and represented them in a positive manner. I would have figured they would support me in the same manner, but they didn't."

As Jim Leyland would say, "What a bunch of @#%$!*&$@!!!" Speaking of which...

Today the Marlboro Man confirmed what we all were assuming last September. His response to Dmitiri Young's claim that the Tigers hung him out to dry last season was classic Cigarette Smoking Man. He was blunt, honest, and straight to the point.

Leyland begins his comments as if he's going to step cautiously when addressing Young's problems with the Tigers...

"I like Dmitri Young very much, and I wish him the best, but in my opinion, Dmitri Young was not an asset on the field last year and he also had to take care of some very important issues for the welfare of Dmitri Young."

He continues, while taking full responsibility for Dmeat's release...

"You can hold me totally responsible for his dismissal last year. Don't put it on the organization or anyone else. "

Then Leyland lowers the beer bottle boom...

"The part that upsets me is that this guy missed a lot of the season taking care of a problem he created, not one the Tigers created. The fact that we didn't support him is (wrong). We supported everything."

But the Marlboro Man doesn't stop there...

"For Dmitri to criticize the organization for lack of support is totally out of line. That's uncalled for. If you want to know the truth, it appears that Dmitri feels the organization disappointed him, and I'm sorry he feels that way. But I feel Dmitri disappointed us."

I think Leyland throughly closed the bar book when it comes to the Dmitri Young era.

What's interesting to note is that on WXYT this afternoon, the Freep's Drew Sharp claimed that what we are seeing in print is actually the PG version of Leyland's diatribe. Now that's the Jim Leyland we know and love, that God damned glorious son of a bitch!

Seconding Sharp was the last line of John Lowe's article...

Leyland read aloud that passage (The Young quote at the top of this post) of the interview to reporters, then delivered his own comments on it.

I'll make an educated guess, and say that's when Leyland began to swear like a 62 year old manager who is secure in his position, and thought he had heard it all.

When all is said and done, it seems the only person who believes the Tigers screwed Dmitri Young is Dmitri Young. Maybe his umpire clubbing brother Delmon, and Jim Bowden do, but no one else with even a modicum of sense (Which explains Delmon and Bowden) believes Dmeat's revisionist history.