Straight talk

One of the primary reasons Jim Leyland is successful, I think, is his ability to manage people. This, as I've stated in defense of Charlie Manuel, is more important than managing games. Here is another example, taken from the Detroit News. It's Leyland's comments regarding Brandon Inge as the Tigers open camp.

"We're going to talk about that when he gets here. He and I are going to call the media into my office and discuss it one time, tell you everything, then not talk about it for the rest of the spring. That way he won't be aggravated every day by someone at his locker wanting to talk about it. He won't talk about it after the one time and I won't, either.

"I think it's a strong possibility (Inge will get traded, but I want to wait for him to be here when I discuss it. That's only fair to him. But until something happens, he's on the ballclub."

Of course, this probably won't stop the media from asking about it every day, but Inge must appreciate Leyland's approach.