Former Pirates Skipper Jim Leyland Thinks Pedro Should Play And Forget About Getting Revenge On The Cubs
PITTSBURGH (93-7 The Fan) - Former Pittsburgh Pirates Manager Jim Leyland joined The Cook and Poni Show on Thursday to discuss the Pirates clinching a third straight postseason berth.
Leyland was the last manger to lead the Pirates to three consecutive postseason appearances in 1990-1992.
He told the guys that it's not easy doing what the Pirates just did.
"It's hard obviously," Leyland said. "People don't have an appreciation of how hard it is to win a major league game."
He has been impressed with how the Pirates have played on this road trip and he thinks they have what it takes for a long postseason run.
"They are a well-rounded team with good starting pitching," Leyland said. "They have got all of the pieces, but it's still hard to win."
Leyland also told the guys that the threat of Pedro Alavarez hitting a big home run is enough for him to leave him in the lineup, but every manager has to know his team and if they are willing to accept the bad with the potential of the good.
The Pirates have a key series in Chicago this weekend, and the question on the mind of the fans is will the Pirates seek revenge for the hard slide last week that took out Jung-Ho Kang for the season.
Leyland doesn't think that is a good idea and thought the slide was a clean play.
"I think you have to be careful with that," Leyland said. "When you get people riled up looking for a fight sometimes you find one and it's one you don't want."
Listen to the full interview here:
