Updated 1h 58m ago
Detroit Free Press Staff
Jim Leyland was still steamed Monday after the Tigers' 7-4 loss in Boston, the one where the umps' admitted they messed up the call on what should have been an inning-ending third strike.
Instead, they said Tigers catcher Gerald Laird short-hopped the foul tip — he didn't — and it led to three Red Sox runs.
Leyland started pretty calmly in his postgame media session before going off on another highlight-reel rant.
"I mean, there should not have been a second-inning rally," he said. "There was three outs. I've been in the game a long time, and when the catcher catches the ball and it's strike three, you call the guy out. It's that simple, isn't it?"
But then he stopped using his inside voice.
"I mean, you guys need to write something and hold people accountable!" Leyland said, uh, firmly. "You know what? We're all accountable in this business! All of us are accountable! And when I say all of us, I mean everybody that's involved in the game needs to be held accountable!
"OK? That's exactly what needs to be done. There should not have been a rally in that inning. Now anybody that saw that, have the nerve to write what you saw and say it. Because I'm not going to sit here and rip umpires.
"But you saw what you saw, clearly saw what you saw —I just saw it for the 10th time — clearly saw what you saw, write it and say something once in a while. Have the nerve to say something.
"Now, next question."
OK, they blew it.
But while Leyland says he doesn't rip umpires, other than to sic the media on them — "I'm the most protective person in the world of umpires. I protect them more than anybody in the game." — complaining about the call did earn him his third ejection this month.
<A href="http://www.foxsportsdetroit.com/pages/video?videoid=ea4c3c2d-acaa-4d33-b4fd-67f353cf64b7&src=v5:embed:syndication:&from=shareembed-syndication" mce_href="http://www.foxsportsdetroit.com/pages/video?videoid=ea4c3c2d-acaa-4d33-b4fd-67f353cf64b7&src=v5:embed:syndication:&from=shareembed-syndication" target="_new" title="Leyland, Fister talk blown call">Video: Leyland, Fister talk blown call</A>
See photos of: Jim Leyland, Gerald Laird, Mike Aviles
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