Leyland strategic in his his argument with umpire

After Verlander hit into an improbable 6-2-3 double play with no outs and bases loaded in the 4th inning, Leyland went after the first base umpire with a vengeance and not a little bit of strategy. In the house of the future Hall of Fame coach, Bobby Cox, Leyland decided to light a fire under his team who is currently on a 1-4 streak. Arguing with umpires is a time-honored tradition in baseball, part showmanship and part calculation. No coach in MLB history has been axed as often as Bobby Cox who could fill more than an entire season with ejections.

This is one baseball tradition that I've never quite understood. A call is a call; good, bad or ugly. You'll never see an umpiring crew reverse a call based on a protesting manager. In addition, showing up an umpire rarely pays off later in a game as umpires have overblown egos that match the overpaid athletes that they officiate. Chewing the ear of a 20-year veteran umpire most likely won't have the game changing benefits it might have on a kid who is calling a little league game and desperate to make up for a mistake.

What are they arguing about? "He was safe! No, he wasn't. He beat the throw! No, he didn't! His foot was on the bag, I could see it from the bench! I'm closer and had a better look at it, he was safe!" These arguments can last 10-15 minutes depending on the severity of the call. How much do they really have to talk about and why are they so angry? The situation reminds of the overblown reaction of soccer players who fake injuries to stall for time, unnecessary.

Ultimately, you rarely see a winning coach pull this crap. When the Yankees were dominant, Torre never got off his ass unless they were going through a slump or Steinbrenner was yapping about his job security. The same probably goes for Leyland. He is aware that the verdict is out on his performance as coach and his relatively short-term contract extensions are clear indicators of how Dumbrowski feels. Yelling and screaming might be his way of showing DD that he is awake in the dugout and earning his money, even if it isn't showing in the dugout.