omfort. Maddon suggested Hellickson might

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DETROIT -- A picture of Jim Leylands face stared out from the video board at an empty Comerica Park, next to that familiar Olde English "D" and a message that said simply: "Thank You Jim. Martin St. Louis Lightning Jersey Authentic ." After eight seasons managing the Tigers, including three division titles and two American League pennants, Leyland stepped down Monday. His voice cracking at times, his hands wiping away tears at others, he announced his departure two days after Detroit was eliminated by Boston in the AL championship series. "Its been a thrill," the 68-year-old Leyland said during a news conference at the ballpark. "I came here to change talent to team, and I think with the help of this entire organization, I think weve done that. Weve won quite a bit. Im very grateful to have been a small part of that." Leyland made his managerial debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1986, and from Barry Bonds to Miguel Cabrera, hes managed some of the sports biggest stars and been involved in some of baseballs most memorable games over the past quarter-century. In 1992, his Pirates lost Game 7 of the NLCS when Atlanta rallied in the bottom of the ninth inning. Five years later, Leyland won his only World Series title as manager when his Florida Marlins beat Cleveland in an 11-inning thriller in Game 7. Hes experienced some of the highest highs the game has to offer, but also endured difficult rebuilding periods in both Pittsburgh and Florida. After one season with the Colorado Rockies, Leyland didnt manage at all from 2000-05 before Detroit hired him. Leyland led the Tigers to the World Series immediately after taking over in 2006, losing to St. Louis in five games. The Tigers went to the World Series again in 2012 but were swept by San Francisco. Leyland worked under one-year contracts the last couple of years, saying he was content to wait until after the season to address his status. He was reflective late this season, mentioning to reporters that he had already managed the Tigers longer than he had expected they would keep him, but he also said in September that he still loved the atmosphere, the competition and his team. In fact, hed actually told general manager Dave Dombrowski in early September that he didnt want to return as manager. He expects to remain with the organization in some capacity after going 700-597 as Tigers manager. "Im not totally retiring today, Im just not going to be in the dugout anymore," Leyland said. "I hope and pray that you give the next manager the same respect and the same chance that you gave me." Leyland says his health is fine, but its time to stop managing. He said he started weighing his decision around June. "I started thinking this was getting a little rough. I thought that the fuel was getting a little low," Leyland said. "I knew that Id get through it because I knew wed be playing for something." The Tigers figure to contend again next year, which may lead Dombrowski to look for a proven commodity who can come in and manage. Kirk Gibson, who led Detroit to the 1984 World Series title as a player, is now managing in Arizona, but Diamondbacks president Derrick Hall tried to quash any speculation that Gibson would return to the Tigers. "We would not grant permission (to the Tigers to talk to Gibson) if asked because we want him here, and he told me this morning he has no interest in leaving," Hall said. Detroits players found out about Leylands departure after Saturday nights game in Boston, where the Red Sox won Game 6 to take the series. "Youve got your head down, you lost and the seasons over, and then Jim dropped that bomb on us," outfielder Torii Hunter said. "I just had a feeling that it could have been his last year. All year, he was kind of emotional, and I just felt it." Leyland said there was no announcement Saturday because he wanted the focus to be on the victorious Red Sox. However, he was honest about how much this defeat hurt. "With all due respect to the Boston Red Sox -- who earned it, they won it, they deserve to be where they are -- I truly believe the Detroit Tigers should be playing here tomorrow," Leyland said. "This is one thats going to stick with me, this is one that really hurts, because I really felt like we let it get away." When Leyland arrived at the Tigers spring training camp this year, it marked 50 seasons since he first showed up there as an 18-year-old prospect. His playing career never amounted to much, but his accomplishments as a manager over more than two decades have been impressive. He is 1,769-1,728 overall during stints with the Tigers, Pirates, Marlins and Rockies. "I had sent him a text yesterday morning, just to congratulate he and the organization," Boston manager John Farrell said. "Not only on a great team and a great year, and express the respect we have for him and certainly personally have for him throughout his career. To see the announcement today, and listen to him and know that early September this was clearly in his mind, that surprised me." When Leyland took over the Tigers, they had gone 12 years without a winning season. During his tenure, they finished under .500 only once. Detroit has become one of baseballs glamour teams of late, with stars like Cabrera, Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer helping the team win games and draw fans. Cabrera won the Triple Crown and MVP award last year. Verlander won the MVP and Cy Young Award the previous season. "Its been as much fun for me to manage Ramon Santiago as it has Miguel Cabrera, Justin Verlander," Leyland said. "Now in saying that, it was also an honour to manage the Triple Crown winner, an MVP, a Cy Young winner." The Tigers should be able to keep their core of players mostly together for next season, but now theyll need to find a new manager to replace Leyland, who always earned high marks for his ability to keep his veterans focused. "He really cares deeply about his players," utility man Don Kelly said. "When you go out there, the way he treats you, you want to run through a wall for him, go out there and get a win. Thats the way he treated me. He treated everybody like that." Tyler Johnson Lightning Jersey . -- Chicago manager Darold Butler has a message for the Windy City. Anton Stralman Lightning Jersey Authentic . -- Mike Shanahan gave Robert Griffin III a rest, and may have turned up the pressure on himself, too. http://www.lightningproshop.com/ryan-callahan-jersey/ .A. Dickey earned an American League Gold Glove on Tuesday to become the first Toronto Blue Jays pitcher to win the award.BALTIMORE -- The Tampa Bay Rays usually work their way around the bases one at a time, so they took great delight in putting on a power-hitting display against a team known for the long ball. Desmond Jennings opened the game with the first of Tampa Bays three home runs off Wei-Yin Chen, and the Rays got an impressive pitching performance from former Oriole Erik Bedard in a 5-4 victory over Baltimore on Saturday. Tampa Bay built a five-run lead in the fourth inning, then held off a late comeback bid to improve to 3-8 against the Orioles this season. Logan Forsythe and rookie Kevin Kiermaier each hit a two-run shot against Chen (7-3), who lasted only 3 1-3 innings in the shortest outing of his three-year career. Of the 15 home runs Chen has yielded this season, five have come against the light-hitting Rays. Tampa Bay started the day tied for 25th in the majors with 59 home runs and hit only two its previous nine games. Half the Rays 10 hits were for extra bases, including a triple by Ben Zobrist and a double by Ryan Hanigan. "Thats more like what we expect on a consistent basis, to play that game," manager Joe Maddon said. "Against this team here, fangs out late in the game, its nice to beat them that way." Nick Markakis and Manny Machado homered for the Orioles, who have a major league-leading 40 long balls in June. But it wasnt enough to beat the last-place Rays, who can win the four-game series with a victory Sunday. Bedard (4-5) struck out seven in a season-high seven-plus innings. The 35-year-old lefty gave up three runs and five hits against the team he began his career with in 2002. He walked none, and 68 of his 87 pitches were strikes. "Thats probably the best strike-ball ratio Ive ever thrown in my life," Bedard said. "The biggest thing was the first-pitch strikes and after that, I continued to throw strikes. I mixed in fastball, changeup, curveball and I came out on top." He was pulled after giving up a two-run homer to Machado in the eighth. Adam Jones added an RBI single off Jake McGee, who subsequently retired Nelson Cruz with two outs and runnners on the corners. Jason Garrison Lightning Jersey Authentic. McGee returned in the ninth to earn his third save -- the second in two days. Chen gave up a season-high five runs, seven hits and a pair of walks. The Taiwanese left-hander was 4-0 in nine starts since May 3 and 1-0 with a 2.77 ERA in two games against Tampa Bay. "For every game, you dont want to give up any home runs," Chen said through a translator. "Lately, Ive been leaving more pitches up in the zone. Maybe the opponent hitters are studying me more than they used to, so if I didnt make the adjustment necessary, the results are going to look bad. So Im going to look at that." On Chens fourth pitch, a 91 mph fastball, Jennings hit his seventh career leadoff homer to put the Rays ahead for good. Prior to the at-bat, Jennings was 4 for 23 (.174) against Chen. In the second, Sean Rodriguez singled and Forsythe followed with his first home run in 142 at-bats this season. Forsythe went 3 for 3 with a walk and scored twice. Tampa Bay made it 5-0 in the fourth when Forsythe singled and Kiermaier drove a 1-2 pitch into the right-field bleachers. It was the fifth home run of the season for Kiermaier and the first by a left-hander against Chen. "I actually like the way weve been swinging the bats," Kiermaier said. "It was one of those things today -- Desmond hit the leadoff home run then Logan came up clutch and hit that other one." Bedard retired 10 straight batters before Markakis homered on a 1-2 pitch in the sixth. NOTES: Miguel Gonzalez will start for Baltimore in the series finale against RHP Alex Cobb, who has held the Orioles to a .176 batting average throughout his career. ... Tampa Bay SS Yunel Escobar missed his fourth straight game with a sore shoulder. ... Orioles RHP Dylan Bundy, returning from elbow surgery, will make his fourth rehab start Thursday, this time with Class-A Frederick. ... Rays RHP Jeremy Hellickson, trying to come back from elbow surgery, ended his rehab start with Triple-A Durham on Friday night after three innings, complaining of discomfort. Maddon suggested Hellickson might return to Florida for an examination. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '