Justin Verlander is not invited to Jim Leyland’s on Sunday for dinner. A joke by the Tigers ace did not go over well with the skip during Friday night’s game. Insert old and ornery cliche here.
Verlander had just made quick work of the Indians in the 7th inning. He wanted to stay in the game but Leyland had other intentions. On the way to the dugout, Verlander avoided Leyland momentarily, taking a different set of stairs. Leyland hunted him down and a brief, awkward handshake ensued.
Much ado about nothing right? Verlander trying to be funny, Leyland not amused. Should have ended there.
Nope.
Detroit News columnist Bob Wojnowski details some post-game comments from the skip.
Hmm. Leyland not happy with Verlander’s playful attempt to avoid handshake and avoid getting pulled: “I didn’t think it was comical at all.”
— Bob Wojnowski (@bobwojnowski) June 8, 2013
Yes, Leyland is ticked at Verlander for avoiding him when getting pulled. But it’ll pass in about 10 minutes. At least, it should.
— Bob Wojnowski (@bobwojnowski) June 8, 2013
Verlander seemed genuinely surprised Leyland didn’t like his playful move: “If he wants to be mad, he can be mad. I wanted to stay in.”
— Bob Wojnowski (@bobwojnowski) June 8, 2013
Tension in Tigertown?