DETROIT (Reuters) - Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland offered no excuses for his club's meek four-game surrender to the San Francisco Giants in the World Series.
"We got beat," he told reporters after the Giants completed the series sweep by beating the Tigers 4-3 in 10 innings at Comerica Park on Sunday.
"You can't sit up here and try to find some reason or excuse. They beat us. They earned it. We didn't hit enough. Obviously we had five hits again tonight," he added.
"So you just turn the page and move on. Congratulations to the Giants. They did a fantastic job."
Sunday's victory capped a stunning Fall Classic blowout, in which the Tigers were outscored 16-6 over the four contests and, at one point, were held scoreless for 20 straight innings.
After sweeping the New York Yankees in four straight games in the American League Championship Series, few expected Detroit's potent bats to fall silent so quickly in the pursuit of a first World Series victory since 1984.
Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera had three hits and slugger Prince Fielder just one in the series as Detroit was shut out in two of the four games.
Leyland, who won the World Series in 1997 as manager of the then-Florida Marlins, took solace in the fact his team were champions of the American League.
"If somebody told me in spring training that we would be in the World Series, I would have had to say I'll take that," he said.
The Tigers, who won the Central Division with an 88-74 record, beat the Oakland Athletics 3-2 in the five-game AL Division Series before breezing past the Yankees.
The 67-year-old Leyland admitted his club had been "a little inconsistent all year".
"We played pretty good when we had to get the division, and we obviously played pretty good through the first two rounds of the playoffs," he said.
"We got to the World Series and we just sputtered offensively."
Leyland said that although he was dejected at the loss, the feeling would not linger, adding that he really wanted to record a World Series win for 83-year-old Tigers owner Mike Ilitch.
"I'm disappointed," he said. "We're going to say our goodbyes tonight. I'm disappointed for Mr Ilitch. We wanted this bad for him.
"But when you've been in the game a long time, somebody wins and somebody loses. I'm going to go home and I'll hear some talk about it. 'You guys were not very good in the World Series,' and all this and that, but I'm pretty much able to turn the page."
(Editing by John O'Brien)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/baseball-leyland-stays-humble-giants-tame-toothless-tigers-052122391--mlb.html
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