Did Jim Leyland Retiring Hurt The Yankees?

Before we get going I want to point out that this is pure speculation and we have not have a report come down substantiating this. With that said how in the world can Jim Leyland retiring as the manager of the Detroit Tigers hurt the Yankees you ask? Tony Pena, that's how.

Pena has been linked to job after job over the years but the jobs are always teams like the Kansas City Royals or other "unattractive" offers. The Detroit Tigers though, how could someone logically turn that down? How fun is it to watch Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer pitch four times a week and how fun is it to fill out a lineup card with Miguel Cabrera, Torii Hunter, Austin Jackson, etc. The core is there, the future is there, the ownership is willing to spend, and the division that they play in is weak.

The thing that worries me the most about losing Pena to Detroit is the fact that he has done more than enough to deserve it and to have earned it. Pena has managerial experience with the Kansas City Royals leading them to their first winning season in 2002 in over eight seasons and also won the Manager of the Year Award in 2003 in Kansas City. Pena almost already jumped ship in 2011 when Terry Franconca was fired, which the job eventually went to Bobby Valentine, so the fear that Pena would take a job if the job was right should be real. Pena has been a coach on the Yankees since the 2005 season under Joe Torre and even interviewed to manage the Yankees in 2008 when the Yankees hired Joe Girardi which shows his willingness and will to manage. I think that will and his success over the years will find him in Detroit in 2014 and I will be sad to see him go.