Leyland: Don’t try to predict weather impact

The conditions at Yankee Stadium are really cold today, with a first-pitch temperature of 42. It’s damp and it’s windy. Sounds like perfect conditions for two hard-throwing starting pitchers who can jam hitters inside, right?

Well, yeah. But that doesn’t mean it’ll necessarily be a low-scoring game, the way Tigers manager Jim Leyland looks at it.

“I found out a long time ago not to try to figure this thing out, because it just doesn’t work,” Leyland said. “Normally, you go into a game like today and you figure with the cold weather, maybe the pitchers have the advantage. You have two outstanding pitchers going. But I learned a long time ago, maybe an infielder gets a wet ball and throws one away, an outfielder slips with a couple runners on because of the wet grass or something. So I’ve never tried to figure it. It is what it is.”