Struggling Tigers
By Blake VandeBunte • Apr 16th, 2009 • Category: 2009 Season, Carlos Guillen, Curtis Granderson, Justin Verlander, Magglio Ordonez, Matt TreanorHere we are on the Tigers first scheduled off day of the season. The Tigers are 5-4 which seems like 9-0 after last season’s awful start. While 5-4 hardly guarantees the Tigers a playoff spot, they’ve had plenty of terrific individual performances and are tied for the division lead.
However, it’s not all good for the Tigers, some guys are struggling. Struggles in April are not uncommon. Many of players have a history of starting slow. Here’s a look at some of the Tigers that are off to slow starts.
Curtis Granderson: Granderson is hitting .205 with an on base percentage of just .238, hardly in line with his career numbers. Curtis is a career .279 hitter, so .205 is a far cry from what you would typically expect out of the Tigers leadoff hitter. In games played in March/April for his career, Granderson is a .268 hitter, 11 points below his career average. This tells us that Granderson usually starts out a little bit slow to start the season before turning it on in the summer months. Too early to panic with Curtis, he’ll come around.
Carlos Guillen: I have to admit, I worry about Guillen. I wrote before the season that it feels like Guillen is aging quickly. He’s suffered through injuries last season and he just doesn’t look good so far this spring. He’s hitting only .167 in 30 at-bats and has only two doubles and no home runs. Carlos is a career .289 hitter and is a .287 hitter in March/April. Keep an eye on Guillen’s struggles. He could be the next Gary Sheffield in that the team is stuck with him as their DH and robs the club of flexibility. I hope this isn’t the case as he is one of my favorites. I would hate to see him go out like that.
Matt Treanor: Treanor is the backup catcher, so I won’t make much out of this. In his two games so far this year, Treanor is 0-7 with 3 strike outs. Treanor is a .234 career hitter, so he won’t hit much more than he is right now. Hopefully he can hit higher than, .000.
Magglio Ordonez: Ordonez is another aging star. He’s in the last year of his deal and is still being asked to be a presence in the middle of the Tigers lineup. Magglio’s power numbers are declining but he’s been able to keep his average up over the past few years. So far this season, Magglio is hitting just .273 with no extra-base hits, all nine of his hits have been singles. Magglio has also struck out 8 times in 9 games, a much higher rate than usual. Like Granderson, Ordonez gets the benefit of the doubt. Odds are he’ll turn things around.
Justin Verlander: Verlander’s struggles have been well documented. He was a wreck last season and his first two starts this year have been tough, although his last start was okay. Verlander has been plagued by high pitch counts in his starts this year and that was a pretty consistent problem last season as well. The strikeouts have been there as he’s striking out better than 12 batters per nine innings. However, he’s going to need to attack hitters and get that pitch count down if he’s going to get back to his 2006-2007 form. I gave him the benefit of the doubt in 2008, he’s going to have to work his way back this year.
It’s still early and hopefully every single one of these guys will get things going and contribute more as the season progresses. Keep an eye on them over the next couple of weeks.
Blake VandeBunte is a posting fiend.
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Guillen worries me too, and I think the Sheffield comparison is a good one. In the last week of Spring Training next year, could he be the next big contract the Tigers let go?
Rod Allen said something about an achilles injury with Guillen. Maybe that is why he is struggling. And maybe a good manager would give him a couple of days off instead of DHing him.
Ordonez is another aging star. He’s in the last year of his deal
His contract is quite complicated, but it looks to me like the Tigers have him for 2010 if if he has 135 starts or 540 plate appearances this year, or 270 starts or 1,080 plate appearances between 2008 and 2009. Otherwise the Tigers can pay him $3 million to buy out of 2010.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1985108
Rea, good point. I was basing that on the assumption that the Tigers will almost certainly pay that $3M to have him leave.
http://mlbcontracts.blogspot.com/2005/01/detroit-tigers_21.html
Cot’s Baseball Contracts is the best place for me regarding Tigers players contracts. Explanations for his options in 2010 and 2011.
As for Carlos, he has an achilles heel tendon strain. He was obviously not able to run as well as he usually does, watching the Tigers on wednesday, and for him Carlos to struggle against contreras, he was 16 for 40 against him before wednesday, he is hurting.
I would not be surprised if he sits-rests this weekend. Tigers can go with Anderson and Thames in left or Thames and Larish DH.
Guillen is the biggest worry….I would have to agree. Last Sunday, I was at the game. Yes, he came through with a huge hit, but he was HURTING after only running to second. Hopefully, warm weather will ail all of them.
It’s about time you made it over here, Zappatista.