DETROIT TIGERS - 2008 PREVIEW - PART 1 - THE POSITION PLAYERS

Posted by bigD | March 23, 2008 .

With baseball right around the corner, I truly am getting pumped up. I want to go on record and just say that with Michigan sucking so badly in basketball, I haven’t been into March Madness in years so I definitely look forward to the beginning of baseball every year and this year is no exception. Perhaps more so this year though. Our Tigers are one of the favorites to win everything. When was the last time we began a season with that thought even remotely in our heads? Well folks, for 2008, get used to it. Here is my rundown of the 2008 Detroit Tigers with my own personal opinions on all players and eventually predictions for the upcoming year. Let’s start with the position players and get to pitching later. Here is my breakdown of the Tigers fabulous starting 9 (clearly one of the best teams ever assembled)…

INFIELDERS

C – IVAN RODRIGUEZ – The big question that surrounded Pudge during the 2007 season was… Would the Tigers pick up his contract for 2008? Despite a season where his offensive numbers were down, especially his walk count (just nine for the entire year) the Tigers still realized they had nothing better in their system at catcher and since Pudge was initially the player they built this team around, I think in the end Detroit figured Pudge was worth overpaying for since he’s still one hell of a leader. His arm isn’t what it once was but defensively he’s still a talented catcher. He’s had a tremendous spring. I hope it continues especially when you consider he’ll probably be hitting 8^th or 9^th in this year’s batting order. If March has been just a fluke, expect Pudge’s numbers to be worse this season and continue to drop for the rest of his career. In fact, his numbers will REALLY go downhill in the upcoming years. Until then he’ll continue to be a leader and work hard to try and get Detroit back to the World Series. Don’t get me wrong though…He’s still the core of the Tigers.

1B – CARLOS GUILLEN – Here’s one player that will handle the switch from SS to 1B just fine. If he was to be replaced at SS, all Guillen asked GM, Dave Dombrowski for was to find someone talented to replace him with so he didn’t feel like it was a slap in the face. Enter Edgar Renteria at SS and it seems that Guillen doesn’t mind the switch at all. Experts say this is a guy who could end up being a gold glove caliber 1B before it’s all said and done. I don’t know about that but one thing is for sure, Guillen’s bat is tremendous. In my opinion he may have the smoothest swing in all of baseball and the fact that he switch hits makes him that much more valuable. With this lineup around him, he could be in for his best season yet and that’s saying something considering his 21 HR’s and 102 RBI’s last season (top RBI total for Shortstops). Not only that but manager, Jim Leyland has said that Guillen is both a tremendous person/player and leader and will be a great manager someday. This is simply put one hell of a ballplayer and especially one hell of a hitter. Seattle, eat your heart out.

2B – PLACIDO POLANCO – If he hit for power he’d be the best 2B in all of baseball. He still might be if you think about it. Last season he won a gold glove and was errorless. That in itself is phenomenal. Top that off with career numbers in RBI’s, runs, hits (200) and his .341 batting average was exceptional. What continues to amaze me about this little guy is his ability to fight pitchers, stay in counts and put the ball in play but his hits seem to have eyes and find holes. He is a great role player in that he does whatever the team needs and he’s exactly what you want in a #2 hitter. Like Guillen, another career year is possible in many areas considering all the offensive talent the Tigers have plus Polanco’s ability to hit singles/doubles, get on base and score runs. He’s a definite candidate to walk away with a gold glove again. The only question is when will this guy make an error if ever? What’s scariest about this rugged little talent is on this team he’ll fly under the radar. It will be hard to match .341 but as an all around 2B minus the power, he’s truly one of the very best at his position and #2 hitters around.

SS –EDGAR RENTERIA – He’s a rock solid player and very steady at the SS position. He is getting over a high ankle sprain from last August but apparently feels fine now. He had a great year with the Braves as far as Shortstops go hitting .332, 12 HR’s and 87 RBI’s. The problem is, he hasn’t hit as well in the AL (.276-8-70 in Boston in 05) in his career. Then again, he’s never batted in a batting order like this one in his career. The biggest single thing about this guy is he can basically bat anywhere in the order and he’s a strong all around talent. On top of that, he’s won World Series’ before and that’s just another key ingredient for a team built for that purpose.

3B – MIGUEL CABRERA – He was the big offensive pickup in the off-season, just signed a huge contract extension worth in the neighbourhood of 150 million and it could just end up being the move that puts Detroit back in the World Series. He already won a World Championship with the Marlins but now he switches to the AL. Does it really matter? Cabrera can flat out hit. Hitting behind Ordonez will certainly be more enjoyable then carrying a Florida lineup last season. His range at 3B is not what Inge’s is but Brandon’s bat isn’t even remotely close to this guy’s. And to think, he’s only in his mid-20’s. He was Dave Dombrowski’s #1 youngster in the Florida system and now they’ve re-united again. Cabrera absolutely rakes the ball up to bat and although the hitter friendly Dolphin Stadium is now a thing of the past, the CoPa is an exceptional doubles/triples park and with this lineup around him it could get very scary very quickly. He has a bit of a weight problem but he came to camp in pretty good shape so thus far Detroit is happy with him in that area. Being as he’s still pretty young, the skies are still the limit for this hitting phenom who has done nothing but impress thus far in his career. Expect that to more then continue as he attempts to be one of the most feared hitters in the game and take Detroit to the promised land.

OUTFIELDERS

RF – MAGGLIO ORDONEZ – I thought he’d be a good hitter in Detroit, but to be the batting champion, out-hit Ichiro and hit over .360 in the process is the stuff legends are made of. Well, that’s what Maggs has indeed become in Detroit. In my opinion he still is more of a 3^rd hitter then a 4^th because of the high average and low power numbers but when a guy hits this well out of a particular spot you don’t mess with greatness. As a defensive player he isn’t much simply because he doesn’t have much speed but he gets good jumps on balls and has a decent glove if it’s in his vicinity. That’s not what Maggs is to Detroit though. Like Cabrera, with Maggs it’s mostly all about his bat. His ability to hit the ball the other way now separates Maggs from most power hitters. Due to the fact that you still have to respect his power to pull the ball, you still have to play him that way despite his uncanny ability to hit the ball to right field for singles/doubles. The question is, was last season the best he can do or can he even outdo .363, 117 runs, 216 hits (absolutely ridiculous for a clean-up man), 139 RBI’s, 54 doubles and a terrific .416 batting average off of left handers. The fact that he hits to all fields now makes you stop and wonder if last season was just the beginning. Truly Maggs has become one of the games best hitters for average. I never thought I’d say that.

CF – CURTIS GRANDERSON – In my opinion, you aren’t just watching a young talent when you watch this kid play. You’re watching one of the most overall talented players in baseball. They say him and Cleveland’s Grady Sizemore are a close comparison but I personally think Granderson has the ability to be better then Sizemore because Grady tends to strikeout way too often. That being said, Granderson himself still has a lot of trouble hitting against lefthanders and must cut down his strikeouts in that area. That’s the only real knock against him at this stage though. He became the 3^rd player in history to record 20 doubles, 20 triples, 20 homeruns and 20 stolen bases in the same season (Jimmy Rollins also did the same thing for the Phillies last year, thus 4 have now done it). In my opinion, 20-20-20-20 is JUST THE BEGINNING. He got hurt this spring and will be on the DL for the first 2 or 3 weeks of the season so Brandon Inge will start the year in CF but all should be well by mid-April for Curits. Once Granderson learns how to run the bases better and again, cut back on his strikeouts against left-handed pitching he will be a complete 5-tool player at which the Tigers have seldom seen in the past 20 years. Oh come on, BIG D, is Granderson really that good? YES. HE IS!!!

LF – JACQUE JONES – It’s hard to say what Jacque Jones Detroit will see in 2007. They have a more then adequate back-up in Marcus Thames off the bench just in case and to be honest, we may see a lot of him. The thing is, Detroit likes Jones if for no other reason, because he’s a left-handed hitter in a lineup dominated by righties. The big concern is his HR production. The former Twin went from 27 HR’s in 2006 to just 5 last season for Chicago. He was really the tale of 2 seasons last year. In the first half he hit .228-2-20 whereas in late summer he battled back with .332-3-46. If his 2^nd half equals the entire year then Detroit has found a diamond in the rough. Jones will get the job done for 2 basic reasons…1. Detroit’s killer offense…and 2. Thames will get a substantial amount of playing time backing him up in left. I have more then enough faith that these 2 together will be a step-up from Craig Monroe but then again, that’s saying very little.

DH – GARY SHEFFIELD – He had a terrible first few months of the year in 2007, battled back and then had to go on the DL with shoulder problems late in the year. You just don’t know what you’ll get out of him injury wise nowadays and let’s face it, he’s not getting any younger. The interesting thing about Sheffield is that he had 22 stolen bases last year (the most for him since 98). That’s an interesting total from a guy with declining speed. The bottom line is that Shef still has the fastest bat speed in the game, he still scares the hell out of pitchers and he wants to win badly. He thinks Detroit can win it all. If he stays healthy all year long (unlikely) I’ll agree.

POSSIBLE BENCH PLAYERS

UTILITY – MARCUS THAMES – You simply can’t downplay this guy as just another everyday back-up player because he certainly isn’t. He may become one of the major keys to Tiger success in 2008 for a few reasons. Thames will back-up Carlos Guillen at 1B on some days (Guillen will still get time at SS when Leyland gets creative), he’ll back-up Jacque Jones on days when left-handers throw against the Tigers (he’ll also back-up the other outfielders if necessary) and he’ll also have some time at DH when Shef needs a breather. Add it all up and you have by far the most important Tiger off the bench. The good thing is, thanks to Thames, Leyland has a lot of options to work with. The trouble with Thames is he absolutely crushes a fastball and not much else. When you consider that he probably plays about once or twice a week if that and his HR’s per at bat total is 14.9 this guy is very dangerous and is clearly under the radar for Detroit. Man, what a dangerous weapon to have lurking on the bench.

UTILITY – BRANDON INGE – He’ll probably be traded for relief pitching either by the end of spring or in the early parts of the season since he has now become expendable with Cabrera at 3B and the bullpen has become such a need for the Tigers all of a sudden. The problem is that Inge has too big of a contract for his low .200’s batting average. Mind you, he has a tremendous glove (perhaps the best in baseball) but not much else. He is however a tremendous athlete and I think he’ll do well in the National League. I think that’s a league that better suits a player like him. So teams are now weighing the option, is the big contract worth an almost non-existent bat? He has SOME pop and can hit the ball out of the park but Inge strikes out way too much and I don’t see that trend ending anytime soon. He wants to be a starter and power to him if his wish comes true somewhere other then Detroit but he would still serve an important purpose to the Tigers if by some miracle he does stay. He can play any position on the field including catcher (the Tigers were hoping he’d back-up Pudge but it looks like that won’t happen much if he stays anyway). That with that fact that he’ll start in CF while Granderson heals from his hand injury further proves Inge’s value to this ballclub. He’s not exactly the pinch-hitting type off the bench so he’ll end up being more of a “play when starters need a rest” player. That being said he’s still a character player on this team and will continue to be that until the trade to send him out of Motown is completed.

SS – RAMON SANTIAGO – A defensive specialist who doesn’t know how to spell the word “ERROR” let alone make one. The same can’t be said about his useless bat though. I always have to laugh when I think about Seattle trading Carlos Guillen for this guy and Detroit ended up getting him back anyway! HA, HA, HA!

C – VANCE WILSON – He was hurt all last season and who knows what Detroit will get from him this time around. The thing is, he is a real gritty player and the team really likes him. He was an adequate back-up to Pudge before last season’s write off. I can’t see him being what he was 2 years ago if he does play.

OF – FREDDY GUZMAN – Trust me on this one, THIS DUDE IS FAST!!!

OF – TIMO PEREZ – He proved late in 2007 (while Detroit was pissing around trying to decide what to do with Monroe and Maybin) that he has some ability but he just doesn’t have much power. A gutsy little player off the bench.

UTILITY – RYAN RAYBURN and MIKE HESSMAN – These 2 Toledo stars are good players but there just isn’t any room for them.

OF – BRENT CLEVLEN – He strikes out way too much and although he may get a call-up he won’t be there for long.

THE BOTTOM LINE

This is an offense built for a single purpose…The destruction of the AL. Make no mistakes about it they are more then capable of 900-1000+ runs if they all stay healthy. That’s a big IF though. The good thing is that Jim Leyland has enough depth and enough players who can play multiple positions that there is a lot of flexibility and deadly talent to work with in and out of the lineup. The stage is set. Now it’s a matter of this awesome lineup (clearly one for the ages) to perform. Detroit may end up with some pitching problems (particularly in the bullpen) so the offense is going to have to bail them out but I believe they will. Defensively, Detroit is rock solid up the middle where it matters the most with Renteria, Polanco, Pudge and Granderson. The move of Guillen from SS to 1B should work out in the end and although Cabrera is not Inge at the hot corner, he’s not exactly Charlie Brown over there either. On paper this is one of the best teams in baseball history. It’s time to prove it.

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DETROIT TIGERS - 2008 PREVIEW - PART 1 - THE POSITION PLAYERS

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