Obviously Pudge and Verlander were the big stories from Monday’s win, but manager Jim Leyland went out of his way to point out Sean Casey for his glovework to scoop up throws and Bobby Seay, who "possibly got the biggest out of the game."

Casey dug out at least three throws in the dirt, which is quickly becoming a habit for him this season. He’s not hitting the way fans would like, and his slowness afoot has come into question, but Casey has one of the better gloves by a first baseman. When you consider how many throwing errors came from the left side of the infield last year (Inge and Guillen combined for 50 errors total), there’s a value in what Casey provides. Coincidence or not, there have seemingly been fewer high throws sailing past first base, too.

Seay’s appearance was the first time this season that we’ve seen a situational lefty in the textbook sense. He came on, retired David DeJesus in a long at-bat, and then gave way to Joel Zumaya. I know Zumaya can hold his own against lefties, but DeJesus is 3-for-5 with a double, triple and four RBIs off of him. Plus, he’s 5-for-11 off Wilfredo Ledezma. It’s too early to say whether this is a sign of a role for Seay, but it’s a good fit for him.

On a side note, Pudge’s limp in his last at-bat is believed to be a cramp. Leyland said before the game that he’d probably rest Rodriguez for Mike Rabelo Tuesday with a night game before a day game.

For Monday’s series opener, with Ordonez returning to right field after a day at DH:

1. Granderson, CF
2. Polanco, 2B
3. Sheffield, DH
4. Ordonez, RF
5. Guillen, SS
6. Rodriguez, C
7. Casey, 1B
8. Monroe, LF
9. Inge, 3B

The flu bug appears to be spreading a bit, certainly among the coaches. Rafael Belliard was heading back home this afternoon because he was feeling awful, and others aren’t feeling well, either.