Pudge will hit 8th
Jim Leyland made that statement in passing this morning when talking about Rodriguez and what kind of presence he is on the team. Leyland said he came to Pudge early in camp to talk to him about hitting 8th or 9th, and that Pudge is ready to do whatever is best. "That's why I have the utmost respect for him," Leyland said.
It's not exactly breaking news, given the hitters in this lineup. The only surprise actually might be that he isn't batting ninth. Not sure who will do that, but keep in mind, Leyland has talked before about sometimes viewing the ninth spot as a second leadoff spot. That could be especially true if you view Curtis Granderson as a run producer at the top spot when the lineup turns over.
We also have pitching assignments for the upcoming games. Todd Jones will start Tuesday's exhibition game against Florida Southern, followed by Francis Beltran, Chris Lambert, Jeff Gerbe, Freddy Dolsi, Virgil Vasquez and Jordan Tata. From there, Jeremy Bonderman will pitch the official spring opener against the Mets Wednesday. Nate Robertson will face the Blue Jays on Thursday, with Justin Verlander pitching the other end of that home-and-home series in Dunedin. Dontrelle Willis will start against the Indians on Saturday in Lakeland, then Kenny Rogers will face the Tribe Sunday in Winter Haven.
This won't be the last time I don't agree with JL this year---especially as far as the lineup is concerned.
If Pudge bats 8t then that means either Jones or Renteria bats 9th.
I think it would be insulting to bat Renteria 9th and batting Jones 9th means you are putting two LHB back-to-back (Granderson).
Makes much more sense to me to go
7)Renteria
8)Jones
9)Pudge
I have a feeling I will be disagreeing (although not as vociferously) with 3-4-5 hitters too. I would prefer Cabrera, Ordonez, Sheffield. But id see there are some clear advantages to swapping Sheff and Cab if Sheff is geting on regularly.
Lynn Henning made a very good point too, about getting Sheff inolved in the game early as a DH.
I will never agree with not hitting Rodriguez 9th The only reason he didn't deserve to hit there last year was that Inge was a clear choice for that role.
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Dan, I'm mostly agreeing with you on this one. A few days ago I did mention the theory of a good ninth place hitter turning the lineup over, but all in all, I like Renteria, Jones, and Pudge. Renteria has the speed to create opportunities as Grandy and Polanco hit, but I think Pudge is also fast enough for these things. It's a close call on this one.
Of course, this is all assuming the top nine guys are playing on any given day. If Thames or Vance Wilson are in there, everything changes.
I like Sheff third, and Henning actually did make a good point there.
--Rich
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Good points on the batting order guys. I guess I'll just give JL credit for knowing some of the intangible reasons for where he bats people. It's no sin batting ninth on this team.
What is a sin is a post under that last story line. Pfat, I've been away awhile but don't recall seeing you post before. Maybe I just missed it. I was reading in the Free Press (on line) about Porcello, how he was respecting his "elders". Seems like "rookie" posters might want to do the same. Thanks to JB we have a place to "talk" Tigers. I think it might be good to remember that.
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I too would figure Renteria 7th, Jones 8th, & Pudge 9th. Pudge 9th is a far cry from a few years ago when he was in the middle of the order regularly but I figure that makes the most sense with this lineup. As mentioned, if Jones is batting 9th you end up with 2 lefties in a row that are not strong vs LHP. If you bat Jones 7th, then an opposing manager might decide to turn Guillen around to the right side by bringing in a lefty and then facing Jones. Guillen's splits last year were pretty even on the avg from both sides but I think he has generally been better from the left side. My guess is that Renteria might be the guy that moves up to the first or second spot in the order if you rest Granderson or Polanco. That makes more sense to me than the other options we will have.
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Considering this is a blog and not the actual Tigers site, I am not sure why someone would come on here and complain about editing. Besides, I have read the articles when Jason has days off and they are never written with as much clarity as when Jason is working. That is partly because the other writer does not know the Tigers as well. However, there are more errors in the actual grammar of the articles on those posts.
Keep up the good work Jason!!!
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On the subject of Nate being a closer, remember how many times he had great stuff only to have his teammates not score any runs or the bullpen blowing the lead. I think anything is an option with the bullpen situation we are in at the present time.
As far as the editing thing goes, make sure when you post you have someone else reed it for you at least 3 times (-:
Leyland said he approached Pudge about batting 8th or 9th so when the title of the blog says Pudge will be hitting 8th, I am sure Skip will know what is best. We can all second guess him and that is what makes this site so much fun.
Go Tigers!!!
--Dave
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