Granderson to DL

I tell you yesterday when he got hit by the pitch, my heart skipped a few beats. And then I felt better when they said they thought it was a bruise. Now coming back from church this morning I hear that it is broken. Now I feel sick.

Is the endless stream of injuries starting already??? And I tell you this is exactly why we need Brandon Inge. No disrespect to Raburn, he is okay at center, but I think that Brandon might be able to get to a few more balls. I have seen Ryan screw up a few. We'll see.

GO TIGERS and Curtis get better quick.

Just to blow our own collective horns for a moment.......there are quite a few of us who, after the December trade, predicted that Inge would end up with plenty of playing time. And then here you go. I think Brandon will play nearly everyday if they stop trying to peddle him off. Nice catch by him today, hey?

I think it's now eleven days since we've won a game. The hitters look bored, and I'm including Cleveland in that assessment. Very few are working their ABs the way they would during the regular season. The only thing that can come of this final week may be more injuries.

Bazardo is the closest thing to Jurrjens that we have. Jones has had several good outings, but nobody mentions it when he does well. Bautista had Hafner struck out on that 2-2 curveball before Pronk hit that bomb. I'm thinking Denny should have doubled up and thrown another hook in that spot. Grilli also looked good and again, is rarely mentioned unless he does poorly.

So far, the highlight of this spring has been Bautista. Hope he can keep this up.

--Rich

Rich I agree with you it is rarely mentioned when these guys do well and that is to bad. I will never for get last spring and it was the second or third game at Comerica Park and it was really windy that day and Magglio had a hard time with a fly ball to right. And I will never forget that people around this town were asking for his head on a platter. I don't remember if it was on this blog or on local talk radio but everyone was up in arms???? What we would of missed hey?? I think that sometimes people (me included) get upset with a particular poor outing and don't seem to let go. T Jones for instance didn't blew 6 saves last year which I believe were the same amount or close to the amount that Jenks and Rodriguez blew last year. One of the problems with Todd is when he blows him he blows 'em big and people don't seem to forget it. Really the same with Grilli last year the couple of blow ups he had were big blow ups not a run or so. Anyway you get my drift. But these guys are not going to be perfect all of the time even if we want them to.

But it was a little better in the hitting department, we certainly got all of Cleveland big guns from the pen and almost got it from them. Where as at the end they got some of our A ball guys. I thought there was a little more effort out there today.

And Brandon sure looked pretty good in center. Really his style of play he probably loves those diving catches.

GO TIGERS

I remember it well GK. I confess, I was one of those bloggers "very" down on Magglio after that game. I had been saying back in 06 that Magglio was not covering enough ground in RF and that he should be moved to DH, and let a young speedster roam RF. Then the Tigers acquired Shef and that option was no longer on the table. We were all venting that April day... and it WAS a weird day. Something must have clicked in Magg's head (and heart) because he not only went on to have one of the greatest hitting seasons in baseball history imo, but he was solid in the field as well. I believe I was wrong in my opinion of his defensive play. We of course fell in love with the guy. And I still remember him tracking down the final out in Justin's no hitter. Almost too nonchalant, BUT he caught it. As far as I'm concerned he's virtually "untouchable" now. He's earned the right to have the occasional bad game without our visceral remarks.
The way the fans reacted to Jason Grilli when he couldn't find the plate that one game at Comerica was bush league and indefensible. Yeah I was growling and complaining at home but I would never boo a Tiger player live at a game, at least not for just trying and failing. That's low and stupid imo.

Hey Rich. I was one of those guys you mentioned. I said Inge would get at least 300 ABs, if he didn't get traded. Are there any other supersub type players out there? Brandon could be the prototype. I'm sure he'd rather be a plain old third baseman, but I'll mention again, if he's willing to just stay humble for a season he could be a big part of something special AND showcase his athleticism. How many chances does any one player get in his career to win a World Series Championship? This would certainly increase his value, but the hitting has to rebound from last year. Now watch, after I said this he'll get traded. I hope not anyway.

Some of you guys must remember Charlie Finley's gimmicks back in the 60's to get fans into the stadium to watch an otherwise pretty bad Oakland Athletic team. One of those gimmicks was announcing that their very talented SS Bert Campanaris, would, in the same game, play one inning at each of the 9 positions, including pitcher. And he did. Wasn't that game against our very own Tigers? Rich, Dan, anyone? Brandon could probably do the same if he could pitch. Just a thought, and of course no such gimmicks will be needed this year to fill Comerica.

Marty, I remember Campanaris doing that, but I don't remember the opposing team. And Brandon was actually a closer in college, so he can pitch too. Like you say, of course, that kind of exhibition is not only unnecessary, but kind of bush too. I must admit, though, I'd like to see him pitch an inning. :-)

BTW, I think Inge would get 400+ ABs if he was hitting like he used to.

--Rich

Granderson being out opens a roster spot for either Guzman or Timo Perez. Raburn had a spot locked up - after showing good results with a catcher's mask on.

Hey Guys,

Just read through the posts and have a couple of quick comments:

1) They need to add a link from the Tigers site to this blog. I'm hoping that's just an oversight and that it will be fixed soon.

2) Rich-- I completely agree with your analysis. I loved the Cabrera/Willis trade especially now that Cabrera is signed long term. On the flip side, I expect Renteria will do a good job but I think we paid way too much in dealing Jurrjens and I fear that we'll regret the decision.

3) Inge does look a lot better right now-- still, I'm bummed for Granderson. He's the cog that makes the wheel go round. Should be interesting to see how Leyland handles the lineup-- I assume that Renteria will lead off? Or maybe Jones?