Tigers' Lineup Needs Consistentcy

Seriously, how tough can it be? Jim Leyland has managed over 2700 major league games, plus an addition 49 playoff games and countless more in the spring training and the minor leagues. During that time, he has been responsible for filling out the lineup card for each and every one of those games. Recently, Leyland seems to have forgotten how to do it.

With the offense struggling as much as it has this year, Leyland needs to establish consistency with the lineup. The constant shuffling has not worked. Perhaps, Leyland purposely tries to illustrate to Dave Dombrowski that he needs another hitter by running out lineups that would rival those of the MudHens. The top three in Sunday's game were Don Kelly, Ramon Santiago, and Josh Anderson. Seriously? I'm half expecting to read Dane Sardinha's name in the three spot tonight.

My hope is that is exactly what Leyland is doing. It's as if he's saying "See? I need another bat so I can field a decent lineup, because this is the best I can come up with from what you have given me." I really can't say as I blame him, but a face to face meeting might be a better option for sending a message.

Conventional wisdom says Placido Polanco is going to hit, and that Magglio Ordonez will find at least some of old form, so maybe this whole problem will correct itself. But we now stand more than 1/3 through the season, how much longer do we wait?

The Tigers need to go get another hitter. He should be left handed and be able to play a corner outfield spot. He should also feature the ability to hit the long ball with some regularity. We have seen so far that that hitter is not Clete Thomas, and is not Josh Anderson. I doubt that he is Don Kelly, either. It is time to make a deal.

A quick check of the standings show Baltimore, Washington, Oakland, San Diego, and Pittsburgh as likely sellers. Aubrey Huff would be a nice fit from the Orioles, though his price tag may be too high. Adam Dunn could be had, as could Nick Johnson from Washington. Dunn is terrible defensively, but his bat would be a welcome addition. Johnson would be a better fit, as he can play outfield, though usually doesn't, but the Nats have been asking the moon for their OBP machine. The guys in Oakland and San Diego don't seem all that attractive, outside of Matt Holliday who is right handed.

That leaves just the Pirates, and the player that Detroit should target is Eric Hinske. Hinske can play first, third, left, and right. He has good power, he has twice clubbed 20 HR seasons, including last year. Plus he has played for the past two American League champions, so he may just be good luck. The Pirates have used Hinske only sparingly, as he has just 86 at bats in 2009, so he may come cheap. Which is key, because Detroit probably can't offer much in a trade.

If they can acquire Hinske or someone like him, the lineup can be re-assembled. I would personally like to see Granderson find a home batting third, but another lefty bat would allow him to move back to the top of the order. Either way, Detroit needs to find a lineup and allow it the time needed to work consistently.

The Cougar, Cabby, and the First-Place Detroit Tigers

Some disturbing trends have begun in Motown recently regarding nicknames for our beloved Tigers. Rogo over at DesigNateRobertson recently took a look at it, and the party that is the Bless You Boys community has been tackling the Miguel Cabrera (or "Cabby" as Rod Allen has referred to him on waaay too many occasions) situation with gusto. But just recently, a new, much more revolting nickname has appeared, via ESPN.com's Alex Loeb. Loeb does the short video highlights included in the game recaps for the website, and Ian from BYB recently noticed that Loeb referred to Curtis Granderson as "the Cougar". It was my hope that this was an attempt to make an analogy about Grandy's leaping catch to rob the game from the Indians on Friday night, but alas, he did it again here. This cannot stand, people! Don't get me wrong, I'm all for players having colorful nicknames, but the cougar? I would hope we could do better. And who is this Loeb guy to be attaching nicknames at his whim? What kind of a world are we living in where people are allowed to say or write anything they want about a baseball team without any repercussions? In that world, some no-name from Delphos, Ohio could seemingly write his own blog and have it published for all the world to see, without having any credentials (aside from several years studying English at Bowling Green State University). Oh wait... I guess I'm glad that's the world we live in, and it gives me something to write about on the off day, thanks, Alex.

Anyway, after completing the three game sweep in Cleveland, Detroit now sits atop the AL Central standings, in a virtual tie with Kansas City. After not spending a single day in first last season, it sure is sweet this year. And as my boss pointed out this morning, if the team keeps pitching this way for the next 150 games, they'll win the world series. Dare to dream. Next up is a trip to the Metrodome to take on the Twins.