Author: Mike McClary

Upbeat guy.

2009 Player Profile: Carlos Guillen

Carlos Guillen #9

  • Height: 6′ 1″ | Weight: 215
  • 2008 Stats: .286 – 10 HR – 54 RBI

GuillenHead.jpgYou can’t blame Carlos Guillen if he’d like to forget the 2008 season. After being tapped as the starting first baseman, Guillen lasted there only a few weeks before moving across the diamond to third, where his lack of range became glaringly apparent.

Offensively, though, Guillen put together a solid, if not spectacular first half to ’08 (.284/8/47). Back problems shortened his second half, limiting the Tigers’ All-Star selection to a mere 93 at bats and shelving him altogether after Aug. 25.

A bad back likely is the cause for the dramatic drop off in power numbers from a career-high 21 homers in 2007 to just 10 in ‘08.

The switch-hitting Guillen bats predominately from the left side and has few spots in the strike zone that he can’t handle. Inside pitches – both up and down in the zone – give him trouble but he’s skilled at hitting off-speed pitches, splitters and the fastball. From the right side (just 89 at bats in ’08), Guillen’s hot zone is the heart of the plate.

The Tigers are hoping a move to left field in 2009 will provide relief for Guillen’s back and trigger a return to the production levels he had from 2004 to 2007.

Of course, if the transition to the outfield isn’t the answer, the club could be looking at another Bobby Higginson scenario: a fat investment with meager returns.

2009 Player Profile: Gary Sheffield

Gary Sheffield #3

  • Height: 6′ 0″ | Weight: 215
  • 2008 Stats: .225 – 19 HR – 57 RBI

SheffieldHead.jpgGary Sheffield entered the 2008 season looking to improve on a sub-par debut campaign in Detroit. A shoulder injury sustained in an outfield collision in ’07 required surgery and off-season rehab, and it slowed Sheffield at the plate during the season’s first two months. A left oblique strain landed him on the disabled list at the end of May, leaving little time for a strong first-half finish. Sheffield posted a .217 average and just five home runs before the All Star break.

The second half featured flashes of the power stroke – 14 homers in 220 at bats – that might eventually put Sheffield in the Hall of Fame. Tigers fans are still waiting for the Gary Sheffield of old to arrive in Detroit, but at age 39, they are in for a long wait. Still, he remains a dangerous presence in the lineup and at the plate, lashing pitches down in the zone and scorching line drives to the left side of the diamond.

Sheffield begins 2009 one home run shy of 500. If he can stay healthy, watch for this motivated veteran to make up for lost time – and hits.

Did You Know…?

BarbaroGarbey.jpgOn this date in 1995, the first-ever major league trade of utility players was made between the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Indians. Cincinnati obtained former Tigers first baseman/DH Barbaro Garbey and four others in return for “future considerations.”

Garbey — whom Sparky called “Bobby” because he (apparently) couldn’t pronounce Barbaro — hadn’t appeared in the majors since a stint with the Rangers in 1988 and he never appeared in a game for the Reds.

What a bizarre trade.

In two seasons with Detroit (1984-85), Garbey hit .275 with 11 home runs and 81 RBI. During the ’84 season, he was the epitome of utility player. He played 65 games at first, 20 games at third, 17 as DH, 10 in the outfield and two games at second base.

2009 Player Profile: Magglio Ordoñez

Magglio Ordoñez #30

  • Height: 6′ 0″ | Weight: 215
  • 2008 Stats: .317 – 21 HR – 103 RBI

Few hitters can weather a 50-point drop in batting average and still be within shouting distance of a batting crown. But that’s how 2008 shaped up for Tigers rightfielder Magglio Ordoñez. Ordonez Magglio

The 2007 A.L. batting champ served up an encore performance in 2008: .317, fifth in the league, 22 home runs and 103 RBI. Certainly, having Miguel Cabrera batting ahead of him helped Ordoñez see more strikes in 2008, but since joining Detroit in 2005 all he’s done is hit.

Last season, Ordoñez fluctuated from month to month — .296 in April, .350 in May; .266 in June, .386 in July — but finished the season strong, batting .330 in the second half and mounting a credible defense of his batting title.

Ordoñez is a top-tier hitter thanks to a stroke that can deftly handle pitches across the strike zone, but the closer the pitch is to the inner-half of the plate the better. Like most power hitters, he can crush a fastball but he takes more delight in change-ups from righties — a .407 average when he hits one — and curves from southpaws, an astounding .600 clip.

At 35, Ordoñez shows no sign of slowing and looks at home as the Tigers’ cleanup hitter. And that should worry A.L. pitchers, again, in 2009.

Happy Birthday, Jeff Holly

JeffHolly.jpgYou are forgiven if you don’t remember lefty pitcher Jeff Holly: he never pitched in the majors for the Tigers.

He did, though, appear in 39 games for the Twins from 1977-79 amassing a 3-4 record and a 5.60 ERA. He came to Detroit on Dec. 5, 1979, in a trade for pitcher Fernando Arroyo.

However, if your photo appears in the Tigers’ Yearbook (1980 edition), you deserve recognition — especially on your 56th birthday.

2009 Player Profile: Miguel Cabrera

Miguel Cabrera #24

  • Height: 6′ 4″ | Weight: 240
  • 2008 Stats: .292 – 37 HR – 127 RBI

CabreraHead.jpgMiguel Cabrera wasted little time in 2008 showing Tigers fans why he’s one of baseball’s premier hitters. His towering home run on Opening Day set the tone for a season in which he’d lead the league with 37 round-trippers.

After a cool start to ’08 — and a shift from third base to first — Cabrera quickly discovered his stroke and began feasting on A.L. pitching staffs, finishing with a .292 average.

The four-time All Star had particular success in 2008 against lefties, posting a .311 average and a .596 slugging percentage — though only nine of Cabrera’s homers came off a port-sider. This is just one anomaly in 25-year-old’s swing: a closer look at his hitting chart shows a decidedly pure pull hitter on ground balls and liners but more of a spray hitter on fly balls. In fact, most fly balls put in play Cabrera — roughly a quarter, including more than half his home runs — traveled to right- and right-center fields.

But perhaps the biggest mistake an opposing pitcher can make on Cabrera is to leave a ball out over the plate; and the higher the pitch, the better the chance he’ll crush it.

Look for more of the same in 2009.

2009 Player Profile: Placido Polanco

Placido Polanco #14

  • Height: 5′ 10″ | Weight: 195
  • 2008 Stats: .307 – 8 HR – 58 RBI

PolancoHead.jpgLike most of his teammates, Placido Polanco struggled at the outset of the 2008 season. The usually fast-starting second baseman – he has a .307 average for April spanning 2006-08 – was expected to pickup the slack at the top of the order left by the injured Curtis Granderson. But as the weather warmed, so did Polanco finding the stroke that delivered a .341 average in 2007. He hit .330 in May and a torrid .386 in June.

Widely considered one of the toughest outs in baseball, Polanco confounds pitchers with his knack for hitting the ball virtually anywhere it’s pitched. Even on pitches down and away, Polanco hit a solid .286 in ’08.

This year Tigers fans can expect from Polanco what they’ve enjoyed since he came to Detroit in 2005: consistent, durable performance in the field and at the plate. But with a strong crop of middle infield prospects in the minors, 2009 could be his final season in Detroit. Though, I for one am hoping it’s not.

2009 Player Profile: Curtis Granderson

Curtis Granderson #28

  • Height: 6′ 1″ | Weight: 185
  • 2008 Stats: .280 – 22 HR – 66 RBI

If anyone doubted Curtis Granderson’s value atop the Tigers lineup, the first few weeks of 2008 likely convinced them. GrandersonHead.jpgWithout their leadoff hitter – Granderson suffered a broken finger at the end of Spring Training – the Tigers’ offense sputtered and, in case you’d forgotten, the team started the season 0-7.

When Granderson returned to the team, he started strong, hitting .375 in April before a May slump brought his average down. In June, though, he hit .364 followed by a .324 month of July.

One area in which the Tigers wanted to see improvement from their centerfielder was in the number of strikeouts, and since 2006, Granderson has made a dramatic turnaround, slashing his strikeouts from 174 in ’06 to 111 last season. What’s more, in 2008 he boosted his success against lefties by nearly 100 points from 2007’s dreary .160 average.

Entering his fifth major-league season, he continues to show power to all fields with a stroke that has few holes. The bottom line: As Granderson goes, so goes the Tigers’ lineup. Expect that trend to continue this season.

2009 Player Profile: Fernando Rodney

Fernando Rodney #56

  • Height: 5′ 11″ | Weight: 220
  • 2008 Stats: 0-6, 4.91 ERA, 13 Saves

In a bottom-line business like major league baseball, fans tend to overlook stats such as 49 strikeouts in 40 innings or 13 saves from a late-inning reliever like Fernando Rodney. RodneyHead.jpgSix blown saves and an ERA a whisker under five are more glaring and more representative of Detroit’s bullpen woes in 2008. Yet despite that lackluster campaign, the Tigers expect big things from Rodney in ’09.

Though he spent April and May on the DL, the ’08 season wasn’t all bad for the senior-ranking Tiger in the bullpen; he assembled stretches of lights-out appearances, including June and July in which hitters produced a .183 average against him. Over that same timeframe he fanned 37 in 27.1 innings pitched. The key to success for Rodney is a breathtaking changeup that, when near the plate, is difficult for hitters to resist. Of course, a high-90s fastball makes the off-speed pitches that much more tantalizing.

With Todd Jones’ retirement, Brandon Lyon‘s arrival and Joel Zumaya’s (tentative) return, chances are that Rodney will begin 2009 as a setup man. If something goes wrong with Lyon or Zumaya and if Rodney can harness his pitches, develop consistency, and fortify his mental makeup, he could, in the end, be the Tigers’ answer at closer.

For a pitcher with Rodney’s track record, that’s an awful lot of ifs.

2009 Player Profile: Armando Galarraga

Armando Galarraga #58

  • Height: 6′ 4″ | Weight: 180
  • 2008 Stats: 13-7, 3.73

GalarragaHead.jpgOn April 15, 2008, the Tigers summoned Armando Galarraga from Toledo for what most presumed was a short-term stint for the rookie right-hander. He made his Tigers debut on April 16 in Cleveland – a period when the Tigers desperately needed wins – and tossed a gem: 6.2 innings pitched, one hit, two runs, no walks and six strikeouts. At that time, little did the Tigers know how significant Galarraga’s impact would be.

In 30 appearances (28 starts), he posted a 13-7 record with a 3.73 ERA in 178.2 IP — and became the de facto staff ace. For his effort, Galarraga ranked fifth in the American Rookie of the Year voting. His recipe for success in 2008 was simple: throw strikes early and often – nearly 70 percent of his first-pitch fastballs were strikes – and nibble at the outside corners. Another ingredient: dominate right-handed hitters; they batted a meager .174 off Galarraga – nearly 90 points less than lefty hitters.

If the Tigers’ pitching staff is to rebound collectively in 2009, it will depend on an encore performance by Galarraga. And if top-line starters Verlander and Bonderman return to form, the Tigers will boast a dynamic rotation that few A.L. Central teams can match.