March 13, 2007
Pudge Before All Others
According to this article, the Tigers are planning on batting Ivan Rodriguez in the leadoff spot in 2007:
Rodriguez batted first against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on Monday, something he has done seven times in 10 spring games. He has hit first in all four of his starts against left-handers, including Monday (Casey Fossum). He also has batted leadoff against three right-handers, including two accomplished men by the name of Roy (Halladay and Oswalt).
As with Leyland's lineup, the results are self-evident: Rodriguez is batting .429 this spring after a 2-for-3 in Monday's 3-2 win.
He hit a no-doubt home run to leftfield off Al Reyes. He lined a leadoff single to center and smacked a hard grounder to second in his final plate appearance.
He appears more selective -- and certainly less pull-conscious -- than last year. Still, it's difficult to tell whether Rodriguez has changed his approach because he's at the top of the order or whether he's simply hitting the ball better.
Or it's a small sample size. I could see leading off the 2004 Pudge, but the last two seasons his OBA is just .312. Maybe moving up to number will make him a more patient hitter, but my guess is that over time the real Rodriguez's abilities take over. Plus, the extra strain of catching the top of the first and running right back out to lead off might be too much for the older catcher. If Leyland tries this during the regular season, I don't think the experiment will last very long.
Posted by David Pinto at
10:55 PM
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I would hope the real Pudge come thru as his OBP fro 1994 - 2004 is very respectable. In fact last year was Ok, the outlier is clearly 2005.
This is very crazy. If it works, of course, Leyland is a genius.
But maybe he is short of choices? I mean, why are the Tigers so short of prospects? After Maybin and Miller, it's kind of scary.
Pudge is an unconventional choice, but may well be the most effective leadoff man on the team. Granderson is a closer fit to the leadoff prototype, but his major league OBAs have not been terribly impressive; Leyland may have concluded that (a) he's not going to get much more selective, or (b) he might be pressing too much in the leadoff role. Choosing Pudge over Granderson is sort of like choosing Todd Jones over Zumaya as the closer: preferring a veteran in a high-profile role.
Generally, OBA is the Tigers' offensive weak point. I don't think Leyland has much to choose from.
Well the Mudhens (Detroit's AAA team) just won their second consecutive IL championship -- with a 3dbaseman who hit under .200. I'm still not sure how they did it last year.
Phil-
1994-2004? Real Pudge? Dude, they test for roids and greenies now. Did you miss the memo?....Why not ask for the 1998 Sammy Sosa while you're at it.....
Rosie...love the blanket assessment that every one who was good in baseball from 1994-2004 must have used steriods to be that good. The dropoff couldn't possibly be because he's getting older and has been a major league catcher for 15 years. That's great evidence on your part...pure innuendo.
