2009 Spring Training thoughts: Outfield
The starters are set, so lets go there. Carlos Guillen has been permanently moved to left field; Curtis Granderson will continue to maintain center; Magglio will continue in right field.
Left Field:
Guillen is an unknown here; after being a decent shortstop for his career, he was an awkward first baseman. In a well publicized move, Guillen swapped with Miguel Cabrera in early 2008, taking over third base for the rest of the season. Detroit is hoping Guillen’s legs / knees / random aches and pains will go away with a switch to the outfield. His offensive numbers were down for 2008, (hopefully) slowing due to injury after a red-hot start at the plate. He’s a switch hitter and really only in left field due to his bat. Here’s to hoping he does better then last year’s opening day starter in left, Senior Jacque Jones.
Center Field:
Granderson is an exceptional person, a very good defender and a very good player. He’s just not (yet?) the all-star we all hope he will be. I’m hoping his stint at the WBC will help him in these aspects. He’s very driven and continues to work on his game. Last year he seemed to struggle getting back into playing shape, but improved his eye at the plate: more walks and less strike-outs. I’m not sure how the lineup will work out this year, i still think Curtis is an ideal #3 hitter, but based on the current projections he’ll probably bat lead-off again. Most amazing to me is his lack of steals; I guess thats just not his thing.
Right Field:
A lot of controversy around Magglio this off-season, mainly a debate on whether or not Detroit should trade him. As the winter played out, even if they wanted to, it doesn’t appear any team is willing to touch his salary. This should be Magglio’s last full-time season in the outfield, with Sheffield probably moving on from the DH role, allowing Magglio to take more time there. He’s an average defender, doesn’t exactly kill you. Having Granderson in center doesn’t hurt either. Offensively, his 2008 numbers were on par with his career average (2007 seems to be an anomaly), and thats probably what we can predict from him. He’s moved out of the clean-up spot in the batting order, and his 30 home run days are probably over. Alarmingly, he grounded into many (27) double plays. Overall, i think most of us would be happy with a repeat of his 2008 stats.
Backups:
I’ll leave this one pretty empty, for one reason: I have no idea who will make this team. They’re in a hole with Sheffield being a full-time DH (and no, i’m not suggesting he try to fake the outfield again). Their fourth outfielder, Marcus Thames, is really a clone of Sheffield / Magglio / Guillen — better suited for DH, though i’m hoping Guillen is more serviceable in the field. The reality is, I don’t truly know who will break camp and head north besides the starting three.
Overall thoughts:
2009 should be fine; I’m concerned about 2010 due to the contracts of Guillen and Ordonez, and how crushing they might be to the payroll. Barring injury and hoping for the best case transition for Guillen, this could be a productive unit offensively and decent defensively. Best case? Granderson becomes an all-star, Guillen is a good fielder, and injuries don’t hurt them. Worst case? Injuries. Start running for the hills case? Guillen can’t play left, Ordonez gets some weird leg injury (like Guillen in early 2008) where he can still hit but can’t field, and now you’ve got nearly $50 million guys trying to get at-bats at DH. Thats my serious concern.. what can Detroit do if Guillen can’t play left? Here’s to hope.