Tiger Geist

It appears the Gary Sheffield for Josh Anderson deal (Ok, Anderson for Rudy Darrow, followed by cutting Sheffield to make room on the final roster) is working out in Detroit’s favor.  He’s hitting .364 and has 6 steals through the first 18 games.  Today he scores the winning run with a single, stealing second, advancing to third on a ground out, and scoring on Dane Sardinha’s sac fly.  Its been said before, but its the type of run that Detroit hasn’t generated in a while.  You could look at Anderson’s stats vs Granderson’s stats and start thinking about who currently deserves to get more at-bats, but I’m not going to go there — I’ve thought for 2-3 years that Granderson shouldn’t be leading off due to his potential power numbers.  But on a team with a severe lack of speed, where is Anderson’s real worth?

I think Anderson is still better suited as a fourth outfielder that is available for pinch-running duties most nights.  When he’s on base, he’s a threat to steal, go from first to third, and generally make the pitcher think less about the hitter then he should.  Unless Anderson continues to hit at this clip (and he won’t), his value is when he is on base… and the best way to guarantee this is to pinch run.  I imagine Anderson will get plenty of outfield innings and at-bats due to injuries (Guillen is starting to worry me), but with the overall lack of team speed, he seems to be a better weapon to use off the bench in the late innings of close games.

Other thoughts as Detroit leads the Central Division:

• Guillen’s random injuries is worrisome.  Its only April.
• Speaking of only being April, nothing is won in April. Or May.  Jimmy Leyland needs to think about resting his players a little – Inge, Granderson and Cabrera could use a spell here and there.
• And speaking of playing time, Larish will have a better chance on those late inning pinch-hitting assignments if he gets a regular at-bat once in a while.
• I’ve read rumors of both Guillen and Ordonez being ‘available’ on the trade market.  With Ordonez’s lack of power right now, and his possible 2010 and 2011 contract kickers closing in, I imagine Detroit would move Magglio in a heart beat.  Not saying they should, but I can’t imagine them refusing a deal to move that possible contract.
• I don’t think it would take much to get Guillen either.
• Its nice that the Tigers can replace one defensive / no hit catcher (Matt Treanor) with another (Dane Sardinha).  Nice that Sardinha was able to get the game winning sac fly this afternoon.
• FYI:  Misty May Treanor has her own blog.  Its a lot like TigerGeist.  But different.
• Hate to get too up or down in April, but… Armando Galarraga doesn’t suck.  Better keep those walks down, however.
• I don’t think the closing situation is solved yet.  But I’ll give Rodney the benefit of the doubt for now.  A career minor league catcher plus a two run lead might have some effect, but let’s get this under control.
• Any guesses on when Matt Stafford throws out the first pitch at CoPa?