Magglio's numbers
For those of you who see "signs of life" in his bat -- and also for those who don't ...
Magglio Ordonez is 129 plate appearances shy of having his option for $18 million kick in for next year.
In his last 128 plate appearances, covering the 33 games in which he's played since June 5, he's hitting .231 with three home runs and 13 RBIs.
The Tigers have 62 games remaining. Unless he gets hot, Ordonez can play in about half of those without getting the necessary plate appearances.
But would the Tigers take him to the edge, and then stop? I don't think so. They have more class than that -- and respect Ordonez too much to tease him that way.
As long as he does not produce, however, it remains a huge issue -- and will only get bigger.
One other thing: In his last 13 games, Ordonez is hitting .209 and has knocked in a run -- the game against Seattle in which he hit a grand slam -- in just one of those.
We all said from the beginning that Ordonez could make this a non-issue by producing. But it hasn't happened yet, -- and now the Tigers face the likelihood of it becoming a distraction.
They have two months of baseball remaining -- but Ordonez has only a month of games before reaching his option level. It's an issue now, but how soon does it become a dilemma? Or has it already?
One other thing: I agree with those who thought it was unusual that Jim Leyland would openly say that the Yankees are interested in Josh Anderson, who was designated for assignment by the Tigers last week.
CBS Sports' Danny Knobler was the first to blog about their interest Wednesday.
Understandably, the Yankees do not want to give up much -- so don't get your hopes up that Anderson is going to bring in a usable player.
But if the Yankees think another club is also interested -- and the Royals could be that other team -- they'll probably offer the Tigers a minor leaguer instead of waiting to claim Anderson later and run the risk of not getting him.
Either way, obviously, it's not going to be a big deal. And either way, it looks like the Tigers won't be able to keep Anderson in the organization.
Comments
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Release Magglio and Keep Anderson
Magglio is a liability on defense and cannot get around
on an average 90 mph fast ball anymore.
Magglio's slam came against a AAA or AAAA pitcher
with the Mariners with a 5.50 ERA who threw him an
85 mph "batting practice fastball" right down the middle.
Why is Magglio still in a Tigers uniform?
Let's end the charade and thank him for the
memories from '06 and release this guy.
It is embarrassing to even have this guy in the
lineup and watch him leave 5-7 runners on base in
many games.
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