April Progress Reports: Offense

With the first month of the season coming to a close, there has been more than enough of a sample size to get an idea of what the offense should look like. David Dombrowski saved me a good chunk of negativity, and showed mercy on Tigers fans, by cutting Jacque Jones (a whole barrel of awful). I'll start from the top:

1. Curtis Granderson - 32 PA, 11 R, 3 HR, 5 RBI, 8 BB, .531 OBP, .958 SLG

Despite only starting six games in April, Curtis scored as many runs as Gary Sheffield, and more than Brandon Inge. Seven of his nine hits went for extra bases, and he's showing that last year was no fluke. He also walked more times than he struck out, which is a tremendous sign as far as his patience is concerned. The fact that he's tearing the cover off the ball, and is in his prime, make it very disappointing that Jim Leyland will never move him down in the order.

2. Placido Polanco - 93 PA, 12 R, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 12 BB, .344 OBP, .342 SLG

If it weren't for the twelve walks, Polanco's April could have been a lot worse. The .686 OPS is terrible, but with the hitting he's been displaying lately, his slugging should pick up and bring him around. I'd highly doubt he would keep up a .222 BABIP for the whole season.

3. Gary Sheffield - 87 PA, 9 R, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 14 BB, .333 OBP, .310 SLG, 3 SB

Folks, Gary Sheffield has been outslugged by Placido Polanco. His OBP is lower than Polanco's (and Placido is not a man known for his walks). Gary Sheffield hit in the three hole all month. What is wrong with this picture? It wouldn't be a good idea to give up on Gary, though. He hit almost exactly like this in April of last season, and proceeded to go on an absolute tear for the next few months.

4. Magglio Ordonez - 119 PA, 16 R, 5 HR, 19 RBI, 15 BB, .387 OBP, .515 SLG

Magglio has really continued the roll he was on last season. A .313 BABIP shows that he could easily keep this up, and could even improve. I don't really know what else to say, because I really think that his numbers do a pretty good job of describing him.

5. Miguel Cabrera - 117 PA, 15 R, 5 HR, 19 RBI, 14 BB, .359 OBP, .470 SLG

Magglio and Miguel's lines look very similar, but Magglio has about a point of OPS on him. Some of this may be because of Miguel's .279 BABIP. You can't really look down on someone who's got an .829 OPS. But when that person is going to be your franchise for the forseeable future, it's concerning.

6. Carlos Guillen - 100 PA, 15 R, 3 HR, 12 RBI, 14 BB, .414 OBP, .524 SLG

After starting the season white hot, and doing his best to keep the Tigers afloat, he's returned to Earth. This isn't a bad thing, as he's still got an OPS above .900. When your 4-5-6 hitters (now 3-4-5) can do that, you're obviously in good shape. His home run total is a little low, but he's not a guy who's going to hit 30 or anything.

7. Edgar Renteria - 116 PA, 15 R, 3 HR, 17 RBI, 5 BB, .336 OBP, .436 SLG

Edgar has a decent line so far. Nothing as earth-shattering as his performance last year (and if David Dombroski though he was trading for that, he's got another thing coming), but decent. The bad thing is that he's only taken as many walks as Pudge Rodriguez. So when his .344 BABIP comes down, so will that already league average OBP. He's in his mid thirties now, so we're probably looking at production somewhere in between his only season in Boston, and his first in Atlanta. Nothing to scoff at from the seven spot, but certainly nothing to write home about.

8. Ivan Rodriguez - 107 PA, 12 R, 1 HR, 12 RBI, 5 BB, .302 OBP, .388 SLG

Pudge's offensive decline is proceeding on schedule. Unfortunately for the Tigers, it's accelerating pretty quickly. His OBP is below average as usual, but there are a couple more walks mixed in. It's a good thing he was cool with moving to the bottom of the order, because that's where he belongs at this point.

9. Brandon Inge - 93 PA, 10 R, 3 HR, 14 RBI, 13 BB, .374 OBP, .446 SLG

That OBP figure is not a typo, people. Brandon Inge has seemingly learned how to take a walk. The fact that Inge is not the worst hitter on this team so far is baffling to me. If he were to start for the whole season, he's on pace to rack up 120 Ks.


I would do something like this for the pitching staff, but I may wait until they (possibly) see some better times so I don't pull my hair out.