Comments on: Who should be the Tigers leadoff batter? http://www.dtownbaseball.com/2007/12/16/who-should-be-the-tigers-leadoff-batter/ A Detroit Tigers Blog Tue, 02 Dec 2008 15:56:14 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5 By: ET90210 http://www.dtownbaseball.com/2007/12/16/who-should-be-the-tigers-leadoff-batter/#comment-8606 ET90210 Thu, 20 Dec 2007 16:14:05 +0000 http://www.dtownbaseball.com/2007/12/16/who-should-be-the-tigers-leadoff-batter/#comment-8606 I think Granderson has to be the leadoff hitter. Story on possible extension with Dontrelle. I bet he asks for more than the $10M per mentioned here. http://mlbfleecefactor.com/2007/12/20/dontrelle-talking-extension/ I think Granderson has to be the leadoff hitter.

Story on possible extension with Dontrelle. I bet he asks for more than the $10M per mentioned here.

http://mlbfleecefactor.com/2007/12/20/dontrelle-talking-extension/

]]> By: Eric Jackson http://www.dtownbaseball.com/2007/12/16/who-should-be-the-tigers-leadoff-batter/#comment-8581 Eric Jackson Mon, 17 Dec 2007 01:53:01 +0000 http://www.dtownbaseball.com/2007/12/16/who-should-be-the-tigers-leadoff-batter/#comment-8581 I agree that the Inge / Granderson situation was atrocious and we won't be seeing that again thank goodness. :) But who is in centerfield while Granderson is on the bench? Raburn wasn't great against them either (.259/.328/.431). There really isn't anyway around it.. Grandy needs to learn to hit lefties. As bad as the Inge / Granderson combo was it was always disheartening to see a rally stopped when the opposing team brought in a lefty to face Curtis with runners on base. I agree that the Inge / Granderson situation was atrocious and we won’t be seeing that again thank goodness. :) But who is in centerfield while Granderson is on the bench? Raburn wasn’t great against them either (.259/.328/.431).

There really isn’t anyway around it.. Grandy needs to learn to hit lefties. As bad as the Inge / Granderson combo was it was always disheartening to see a rally stopped when the opposing team brought in a lefty to face Curtis with runners on base.

]]> By: BoPU http://www.dtownbaseball.com/2007/12/16/who-should-be-the-tigers-leadoff-batter/#comment-8579 BoPU Mon, 17 Dec 2007 00:01:21 +0000 http://www.dtownbaseball.com/2007/12/16/who-should-be-the-tigers-leadoff-batter/#comment-8579 I like Granderson leading off against right handers and on the bench against lefties. His large number doubles and triples and stolen second bases frequently put him in scoring position for Polanco and the big bats. Granderson was probably on second and third with less than two outs more than any other Tiger last year. He scored a lot of runs in the lead-off slot. He didn't knock in many runs though. The Tigers 8 and 9 hitters last year had low OB percentages giving Granderson very few opportunities to drive in runs with his extra base hits. Inge batting before Granderson was the worse of all possible combinations. Inge couldn't hit righthanders and Granderson couldn't hit lefthanders. Each time through the line-up one of the two would be very ineffective depending upon whether a righty or a lefty was throwing. In late innings, opposing managers could turn Inge's 900 OPS against lefthanders into a 500 OPS by putting in a right hander, and then neutralize Granderson's 1.000+ OPS by bringing in a lefty. Runs are scored on combination of hits. The Granderson / Inge combo last year was simply awful at getting consecutive hits. Renteria seems to be the logical choice for leading off against lefthanders. He also would be a great replacement for Inge in the 9th slot against righthanded batters. Renteria lacks the power needed to drive in runners from the heart of the order but he can get on base and continue an inning. Considering that Renteria swiftness would often allow him to score from first on a Granderson double (and wouldn't it be nice to have a runner when Granderson triples), I'd like to see Renteria bat 9th. Let Jacque Jones pick up the RBIs from the 4, 5, & 6 men. I certainly don't want to see Renteria moving a runner to third, only to have Pudge make the third out on a grounder to short on what would have been ball 4. Bat Renteria 9th. Even with 2 outs, a Renteria/Granderson combo has a decent chance of scoring. I like Granderson leading off against right handers and on the bench against lefties. His large number doubles and triples and stolen second bases frequently put him in scoring position for Polanco and the big bats. Granderson was probably on second and third with less than two outs more than any other Tiger last year. He scored a lot of runs in the lead-off slot.

He didn’t knock in many runs though. The Tigers 8 and 9 hitters last year had low OB percentages giving Granderson very few opportunities to drive in runs with his extra base hits. Inge batting before Granderson was the worse of all possible combinations. Inge couldn’t hit righthanders and Granderson couldn’t hit lefthanders. Each time through the line-up one of the two would be very ineffective depending upon whether a righty or a lefty was throwing. In late innings, opposing managers could turn Inge’s 900 OPS against lefthanders into a 500 OPS by putting in a right hander, and then neutralize Granderson’s 1.000+ OPS by bringing in a lefty. Runs are scored on combination of hits. The Granderson / Inge combo last year was simply awful at getting consecutive hits.

Renteria seems to be the logical choice for leading off against lefthanders. He also would be a great replacement for Inge in the 9th slot against righthanded batters. Renteria lacks the power needed to drive in runners from the heart of the order but he can get on base and continue an inning. Considering that Renteria swiftness would often allow him to score from first on a Granderson double (and wouldn’t it be nice to have a runner when Granderson triples), I’d like to see Renteria bat 9th. Let Jacque Jones pick up the RBIs from the 4, 5, & 6 men. I certainly don’t want to see Renteria moving a runner to third, only to have Pudge make the third out on a grounder to short on what would have been ball 4. Bat Renteria 9th. Even with 2 outs, a Renteria/Granderson combo has a decent chance of scoring.

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