Bunt Singles July 8
posted in 2007 season, bunt singles |ESPN.com’s Power Rankings proudly present the MVT (Most Valuable Team) of the first half: the Boston Red Sox. It’s hard to argue against a team that ranked No. 1 in eight of the 14 weeks, but you can go ahead and try. Knock yourself out. (ESPN.com)
Well, I don’t have to make the argument, as the Tigers have taken the first two games against the Red Sox. Poor ESPN and its poor timing. Let’s face it. Anyone as good as the Tigers, Indians, heck, Twins, Angels, would be feasting on the AL East this year, too.
Futures Game watch
Cameron Maybin pulled out with a shoulder injury that will keep him out of Lakeland’s lineup for 2+ weeks. Gorkys Hernandez will be playing CF for the World Team, however. The game is set for 4 p.m. on ESPN2.
The Tigers are popular
The Tigers drew their eighth straight sellout in Saturday night’s game against the Boston Red Sox, establishing a new Comerica Park record. It was their largest non-Opening Day crowd (44,193) in the park’s history. (MLive)
Motown Tigers “Bluhm Memorial” Hall of Fame
I meant to link to this days ago and totally forgot. At Motown Sports, some Tigers experts elected a Tigers Hall of Fame. I key contributer, Lee of Tiger Tales has the scoop. They honored longtime Tigers contributer Brian Bluhm, who was killed in the Virginia Tech massacre in April, by naming the HoF in his honor. Fifty-four Tigers were initially elected.
How am I doing?
Of interesting note, I decided I’d look at my interview with Batter’s Box, a Blue Jays blog that invited me and some actual baseball people to talk about the Tigers before the season started. Even though the Tigers made me look awful in early April, looking back, my optimism wasn’t nearly enough. Look no further than the first question, which posits the Tigers offense is vulnerable this year. While Will Carroll of Baseball Prospectus and Anthony Giacalone of Baseball Think Factory agree, I said the Tigers offense was better. Anyone care to disagree?
I found the Tigers seem to go the direction Granderson goes on offense. If Grandy has a good game, they’re much more likely to win. If he cuts down on Ks, converts some more swings to hits, it’s going to set things up that much better for Sheff, Carlos Guillen and Magglio Ordonez. The lineup just looks pretty balanced top to bottom. It’s not the top offense in the AL, maybe not even top three, but it’s going to be strong enough to add a few runs to its total from last season. I’m predicting 30 HR, 90 RBI (due to his earlier spot in the lineup), .370 OBP for Sheff.
OBP of.406, 21 HR (so far) at the break, 56 RBI… not too bad, Sheff
Stats watch
- Maggs has dipped under the record-setting pace for doubles. With just one double in his last 10 games, he is now on pace for 67. But his .367 average still leads.
- Granderson is on pace for 44 doubles, 39 triples and 23 homers, which would be a fabulous 106 extra-base hits for the season.
- So yah, the offense might slow down a bit in the second half still unless those guys can keep up those terrific first halfs.
- Jeremy Bonderman has recaptured his strikeout lead from Justin Verlander, 98-97. Erk Bedard of Baltimore leads the AL with an amazing 149. Minnesota’s Johan Santana is second with 125.