Reasons to worry? Think Pudge, Maggs
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BY MICHAEL ROSENBERG
DETROIT FREE PRESS COLUMNIST
August 13, 2006
CHICAGO -- This was the moment: ninth inning, down a run against the World Series champs. These were the guys: Pudge Rodriguez and Magglio Ordonez, the Tigers' big-money, middle-of-the-lineup hitters.
And if the hairs on the back up your neck stood up ... well, it must have been the air conditioning.
Rodriguez hit a 390-foot flyout, Ordonez struck out, and the Tigers lost, 4-3, to the White Sox on Saturday afternoon. But that's not the worst of it -- this was one inning of one game, and nobody comes through all the time. The worst part is that Ordonez and Rodriguez aren't scaring anybody these days, except maybe Tigers fans.
Ordonez has hit one home run in his last 41 games -- and none in his last 26. Rodriguez's numbers (.328 on-base percentage, nine home runs) look like they belong to a No. 7 hitter, not a No. 3 hitter. They are 1-for-16 with four strikeouts in two games against the White Sox this weekend.
And the Tigers have now lost four straight games, which can only mean one thing:
Their season is finished.
No, no. I'm kidding. It means that the Tigers are somewhere between a funk and a slump -- according to baseball's latest high-tech stats, this is officially a "flump," and one way to break out of a flump is to get some big "hits."
Hmmm. Any volunteers?
"We're the big hitters on this team," Ordonez said, when asked about the middle of the lineup. "We have to get on base, and we haven't done it lately. We will."
Ordonez arrived in Detroit last year after an unusual negotiation in which Tigers owner Mike Ilitch put his checkbook on the table and left the room. The Tigers wildly overpaid for Ordonez -- by now, that should be clear to everyone except Magglio and his accountant. He is not a $15-million-a-year ballplayer.
But the contract isn't really the point right now. The Tigers don't need Ordonez to play up to his contract. They just need him to hit like he did in April and May. And they need Rodriguez to provide more pop.
This isn't even a criticism. It's just reality.
Tigers manager Jim Leyland was in no mood to discuss Ordonez after the game.
"Some questions are asked that don't need to be asked," Leyland said. "Have you seen Magglio swing here the last couple of days? What do you think? Is he swinging good?"
I don't know. Whaddaya think, Magglio?
"I felt good," Ordonez said. "I just haven't gotten any big hits. I swung at good pitches, but I didn't get any on the sweet spot."
Friday night, Ordonez hit four ground balls to White Sox third baseman Joe Crede, who, frankly, doesn't need the fielding practice. Saturday, Ordonez fouled back a bunch of pitches. He said he thought he was paying the price for not playing the full season in 2004 or 2005 because of injuries. Understandable.
But look at the other contenders. They all have two big stars in the middle of their lineup. The White Sox have Jim Thome and Paul Konerko. The Twins have Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer. The Red Sox have David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez. The Yankees have Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi.
The Tigers counter with Ordonez and Pudge. They are making a combined $26.8 million this season -- more than any of the other combos except A-Rod and Giambi, who don't really count because the Yankees have their own currency.
Ordonez and Rodriguez are getting paid partly for their skills, but also for their veteran presence. They are getting paid, in other words, to come through at the moment when the team is teetering.
That moment has arrived. The Tigers insist they aren't pressing, but I've seen zit-ridden teenagers with more confidence. Saturday, six of them struck out in their first plate appearance against Mark Buehrle, who isn't even a strikeout pitcher.
The Tigers will try to turn it around against some big-name pitchers in the next few days: Freddy Garcia, Josh Beckett, Curt Schilling, David Wells, Kevin Millwood. This is like starting a diet at McDonald's. But it's not impossible. The Tigers just need some poise and some hitting from their own big names.
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