Glenn
05-05-2008, 12:18 PM
Tigers' Leyland promises lineup changes Monday
by Danny Knobler
Sunday May 04, 2008, 1:01 PM
MINNEAPOLIS -- Jim Leyland said this morning that he plans to shake up his lineup for Monday's game against Boston.
Leyland didn't say what he would do, and at one point he indicated that he wasn't exactly sure what the new lineup would look like. But he did say it would be significant.
"Same pieces, but different,'' he said. "Quite a bit different. I think you'll find it pretty drastic.''
Leyland made one change Sunday, batting Miguel Cabrera third for the first time this season. But with Gary Sheffield getting a planned day off, it was harder to say what Leyland's new lineup will look like.
Sheffield has struggled through the first month of the season, with a .185 batting average and just five RBIs. He's 1-for-20 with runners in scoring position. So it would hardly be a surprise if he's batting quite a bit lower than third in the new lineup.
Leyland has talked the last couple of days about the Tigers' lack of speed, but there's little he can really do to change that. You wonder if he would consider moving Curtis Granderson from the leadoff spot into the middle of the order, but in the past he's had trouble finding another leadoff hitter even on the days when Granderson doesn't play.
Even after they scored just one run in each of the first two games in Minnesota, the Tigers are fourth in the American League in runs, with 152 in 31 games. Oakland is first, with 156, followed by Boston (155) and the Los Angeles Angels (154). But all of those teams have played one more game than the Tigers have.
The problem is that the Tigers have been an all-or-nothing offensive team. They have scored more than one-third of their runs in just four double-digit games, and meanwhile they've had 11 games where they've scored two runs or fewer. They're 14-2 when they score five runs or more, but 0-15 when they don't score five.
"I'm shocked, really,'' Leyland said. "This offense is better than it's shown.''
by Danny Knobler
Sunday May 04, 2008, 1:01 PM
MINNEAPOLIS -- Jim Leyland said this morning that he plans to shake up his lineup for Monday's game against Boston.
Leyland didn't say what he would do, and at one point he indicated that he wasn't exactly sure what the new lineup would look like. But he did say it would be significant.
"Same pieces, but different,'' he said. "Quite a bit different. I think you'll find it pretty drastic.''
Leyland made one change Sunday, batting Miguel Cabrera third for the first time this season. But with Gary Sheffield getting a planned day off, it was harder to say what Leyland's new lineup will look like.
Sheffield has struggled through the first month of the season, with a .185 batting average and just five RBIs. He's 1-for-20 with runners in scoring position. So it would hardly be a surprise if he's batting quite a bit lower than third in the new lineup.
Leyland has talked the last couple of days about the Tigers' lack of speed, but there's little he can really do to change that. You wonder if he would consider moving Curtis Granderson from the leadoff spot into the middle of the order, but in the past he's had trouble finding another leadoff hitter even on the days when Granderson doesn't play.
Even after they scored just one run in each of the first two games in Minnesota, the Tigers are fourth in the American League in runs, with 152 in 31 games. Oakland is first, with 156, followed by Boston (155) and the Los Angeles Angels (154). But all of those teams have played one more game than the Tigers have.
The problem is that the Tigers have been an all-or-nothing offensive team. They have scored more than one-third of their runs in just four double-digit games, and meanwhile they've had 11 games where they've scored two runs or fewer. They're 14-2 when they score five runs or more, but 0-15 when they don't score five.
"I'm shocked, really,'' Leyland said. "This offense is better than it's shown.''