Magglio Ordonez

[Vinny]

Today is the Tigers' 46th game. With what he's done today, Magglio is now on pace for the following:

42 HRs, 81 (!!!!) Doubles, 158 RBIs, 144 Runs, 211 Hits, a .357 Average, .438 OBP and a .708 Slugging. All that and only 77 strikeouts. That's not just good, that's borderline historic. Obviously there's no way he can keep up this pace but for now, let's just sit back and enjoy it while it lasts.

[WTFchris]

Two more doubles so far today...and 3 RBI's.

[Vinny]

Two more doubles so far today...and 3 RBI's.

Counted those.

He just singled and scored another run though, which weren't included.

[Wizzle]

Maybe?

no way

[Jethro34]

Wow. Today's game puts him in the top 3 in the AL in each of the triple crown categories. It seems like it's been a while since I hread any substantial triple crown buzz from any player. It hasn't been done in 40 years, since Yaz. I'm not sure what pace he can keep, but it would be insane if he did it in Detroit. I'm sure in his MVP speech he would thank the White Sox for letting him go.

[Zekyl]

I. MagsVP: Back in February, blue collar, Marlboro-Red toting Tigers manager Jim Leyland offered his two cents about Magglio Ordonez's free-flowing locks: "Do I think it looks good? No. Do I care? No," Leyland told the Detroit News. "If he hits .300, I'll shampoo it for him."

Well, Jimbo, even though Ordonez did trim his hair earlier this month, you may consider preparing those lathering hands. Granted, we're just a quarter of the way through the season, but Mags is absolutely sizzling at the plate, hitting a lofty .361.

Along with his impressive average, Mags leads the majors in extra base hits (35 -- 12 homers, 23 doubles), runs (42) and RBIs (45), while boasting an awe-inspiring 1.151 OPS. Now that's the kind of production worthy of a five-year, $75 million deal (the contract Ordonez signed with Detroit prior to the '05 campaign).

With almost two months in the books, Ordonez is the frontrunner for AL MVP. Behind Mags' spectacular surge, Detroit leads the majors in runs scored (with 260 through 46 games). More importantly, the Tigers sit atop the AL Central with a 29-17 mark. Alex Rodriguez was leading the AL MVP race through April, but he tailed off mightily this month. And unlike the Tigers, the Yankees are experiencing well-documented struggles. New York is three games under .500 (21-24) and 9.5 games back in the East.

It's a long season, though, and I must point out that Mags also got off to a hot start last season. On May 25, 2006, he was hitting .322 with 11 homers and 31 RBIs. As the year went on, he cooled down and ended up with a .298 average. So I guess Leyland doesn't have to pick up a bottle of Herbal Essence just yet.

[Zekyl]

Eh-hem....

[Jethro34]

Triple crown is out of the question, given that he hasn't hit one since June 2. However, he's hitting about .460 in June which makes up for it in my book. I would say his chances of .400 are much better than his chances at the triple crown. A-Rod's 27 HR and freaking 73 RBI will make him tough to catch for MVP, especially now that the Yankees are winning (13-3 so far in June), but it's hard to imagine a better season for a Tiger so far. You know, a year ago he was the first Tiger since Tony Clark, I think, to have 100 RBI. Now I think we have 4 or 5 guys on pace to pass that mark, and I doubt any of them would have gotten there without Maggs having the season he's having right in the middle of that pack. Having Sheff in front of him forcing guys to pitch to him has been huge.

[Vinny]

Our 1-5 hitters are just having amazing years so far.

Granderson's improvement and learning curve has amazed me, at this rate he'll be an All Star in another year. He has 9 Homers, 13 Triples and 21 doubles. If he can learn to hit Lefties.....look out.

Polanco's hitting just about the quietest .340 I've ever seen.

Sheff had an awful April, but since, he's arguably been better than Magglio. I was slightly skeptical he could return to form when we traded for him, but he's back.

Guillen's just quietly hitting .320 again, with 10 homers and 46 RBIs.

Our offense is just downright filthy right now.

[Jethro34]

Our 1-5 hitters are just having amazing years so far.

Granderson's improvement and learning curve has amazed me, at this rate he'll be an All Star in another year. He has 9 Homers, 13 Triples and 21 doubles. If he can learn to hit Lefties.....look out.

Polanco's hitting just about the quietest .340 I've ever seen.

Sheff had an awful April, but since, he's arguably been better than Magglio. I was slightly skeptical he could return to form when we traded for him, but he's back.

Guillen's just quietly hitting .320 again, with 10 homers and 46 RBIs.

Our offense is just downright filthy right now.

I bolded an interesting statement. I knew Sheff had come around, but I wanted to see a comparison between the two statistically since April. It's crazy how similar their numbers are. The only huge differences are Maggs doubles and Sheff's homers, but take a look (I hope it lines up well)

Maggs 37 R - 63 H - 20 2B - 9 HR - 38 RBI - 23 BB - 16 SO - .384 BA
Sheff 40 R - 57 H - 8 2B - 15 HR - 41 RBI - 23 BB - 16 SO - .335 BA

Maggs has the higher BA but Sheff the higher SLG%. I love the fact that both have walked more than they've struck out. But here's the biggest number - both have an OPS well over 1.000! That's amazing.

So excellent observation Vinny. I think many of us have appreciated Sheffield's contribution without putting it into perspective. The first 3 weeks of April were so bad that they're hurting his overall numbers so they don't look comparable.