Curtis Granderson, Latin Ballplayers, and The Big Hurt

I was pleased to see Curtis Granderson back in the Tigers lineup and immediately contributing in his first major-league action this season, going 2-4 with two walks, two RBI’s, and three runs scored in Detroit’s 19-6 shellacking of Texas on Wednesday.  Granderson followed up his season debut by leading off Thursday’s game with a home run and igniting the Tiger offense in an 8-2 win, completing a three-game sweep of the Rangers.

After learning this week of Detroit manager Jim Leyland’s plan to have Carlos Guillen and Miguel Cabrera switch positions, I realized that the Tigers have an all-Latin infield – Guillen and Cabrera (both from Venezuela) at the corners, Placido Polanco (Dominican Republic) at second, and Edgar Renteria (Colombia) at short.  Throw in catcher Ivan Rodriguez (Puerto Rico) and they’ve really got all their bases covered.  Interestingly, despite the fact that Latin American players are so central to the majors, I could not come up with a single other team whose four (much less five) starting infielders all hail from Spanish-speaking countries.

Speaking of Cabrera, he really needs to step it up, because his numbers so far – .262 Batting, .340 OBP, and .500 Slugging – are mediocre at best for a guy making $152.3 million over the next eight years, and well below his career averages.  I was excited about Cabrera’s arrival because I knew he could give Alex Rodriguez a serious run in the All-Star balloting for starting third baseman, but now that he and Guillen are switching positions, Rodriguez might have a more serious threat, as Guillen is hitting .338 with a .432 OBP and .568 Slugging.  Since coming over from the NL, Boston’s Mike Lowell and Seattle’s Adrian Beltre have been unable to unseed A-Rod; I’d like to see someone – anyone – do it this year.

Finally, it’s a sad day for baseball when Frank Thomas is released.  Good news for The Big Hurt though – the A’s picked him up just days after his release from the Blue Jays.  Thomas returns to Oakland, where he hit .270 with 39 homers and 114 RBI’s in 2006.  Here’s hoping he finishes his career strong, just like the way he began it.