Hard to believe the Tigers will be out to defend the AL pennant when they take the field tomorrow against the Blue Jay. Here is the lineup Jim Leyland will send into battle:
CF Curtis Granderson, 2B Placido Polanco, DH Gary Sheffield, RF Magglio Ordonez, SS Carlos Guillen, C Pudge Rodriguez, 1B Sean Casey, LF Craig Monroe, 3B Brandon Inge. Jeremy Bonderman gets the start. He was 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA in two starts against Toronto last season and held the Jays to a .205 BA in 12 IP.
Polanco flirted with .500 during the spring and is being considered a candidate to win the AL batting title. He hit .295 last year and batted a combined .331 for Philly and Detroit in 2005, so it's not far fetched. Michael Young led the AL at .331 in 2005 -- Polanco's .338 average in Motown didn't figure in the race because he didn't have enough plate appearances in the league after coming over from the Phils.
I read that Granderson likes to eat dinner at McDonald's when he's in a slump -- double cheeseburgers with no onions are his preference, although he says anything off the dollar menu is OK. Hopefully, he's not making many trips to the golden arches this season.
Detroit finished the spring 21-10-3.
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