A lot is being made about Gary Sheffield’s hitting surge, but to me the bigger news is Craig Monroe’s efforts of late. Monroe hit the game-winning homer today in a 3-2 win over the Orioles and hit a 2-run blast Tuesday that helped Detroit overcome a 2-0 deficit.
Even though Sheffield struggled with the batting average, he was drawing walks, stealing bases (STEALING BASES!) and scoring a ton of runs. I had no worries about him. Plus, I’m sure Placido Polanco (.363) and Magglio Ordonez (.337) have benefited from Sheff hitting between them.
Monroe’s emergence is necessary for the Tigers to return to the heights they enjoyed last year, when C-Mo had 28 HR and 92 RBI. You can’t easily make up for that type of production at the bottom of the order. Monroe hadn’t homered since April 11 prior to yesterday. All 3 of his homers this season are against Baltimore.
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