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I know, I know. I just assumed Pope Benedict XVI was going to include Detroit on his United States itinerary, too. At the very least, if I'm the Tigers, I offer Dontrelle Willis to the Yankees in exchange for the Pope saying Mass in Comerica Park instead of Yankee Stadium. And the Tigers, now winners of two in a row, are authors of only one of baseball's most fascinating early-season trends. ...
David Ortiz starts 5-for-52: Time was, the mere thought of Big Papi sitting out a game against the New York Yankees would have been more ridiculous than the notion of Ted Williams' head frozen in Arizona. But there he was -- Ortiz, not Teddy Ballgame -- frozen in the Boston dugout Sunday night, the latest installment of the Red Sox-Yankees going on without him.
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| Big Papi received a day off for his early-season swoon. (Getty Images) |
To Boston skipper Terry Francona, it had become obvious that Ortiz needed a mental break. Papi, who takes a far more cerebral approach than he's ever given credit for -- this is not a guy who simply steps in and slugs away -- agreed.
One opposing pitcher who is very familiar with Ortiz said he hasn't seen anything drastically different so far this year. Ortiz has swung at a few first pitches, but they've been fastballs down the pipe. Ortiz remains very disciplined and hasn't been lured to swing at offerings out of the strike zone. Our pitcher, who requested anonymity, does add that he's seen umpires call some borderline pitches strikes that in the past have gone in Ortiz's favor.
Verdict: Ortiz starts hitting again, just as sure as they cue up Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline again and again over the Fenway Park sound system. As noticeable as Big Papi's early season funk is, things also get magnified at this time of year. Remember Derek Jeter going 0-for-32 in April, 2004? Jeter was hitting .189 into May then and still finished at .292. Ortiz flared two opposite-field singles Monday in Cleveland then poked another single to right on Tuesday. Sometimes the little knocks are all it takes to get a big guy going.
Prince Fielder, 0 homers after slamming 50 last year: This might be the worst season-opening scenario for both Fielder and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. The big hunk of man goes vegetarian over the winter and comes back with less muscle?
Let's just say that Fielder was conscious enough of the homers/diet relationship that after he hit his first homer this spring -- and that took awhile -- he was teasing teammates in the dugout: "See boys, I can still hit 'em even without meat." Then, when both Fielder and 2007 Rookie of the Year Ryan Braun started slowly, the Dynamic Duo visited Brewers manager Ned Yost before Sunday's game and requested to be flip-flopped in the lineup.
Yost complied, moving Fielder to fourth and Braun to third. Fielder doesn't have a homer in 55 plate appearances, he's hitting only .222 (compared with .288 last year) and is slugging only .289 (.618 last year).
Verdict: Even if he has switched to Boca Burgers, Fielder's power isn't gone -- but don't look for 50 again this season after this start. And give the guy a break: At 23, Fielder last summer became the youngest player ever to hit 50 or more in a season. With Braun aboard for a full season, pitchers are going to tread very lightly through the heart of this order. The Cardinals walked him four times Tuesday night.
Fielder's 50 last year came in 702 plate appearances, an average of one homer every 14.04 times he stepped in the batter's box. Even if he starts thumping them at that pace again tomorrow, assuming another 702 plate appearances this season, he'll need to start hitting one homer every 12.94 plate appearances the rest of the way.
The Tigers aren't even the team of 2008, let alone Team of Century: Memo to Pope Benedict XVI: Are you sure you can't at least have the pilot fly the Air Pope plane over Detroit and sprinkle Holy Water over the ballpark on your way back to Rome?
Verdict: The most incredible statistic in a young season full of them might be this: That this fearsome Tigers lineup already has been shut out four times after suffering shutouts only three times all of last season. Now, after taking a moment to let that settle in, forget it.
