Magglio Ordóñez - Detroit Tiger (2005-present)

Get out of work early?
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Baseball, it is said, is only a game. True. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona. ~ George F. Will

Extended lunch break....after all it is Friday!
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There are three things in my life which I really love: God, my family, and baseball. The only problem - once baseball season starts, I change the order around a bit. ~Al Gallagher, 1971

Take a sick day!
_________________
Baseball, it is said, is only a game. True. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona. ~ George F. Will

Do it for those of us who want to but can't.....
_________________
There are three things in my life which I really love: God, my family, and baseball. The only problem - once baseball season starts, I change the order around a bit. ~Al Gallagher, 1971

Here's hoping someone from DTF1 can be there!
_________________
There are three things in my life which I really love: God, my family, and baseball. The only problem - once baseball season starts, I change the order around a bit. ~Al Gallagher, 1971

07/25/2008 7:43 PM ET
Ordonez serves coffee for charity
Third annual Barista Day raises money for Tigers Foundation
By Scott McNeish / MLB.com

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. -- Star outfielder Magglio Ordonez participated in the Detroit Tigers Foundation's third annual Barista Day on Friday afternoon at a Detroit-area Starbucks.

Along with team mascot Paws, the six-time All-Star and his wife donned the trademark green apron and handed drinks to approximately 500 giddy Tigers fans. The Starbucks, located off Telegraph Road in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., a suburb of Detroit, will donate one dollar to the foundation for every drink sold during the hour Ordonez worked.

The donation will support youth baseball and softball in metro Detroit.

"We have a strong belief in the need to invest in our community's future, and we're pleased that Starbucks shares the same goal," said Jordan Field, manager of the Detroit Tigers Foundation. "Supporting youth baseball and softball is an important part of our foundation's goals."

Ordonez became the fourth current Tiger to participate in Barista Day. He joins Brandon Inge, Carlos Guillen and Placido Polanco.

Fans sporting Tigers apparel and Ordonez jerseys made a line from the Starbucks' entrance to the end of the strip mall 100 yards away. They chanted, "Mag-li-o! Mag-li-o!" and roared when Paws came outside to take photos. Once inside, customers gave orders to regular Starbucks workers wearing Tigers caps and, meanwhile, snapped pictures of Ordonez with camera phones. The Detroit slugger posed for pictures with the customers after handing them their espressos or cappuccinos.

Field predicted the event would net at least $10,000 for charity -- the amount collected each of the previous two years.

In addition, Field said Starbucks donates $100 to the foundation for every base stolen by the Tigers during the season. They have swiped 38 bags thus far. Starbucks will present the Tigers Foundation with a check for the total amount during a pregame ceremony later this season.

The Detroit Tigers Foundation is the official charity of the Tigers. The foundation aims to enhance lives through the game of baseball with a focus on youth, education and recreation.

Scott McNeish is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Ordoñez will attempt feat that hasn't happened in more than three decades
By JOHN LOWE • FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER • July 27, 2008

Today, on the same day as the Hall of Fame inductions, Magglio Ordoñez has a chance to accomplish something that nobody in the majors has done since a Hall of Famer 32 years ago.

The feat is having three hits in a game for at least five straight games.

By getting three hits in each of his last four games, Ordoñez has moved into the thick of this year’s A.L. batting race. Ordoñez, the defending A.L. batting champion, is now hitting .324, four points behind league leader Ian Kinsler of Texas.

With the help of a post-game change by the official scorer, Ordoñez had his fourth straight three-hit game Saturday night.

Research through Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org shows how special that streak is:

Ordoñez is the first Tiger to have four straight games of at least three hits since Willie Horton in 1965.

And the last big leaguer to have more than four straight three-hit games was Kansas City’s George Brett. In 1976, he had six straight games of exactly three hits each.

Brett won the first of his three batting titles that season. He finished with more than 3,000 hits and went into the Hall of Fame nine years ago.

Many big leaguers have had four straight three-hit games since Brett. The most recent was Florida’s Cody Ross, a former Tiger. In a four-game series at Colorado this month, Ross had three hits in every game. He had 15 RBIs over those four games.

Ordoñez has had exactly three hits in each of the four games since Tuesday, when he came back after having the night off Monday in Kansas City.

When Saturday night’s game ended, it appeared Ordoñez had gone 2-for-4. But then the scorer gave Ordoñez credit for a hit on a fourth-inning grounder on which second baseman Alexei Ramirez threw wildly to first. The play originally was scored as a two-base error. Under the revised ruling, Ordoñez got credit for a single and gained second on the throwing error.
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There are three things in my life which I really love: God, my family, and baseball. The only problem - once baseball season starts, I change the order around a bit. ~Al Gallagher, 1971

Way to go Maggs!

applaud

This is some great

HE WILL DO IT HARDLY TRYING!! THAT'S HOW GOOD HE IS!!

TE ADORO MI CAMPEON!! Love 2

_________________
There are three things in my life which I really love: God, my family, and baseball. The only problem - once baseball season starts, I change the order around a bit. ~Al Gallagher, 1971

GO MAGGS!!!
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Baseball, it is said, is only a game. True. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona. ~ George F. Will

Ordoñez in the hunt to retain the AL batting crown
By JOHN LOWE • FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER • July 29, 2008

Magglio Ordoñez's four straight three-hit games last week have given him a chance to make a serious bid to repeat as AL batting champion. The last player to do that was Boston's Nomar Garciaparra in 1999 and 2000. Ordoñez entered Monday third in the batting race at .324, five points behind league leader Ian Kinsler of Texas.
_________________
There are three things in my life which I really love: God, my family, and baseball. The only problem - once baseball season starts, I change the order around a bit. ~Al Gallagher, 1971

Oneonta Tiger Joined : 04 Oct 2007 Posts : 160

GO MAGGLIO!! YOU CAN DO IT! even after he missed that 2 weeks, he still can make it.

Let's keep fingers crossed he doesn't get traded...
but what can we do if it happens
_________________
There are three things in my life which I really love: God, my family, and baseball. The only problem - once baseball season starts, I change the order around a bit. ~Al Gallagher, 1971

Tigs wear dark blue caps!
_________________
There are three things in my life which I really love: God, my family, and baseball. The only problem - once baseball season starts, I change the order around a bit. ~Al Gallagher, 1971

08/07/2008 12:48 AM ET
Ordonez eyes another batting title
By Jason Beck / MLB.com

CHICAGO -- The Tigers' hopes of making another race out of September have dimmed over the past week. Magglio Ordonez's chances of another batting chase are looking considerably better, even if he isn't thinking about that.
The reigning American League batting champion was on the fringe of the leaderboard with a .307 average entering the All-Star break. He has used a torrid second half to put himself back atop the batting hunt, virtually even with Rangers outfielder Milton Bradley for the lead before a 1-for-4 average pulled him back.

Bradley missed Wednesday with a strained left quadriceps and stayed at .320; Ordonez fell to .319. Defending AL MVP Alex Rodriguez is close behind. However, it's not close enough to the home stretch for Ordonez to weigh his chances.

"It's too early," he said. "We'll see in September."

No player has won back-to-back batting crowns since Nomar Garciaparra did so with the Red Sox in 1999-2000.

However it turns out, the Tigers need Ordonez to keep hitting to give them a chance in the playoff chase. After consecutive late-inning losses Sunday at Tampa Bay and Tuesday at U.S. Cellular Field, the Tigers had a decent start from Justin Verlander go for naught with two late runs and 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball from White Sox starter John Danks. That stretched Detroit's losing streak to six, dropping the Tigers to three games under .500 for the first time since late June.

A win Thursday would pull the Tigers back within 7 1/2 games of the White Sox in the division race. It's not much, but it would stop the slow crawl away from contention that they've suffered this week.

"I get tired of saying we've got to start winning games. That's a matter of fact," manager Jim Leyland said after Wednesday's game. "Whatever the combination, we just haven't done it. Whatever it is, we have to get it going on all burners for a stretch."

Leyland said that he would probably give designated hitter Gary Sheffield the night off for the series finale, and could slot Ordonez in at DH for a game to at least give him some rest away from right field.

Pitching matchup
DET: RHP Zach Miner (5-4, 3.77 ERA)
A reliever turned starter, Miner gave the Tigers a chance to win on Friday night, but he received little offensive support in a 5-2 loss to the Rays at Tropicana Field. Despite allowing Tampa Bay's leadoff man on base in five of the game's first six innings, Miner scattered eight hits through 5 1/3 innings. He was charged with four runs (three earned) in his fourth loss this season. In five appearances over six games at U.S. Cellular Field, including one start, Miner is 0-3 with a 7.94 ERA.

CWS: RHP Javier Vazquez (8-9, 4.66 ERA)
Vazquez said the monkey on his back hadn't been getting any bigger in recent starts, but it was certainly big enough. He hadn't won a game since June 17, before he won on Friday against the Royals. Vazquez went six innings, giving up five hits and two runs. He had a shutout through the first five. It was the first time Vazquez gave up fewer than three runs since May 31.
_________________
There are three things in my life which I really love: God, my family, and baseball. The only problem - once baseball season starts, I change the order around a bit. ~Al Gallagher, 1971

Ordonez looks to break out of slump
Detroit (64-67) vs. Cleveland (63-67), Tuesday, 7:05 p.m. ET
By Jason Beck / MLB.com

DETROIT -- Magglio Ordonez tracked his line drive down the left-field line with a glimmer of hope. He saw the ball land just outside the foul line and stopped his path to first base. The television cameras caught him saying, "Wow."
After he ended up with another out en route to an 0-for-5 night on Monday, it's a pretty common reaction.

"That's baseball," he told reporters after the game.

For the moment, it's a stretch of struggling baseball for him. He's one of the few players who can hope with good reason that a rematch with Indians ace lefty Cliff Lee will help him out of it.

Ordonez says he feels fine at the plate. He's hitting some pitches hard, including that line drive. Right now, he's not getting the results. As a result, a few weeks after he was challenging for another American League batting title, he's in a position where he needs to stop the slide soon to keep his average over .300.

At .307, his average is at its lowest point in more than five weeks. It's just the kind of slump a hitter encounters over the course of a season, but a tough time of the season to encounter it.

"I feel good," Ordonez said after the game Monday. "There's just nothing happening."

Ordonez is batting .308 since coming off of the disabled list after the All-Star break, but his more recent stats reflect the struggles. He went 5-for-24 on last week's road trip to Texas and Kansas City, and just one of those hits went for extra bases.

Meanwhile, his two strikeouts Monday night raised his total to 12 over the last 14 games.

"He's struggling right now, that's for sure," manager Jim Leyland said.

Over the years, however, he has had Lee's number. For that matter, so have a few Tigers.

While the Tigers haven't handed Lee a loss yet this season, his 7.20 ERA against Detroit is his highest against any American League opponent. So is the .356 average and .903 OPS that Tigers hitters have posted off of him. Ordonez, for his part, is 2-for-6 with a couple singles against Lee this year, but 13-for-36 against him for his career.

That kind of success gives Chris Lambert the task to oppose Lee for his Major League debut and feel at least some hope.

"I guess he's bound to lose sometime," Lambert told the Toledo Blade over the weekend after learning of his call-up.

Lambert has succeeded at Triple-A Toledo by mixing his low-90s fastball, curve and changeup to keep hitters off-balance. He'll try to do the same against an Indians lineup that has punished pitchers over the course of their eight-game winning streak.

The Tigers might need him to keep the Tribe's offense contained to hold onto third place in the AL Central. The Indians' 4-3 win in 10 innings Monday night brought them to within a half-game of the Tigers in the standings. It isn't the race they were hoping for when the season began, but it's a close race nonetheless
_________________
There are three things in my life which I really love: God, my family, and baseball. The only problem - once baseball season starts, I change the order around a bit. ~Al Gallagher, 1971

Oneonta Tiger Joined : 04 Oct 2007 Posts : 160

A VIDEO I MADE. lol i was bored

09/11/2008 12:34 PM ET
Ordonez eyeing second batting crown
Right fielder swinging a hot stick heading into final stretch
By Jason Beck / MLB.com

DETROIT -- All talk about the Tigers' involvement in a late-season playoff race dissipated a while ago. Quietly, however, Detroit's right fielder has been hitting himself back into the American League batting title race.

These days, Magglio Ordonez isn't so quiet about it anymore.

"I'm feeling good," Ordonez said Wednesday as he prepared for the Tigers' off-day. "Watch out. I'm coming."

For the most of the season, Ordonez quietly shrugged off talk of any run at a batting title; it was too early to think about it. After all, he was struggling to keep his average above .310 heading into the season's final month.

Now, with 2 1/2 weeks left in the regular season and seven percentage points separating him from the top of the AL, it appears to be his time. Ordonez, for one, seems to be gearing up for it.

"I'm like those [race] horses down the stretch -- Secretariat, Big Brown," he said with a smile. "When they see the finish ..."

Ordonez then made a speeding-up sound effect. It doesn't sound like the charge of a pennant push, but for the Tigers, it's a consolation prize they wouldn't turn down.

Nobody has repeated as a league batting champion since Nomar Garciaparra won the title in 1999 and 2000. Ordonez was the fourth first-time AL winner in as many years when his .363 average led the big leagues last year. If the season ended Thursday, there would be a fifth in five years, with Boston's Dustin Pedroia (.328), whose two hits in Wednesday night's Red Sox-Rays extra-innings marathon pushed him past Rangers designated hitter Milton Bradley (.327) for the lead and left Ordonez seven percentage points behind at .321, taking the crown.

Among the many Tigers to win a batting crown, Ty Cobb is the only one to put up back-to-back titles.

Without question, the challenge Ordonez faces seems difficult to meet. Even if Ordonez plays in 14 of the Tigers' final 16 games and averages four at-bats per game, he would probably need to hit at least .400. A 22-for-54 (.407) stretch would raise his average to .329. Short of that, Pedroia and Bradley would need to fall off at least slightly. Even then, Minnesota's Joe Mauer looms in third at .323.

Even so, Ordonez might actually be able to pull it off, given the run that he has gone on just to get to this point. He is batting .440 (22-for-50) over 14 games since August 27. Over 10 games since Labor Day, Ordonez is almost batting .500, at 16-for-34 (.471). More than half of those hits are for extra bases, including five doubles and three home runs.

"He's got the stroke back. There's no question about that," manager Jim Leyland said Monday after Ordonez homered for the third straight game and built his hitting streak to 13 games. "He's on the ball real good right now. That's a good thing to see.

"It's amazing, that stuff, how guys struggle a little bit and all of a sudden [get hot]. But that's one of the reasons Magglio is a great hitter. The great hitters come out of it a little bit quicker. He's got a great stroke going right now, that's for sure."

Last year showed that Ordonez has a late-season run in him, even at the end of a long season. In 2007, he followed up a .393 August with a .393 September. A good share of his September damage came in the final week and a half; he went 15-for-26 over the final 10 days of the season -- including a final-weekend surge at his old home park in Chicago -- to raise his average 10 points to .363, easily ensuring his place alongside Andres Galarraga as the only Venezuelan-born batting champions.

It backs up Ordonez's history as a finisher. His career .317 average and .889 OPS in September and October trail only his .342 career average and .976 OPS in June.

"If I get hot," Ordonez warned, "watch out."

And like last year, Ordonez's health seems to be contributing to his confidence. Though back stiffness prompted Leyland to rest Ordonez from the starting lineup Wednesday, Ordonez said he feels good overall, and his pinch-hit flyout to deep center field on Wednesday showed no kinks in his swing. Leyland has also been consistent in taking him out in the late innings of runaway games.

Whether the schedule supports Ordonez this time around is debatable. Ordonez batted .424 (14-for-33) at Chicago last year against a White Sox club that had its pennant hopes dashed quickly. He returns to town this weekend with the Sox trying to hold off the Twins, and pitching very well. Chicago pitchers have held him to a .286 average (18-for-63) this season, and just .192 (5-for-26) in six games in the Windy City.

Ordonez is 9-for-14 lifetime against Friday's opposing pitcher, John Danks, but just 6-for-33 against Saturday starter Javier Vazquez -- though Vazquez will be starting on short rest.

From there, the Tigers head to Texas, where Ordonez went just 2-for-11 in their series last month, and Cleveland, where he's 6-for-23 in six games this season. He'll close out the season at home against the Royals and Rays, two pitching staffs he has hit well against this year and who are among his most favorable foes for his career.

The unknown factor will be his competition. Pedroia, Bradley and Mauer have all raised their averages in September, and each has some history of hitting at this level. Bradley has been battling nagging injuries that have cost him games in stretches all summer, which has made his continued hitting all the more impressive.

Pedroia batted .317 last year as a rookie, but is about to cross the threshold of 600 at-bats in his first full big league season. Mauer, of course, has experience in this spot, having won the AL batting crown two years ago.

It isn't the race the Tigers were hoping for in these final weeks. All the same, it provides some suspense to a September without a playoff chase in Detroit. And given Ordonez's confidence, he believes he has a run left in him.

"I don't see why not," he said.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

GO MAGGLIO GO

He can do it!
_________________
There are three things in my life which I really love: God, my family, and baseball. The only problem - once baseball season starts, I change the order around a bit. ~Al Gallagher, 1971

Tigers could opt to trade Magglio Ordoñez, a fan favorite
BY JON PAUL MOROSI • FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER • September 14, 2008

Less than two years after hitting a home run fans here will never forget, Magglio Ordoñez acknowledged an uncomfortable truth about the franchise he helped revive.

"We have a losing record, with the players we have," Ordoñez said last week. "There's going to be changes."

The 2008 Tigers will be remembered for their record payroll and unmet expectations. Two weeks from now, this disappointing summer will morph into a turbulent winter.

Only a handful of players are certain to be on next year's Opening Day roster. Ordoñez, despite his production, is not one of them.

The notion that Ordoñez could be traded is jarring. He is one of Detroit's most popular players, a postseason hero and the defending American League batting champion. He ranked fourth in the AL with a .321 average entering this weekend's series in Chicago.

Yet, he is set to be the highest-paid player ($18 million) in 2009 for team that woefully underperformed in 2008. He is an expensive, productive player, which would suggest there is money to be saved and value to be gained by trading him.

And he understands that.

"This game is a business," Ordoñez said. "They trade players. They play for four or five years and then (teams) trade them. You don't see those franchise players that spend their career for only one team.

"I want to play hard, help this team win, and hopefully finish my career here."

The Tigers' woeful season has exposed areas of immediate need. They need a shortstop who covers more ground than Edgar Renteria. They need a closer, unless they are comfortable with Fernando Rodney (36 innings, 25 walks) protecting leads in the ninth inning. They need one more setup man, because of the uncertainty surrounding Joel Zumaya's health. They also need to improve their rotation.

And they may consider trading a star to address one or more of those needs.

Still, the wig-wearing Ordoñez fans at Comerica Park should take heart: Even if the Tigers make a serious attempt to move Ordoñez this winter, several significant barriers will stand in their way. The odds of him returning are good.

Reasons to shop Maggs
At this point, Tigers officials have not finalized their off-season plans. They could decide to keep Ordoñez off the trade market entirely. But let's assume they check around to see which teams could offer a shortstop-and-relievers package for Ordoñez.

First, the money: Ordoñez is due a maximum of $51 million over the next three seasons. The $18 million for next year is guaranteed, followed by team options of $18 million and $15 million for 2010 and 2011, respectively.

According to thresholds outlined in the accompanying chart, those options will vest automatically if Ordoñez remains a healthy everyday player.

Ordoñez, who will turn 35 before the start of next season, said he would like to continue playing rightfield for the foreseeable future. It's possible that he would consider becoming a designated hitter later in his career.

The Tigers' incentive to move him this off-season -- rather than after next season -- has to do with his no-trade protection. If Ordoñez spends all of 2009 in Detroit, he will become a 10-and-5 player: at least 10 years of major league service, five with the same team. At that point, he would have full no-trade protection -- as teammate Carlos Guillen does now.

The market for Ordoñez's services this off-season would be limited to teams that have large payrolls, the need for a big right-handed bat and a surplus of talent in two key areas.

The Mets and Yankees have deep coffers and a potential need for corner outfielders, but neither has a major league-ready shortstop to move.

The Phillies will need to add a big right-handed hitter if outfielder Pat Burrell leaves as a free agent, but they traded some of their minor league depth for pitcher Joe Blanton this year.

The Braves' corner outfielders have hit for little power this year, but a modest payroll might prevent them from assuming all the money on Ordoñez's contract.

The Red Sox have a history of blockbuster trades, but they appear set at their corner outfield spots and designated hitter with Jason Bay, J.D. Drew and David Ortiz.

The most appealing trade partners would be the Angels and Cubs, both of whom have good depth at shortstop and intriguing young arms. But they also lead their respective divisions and may not feel the pressing need to add a hitter -- even one as accomplished as Ordoñez -- to their crowded outfields.

It will not help the Tigers that teams in search of a big bat can check the free-agent market first. Burrell, Manny Ramirez, Bobby Abreu, Raul Ibañez, Adam Dunn and Milton Bradley could be among those available.

And if the Tigers attempt to move Ordoñez, a third party is sure to become involved: Scott Boras, agent to the stars and unofficial chairman of the wintertime swap meet.

Ordoñez has a no-trade clause that allows him to block deals to all but 10 teams. And Boras could insist that Ordoñez's option years be guaranteed as a condition for approval of a trade.

Still short at shortstop
The Tigers would have no reason to consider a blockbuster deal if Rodney and Zumaya had remained healthy throughout the past two seasons. But the team's biggest shortcoming -- to this point -- has been the failure to develop an everyday shortstop.

Once it became clear that injuries would prevent Tony Giarratano from joining the everyday lineup this year, the team embarked on a search that has cost tens of millions of dollars but yielded no definitive answer.

Consider the following events:

• Soon after Giarratano underwent season-ending shoulder surgery in 2007, the team signed Carlos Guillen to a four-year, $48-million contract extension. Club officials hoped Guillen would be their long-term shortstop, but concerns about his range prompted a move to first base before the end of that season.

• Less than 24 hours after the final out of the 2007 World Series, the Tigers acquired Edgar Renteria from the Atlanta Braves for right-hander Jair Jurrjens and outfielder Gorkys Hernandez.

• Following another setback in his recovery, Giarratano was released in January.

• Renteria, at a salary of $9 million, has proved to be a below-average defensive shortstop and is batting .270.

• The Tigers likely will buy out Renteria's contract for $3 million, rather than bring him back next year at $12 million. According to an industry official, the Tigers -- and not the Boston Red Sox, who originally signed Renteria to his current contract -- are responsible for the buyout.

So, the Tigers have committed $60 million to two players who are probably not going to start at shortstop for them in 2009. They also traded one of the best rookie pitchers in baseball, along with a speedster who resembles Minnesota centerfielder Carlos Gomez. And they still do not know who their everyday shortstop will be in 2009.

Brent Dlugach, who also has underwent shoulder surgery, should resume some baseball activities during instructional league this fall. Cale Iorg, who impressed team officials with his performance at Class A Lakeland this year, might be ready by 2010.

Until then, the search will go on -- with the future of a beloved player hanging in the balance.

Lap's Comment: Go to the Freep and you'll see my less than enthusiastic response to this article.
_________________
There are three things in my life which I really love: God, my family, and baseball. The only problem - once baseball season starts, I change the order around a bit. ~Al Gallagher, 1971

Why Maggs will be a Tiger next year
September 12th, 2008 at 2:20 pm

There’s been a popular refrain that the Tigers will trade Magglio Ordonez this offseason. The thinking is that a)Magglio is a pretty good player and b)the Tigers would free up salary and c)the Tigers could get prospects to fill needs or even just replenish the farm system. While tenet A is true, parts B and C unfortunately are near mutually exclusive.

Ordonez is certainly a good player. He has a .380 wOBA this season which is a little more than 2 wins above average. Defensively it depends who you ask. He’s either a little below average or average-ish. In the interest of pumping up his value, we’ll call him an average fielder.

We’ll come back to value in a minute. But for now we’ll focus on his contract. Ordonez has one more guaranteed year on his deal at $18 million for 2009. There are then 2 club options - sort of. They are club options that can also vest due to playing time. If Ordonez makes 135 starts next year or 540 plate appearances the two options years become guaranteed at $15 million per. Or, if he has 1080 plate appearances between 08 and 09 they vest.

Ordonez is at 555 PA’s this year and will likely finish right around 600 for the season. Meaning he’ll only need 480 PA’s next year. Presumably a team isn’t going to trade for a player with the hope he gets injured, let’s assume that Ordonez plays a full year and his real remaining contract is 3 years and $48 million.

Ordonez will be 35 next year, so his contract extends through his age 37 season. Would you sign a 35 year old above average corner outfielder to a 3 year, $48 million deal?

To answer this, we can turn to a methodology that we tapped in the offseason to evaluate free agent deals. If we deem Ordonez to be a 2 win above average player (which is reasonable since his current season is close to his career numbers) that makes him 4 wins above replacement level. We penalize him a half win for aging and another half win for being a corner outfielder (he’d get bonus points for playing short or center or catcher) making him 3 wins above replacement. Using this table, that would a 3 year deal worth $35.9 million. Now that was last year, so if we add on 10% inflation it brings a 3 year deal to $40 million-ish.

So Magglio’s deal isn’t particularly attractive one if you were signing him as a free agent. So why would a team give up any prospects of value (or even not of value) to acquire him and his salary? The Tigers could send some money along with the deal, but then they are paying a handsome sum for prospects, plus they would be losing production in right field. And as much as we may like Matt Joyce, Ordonez is a solid bet to put up better numbers. Plus I don’t see the Tigers abandoning contention in 2009. The moves that have been made the last 2 years have been to give the Tigers a 2-3 year window to compete. Next year will not be a rebuilding year - at least not out of spring training.

I just don’t see a scenario where it makes sense for the Tigers to move Ordonez (unless another team is really dumb).

That's a lot better!

such a big park draw too. Men, women, and little kids are really drawn to him!
At his last Starbucks barista stent, the line to meet him stretched out the door, all the way around the street corner!
_________________
There are three things in my life which I really love: God, my family, and baseball. The only problem - once baseball season starts, I change the order around a bit. ~Al Gallagher, 1971

Magglio Ordoñez ties for AL batting lead

BY JOHN LOWE • FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER • September 18, 2008

ARLINGTON, Tex. -- Three innings after he left Wednesday night’s one-sided win, Magglio Ordoñez gained two points in his batting average and moved into a virtual tie for the American League batting lead.

In the fifth inning, Ordoñez hit a bases-loaded smash that got past Texas shortstop Ramon Vazquez and cleared the bases.

The play was originally ruled an error on Vazquez. But the ball appeared to take a bad hop -- perhaps because Ordoñez hit it so hard. The official scorer reviewed the play, and in the bottom of the ninth, he changed the play to a hit.

That changed Ordoñez’s average from .324 to .326. And that put him atop the league with Boston’s Dustin Pedroia.

“It feels nice -- really nice,” Ordoñez said.

The scoring change also meant that in the fifth inning Ordoñez didn’t just get credit for a single, but a three-run single. Marcus Thames scored from first on the play because the count on Ordonez had gone full with two out, and thus Thames was off with the pitch.

A three-run single is rare -- but probably not as rare as back-to-back batting titles by a right-handed hitter who doesn’t beat out many infield hits. And yet that’s what Ordoñez is shooting for now.

“It won’t be easy,” Ordoñez said.

In the last 70 years, the only right-handed hitter to win back-to-back American League batting titles was Boston’s Nomar Garciaparra in 1999 and 2000. And Garciaparra ran better than Ordoñez runs now.

Before Garciaparra, the last right-handed hitter to win back-to-back AL batting titles was the Yankees’ Joe DiMaggio in 1939 and 1940.

Ordoñez led the league at .363 last season. And this season -- despite never going on a memorable hot streak, as teammate Curtis Granderson pointed out -- he’s now back atop the league with 11 days left in the season.

Technically, Pedroia still has the lead, but by less than one-thousandth of a percentage point:

Pedroia .32637

Ordoñez .32630

It’s at least a three-man race for the batting title. Minnesota’s Joe Mauer (the 2006 batting champion) is two points back of Pedroia and Ordoñez at .324.

Texas’ Milton Bradley is also at .324, but his latest injury-related absence continued Wednesday night. Bradley might not get enough plate appearances to qualify.

If all of the leaders slip, then Texas’ Ian Kinsler could still win the batting title. Kinsler, who was lost for the year in mid-August with a sports hernia, finished with a .319 average. But he has enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting title. He’s currently fifth in the league.
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There are three things in my life which I really love: God, my family, and baseball. The only problem - once baseball season starts, I change the order around a bit. ~Al Gallagher, 1971

In Magglio Ordonez' last 23 games, he's hitting .404.
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