Hit the Pine

Magglio Ordóñez has been benched "indefinitely." The scuffling has turned to floundering. Although his average at .273 is considerably higher than say, Gerald Laird's Mendoza-ish .214, it's woefully lower than acceptable for someone who's two season removed from a battling title and a .363 average. Also missing is power, gone AWOL in fact. So, he's now riding pine. Not exactly surprising, but I find myself wondering whether there could be a grievance filed with the player's union if the benching lasts too long.

The storied contract option comes into play, and an argument could be made that the Tigers are trying to prevent that option from kicking in. Also, Magglio could contend that he's not playing poorly enough to merit a lengthy benching. I mean .273 isn't anywhere near deplorable levels. Like I said, it's WAY, WAY off Magglio levels, but not approaching Sardinha levels.

I have very mixed feelings on the whole situation. I try to be unbiased, but it's very difficult. I think that my posts on this blog have made it pretty obvious that Magglio is my Tiger. So, I don't see all that clearly when it comes to him. I realize that everything is a big mess as far as his contract is concerned, and that he probably won't be with the Tigers come next season. This fact, combined with his poor performance, gives me many nightmarish feelings. Feelings of loss (of his skills), anger (mainly at Scott Boras), pain (that his career in Detroit could end like this). I could go on, but I'll spare you the remaining details. Suffice it so say that tomorrow night, when I sit in my right field seat, I'll be missing a certain someone who used to stand in front of me.