Sheffield, Ordonez, Cabrera, Oh My!

The thing about the 2008 Detroit Tigers is that any sort of off-night will be considered unacceptable. Watching the game on ESPN yesterday, Jim Leyland set the lineup at Granderson, Polanco, Sheff, Mags, Cabrera, Guillen, Renteria, Pudge, and Jacque Jones (oh yeahhhh, him). One through eight, every one of those guys can (and probably should) hit above .300. Anybody else's mouth watering?

Let's go guy by guy in this lineup, set the expectations and such. We'll see where we go.

Curtis Granderson- There's no way that Curtis will go 20 homers, 20 triples, 20 steals, and 20+ doubles like he did last year. And he's coming off signing a massive contract in the off-season. All signs point to him having a down year, but if the strike outs keep going down and the batting average goes up, I think I'll be happy.

Placido Polanco- We all pretty much know what we're going to get from Polly by now- he'll hit .330+ and just be a professional in all senses of the word at the plate. He rivals Jeter for the best two-hole hitter in the league.

Gary Sheffield- During May, June, and early July, we got a taste of what Sheff can do. He'll say stupid things, but he will hit the ball, and he will hit it hard. His massive slump in April and injuries in August and September brought his numbers down and may have ultimately cost the Tigers a playoff spot. If Sheff stays healthy, the Tigers will be in good shape. Crazy understatement, I know.

Magglio Ordonez- There's no way Mags will have a year like last year. No way he'll come close. He's a career .312 hitter that hit .363 last year, good enough for AL Batting Champion, who was up around .390 at one point. If he stays around .300, keeps healthy, and doesn't screw up too much in right field, I'll keep my promise to make my first son's middle name Magglio.

Miguel Cabrera- Oh god, this makes me so happy. Going from Brandon Inge at the plate to Miggy is like going from driving a Volkswagen Beetle to a Ferrari. Cabrera has something no one else in this lineup has- a World Series MVP trophy. And he got that when he was 20. I just don't think it was the greatest idea to send a guy who has weight problems to one of the fattest cities in America. Stay away from American Coney Island, Miggy, and you'll be fine.

Carlos Guillen- Another guy that we know what we're getting with. I wouldn't be surprised to see Carlos' power numbers go up a bit now that he's at first base instead of shortstop, if only because it's more of a power position. The rap on Guillen has always been if he's healthy, he'll be great. On the bright side, if he's hurt, his back up is now Marcus Thames and not Ramon Santiago.

Edgar Renteria- I remember thinking before we got him that if the Tigers traded for Renteria, there was a good chance the Tigers would win the division. Looks like he was just the first piece. I'm a bit worried about the adjustment to the AL, since his one year with Boston was, shall we say, not so great. If he comes close to the numbers he had last year (when he hit .332 with Atlanta), that would be pretty good production from the seven spot. Also an understatement.

Pudge Rodriguez- Can't believe that this guy is really in the eight spot. The great thing about Pudge is that he wants to win so badly, he really doesn't care where he hits. That's the great thing about Leyland- he could tell Pudge to dive from the Goodyear blimp into the Fountain in centerfield, and he'd probably do it. I just pray Rodriguez stays healthy so the Brandon Inge, Disgruntled Catcher show doesn't make an appearance in Detroit. (Inge deserves his own post, by the by)

Jacque Jones- Honestly, I don't know that much about Jacque. I watched him for years in Minnesota and he was a pretty solid hitter, but never really scared me. He's a career .280 hitter coming off of back-to-back years of hitting .285 in the NL with the Cubbies. He's hitting about 20 homers per year, except last year when he had a down power year with just five. He's not in the Friendly Confines any more, so the homers might stay where they're at, but something tells me the Tigers won't really be hurting for those this year.

Quite simply, from one to nine, the Tigers have the best lineup in Major League Baseball. On paper. Always have to say on paper, of course. Tomorrow I'll go over the rotation. Welcome back to The Light Tower, it's finally baseball season.