Notes: Granderson not letting up
03/21/2006
LAKELAND, Fla. -- Curtis Granderson doesn't want to think of himself as the Opening Day center fielder quite yet. He really doesn't want to think of himself as a leadoff hitter, either.
A day after manager Jim Leyland said Granderson would be starting in center field if the season opened today, Granderson said he won't let himself get comfortable in his first real positional battle as a pro. At this point, he's still thinking of it as a fight for a roster spot.
"I think coming up where I was drafted, I kind of automatically had a spot secured no matter how good or bad I did," Granderson said. "Right or wrong, it's kind of the way the game works. But now to come in and compete first to make the team and then from there to try to get a starting spot, that's probably the most [competition] I've ever had at any level.
"I think I look at it in two different parts. If the final cut comes and I'm [on the team], that's No. 1. And then, whenever Opening Day is, if I happen to be in the lineup, that'll be the second one."
Granderson added to his case on both counts Tuesday. His 2-for-3 performance Tuesday night against the Astros, including a home run leading off the bottom of the first inning, raised his spring average to .395. That team-leading fifth homer of the spring also moved him into a tie with Oakland's Eric Chavez for the American League lead. Only Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard (eight homers) and Reds third baseman Edwin Encarnacion (six) had more as of Tuesday night.
That's not exactly a typical total for a leadoff hitter -- his 5-for-5 performance in stolen bases might fit more -- but he's not trying to think like a typical leadoff man, either.
"The big thing I've been talking about to a couple guys on the Minor League side and my college coach [is that] my name may be at the one spot, but the thing I'm trying to do is be aggressive no matter what," Granderson said. "In the past, I've been trying to study and figure out the leadoff role, and I kind of overanalyzed it a little bit, worrying about what everyone else is expecting from me.
"I'm really only leading off one time a game. I could come up later on in the game with runners on, or to lead off an inning and I have to do my job depending on what the situation calls for as the game progresses. But the big thing, they're going to pitch me differently than they do the 3-4-5 guys and [differently] than they pitch righties. So I can't really get too caught up in trying to set the tone for everyone else so they can see everything."
Granderson has taken a lot of instruction in recent months from Scott Stahoviak, his hitting coach during his junior year at the University of Illinois-Chicago. Like Granderson, Stahoviak was a well-regarded prospect, a first-round draft pick of the Twins in 1991 who broke into the Majors as a corner infielder in 1995. His best season of his brief five-year career came in 1996, when he batted .284 with 13 homers and 61 RBIs in 130 games.
They've kept in touch even with Granderson in the pros and Stahoviak out of coaching. "We have similar hitting styles and approach," Granderson said, "and I'm kind of doing stuff that he already went through from Spring Training through the Minor Leagues to the Major Leagues. He's a good guy to talk to, easy to gain information, just ask questions and not have to worry about overanalyzing."
So much for showing off: Tuesday night's game was under the lights, but not quite the spotlight event it was supposed to be. Leyland was hoping to field as much of his projected starting lineup as possible for owner Mike Ilitch to watch, but Ivan Rodriguez and Dmitri Young had already received permission to take the afternoon game against the Phillies in Clearwater instead so they could get to their off time early and attend to personal business.
By game time, right fielder Magglio Ordonez had joined them on the trip. He was originally slated to bat cleanup in the night game, but took the road tilt Tuesday morning so he could return home to Miami for the off-day.
Maybin pulls double duty: It was a long day at work for first-round pick Cameron Maybin and other Tigers Minor Leaguers. By afternoon, Maybin and fellow 2005 draft selection Michael Hollimon were playing for Class A West Michigan on Tigertown's back fields against Cleveland's Minor Leaguers. Maybin hit an opposite-field home run into a crosswind with his father Rudy quietly watching.
By evening, Maybin and Hollimon were on the bigger field at Joker Marchant Stadium, having been added to the split squad facing the Astros. Hollimon pinch-hit for Brandon Inge and went 0-for-1. Maybin struck out in the eighth inning for his only appearance.
Source: http://detroit.tigers.mlb.com/
LAKELAND, Fla. -- Curtis Granderson doesn't want to think of himself as the Opening Day center fielder quite yet. He really doesn't want to think of himself as a leadoff hitter, either.
A day after manager Jim Leyland said Granderson would be starting in center field if the season opened today, Granderson said he won't let himself get comfortable in his first real positional battle as a pro. At this point, he's still thinking of it as a fight for a roster spot.
"I think coming up where I was drafted, I kind of automatically had a spot secured no matter how good or bad I did," Granderson said. "Right or wrong, it's kind of the way the game works. But now to come in and compete first to make the team and then from there to try to get a starting spot, that's probably the most [competition] I've ever had at any level.
"I think I look at it in two different parts. If the final cut comes and I'm [on the team], that's No. 1. And then, whenever Opening Day is, if I happen to be in the lineup, that'll be the second one."
Granderson added to his case on both counts Tuesday. His 2-for-3 performance Tuesday night against the Astros, including a home run leading off the bottom of the first inning, raised his spring average to .395. That team-leading fifth homer of the spring also moved him into a tie with Oakland's Eric Chavez for the American League lead. Only Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard (eight homers) and Reds third baseman Edwin Encarnacion (six) had more as of Tuesday night.
That's not exactly a typical total for a leadoff hitter -- his 5-for-5 performance in stolen bases might fit more -- but he's not trying to think like a typical leadoff man, either.
"The big thing I've been talking about to a couple guys on the Minor League side and my college coach [is that] my name may be at the one spot, but the thing I'm trying to do is be aggressive no matter what," Granderson said. "In the past, I've been trying to study and figure out the leadoff role, and I kind of overanalyzed it a little bit, worrying about what everyone else is expecting from me.
"I'm really only leading off one time a game. I could come up later on in the game with runners on, or to lead off an inning and I have to do my job depending on what the situation calls for as the game progresses. But the big thing, they're going to pitch me differently than they do the 3-4-5 guys and [differently] than they pitch righties. So I can't really get too caught up in trying to set the tone for everyone else so they can see everything."
Granderson has taken a lot of instruction in recent months from Scott Stahoviak, his hitting coach during his junior year at the University of Illinois-Chicago. Like Granderson, Stahoviak was a well-regarded prospect, a first-round draft pick of the Twins in 1991 who broke into the Majors as a corner infielder in 1995. His best season of his brief five-year career came in 1996, when he batted .284 with 13 homers and 61 RBIs in 130 games.
They've kept in touch even with Granderson in the pros and Stahoviak out of coaching. "We have similar hitting styles and approach," Granderson said, "and I'm kind of doing stuff that he already went through from Spring Training through the Minor Leagues to the Major Leagues. He's a good guy to talk to, easy to gain information, just ask questions and not have to worry about overanalyzing."
So much for showing off: Tuesday night's game was under the lights, but not quite the spotlight event it was supposed to be. Leyland was hoping to field as much of his projected starting lineup as possible for owner Mike Ilitch to watch, but Ivan Rodriguez and Dmitri Young had already received permission to take the afternoon game against the Phillies in Clearwater instead so they could get to their off time early and attend to personal business.
By game time, right fielder Magglio Ordonez had joined them on the trip. He was originally slated to bat cleanup in the night game, but took the road tilt Tuesday morning so he could return home to Miami for the off-day.
Maybin pulls double duty: It was a long day at work for first-round pick Cameron Maybin and other Tigers Minor Leaguers. By afternoon, Maybin and fellow 2005 draft selection Michael Hollimon were playing for Class A West Michigan on Tigertown's back fields against Cleveland's Minor Leaguers. Maybin hit an opposite-field home run into a crosswind with his father Rudy quietly watching.
By evening, Maybin and Hollimon were on the bigger field at Joker Marchant Stadium, having been added to the split squad facing the Astros. Hollimon pinch-hit for Brandon Inge and went 0-for-1. Maybin struck out in the eighth inning for his only appearance.
Source: http://detroit.tigers.mlb.com/
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