Granderson begins workouts - 4/8/08

04/08/2008 2:27 PM ET
Granderson begins workouts
Outfielder thrilled about resuming activities, Jayhawks' win
By Jason Beck / MLB.com

BOSTON -- Curtis Granderson had to admit that he was nervous about his Kansas Jayhawks' chances at beating the Memphis Tigers in the NCAA basketball championship game on Monday night, when they were down nine with just over two minutes to go. He felt much less nervous about swinging a bat on Tuesday morning.

With his fractured right middle finger healed enough to resume baseball activities, Granderson did just that on Tuesday for the first time since fracturing his finger on March 22. It wasn't a heavy session, but it was a start toward his eventual return to the Detroit Tigers' lineup.

"All I did today was try to hit the ball and see what it felt like," Granderson said.

It was definitely more about the feel than the results. At one point, Granderson admitted, he felt awkward making short throws with fans at Fenway Park watching, or hitting a ball off a tee just 10 or 20 feet in his early swings. But as he was warned, it's part of the process.

"It did feel like baby steps," Granderson said. "When I came out, if you were watching me throw, you'd think, 'Who's this guy out there throwing the ball 20 feet with a big arc?' I knew it wasn't going to feel right. So when everything was OK, let's step it up a notch."

Granderson estimated he took about 20 swings, half of them with a ball on a tee and the rest without a ball. He also made some throws from 20-90 feet away, with and without his finger taped.

It was not without pain, and it took a while for him to get comfortable gripping the bat, but that was expected.

"Gripping it actually felt good," he said.

He'll continue making his steps each day, and he hopes to have his finger taped up less on Wednesday. But the timetable remains flexible. Tigers president/general manager Dave Dombrowski said on Sunday night on ESPN2's broadcast that he'd be happy to have Granderson back in 10 days.

"I'm happy. I'm real happy with it today," Granderson said. "The frustrating thing is I really don't know when. But I'm happy with today and excited about tomorrow."

Granderson was also understandably happy over his Jayhawks, whom he grew up following as a kid in Chicago. He had a KU T-shirt hanging in his locker in the visiting clubhouse at Fenway Park, along with a copy of the front page from USA Today with the postgame celebration from Monday's NCAA championship game pictured.

"I thought it was going to be tough," Granderson said of the comeback -- the Jayhawks', not his. "But [Marcus Thames] was going to start celebrating [for Memphis]."

Thames grew up a couple hours from Memphis, Tenn., in Mississippi.

"Don't lie," Thames chided Granderson. "You were nervous."

Countered Granderson: "It wasn't over yet. That's the big thing."

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

When will everyone else start their workouts?

bobrob2004 wrote:

When will everyone else start their workouts?

Good Question! And whe will Leland get the balls to yell at the team!

bobrob2004 wrote:

When will everyone else start their workouts?

Granderson first, the rest will follow?

At least this IS GOOD NEWS!

bobrob2004 wrote:

When will everyone else start their workouts?

Thank you brob

I'm happy and sad.

I love Curtis, he's my #2 Tiger, and I'm so happy he'll be back, but my main man will be back in the dugout

Not the way Miggy is playing. I would not be suprised to see Inge at 3rd and Miggy in LF or DH.

GoGetEmTigers wrote:

Not the way Miggy is playing. I would not be suprised to see Inge at 3rd and Miggy in LF or DH.

that's the way it should've started out!

Maybe Curtis will bring some wins with him when he comes back...

bobrob2004 wrote:

When will everyone else start their workouts?

Hopefully soon!

Just don't bring :curtis: back too soon, before he's all the way healed!!!!

Can't wait until Granderson returns

GoGetEmTigers wrote:

Not the way Miggy is playing. I would not be suprised to see Inge at 3rd and Miggy in LF or DH.

Let's hope the return of Curtis will shake things up and we finally start playing!
DH Miggy? And Sheff? I would love to see Inge back at 3rd!

Granderson's return will probably be the ball that gets things rolling!

Cheering for Grandersons return at least gives us SOMETHING to root for.....

GO :curtis:

this was just dumb luck that he was injured! Things would've been different had he started!

We need Granderson!

but we'll take Clete for now!

he's doing awesome, that Michael Clete Thomas!

GO CLETE GO!

another granderson?

For the future, Clete should do very well for himself!!! He is getting there!

making great strides already!!!

04/15/2008 7:41 PM ET
Granderson takes live batting practice
Tigers not rushing injured center fielder back into action
By Jason Beck / MLB.com

DETROIT -- Curtis Granderson's daily activities have started to resemble to his regular pregame warmup routine. However, that does not mean that he is close to being ready for game action.

Granderson took the next step in his hitting work on Tuesday, when he took pregame batting practice for the first time since fracturing his right middle finger during Spring Training. Considering he had been taking swings at soft tosses and off of a tee for the past week or so, it was an adjustment. Still, he was spraying the ball to all fields.

"It felt all right," Granderson said. "Everything looked kind of funny, being outside for the first time, having the cage around me, having someone behind yelling about this, that and the other thing. It's definitely positive I got a chance to come out here and do it pretty much free of pain."

Granderson was pretty much pain-free during the session, but not completely. The pain level, he explained later, was tolerable.

"I knew there was going to be a little bit," he said. "I know there's still more to come as we finally step it up a little bit, as I swing and miss, as I get jammed or hit one off the end of the bat."

If he had to try to play with that level of pain, he said, he could probably do it. It's the game-readiness that would do him in, however. That's why he had plenty of pregame work that had nothing to do with his bandaged hand, from running the bases to speed work.

"It's a combination of the pain and being-ready issues," he said. "There's no way I would be able to jump in there right now and face anyone who's throwing for Minnesota today. I would be overmatched, considering the hardest ball I've seen has been [Tigers third base coach] Gene Lamont throwing to me."

That's the kind of patience the Tigers want to see from him, as the team is in no hurry to rush to get him back. As much as they could use him in the lineup, they also want to make sure he's healthy. It's a delicate balance that they have to strike.

So far, it's something they've managed to do well. Granderson at least sounds like someone keeping any pressure in check. His outlook when he returns, he said, is the same as it would've been had he been starting on Opening Day.

"That's to come out, try to set the tone for the rest of the guys behind me, come out and play good defense," Granderson said. "That's going to be my same goal. I'm not a home run guy. I'm not a huge [stolen] base threat. Just gotta go out there and try to play my game, not do too much.

"I think it's going to be all right, because from what I've seen with Clete Thomas and Brandon Inge going out there to play, I don't have to do anything different than what those guys have been doing. If I can even match up to them, I think that would be a success."

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

:curtis:

one thing you can't rush is body healing!

True lap. He does not have to rush. Get real healthy before coming back Curtis.

I really look forward to this comeback but at the same time, i am a little bit sad because things for Inge and Thomas will change quite a bit.
Thomas will go back to Toledo i guess. Inge will have to warm the bench. I'm sorry for these two guys.

But happy for Curtis!!