Carlos Guillen appreciation time

Carlos Guillen appreciation time

From The Detroit Tiger Weblog - April 16th, 2008 at 10:25 pm


There has been great consternation about the Tigers offense over these first few weeks, and rightly so. With things starting to take off, I wanted to step back and recognize the start that Guillen has put together.

How many times have we heard during the complaints about the offense that Clete Thomas and Brandon Inge were the only Tigers hitting? And then we’d laugh at how pathetic it was. Yet all the while Guillen was producing. And not just doing okay, he was terrific.

Going into Wednesday night’s game Guillen had a .372 batting average - 5th in the AL. He had a .698 slugging percentage which was second in the AL. And he was the owner of a .481 OBP which was good enough for 3rd. He ranked second in OPS to only AJ Pierzynski. And he did the bulk of the damage with one leg. He’s managed to hit 5 doubles without being able to run. When there was frustration with the team rushing at-bats it was Guillen who was seeing over 4 pitches per plate appearance.

Yet those accomplishments went largely unnoticed. Maybe it was because he didn’t have gaudy RBI totals, or maybe it was the rather normal home run total. Or maybe he just hadn’t been clutch enough, despite hitting that game tying homer on Opening Day. Yet one of the 2 or 3 best offensive performers in the league was largely unnoticed even by his own fan base.

With the offense starting to roll and Miguel Cabrera and Magglio Ordonez finding their groove they will deservedly get the bulk of the attention. But when no one else was producing Guillen was carrying the load.

Los Lobos!!

"I love my mammy but not my hammy"

-Carlos Guillen, 2008

"Let me play and I'll hit a Grand Slammy"

-More Los, 2008

Carlos!!!

tigersaint wrote:

"Let me play and I'll hit a Grand Slammy"

-More Los, 2008

are you itchin' for another contest, mi amigo?

This is what I've been saying to everyone who will listen for the last TWO + years....Carlos is the backbone of the Tigers!! He is ALWAYS there for them!! GO TIGERS!! And GO CARLOS!!

Dang, reading that article I never realized that he was producing that much, that's something you werent expecting, big props to Los!!

04/19/2008 1:55 PM ET
Guillen keeps playing despite pain
Polanco, Thames, Inge receive rest against Jays on Saturday
By Gregor Chisholm / Special to MLB.com

TORONTO -- The season may not even be a month old, but for Carlos Guillen it must feel like the dog days of summer have already arrived.

Through just 18 games this season, Detroit's first baseman has suffered through what seems like a season's worth of leg injuries.

First it was a right hamstring muscle that he tweaked while running to first base on April 11 against the White Sox. In case that wasn't enough pain to deal with, on Friday night in Toronto, Guillen fouled two consecutive pitches off his left leg.

The first ricocheted off a protective brace on his lower left leg and didn't cause much damage. He wasn't quite as fortunate with the second, which hit Guillen a few inches below the knee cap on the inner part of his lower leg.

The force of that ball nearly sent Guillen to the ground, but he remained in the game to finish his at-bat. Despite the tough at-bat, the gritty veteran was at the ballpark on Saturday morning at 9 a.m., arriving for another day of work.

Tigers manager Jim Leyland said he didn't expect anything else from a guy such as Guillen, and that's the difference between playing hurt and being injured.

"He was out there and I asked, 'How are you doing?' And he said, 'Fine,'" Leyland said. "He's hurting, but he plays. He's tough."

Guillen estimated that it was at least the eighth time he has fouled a ball off his leg this season. He doesn't have much of a reason why it keeps happening other than perhaps it's his mechanics.

"I don't know why -- it's just my swing," Guillen said. "[Earlier this season] in Chicago I did it twice, one hitting left-handed and right-handed, too."

Despite the injuries, Guillen has played in all but two of the Tigers' games this year. His presence is critical for his club's offense: Entering Saturday's action he led the Tigers' everyday players with a .352 average and three home runs, while contributing six RBIs.

Guillen was deemed ready to play on Saturday, but Leyland did unveil three changes to his starting lineup for the second game of a four-game series against Toronto.

As expected, second baseman Placido Polanco received the day off to rest a sore left hip flexor that has been causing him pain in his lower back. In his place was utility infielder Ryan Raburn.

Joining Polanco on the bench were left fielder Marcus Thames and utility man Brandon Inge, who has been seeing a lot of action in center field with Curtis Granderson on the 15-day disabled list with a fractured middle finger on his right hand.

Clete Thomas got the start in center field and batted leadoff while Jacque Jones got the start in left field after receiving the day off on Friday night.

Gregor Chisholm is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.