Over the past couple of days, several friends have pointed out the fact that Gary Sheffield is doing well in New York and they feel that perhaps the Tigers cut him loose too soon.  When Gary was a Tiger and was healthy, he was a very good player.  in fact, a better all around player than I ever realized.  The problem was, Shef was coming off several injuries and didn't perform all that well this spring.  The Tigers also felt that he was limited defensively in what he could bring to the club.  You can only carry so many potential DH types on your roster.

So, Sheffield goes to New York, hits his 500th home run and plays well.  That's great for Gary.  I was hoping to call his 500th home run, but in the end it worked out well for him.  It also worked out just as planned for the Tigers.  With Sheffield's departure, and to an extent, Carlos Guillen's injury, the Tigers accomplished what they wanted when Sheff was given his walking papers; they got faster and more flexible as a line-up.  Anderson's day in KC yesterday was a great example.  Ryan Raburn is also playing well these days and Clete Thomas has had his moments.  Even when the Tigers went to the World Series in 2006, they craved more speed.  Now they have some.  Sometimes you have to make tough choices (and eat a large contract) to do what's best for the team.  The Tigers made a hard choice.  Sheff is doing well.  The Tigers are in first place.

The Curtis Granderson catch in Cleveland got me to thinking how much the Tigers defense has improved this year and what kind of an effect it has had on the pitching staff.  Through 30 games last season, the Tigers had a fielding percentage of .983 (11th in the A.L.) and a team ERA of 5.00 (13th in the A.L.).  Through the same amount of games this year, the defense has a fielding % of .985 (4th in the A.L.) and a team ERA of just 3.84 (2nd in the A.L)

So what does it mean.  Well, the Tigers proclaimed that off season moves to strengthen the defense would have a positive impact on the pitching as a whole.   Early on at least, the numbers seem to support the theory.  The Tigers provided one great play after another in the Cleveland series.  Rayburn's diving catch in left.  Everett's diving catch at short to start a double play.  Granderson's two gems in center field.  It would have been a much different series if those playes were not made.  So, while the starting pitching was fabulous over the weekend, the defense had its say in the outcomes as well.

Speaking of the Grandy catch, I've been asked many times the last two days if that is the greatest catch I've seen.  I think I've seen slightly better plays (Curtis climbing the wall on Wily Mo Pena at Comerica Park and Jim Edmonds had a few in Anaheim), but for sheer electricity of the moment, none compare to the play that is now known as "The Catch."

Brandon Inge is starting to garner a lot of attention with his quick start.   Inge has always been a fantastic defender (he made another great play last night), but now his bat is starting to catch up.  Through the first month of the season, Inge's production has ranked near the top among third basemen in the American League.   Here are his league ranks at third base:  18 RBI ( 3rd), 13 BB (2nd), 7 HR (1st),  .431 OBP (2nd) and .658 SLG (2nd).

A lot has been made of Brandon's work with hitting coach Lloyd McClendon's.  Mac has certainly done a lot to change Inge's fortunes at the plate by tweaking his approach.  The results have been striking in the first month.  The trick is now to stay the course, and it is Lloyd's job to make sure Brandon keeps his good habits.

There is however another facet to Inge's success.  That would be a mental adjustment.  Brandon spent a good portion, if not all, of spring training re-training his mind as well as his swing.  The mental part of the game is often ignored, yet it is just as critical as maintaining mechanics.  Brandon is more in tune with what the swing is supposed to feel like as opposed to what it is supposed to look like on video.  The theory goes a little like this.  Imagine swinging a golf club and shanking your shot.  Now try swinging the club with your eyes closed and relying on the "feel" of hitting the golf ball.  It's all about training your mind to find the right feel.  Golf ball, baseball. it's all the same.  So far , so good.  Let's hope May is as good as April.

The Tigers have a new way of doing business at the bottom of the order this season.  Not too long ago, 2006 to be exact, the Tigers would slug their way though the bottom of the order before turning it back over to the top.  In 2006, the Tigers 7-8-9 hitters combined to hit .266 with a whopping 74 home runs.  This season however, things are a little different.

With the addition of Josh Anderson from the Braves, the Tigers have a little more speed at their disposal.  Gerald Laird has also given them a solid hitter toward the bottom of the line-up that can run the bases fairly well.  The result?  The Tigers through ten games have manufactured a little more offense as opposed to hitting the ball out of the park.

This season, the Tigers 7-8-9 hitters have combined for a .320 average with 4 home runs and 20 RBI.  They have also stolen three bases and chipped in with 2 sacrifices.  They won't soon be confused with the Los Angeles Angels, but there is a bit of a different style to the Tigers offense this season.  Heck, we've even seen Miguel Cabrera steal a base already this year.  That, by the way, equals his total from a year ago.

Edwin Jackson deserved better.  He tossed 7 and 1/3 innings of two-hit ball and has nothing to show for it.  Really disappointing loss tonight considering the Tigers got a deep performance after going to the pen early last night.  Jackson was in command all night long and took control because he pounded the strike zone with first pitch strikes regularly.  Scott Rolen said after the game that Jackson controlled the game all evening.  It's starting to become evident why he won 14 games last year with the Rays.  Very impressive tonight.

Brandon Inge is starting to look like the guy the Tigers had in 2006.  His second home run of the season tonight was impressive.  Last night Inge hit one off Roy Halladay to the opposite field.  Inge said before today's game that the opposite field shot is great indication that his new approach at the plate is working so far.  In the past he would have pulled his front shoulder off the ball.  The result was that he was pulling everything.  By going to rightfiled last night, he feels it is a sign that he is staying back on the ball longer.  By the way, the last time Inge hit a home run to right field was 2007.

So much for a slow start for Miguel Cabrera.  Cabby is 4-6 with 2 walks.  He started 2-20 last season.

New Tigers outielder Josh Anderson was quite a basketball player in High School.  Anderson grew up in Kentucky and in high school he was selected to take part in a slam dunk contest.  He was unsure he wanted to participate at first, but he ended up winning the contest easily.  Standing a litttle over six feet, Anderson executed a 360 dunk on his first try and then a two handed slam off the backboard.  Josh said he got his hops from his dad who was shorter than he was.