I have had it with Magglio Ordonez.
Okay, I should preface this by saying how much I appreciate what Ordonez has meant to my beloved Detroit Tigers and the fans in general.
Maggs signed with us when we were still a losing franchise without a lot of promise. Sure, we may have overpaid for the then injured slugger, but he still had to sign the contract and we all were grateful.
After an early injury scare (sports hernia) kept him sidelined from the outset of his Tigers tenure, he eventually hit the field and tore the league apart in the process.
Over the next three seasons, Ordonez averaged over 24 home runs and 115 runs batted in and failed to hit above .300 only once (.298 being the only time he didn't reach that mark), including his high water season of 2007 in which he had 28 homers, 139 RBI, and led the league in average with an astonishing .363 average.
Furthermore, Ordonez left perhaps the most lasting image of the World Series team of 2006 when he hit the walk-off home run against Oakland that sent the motor city kitties to the Series.
Ordonez was great. But something happened on the way to the happy ending in Detroit: Ordonez stopped producing.
Last year Ordonez still had a good season, but his power numbers dropped off a bit, with the Venezuelan power hitter slugging a pedestrian 21 homers. This may seem like nit picking, but this was the lowest full season home run total since his rookie season.
Additionally, Ordonez was playing in a lineup that featured the home run champ Miguel Cabrera acting as a secret service-like protector.
Manager Jim Leyland moved Ordonez into the No. 3 spot in the lineup for just that reason, and Ordonez responded by hitting only nine homers over the last three months of the season.
Ordonez's power outage continued but at a drastic decline to only three homers over the first three months of this season.
If this were only about home runs, that would be one thing. However, Ordonez is hitting a paltry .265 and only has 24 RBI through 60 plus games. Add to that the fact that Ordonez is a below average fielder at best, and you have a real dead spot in the lineup.
If Ordonez were just an average player with an average salary, this could be overlooked. But Ordonez is making nearly $19 million this season, with a player option for $18 million for 2010. More on that later.
Obviously, some players are hot starters and some are cold. I have heard countless prognosticators and "experts" in the blogosphere claiming that Ordonez is just a notoriously slow starter.
This logic is patently false. Not only is Ordonez not a slow starter, but he is actually a pretty hot starter. Consider this: Since 2001, Ordonez has only failed to hit .300 once through the first three months of the season, and that was in 2003 while with Chicago, when he hit a respectable .285. (This does not include 2005 when he only had 10 at-bats in the first three months.)
So, are we looking at a drastic decline in what could be the end of a stellar career?
Who knows? A month ago, I would have said that this is the case. But at that time, both the Yankees' Alex Rodriguez and Boston's David Ortiz were in similar slumps.
But Ortiz has hit seven homers over the past month and appears to be breaking out of his cold spell, and Rodriguez has also hit more homers this month than Ordonez has all season. All three remain with sub-.265 averages, so it could be the case after all.
This is all beside the point. The question is not "Why is Ordonez not hitting?" The question is "What should be done about it?"
Unlike Rodriguez, and to a lesser extent like Ortiz, Ordonez is not at the beginning of a lengthy contract or extended contract. The Tigers are only on the hook for Ordonez for this season and potentially next season.
This is where the real intrigue comes into play.
As mentioned earlier, Ordonez has an option year for 2010 that kicks in if he reaches 270 games started or 1080 plate appearances over the contract years 2008 and 2009 (this year).
Last season, Ordonez had 146 starts and 623 plate appearances. So far this year, he has 62 starts and 261 plate appearances. If you're doing the math at home, that puts him at 208 starts and 884 plate appearances as of today (June 29, 2009).
That leaves him at about 200 plate appearances or 62 starts away from the option.
Therefore, if Ordonez stays healthy and plays out this contract, the Tigers will be on the hook for $18 million next season for what should be only a backup outfielder or designated hitter.
Lately, there has been some intrigue surrounding Ordonez. Tigers manager Jim Leyland has sat Ordonez a few games in order to let the slugger work out his issues and figure out his game.
Ordonez's agent, the infamous Scott Boras, blew a gasket and accused the Tigers of sabotaging his payday.
Obviously, Boras stands to lose a huge hunk of change if Ordonez misses out on his option, but that is beside the point.
The point is that the Tigers need to bite the bullet and release the suddenly soft-hitting Ordonez. Their future as a ball club truly depends on it.
Boras brought to the attention of the casual observer how much is riding on this situation, and how awkward it truly is for all involved.
For a Tigers fan, people are torn between rooting for Ordonez to supply his usual power to a contending team and rooting against him in order to secure his release. They have to compartmentalize their feelings for the slugger between what he was and what he is, what he meant to them and what he means to them.
Essentially, they have to subscribe to the most cruel, yet pragmatic idiom in baseball: "What have you done for me lately?"
For Leyland, he has to try to keep the respect of his players, and this is a tricky move. On the one hand, players respect their manager if he sits a star, regardless of his past accomplishments, if he isn't getting the job done.
However, if it is viewed as a money thing, they will turn on him.
Luckily for Leyland and the Tigers in this regard, Ordonez has not been hitting. Besides hitting a homer in his third game back since being benched, he has only two other hits in 18 at-bats.
Furthermore, Ordonez seems to hit a ground out every at-bat. Personally, I cannot bear even to watch when he comes to the plate with runners on base because I know that he will hit into a double play. He is fourth in the league in grounding into double plays with 11.
I am a Tigers fan, and as such, I want what is best for my team. I hate to say it, but that no longer means playing Magglio Ordonez.
Every morning I wake up and look at the Detroit Free Press on-line (my morning source for Detroit news, and although it is not perfect, it is free) and hope that this is the day that the headline reads "Tigers release Magglio Ordonez."
It is a tough pill to swallow, but it is the sad truth. The best move for Detroit to make is to release Ordonez. It is not the easiest thing to do today, but it will make for a better tomorrow.
Hopefully tomorrow is the day.
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