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First Willis, now Everett get the ax as Tigers' shake-up continues
First Dontrelle Willis, now Adam Everett. Who's next?
Sensing their season slipping away, the Tigers gave Everett, their slick-fielding, faint-hitting shortstop the pink slip Sunday night and summoned rookie Danny Worth from the the minor leagues.
The move came one day after Jim Leyland decreed that, in an effort to jump-start the bottom third of the Tigers' batting order, we will see more of Alex Avila, and hence less of Gerald Laird, behind the plate in coming games.
The Tigers have dropped 10 of their last 15 games. In seven of those 10 losses, despite the sizable contributions of Miguel Cabrera and Magglio Ordonez, they have scored three runs or fewer.
Losing two out of three to the Kansas City Royals is unacceptable for a team that fancies itself as a title contender. Over the weekend, the Tigers were outscored by the Royals, 16-9, and outhit, 34-24.
As a result, the shortstop job is now Worth's for the taking -- provided he can hit enough. If he doesn't, the rookie, who batted .333 during his earlier eight-game call-up, will share the position with extra infielder Ramon Santiago. Last month, Worth also demonstrated his ability to play second base. He could fill in there for Carlos Guillen -- at least until another rookie, Scott Sizemore who is hitting .380 at Toledo, is deemed ready to return.
Everett, who hit .238 with 44 RBI last season, was batting an anemic .158 with no home runs and four RBI when the Tigers designated him for assignment -- which means they now have 10 days to trade him or release him.
This isn't the first time in his career that Everett has gotten off to a slow start. And, in the past, he has always bounced back. Everett and I talked about that at length in the clubhouse during the Tigers' recent homestead. At times, it sounded as if Everett was trying to convince himself that it was going to happen again.
Unlike Willis, giving Everett the boot won't cost the Tigers a ton of money. The Tigers are only on the hook to the 33-year-old shortstop for the balance of his $1.55 million salary -- about a million bucks -- unless, of course, Everett catches on with another big league club. That team would then be responsible for a pro-rated portion of the $400,000 major league minimum.
Sensing their season slipping away, the Tigers gave Everett, their slick-fielding, faint-hitting shortstop the pink slip Sunday night and summoned rookie Danny Worth from the the minor leagues.
The move came one day after Jim Leyland decreed that, in an effort to jump-start the bottom third of the Tigers' batting order, we will see more of Alex Avila, and hence less of Gerald Laird, behind the plate in coming games.
The Tigers have dropped 10 of their last 15 games. In seven of those 10 losses, despite the sizable contributions of Miguel Cabrera and Magglio Ordonez, they have scored three runs or fewer.
Losing two out of three to the Kansas City Royals is unacceptable for a team that fancies itself as a title contender. Over the weekend, the Tigers were outscored by the Royals, 16-9, and outhit, 34-24.
As a result, the shortstop job is now Worth's for the taking -- provided he can hit enough. If he doesn't, the rookie, who batted .333 during his earlier eight-game call-up, will share the position with extra infielder Ramon Santiago. Last month, Worth also demonstrated his ability to play second base. He could fill in there for Carlos Guillen -- at least until another rookie, Scott Sizemore who is hitting .380 at Toledo, is deemed ready to return.
Everett, who hit .238 with 44 RBI last season, was batting an anemic .158 with no home runs and four RBI when the Tigers designated him for assignment -- which means they now have 10 days to trade him or release him.
This isn't the first time in his career that Everett has gotten off to a slow start. And, in the past, he has always bounced back. Everett and I talked about that at length in the clubhouse during the Tigers' recent homestead. At times, it sounded as if Everett was trying to convince himself that it was going to happen again.
Unlike Willis, giving Everett the boot won't cost the Tigers a ton of money. The Tigers are only on the hook to the 33-year-old shortstop for the balance of his $1.55 million salary -- about a million bucks -- unless, of course, Everett catches on with another big league club. That team would then be responsible for a pro-rated portion of the $400,000 major league minimum.
posted by Jim Hawkins at
5:55 AM
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