Will Carlos Guillen Shut It Down, Too?

Kenny Rogers might not be the only Detroit Tigers who's played his last game of the season already.  (I suppose we can add Todd Jones to that list, as well.)

It's been three weeks since Carlos Guillen took the field for the Tigers, sitting down with a pinched nerve in his back.  He's already missed 18 games, and with only 12 (maybe 13) left on the schedule, he and the Tigers may just decide there's no sense in trying to play again this year. 

According to Tom Gage, Guillen says the back hurts more when he swings right-handed, as opposed to left.  But until he tests that back out in running drills, Guillen isn't willing to say he's ready to play.  And as of Monday, he hadn't started running yet.  Guillen says he intends to come back this season, though Jim Leyland says he wouldn't play as a designated hitter.

If Guillen has played his last game of the season for the Tigers (unlike Rogers, he'll be back - no pun intended - next year), he'll end 2008 with some of his lowest hitting totals since coming to Detroit.  His .286 batting average will be the lowest in his five seasons as a Tiger, with his .376 on-base and .436 slugging percentages his second-lowest.  Guillen's 10 home runs and 54 RBIs would also be his worst totals since 2005, when he played in only 87 games.