Shortstop Adam Everett has a batting average.
He's been on base at least once.
And if you're looking at the spring training stats and want to find his name, just sort either statistic's column and look above the triple zeros. Because that is where you'll find the results of Everett's past few weeks.
In 22 at-bats, he has two hits and a walk for a .069 average and .125 on-base percentage.
Ouch.
But as I've said in the past, Everett wasn't brought back to the team to be a slugger. He's got a great glove, but if he hits near .250 and doesn't end too many innings prematurely, he's done his job.
And stats in the box score at the end of a game only tell part of the story of how they came to be. Neither Everett nor manager Jim Leyland are particularly concerned. And as long as he isn't asked to bat third in the lineup or played as the designated hitter, I'm not concerned either.
MLB.com's Jason Beck spoke to Everett about it:
"I've kind of grown accustomed to it," Everett said. "The other day [against] Atlanta, I hit three balls right on the screws, and all three of them were caught. It is a little frustrating, but again, you have to say it is Spring Training. That's why we're here."
Leyland told Beck:
"He's hit the ball very well all spring. With the exception of a couple at-bats, he's hit the ball all spring pretty hard and had little to show for it. He's stronger. "Adam Everett's a good player. He's not gonna hit .300 or knock in 75 runs, but he's a good player. He's good on the team, good on defense. He's really a solid shortstop."
And some other links:
Fans will like his serious game face. He looks as if he might be a low-key hitter early and a tougher hitter during the second half of his rookie season.
I don't think this is anything too ground breaking for regular Tigers followers, but Jon Heyman wrote about Willis, so here you go. "Every time I see him pitch, he looks like the pitcher he was in Florida with us,'' says Miguel Cabrera, his teammate there and here. A bit weird for Armando Galarraga to be mentioned as an option for the rotation, though.
- And actually, the lede was buried a bit on that one, because Heyman liked Cabrera for the MVP race.
- Beck: Porcello, Perry learning ropes together.
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Hardball Times: Five Questions about the Tigers. Brian, also of Tigerblog.net, asks: Do new faces mean different results?
- Speaking of new faces: John Parent of Motor City Bengans reports the MCB Family Just Got a Little Bit Bigger. So send your congrats!
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Old English D: Old English D Does Lakeland. Jen got to Lakeland, briefly, during her trip to Florida. She has photo evidence.