Honestly is there anything more enjoyable than this whole Magglio Ordonez getting benched scenario. First off Ordonez has been absolute shit. He's hitting like a whimpy shortstop. The .273 average with a .347 OBP is catastrophic, but the .343 slugging percentage is hilariously inept. So him getting benched isn't completely ludicrous. Mr. Ortiz got benched earlier in the year for similar numbers and he's a Boston hero. The hilarious part is obviously the vested options in his contract. His option is for 18 million dollars in 2010 and are based on the combination of his 2008 and 2009 total numbers. In 08 and 09 combined, Magglio needed to combine for 270 games started or 1080 at bats. In 2008 he had 614 at bats in 142 games played, meaning he needs just 464 at bats in 2009. Currently Magglio has 241 at bats, putting him just 223 at bats away or around 60 games away.
So who has the biggest problem with the benching? Scott Boras of course. He thinks the Tigers are benching Magglio strictly because of money. And why wouldn't he really? Even though Magglio has been shit, his backups are Marcus Thames, Clete Thomas and Brian Anderson, not exactly Murderer's Row. Regardless, I don't think there's anything Boras can do about it. His player hasn't produced, and thus his team is going to do what it can to free themselves from a miserable contract in 2010 and 2011. That's just how the cookie crumbles.
My favorite line was when someone compared his hitting to Rey Ordonez, now that's an insult. To Magglio's credit, he may be hitting like a bitch, but his .347 OBP and .343 SLG% are still better than any of Rey Rey's career highs in a full season.
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