The media is very interesting when it comes to reporting news in sports and how quickly the news and rumors hit the listening or reading audience. Yesterday, Leyland made a few changes to our lineup by moving a few guys around from where they were batting and also by switching up a few positions. For the most part, the move didn't seem too drastic except for letting Jacque Jones go, which I really surprised me. That's why I'm not the GM, and there's no reason for me to try to figure that stuff out.
Before the day began, I received about 5-10 text messages and phone calls asking if I was still leading off in yesterday's game. I responded with my normal response of "I won't know until I get to the stadium and see the lineup." By the fourth message, I started asking why everyone was asking me that question. They all started saying that it was all over the papers and radio that the Tigers were making drastic changes to the lineup and that I might be batting third. All this was news to me, and I was wondering how fans and friends were getting wind of this before I and other teammates even knew about it. I highly doubt that I'll bat in the middle of the lineup any time in the near future when we have guys like Magglio, Guillen, Cabrera and Sheffield, who are proven middle-of-the-lineup hitters, still with us.
Part of why we as players are normally in the dark is that most of us don't really read the papers until we get to the field, which is around 2-4 p.m. That is actually where I found out about the possible lineup changes. The second part is, of course, that most of us also don't listen to sports talk radio stations, so that was the other source that we were missing.
Rumors and speculation happen a lot in this game, and the players are usually the last to know. It's weird how that stuff happens.
Curtis Granderson
