Avila Likely To See Action At Third Base In Interleague Play
Jim Leyland still doesn't like having his designated hitter taken away from him, which is going to be a fact of interleague life for the next six games, but he has a plan to combat it.
"I don't want to belabor the point," he said, "but it just doesn't seem sensible. We live with the DH. That's what we do in our league. When you have that, and when you lose it for six straight days, that doesn't make a lot of sense to me."
His game plan involves shifting Alex Avila from behind the plate to third base, which he played in high school and at Alabama before he became a catcher.
Leyland gave everybody a heads-up earlier in the week by saying it might happen but maybe it won't. Bet on it, it will.
It may not happen Friday night with groundball pitcher Rick Porcello starting for Detroit, and it may not take place Saturday with lefty Phil Coke going. But a good spot would be Sunday with Justin Verlander pitching, a day when grounders could be scarce.
If that goes well, the move could be used a couple of times in Los Angeles against the Dodgers.
"Now we're on the road for some tough games, back in the National League," Leyland said after Detroit dusted off Cleveland 6-2 Thursday in the wrap-up to a three-game series that put the Tigers alone in first place in the AL Central.
"It's just another game," said Don Kelly, who would get displaced should Avila play third (until possibly the late innings). "It's just a different way to go about it, play without the DH."
Or with your DH, only at a position on the field, as the case may be.
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