Carlos Guillen is focused on getting his bat into shape over the next couple weeks.
He's not worried about his glove.
Guillen has been on the disabled list with a hamstring injury since April 23, and while he's been waiting to get healthy, he has lost his starting spot in left field to rookie Brennan Boesch. Boesch is hitting .380 with 19 RBIs in 19 games.
That doesn't mean Guillen will come back to the bench, though. Coming out of spring training, the Tigers handed their second-base job to another rookie, Scott Sizemore, and the move didn't work. Sizemore was demoted to triple-A Toledo last weekend with a .206 batting average.
In the short term, he is being replaced by another rookie, Danny Worth, and utilityman Ramon Santago, but Tigers manager Jim Leyland expects Guillen to take over there when he's healthy.
Guillen hasn't played second base in the major leagues since starting there twice for Seattle in 1999, but no one thinks the conversion will be a problem.
"If you can play shortstop in the major leagues — and Carlos did that for a long time — you can play any position," Leyland said before Monday's game against Chicago was rained out. "A groundball is a groundball. You field them the same."
For Guillen, a defensive switch is nothing new. After playing shortstop on a regular basis from 1999-2007 for the Mariners and Tigers, he started 2008 at first base to make room for newly signed Edgar Renteria.
That only lasted a few weeks, as it quickly became obvious that another free-agent acquisition, Miguel Cabrera, wasn't able to handle third base. So he and Guillen switched spots, and Guillen finished the season at third.
In 2009, things changed again. This time, the Tigers signed Gerald Laird to improve their catching defence, which moved Brandon Inge to third base and Guillen to left field.
Now, second base — his fifth regular position in four seasons.
"It's not a big deal — I've always been ready to play every position," he said. "The only difference between second base and shortstop is the double-play, and I can handle that."
Guillen thinks that a big bonus will the two outstanding defenders on the left side of Detroit's infield.
"We've got Brandon Inge at third base, and he's one of the best in the game, and we've got Adam Everett at shortstop, and I think he is the best in the game," Guillen said. "So I don't have to worry about them. They are going to throw the ball to me. All I've got to do is catch it and throw it to first."
Santiago has bounced back and forth between second and short all season, and agrees that Guillen isn't going to have any problem.
"Even when he was playing the outfield, he took ground balls every day and worked really hard at the infield," Santiago said. "He just has to practise the pivot, and he'll be fine."
Guillen is expected to start a rehab assignment later this week with triple-A Toledo before rejoining the Tigers.
"The only thing I still have to work on is running the bases — I did that Saturday and I was supposed to do it again today, but now the tarp is on the field," he said. "Other than that, I just need a couple days to get my timing back at the plate."
Like the Tigers, the White Sox have a young, struggling second baseman, but they have a different solution. Reigning Rookie of the Year Gordon Beckham was scheduled to sit out Chicago's two games in Detroit, but return to the lineup when the team returned to Chicago for a mid-week series with Los Angeles.
Beckham is hitting .106 in May with 15 strikeouts in 47 at-bats.
"I want to give him a couple days to relax and find himself until we get back to Chicago," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "I talked to him, and told him that he just needs to regroup. The kid is handling it real well."
Even though Beckham didn't break out of the slump after an earlier day off and talk with Guillen, the manager is happy with the 23-year-old's demeanour.
"He stepped up and did what a professional guy does — he went out there and played and didn't worry about this," he said. "I think the thing is that he's never had to struggle a day in his life — everything has come easy to him. He doesn't know how to come out of this. I hope these two days will help."
Even if the rest doesn't work, Guillen hopes Beckham doesn't join Sizemore in triple-A.
"That's not my call, and I know people are saying that it would be best for him, but I hope we don't send him down," he said. "He's playing well, and even if he isn't hitting, there aren't too many guys on this team that are hitting."
NOTES: Both managers chose to move Monday's starters back to Tuesday, with Detroit's Rick Porcello (3-3) facing former Tiger Freddy Garcia (2-2). ... No makeup date was announced, but it is expected that the game will be rescheduled as part of a doubleheader during Chicago's next visit to Detroit, which takes place Aug. 3-5.you can find hope here
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