Empty the Bench

Push Mikhail through a sonar fence, watch him spit up blood, see him return with a vengeance. Beat the living snot out of Mikhail, see him scowl at you shortly after. Shoot Mikhail with a harpoon in the vicinity of his heart, then watch in horror as Mikhail swims by, smiles, waves, and pulls the pin on a grenade. Boom.

Perhaps the resurgence of Detroit Tigers slugger Magglio Ordonez isn’t quite as Teflon-tough as Lost‘s favorite one-eyed Russian, but both have proven that injuries are not about to keep them down. Before suffering what most believed was a permanently career-debilitating injury to his left knee in 2004, Ordonez was one of the best-hitting outfielders in the majors, finishing with a batting average above .300 and over 29 homers and 99 ribbies for five straight seasons.

But then came the surgeries. Two of them. Then came the inevitable decline in on-field production. The Chicago White Sox decided they’d had enough, and allowed Ordonez to sign a lucrative five-year, $75 million free-agent deal with the Detroit Tigers. It was a considerable gamble, and one that early on looked like a bad one–in his first season, the injury bell again tolled, this time a hernia that sidelined him for about three months.

But like Mikhail, this setback proved to merely be a hurdle. Ordonez returned to form last season for the Tigers, batting .298 with 24 HRs and 104 RBIs and helping lead his team to the World Series. Thus far this season, the results are projecting to be even bigger and better. Through 45 games, Maggs is batting .345 with 12 HRs and 42 RBIs.

Last night, his two-homer game led the Tigers to their 28th victory of the season and vaulted them back into first place in the AL Central. “I’m feeling good. I’m seeing the ball really well and being very patient with my pitches,” Ordonez said. “I’m using the whole field again and not just pulling the ball.”

He might not be able to take a harpoon to the heart, but Magglio Ordonez has proven he can take a hit and keep on hitting.

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