A-Jax looking good in Detroit

Via Terry Foster of the Detroit News:

Tigers rookie center fielder Austin Jackson only thinks about one thing every day he comes to the ballpark.Relax.

That’s why he makes playing center field look so easy. That’s why he leads the major leagues with 40 hits and is second in batting average (.367). And it’s why criticism about the Curtis Granderson trade to the Yankees has died down in this town.

Jackson did it again Sunday with three hits in the Tigers’ 5-1 victory Sunday over the Angels at Comerica Park. Jackson recorded two singles and a double and drove in a run.

“You just go out there and get the bat on the ball and get your hits and go out in the field and catch the ball,” he said. “You know it’s the same thing every day. You just go out and play.”

Even though I fully expect Austin Jackson, with his incredibly high BABIP – his .514 mark is the highest in the majors – and his extremely high strike out rate (31.7%), to regress significantly going forward, his emergence as a Detroit Tiger will likely bother a certain segment of fickle Yankee fans. Curtis Granderson, the player Jackson was shipped away for, was rightfully billed by Brian Cashman as a very good offensive center fielder, but has slumped over the past few weeks after a strong start. On top of that, he is now out for a month with a groin strain, preventing him from proving his bat until he returns. Thus, I expect some fans, those who are a bit more short-sighted, to perhaps gaze at A-Jax’s line in Detroit and quietly criticize Cashman for trading him, although, I think most would agree that such criticism is unfair. You still make that trade any day of the week, regardless of what the current numbers are or will be.

Still, as long as Jackson continues to hit well over .300, some fans will complain. That’s just the way it is.

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