Henning: Curtis Granderson was beloved but on the decline

Curtis: Overjoy Division in the Tigers clubhouse?

He hit .249 this past season. He batted .183 against left-handers and became so overmatched by them that manager Jim Leyland sometimes sat him, or more often dropped him deep into his batting order.

You could feel the tension building inside Comerica Park’s clubhouse. Granderson, even as he hit 30 home runs, came to embody the Tigers’ sputtering, sprint-and-slip offense. The supposed ignition switch often became a drag on a batting order that seemed to deflate or inflate based on what Granderson was doing.

...The Tigers will forever be grateful to Curtis Granderson. He came to personify Detroit’s baseball renaissance during this decade. He was indeed the face—a very captivating face—of Tigers baseball.

But this game is neither a face, nor a charity appearance. Baseball must be played with passion between the white lines. And while Granderson was good, he was not as good as he had been. And with his complicated, ever-demanding life tugging at him from all directions, the Tigers perhaps correctly decided his primary vocation would always share space with too many other facets of his rich and fascinating career.

Don’t be surprised if playing in Yankees pinstripes re-invigorates him. Neither can I blame the Tigers for seeing with insight into a player who in 2009 didn’t measure up to his gaudy reputation.