DETROIT -- When Michael Bourn got to Comerica Park on Sunday, he was still in the lineup but had to go down to the bottom of the card to see his name. Bourn knew it was coming following a meeting with Terry Francona after Saturday's game, but it was still a little bit of a shock, especially for someone who was entrenched in the leadoff spot.
For the first time since June 28, 2011, when he was with the Astros, Bourn found himself starting and batting somewhere other than leadoff. Batting ninth, Bourn went 0-for-4 with a RBI as the Tribe fell to the Tigers 8-6 to complete a road trip where they lost six of nine.
"It was different. I'm just trying to find a rhythm," said Bourn about the switch. "I'm not hitting well right now, so I gotta be the one to go. No one is going to feel sorry for you, and you just have to try and grind out of it."
Since most of his career was in the National League, this was the first time Bourn had started a game and batted ninth. He did have 12 games in Houston where he batted eighth, but the last time was April 23, 2009.
Francona has the patience of Job when it comes to trying to give players opportunities to battle out of early-season slumps. But after watching Bourn go through another 0-for-4 game on Saturday, he knew that he had to make a change. According to STATS LLC, Bourn's .180 average from the leadoff spot was the worst in the American League and second-worst in the majors among players with nine or more games.
Last year Francona waited until May 18 before dropping Carlos Santana and Nick Swisher down in the order. When he made those changes, Francona admitted that he was more stubborn than patient in holding off on changes.
"I wanted to give him every chance. After yesterday as much as I didn't want to do it I felt like I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't do it (make the change)," Francona said. "When you move a veteran around I don't want him to think that this Rolodex or fantasy baseball. They are people and I want them to know that. When you do move a veteran, you have a better way of doing it.
"For awhile when I looked up everyone was batting .180 and it didn't seem to make a whole lot of sense. I don't know if you can take the emotions out of it nor do you want to, but you still have to do what is right for the team. If you start letting your emotions get in the way that's wrong too."
Going into Sunday's game Jason Kipnis had hit safely in his past four games and batted .238 last season with eight stolen bases from the leadoff spot last season while Bourn was on the disabled list.
Sunday's lineup also had a different look because the Indians were facing a left-hander. Mike Aviles was at shortstop instead of Jose Ramirez, and Ryan Raburn was also in the order at designated hitter. How the lineup looks against right-handers will be interesting. During spring training, many wondered if it would be better to have Ramirez batting second due to his speed, but he's hitting only .196 and has only one hit in 18 at-bats against righties.
Kipnis was 0-for-4 on Sunday as he had a single taken away in the third after a diving catch by Rajai Davis in center.
Said Francona of Kipnis: "Kip can hit anywhere. He just likes getting hot and getting on base. He's hit the ball the other way a lot more often. I've seen enough signs that he's coming around and splitting up the left-handers can help too."
The frustrating thing about Bourn is that he hit the ball well during spring training and appeared to be finally healthy after battling hamstring problems all last season. After getting hits in three of the first four games (5-for-17), Bourn has only six hits in his past 48 at-bats, which is a span of 12 games. He went 0-for-12 in the Detroit series and was 3-for-31 on the road trip.
Bourn though has made some good plays in the field. His running grab of a Yoenis Cespedes deep fly fall in Friday's game thwarted a Tigers' rally.
"I'm happy with my body, how I feel. I feel strong, I feel fast. I feel everything," Bourn said. "It's just about getting into a groove of things and getting some hits and stuff like that. Trying to cause havoc on the base paths and things of that nature."
Both Bourn and Francona also realize that the move is not permanent. Francona said on Sunday that the lineup's best chances of success are when Bourn is producing and can create havoc on the basepaths. Last season, Santana batted either sixth or seventh for a couple weeks before he started to hit again and then was back in his usual cleanup spot.
Bourn isn't looking to get four hits in one game. Right now it's just about getting one and building off that. That might be a theme for the Indians, who are 6-10 going into a seven-game homestand, which kicks off with three against the division-leading Royals on Monday.
"The game is built off negativity. I'm not a negative person. I avoid that part of it. I'm just try to do the best I can," Bourn said. "If you're 3-for-10, you're great, and you fail seven times. You have to know how to deal with failure when you play this game. I'm built for it. I'm OK."
