Cabrera needs to repair his reputation, not only in Detroit, but also in his native Venezuela where he remains a polarizing figure. Despite being perhaps the best player from his country, Cabrera is universally beloved — not even close. Even this latest news, as humanizing as it was, may not be enough to sway public opinion yet.

“Some fans were a bit skeptical,” said Venezuelan journalist Efrain Ruiz, who writes for El Univeral. “Miguel has a difficult personality, without a doubt. But he’s always been asked to replace Andres Galarraga as the country’s national idol, and he simply doesn’t have that type of charisma. I really believe that’s weighed on on a lot, the tremendous pressure that exists to replace ‘The Cat.’”

How are you feeling about Cabrera these days: holding a grudge or forgiving and forgetting?

• So where were you two years ago today? You were probably glued to ESPN or the Web reading all you could about the eight-player deal that brought Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis to Detroit. Time flies. (And just a year ago today Edgar Renteria spared Tigers fans a second season of his mediocrity by signing with the Giants.)
• I’ll miss Placido Polanco more than I’ll potentially miss Curtis Granderson but I still don’t want the Tigers to deal him – or Edwin Jackson. (For what it’s worth, I own the bobblehead shown here. Guess I’ll have to store it alongside my Pudge bobblehead.)

• On Dec. 4, 1952 the Tigers traded Virgil Trucks, who tossed two no-hitters during the year, along with P Hal White and outfielder Johnny Groth, to the Browns in exchange for second baseman Owen Friend, outfielder Bob Nieman, and outfielder/ catcher J.W. Porter. How could they trade a pitcher good enough to throw a pair of no-no’s? Easily it turns out. Apart from his no-hitters, Trucks won only three other games that year — against 19 defeats. Somehow he kept his ERA below four (3.97).
• On this date in 1976, Aurelio Rodriguez became the first American League third baseman since 1959 to beat out Brooks Robinson for the Gold Glove Award.
• Yesterday you might have seen him on C-SPAN railing on Fed chief Ben Bernanke, but on this date in 1963 you would’ve seen Jim Bunning pack his bags as the Tigers traded him to the Phillies for catcher Gus Triandos, pitcher Jack Hamilton and outfielder Don Demeter.
• About a year late, MLB Network will be broadcasting from the Winter Meetings next week in Indianapolis. (Why they didn’t launch the network at last year’s meetings is still a mystery. No, go ahead and launch on January 1. Nothing else is on TV that day…) Anyway, here’s a preview of the network’s “Hot Stove at the Winter Meetings” program. And be sure to weigh in on the latest Fungo Pulse Check poll in the sidebar –>
• Here’s a question: When are we going to find out which member of the White Sox was in the bar with Cabrera during that dreadful last weekend of the year?
• Speaking of a year too late, I’m glad that Chip Caray will no longer be allowed to butcher baseball games for TBS. However, if you are a glutton for punishment you can relive Game 163 from the Metrodome by purchasing it for $1.99 on iTunes.

We’ll be back with more on the Winter Meetings next week. In the meantime, have a great weekend.

The only complaint anyone could mount against last night’s one-game playoff victory by the Minnesota Twins, who topped the Detroit Tigers, 6-5, in twelve innings, is that it’s about to disappear. The Twins, winners of the American League Central Division, will play the Yankees this evening in the first game of the A.L. Divisional Championship, while the National League’s Phillies take on the visiting Colorado Rockies and the Cardinals engage the Dodgers in L.A. Tomorrow, the Angels and the Red Sox start their part of the playoffs in Anaheim.

(snip)

What we do know is that none of these games are going to be any better than the one played last night, which we will only dimly remember by the time they’re over.

It’s not the cleanest copy you’ll read — players’ names misspelled, a factual error about Miguel Cabrera (he didn’t spend “a night in jail over the weekend”) and so forth — but it’s worth a read anyway.

Hey, Tigers fans appreciate the appreciation. We’d just rather be basking in it tonight at Yankee Stadium.

The Gist: The Tigers and Twins played a game for the ages and both teams followed the respective scripts of the past three weeks. For the Tigers, that meant squandering countless opportunities and watching a division lead evaporate. For the Twins: everything going their way. Rick Porcello was awesome, Miguel Cabrera showed up for the first part of the game and Fernando Rodney, while taking the loss, pitched almost brilliantly in what was assuredly his last Tigers performance.

The Quote: “No matter what we did, it seems like it wasn’t meant to be. This is the best game, by far, that I’ve ever played in no matter the outcome.” — Brandon Inge

The Stat: 1 – The go-ahead run scored by Don Kelly in the 10th. Oh, how I wish it would’ve held up…for his sake.

Up Next: Spring Training, Lakeland, Fla., February 2010

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As it gets close to midnight in the East, I’ve come to a conclusion:

The Tigers must bench Miguel Cabrera for Tuesday’s game. And I mean bench, as in do not play him.

Suspend him if you have to, call it whatever.

He should be forced to watch his team either collapse at the Metrodome (thanks in large part to his behavior) or, better yet (at least for Tigers fans), watch his club celebrate a division title on the Twins’ field, knowing he had nothing to do with it.

Are you punishing his teammates by leaving their best hitter on the bench? Perhaps. Is that fair? Perhaps not. But it’s the correct move.

Jim Leyland, who some think is at fault for not having control of his team — please — has a track record of dealing with similar issues. Barry Bonds for mouthing off in the early 1990s, for one.

Don’t forget his 2006 in-game demand that the Tigers flat-out release Dmitri Young when he made a scene after being lifted for a pinch hitter. Neither of these offenses compare to Cabrera’s, of course, though Young was creating a stir in the clubhouse for a good while before being released.

And now that we find out that five weeks ago Cabrera was told to stay away from the Townsend Hotel altogether after an incident, you’ve got to figure he’s looking at strike three, at least in Leyland’s mind.

Another reason to sit him down? Leyland has two more years on his contract. How could he arrive in Lakeland next season and not have the message burned into his club’s psyche that he’s in charge and if you have doubts ask number 24.

Yep, they have to bench him. Cabrera did this and he needs to pay the price: embarrassment — and not be allowed to skate by with a template “statement” written by the public relations department and issued by the team.

Sorry. Not nearly enough.

I absolutely feel bad for the other Tigers player. After coughing up the division in the past 10 days, they were going to arrive in Minneapolis as pressure-free underdogs. The baseball world has rekindled its love affair with the Twins and, what do you know?, the Tigers were suddenly flying under the radar, at least to a degree. Not a bad situation, really.

You can forget about that now. The Tigers cleanup hitter got himself and, by extension, his team into this jam. But he shouldn’t be allowed to play himself out of it.

Everyone in the media piles on Aubrey Huff (who deserves every bit of the criticism) and to a lesser degree, Brandon Inge, but where’s the scrutiny of Cabrera?

Maybe it’s because he’s hitting .321 over the past seven days?

]]> http://www.dailyfungo.com/2009/10/03/and-one-more-thing/feed/ 0 http://www.dailyfungo.com/2009/10/03/late-night-therapy-session/ http://www.dailyfungo.com/2009/10/03/late-night-therapy-session/#comments Sun, 04 Oct 2009 05:15:38 +0000 Mike McClary http://www.dailyfungo.com/?p=2865 Here’s what I can’t figure out. This Tigers club has never, not for a nanosecond, felt to me like a team of destiny. Nor is it the team of which you say “They’re never out of a game”, because, well, we saw plenty of games this summer that they were out of by the second inning.

In spite of this, the Detroit Tigers are tied for first on the final day of the regular season. Here are my semi-rhetorical questions about the current sitch:

1. Are the Tigers poised to disappoint a Twins fandom that will be rocking and rolling at the Hefty Bag on Sunday — each and every rooter salivating at the chance of sending off that ramshackle disgrace with a postseason run?

   Or…

2. Is it the Twins that are the blessed ones, ending a 27-year run at the Dome with a championship of one sort or another?

   Or…

3. Will the teams be tied after Sunday giving the Tigers a chance to go to Minnesota and make amends for the Don Kelly Game and stick the Twins with a final HomerDome shiv of disappointment?

What do you think? Help me out here.

1. Dan Gladden made an interesting point on the pre-game interview with Jim Price Wednesday evening. The Twins don’t have a Latin coach on their big-league staff and Orlando Cabrera has helped calm some of the club’s Latin players. I wonder what impact the Tigers’ infield coach Rafael Belliard has had on Miguel Cabrera, Ramon Santiago, et al? We know he worked wonders with Cabrera’s defensive work at first base. How much did the language thing play into it?

2. The last Tigers’ division champion relied on contributions from several rookies including Scott Lusader, Jim Walewander, Matt Nokes and Mike Henneman. This year’s club has Rick Porcello, Alex Avila and Ryan Perry. At this point, 1987 wins on contributors and championships. For now.

3. From the moment I saw the Tigers’ 2009 schedule, I didn’t like them playing the White Sox to end the season under any circumstances. Now the Tigers have to win two of three if they want to guarantee a championship. The weekend starts by facing Jake Peavy on Friday night, and then the Tigers are counting on Alfredo Figaro on Saturday? Yeah, things are certainly aligning nicely for Detroit.

Finally, Happy 63rd Birthday, 1968 Tiger Jon Warden.

The Score: Tigers 6 – Twins 5

The Gist: Justin Verlander looked like a man on a mission but despite his terrific outing the Twins kept coming. And if it weren’t for Curtis Granderson’s homer in the eighth, the Tigers would’ve come to bat in the ninth inning of a tied game for the second time in 12 hours. Miguel Cabrera launched a bomb to open the scoring in the third and Magglio Ordonez had a key double to left — to left — later in the inning to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead.

The View: The Tigers are fortunate to go to bed with a two-game lead. If Joe Crede were healthy and playing for the Twins, I’m not sure that would be the case. Nevertheless, savor the split.

The Quote: “I don’t have anybody better than you.” — Jim Leyland to Verlander during an eighth-inning visit to the mound.

The Stat: 0 – The chances we’ll see Wilkin Ramirez on the field again this season.

Magic Number: 4

Up Next: Twins @ Tigers

Eddie Bonine (0-1, 4.60 ERA) vs. Carl Pavano (13-11, 4.86)

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The Score: Tigers 12 – White Sox 5

The Gist: The Tigers swatted 20 hits — four from Miguel Cabrera, and three each from Curtis Granderson and, of course, Placido Polanco — scoring 12 runs after being down 5-0 in the fourth. Cabrera also had a homer and four RBI, giving him 100 for the year.

The View: For a while it looked like two pitchers falling into old (and opposing) habits: Freddy Garcia looked like the front-line starter he was from 2001-05 and Nate Robertson, well, looked like more like ‘08 Nate: a bullpen mop-up guy. Ultimately, both guys cratered but Nate just left earlier in the game. Thankfully.

*The Quote: from Jim Leyland.

The Quote II: “And I’m going to make it clear. It’s a bunch of [expletive] out there watching football games like a piece of [expletive] with no pride the way they play the [expletive] game, and that’s embarrassing. If you don’t have pride to play this game and you don’t care about it, get another job because I know I’m going to be all over the stinking place when I talk about this.” — Ozzie Guillen, showing all class once again.

The Stat: 5 — The number of double plays turned by the Tigers.

Magic Number: 7

Up Next: Tigers @ White Sox

Edwin Jackson (13-7, 3.25 ERA) vs. Daniel Hudson (0-1. 3.38)

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The Score: Tigers 11 – Indians 3

The Gist: Hey-yo! The Tigers showed no mercy on Justin Masterson, the Indians, Eric Wedge or the drum-beat guy. Instead, they dropped 11 runs on Cleveland — thanks to a pair of Carlos Guillen homers and a 440-foot missile from Miguel Cabrera — and Rick Porcello (14-9) was sturdy in five innings of work. Guillen finished with three hits and four other Tigers had two hits.

The Quote: “It’s good to have him back.” — Jim Leyland on Guillen.

The Stat: 1.80 — Porcello’s ERA in four starts against Cleveland this season.

Magic Number: 9

Up Next: Tigers @ Indians

Justin Verlander (16-9, 3.44 ERA) vs. Carlos Carrasco (0-2, 9.64)

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Anyway, enjoy him, folks. He’ll be frustrating another team’s fans next year.

And now this:

• How well are things going for the Tigers? They at last moved into the top eight of The Sporting News‘ power poll (last week they were #10). Breaking through that barrier means the Tigers, at least for this week, aren’t a division-leader sitting behind better-rated, non-playoff teams. And maybe — maybe — Detroit is starting to gain some respect out there. TSN’s take:
  

  8. Tigers. The Tigers are finally starting to play like a team grabbing control of the division title instead of backing into the division title.

  Other polls: ESPN #7, last week #11; Fox Sports #9 (#10); SI #10 (#10); CBS SportsLine #11 (#13).

  On this morning’s ESPN Baseball Today podcast Peter Pascarelli gives the Tigers big props (he rates them #5 on his list) and he says he’d take Justin Verlander over Cliff Lee in a World Series matchup. On both points Eric Karabell disagrees — big time. Oh, and Karabell thinks the Rockies are a better club than Detroit. Pascarelli doesn’t buy that. Neither do I.

• Here are some notable Tigers historical nuggets from Baseball-Reference.com:
  • On this date in 1967, the Tigers moved into a first-place tie with the Twins. Eddie Mathews and Jim Northrup hit home runs and Mickey Lolich out dueled the White Sox’ Tommy John 4-1 at Chicago.

  • On Sept. 8, 1983, Yankees (and former Tigers) outfielder Steve Kemp was struck in the face by an Omar Moreno line drive during batting practice in Milwaukee; Kemp misses the rest of the season with a fractured cheekbone. Kemp hit just .242 with 12 home run and 49 RBI in the first year of his five-year, $5.45 million contract.

  • In 1995, the Tigers traded Juan Samuel to the Royals in exchange for a player to be named. A week later, the Royals sent Phil Hiatt to Detroit to complete the deal.

  • And on this date a year ago, Gary Sheffield hit a grand slam for the official 250,000th homer in MLB history. The blast is Sheffield’s second of the day and his 13th career grand slam. Magglio Ordonez, Miguel Cabrera and Mike Hessman also homer as the Tigers outslug the A’s 14-8. I was there for that game and, man, was it wet, cold and blustery.

If you’re a Twitter person, be sure to follow us and you’ll get Tigers birthdays, trivia and historical notes — all in a crisp 140 characters. Find us at @DailyFungo.

1. Somewhere on the vast Internet I saw a reader comment that the Tigers should fire hitting coach Lloyd McClendon. The thinking was that outside of Brandon Inge, Lloyd the Legend hasn’t developed anyone for Detroit. I’m always hesitant to fire coaches because so little is in their control. (Besides, remember how Chuck Hernandez was the Second Coming in 2006 and today he’s the Indians’ bullpen coach?)

   Anyway, how can McClendon be blamed for an offense that manages to get runners in scoring position but fail (and fail and fail) to drive them home? Take, for example, this instance in last night’s dreadful game: Miguel Cabrera up with the bases loaded and a 3-0 count…and he ends up striking out to end the inning. Is that Lloyd’s fault?

   Discuss.

2. On this date in 1993, Travis Fryman smacks five hits on his way to the cycle in the Tigers’ 12-7 loss to the Yankees. He is the first Tiger to hit for the cycle in 43 years.

1. Why can’t this Tigers team sustain any momentum? Miguel Cabrera seemingly got the Tigers on the path to victory tonight during the ninth with his opposite-field shot. Instead, the Tigers hacked away at Kerry Wood’s offerings — despite Placido Polanco leading off the inning with a four-pitch walk. Infuriating.

2. Here’s a nugget from Baseball-Reference.com: On this date in 1917, Boston’s Babe Ruth tops the Tigers 1-0 in Detroit, allowing just Donie Bush’s scratch single in the 8th. Ruth deflects the ball but the throw by the shortstop is too late. Ruth has a single and triple, but a pinch triple by Chick Shorten in the 9th drives home the only run. Ruth strikes out Bobby Veach, Sam Crawford and Ty Cobb in the 9th; for the last he shakes off catcher and player/manager Carrigan. In early 1942, in a speech in Los Angeles, Ruth will call this game his greatest thrill.

3. Remember how the loss of alleged catching prospect James Skelton in the Rule 5 draft seemed like a catastrophe waiting to happen? Funny how things turn out:
   

   James Skelton, who hit just .182 in Mobile, was demoted to Visalia this week. He went 3 for 12 with two doubles and three walks in his first three games. He had just 10 extra-base hits in 214 at-bats with Mobile.

One bonus item of sorts: here’s a Q&A with former Tigers first baseman Tony Clark.

• 7-5, Tied for 1st Place in A.L. Central with Chicago and Kansas City
• Streak: W2
• Home Record: 4-1
• Road Record: 3-4

Streaks:

• Last 10 Games: 7-3
• Last 5 Games: 3-2

Who’s Hot from the Past Week:

• Josh Anderson: .545 avg., .615 OBP, .818 SLG, 4 RBI, 2 SB
• Miguel Cabrera: .455 avg., .478 OBP, .591 SLG, 10 H, 1 HR, 2 RBI
• Gerald Laird: .400 avg., .500 OBP, .400 SLG
• Magglio Ordonez: .353 avg., .522 OBP, .353 SLG

Who’s Not:

• Carlos Guillen: .190 avg., .261 OBP, .190 SLG
• Placido Polanco: .182 avg., .250 OBP, .364 SLG
• Curtis Granderson: .174 avg., .240 OBP, .174 SLG

Up Next: Angels

• Today: Off Day
• Tuesday: Armando Galarraga (2-0, 0.68) vs. RHP Jered Weaver (1-1, 3.09)
• Wednesday: Justin Verlander (0-2, 7.88) vs. LHP Joe Saunders (2-1, 2.18)
• Thursday: Edwin Jackson (1-0, 2.14) vs RHP Dustin Moseley (1-0, 4.30)

Tigers vs. Angels

• All-Time Record: 297-275
• All-Time at Los Angeles: 137-150
• All-Time at Detroit: 160-125
• All-time at Comerica Park: 14-23

You have to love projections. Looking at Cabrera’s player profile on ESPN.com I see where he’s projected to hit .513 this year with 324 hits, 65 homers and 194 RBI.

If only.

• According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Tigers’ six runs in the eighth inning to overcome a 4-0 deficit yesterday afternoon against the Rangers marked the first time the Tigers have won a game after trailing at least 4-0 in the eighth inning or later since July 2, 1993. The frustrated club that day was also the Rangers, also 6-4 and also in Detroit.

• Miguel Cabrera is among the major league leaders in numerous offensive categories during the month of April since the start of the 2004 season. Cabrera is tied for second among active players with 100 RBI during that stretch, while he is fourth with a .600 slugging percentage, tied for fourth with 88 runs scored, fifth with 31 home runs and seventh with a .328 batting average.

• Yesterday’s victory capped a three-game sweep of the Texas Rangers, marking the Tigers first sweep of a season-opening series at home since winning both games of a two-game set against the Oakland Athletics April 13-15, 1993. The three-game winning streak to start the home schedule is the longest by a Tigers team since winning the first five games at home April 13-18, 1993.

• Still worried about the bullpen? Yes, it’s early, but hey, Tigers relievers have now retired 24 consecutive batters dating back to the ninth inning of Friday’s game against the Rangers. After allowing seven runs — five of them earned — in the first two games of the season, the bullpen has posted a 2-0 record and 1.76 ERA (15.1 IP/3 ER) over the last five games. Opponents have batted .098 (5 for 51) against Tigers relievers during that stretch.

Finally, a word about today’s starter, Zach Miner. Since the start of the 2007 season, Miner has posted a 2-3 record and 3.16 ERA in 11 appearances (two starts) against the Chicago White Sox. Miner has recorded the win in each of his last two starts against the White Sox, posting a 2.25 ERA.

• 4-3, 1st Place in A.L. Central, .5 games ahead of Chicago
• Streak: W3
• Home Record: 3-0 / Road Record: 1-3

Who’s Hot:

• Miguel Cabrera: .520 avg., .586 OBP, .960 SLG, 3 HR, 10 RBI
• Placido Polanco: .346, .393 OBP, .462 SLG
• Gerald Laird: .318, .400 OBP, .455 SLG
• Brandon Inge: .304, .448 OBP, .870 SLG, 4 HR, 7 RBI

Who’s Not:

• Carlos Guillen:.182, .345 OBP, .273 SLG
• Adam Everett: .238*, .333 OBP, .286 SLG
• Curtis Granderson: .241, .281 OBP, .483 SLG

*Though, wouldn’t we all be happy with .238 for the season from Everett?

Up Next: White Sox

• Today: Zach Miner vs. Gavin Floyd
• Tomorrow: Rick Porcello (0-1, 7.20) vs. John Danks (0-0, 0.00)
• Wednesday: Armando Galarraga (1-0, 1.29) vs. Jose Contreras (0-1, 7.20)

Tigers vs. White Sox

• All-Time Record: 990-979-15
• All-Time at Home: 523-458-5
• All-Time at Comerica Park: 32-49
• All-Time at Chicago: 467-521-10

Great day today! The weather was nice. Not perfect, but a lot better than anticipated. And I’ve definitely seen worse.

Didn’t make it inside for the player introductions, so I didn’t hear what kind of reception Lyon received. The first pitch ceremony was nice. It was nice NOT to see the usual local politicians and the ritual booing that accompanies them.

Bummed that I missed the George Kell tribute, but there was just so much going on outside the park. There really is nothing like Opening Day around here.

Nice moment for Nick Adenhart. Tragic story, and so senseless.

Okay, enough with the appetizers, let’s get to the meat:

Galarraga: Doesn’t look like he’s planning on any sophomore slump. Seven strikeouts, and the run he gave up was a result of three bloop hits.

Perry: Didn’t look as sharp today. Command wasn’t there.

Cabrera: If the Tigers stay in contention, Miggy will be in the running for MVP. He is simply one of the best hitters in MLB. It is scary how well and how hard he is hitting the ball.

The whole offense: Did exactly what this team needs to do, which is punish mediocre pitching. Nice to see them taking a few walks. That game was actually cruising along before the bottom of the 7th.

Granderson: Way to work a walk after an 0-2 count! Two years ago, he’s carrying his bat back to the dugout.

Inge: How about getting those throws up a little?

Laird: Nice triple! With Sardinha’s three-bagger last year, the Tigers have cornered the market on most unlikely triples hitters.

Texas bullpen: Back to the drawing board, Rangers braintrust. Five straight walks! Ouch!

This was a typical Tigers-Rangers game (with a little less Rangers offense than I’m used to seeing), with plenty of runs, and a lengthy time of game.

All in all, a great Opening Day. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go file my scorecard and read my new Tigers yearbook.