Players

Gerald Laird arrested

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Gerald Laird was arrested Wednesday night for assaulting a security guard at a Phoneix Suns game. Here’s the blotter story:

Detroit Tigers catcher Gerald Laird, 30, was cited for assault. His brother Brandon Laird, 22, was cited for disorderly conduct, police said. The younger brother is a prospect in the New York Yankees minor league system.

Police also arrested Gregory Scott Collins, 51, on suspicion of assault after the 9 p.m. incident as the Suns wrapped their 116-98 win over the Boston Celtics.

Phoenix police Sgt. Andy Hill said a fourth man “inappropriately touched a female” at the lounge on level 3 of the arena, though he was not arrested because the female victim “did not want to get involved or provide us with any information and declined prosecution.”

Security previously contacted the group of men about their loud behavior, Hill said. Two of the men were allowed back into the lounge after a conversation with security, but a melee broke out shortly afterwards.

As security guards tried to arrest Brandon Laird, his brother and Collins “interfered and assaulted the security guards,” Hill said.

One shouldn’t rush to judgment on these matters, but Laird’s involvement in any way shape or form probably was a bad idea. Sigh. This Tigers team is getting hard to like. We’ll wait and see if Lynn Henning writes a series of columns about Laird being a distraction, dragging down the offense, and not being focused enough on baseball.

117 thoughts on “Gerald Laird arrested”

  2. Don’t be so sure David. He probably missed with 3 straight swings and spun himself into the ground, thus making it a lot easier to arrest him.

  5. I can’t improve on any of this so I propose Rick Ankiel, two years for 6 million. Any takers??? He’s got a hole in his swing, but can play a helluva CF and has some power. Again, definitely not saying he’s the answer, but gives the team some Cf depth.

  6. Don’t expect any nasty Henning articles on Laird being a distraction. Only after Laird is no longer on the team.

    On the bright side of this incident, at least Miggy wasn’t with him.

  7. Well, happy new year everyone.

    What’s not to like about the Tigers? We were in 1st place for most of the 2009 season. We still got our main core of stars with Verlander, Porcello, Cabrera, Ordonez, and Inge, but now we have some bright new faces in the mix.

    Going into 2009, this team had many questions to be answered. IMO, guys like Inge, Laird, and Everett answered those questions. We learned that Defense and Pitching is the key for this team and can help win games just as much as hitting does.
    We’re not a great team all around, but we could win about 88 games with what we got. Just remember that Minnesota was a sub .500 team for about 85% of the season. They didn’t do much until the final 3 weeks of the season when they had their miracle run. Chicago wasn’t much of a contender in September at all either. If you start picking these other teams apart in the Central, the Tigers actually look like one of the most promising teams in the division.

    IMO, the Tigers have many players that could either breakout or bounce back in a huge way. Cabrera is one of the most phenomenal hitters in the game. One of these years he’ll hit .350, with 50 HR’s, and 150 RBI’s. He’ll be able to carry an offense all by himself and make everyone around him better. Verlander is on the verge of pure domination. He got off to a bad start, but he still won 19 games this past season. He could be a 22+ game winner in 2010 with the command he showed from May to August. Do you people realize he had 269 K’s last season? IMO, he’s headed to that Randy Johnson/ Pedro Martinez territory of eliteness.
    Fans should be fickle, but we shouldn’t miss out on yet another exciting season because we traded away our most popular player.
    I think Austin Jackson is going to be a fine CF for years to come. I think he’ll be more like Chet Lemon than Granderson. I loved the way Lemon commanded CF and he was huge part of the ’84 championship team.

  8. Mr. X, are you a real live person or an avatar created by the Detroit Tigers? This line makes me feel like you might not be a real live person OR you’re just an Indian fan here poking us for sport. It’s lines like this that makes me feel like there really no way a rational Tigers fan could write the following statement:
    Re:Going into 2009, this team had many questions to be answered. IMO, guys like Inge, Laird, and Everett answered those questions.

    I think they hit, roughly, a combined .200 for the entire second half.

    But Happy New Year!

    1. More importantly, they provided rock solid defense the entire season. The fact is in the results that we won more games in 2009 than we did in 2008. I think it’s mostly because of defense upgrades we made. In 2008, we had Renteria at SS, Pudge/Ryan/Inge at C, and Guillen/Cabrera at 3rd.
      Everett, Laird, and Inge helped solidify those positions defensively. This was easy to see if you actually watched the games. 2008 was disaster of a season where we finished in last place. 2009 we were one hit away from making the playoffs.

      I have no illusions about the Tigers or their competition. The Yankees and Red Sox are still the best teams. After them, there isn’t another dominant club.
      TB still has a very nice team and might contend.
      The Angels were very good, but they just lost Figgins, V Guerrero, and Lackey. They still look good to win the division though.
      DET, MIN, CHW, SEA, TEX, CLE are very rough around the edges.
      OAK, BALT, KC, TOR have no chance at all.

      The AL Central is still up for grabs. There is no reason why the Tigers shouldn’t be one of the top teams in the division again. We’ve been a top contender and won 2nd place 3 out of the last 4 seasons. You act like we’ve been in last place every year!! Who’s rational? I’m mostly just stating facts.

      2. I agree that you’re stating facts. But it’s also a fact that the Tigers have NEVER won the American League Central. And I don’t think this is the year they’re going to do it. While the weakness of the competition makes the Tigers a possible contender, the team is largely comprised of unproven rookies, over-the-hill veterans and role players. The team lacks a solid core of quality players in their prime. They just don’t have the half-dozen guys who can carry a team to a championship. I will be happy if they play .500 ball and demonstrate that they have some young players with promise for the future.

        1. Spike,

          Trying to predict the AL Central recently has been a crap-shoot. The second and third sentences aside, if you removed “Tigers” from your post, people would have a hard time guessing who you meant in the Central, probably between CHI, MIN, CLE and DET.

          Cabrera,Verlander,Ordonez,Porcello,Scherzer,Guillen

          I’m not going into 2010 with dreams of a WS dancing through my head, but even without Mr. X’s optimism, its not improbable that the above half-dozen players could (esp. if Maggs and Carlos rebound) be the core group that carries the team in a still-weak division. That’s before considering any other players stepping up – like Raburn, Sizemore, Avila, or AJax (not to mention the bullpen). Add in the rumored veteran bullpen and left-handed bat acquisitions, and at-worst the Tigers stack up as well as the competition.

          1. Andre,

            It could unfold as you suggest. But aside from Cabrera and Verlander, the other four are question marks; either because they’re past their prime (Maggs and Carlos) or could suffer the sophomore jinx (Porcello and Scherzer).

            But even if all six perform well, they’re still not Cash, Kaline, McLain, Lolich, Freehan and Northrup. Or Trammel, Whitaker, Morris, Parrish, Gibson and Hernandez. Every team can get along with a weak link — ie Oyler or Brookens — but this team has gaping holes on the field, in the lineup and in the rotation.

            This will be a transitional year to a younger and, hopefully, better team. If they’re lucky, this team will do a little better than .500 — which may be enough to win the division. But I have trouble getting real excited about rooting for a mediocre team to win a mediocre division. I’ll probably spend as much time following what’s happening down on the farm as in Comerica. My hope is that this year will set the stage for a team that can compete with anyone in the American League — not just the central — in 2011-12.

            1. So I take it you didn’t get excited about the Tigers in 2006 or in 2009 also. Most people thought those teams were mediocre before the seasons started.
              In 2006, they took some unproven rookies (Verlander/Zumaya/Granderson) and some players past their prime (Pudge, Rogers, Jones) and they shocked the world.
              Last year, most people picked the Tigers for last place, but the team was in 1st place for most of the season because they had good pitching, played solid defense, and had clutch hitting.

              1. The 2006 team was far from mediocre. Even though they tailed off at the end and couldn’t win the division, they were still good enough to win 95 games and the wild card. The rookies clicked and some of the veterans had career years. To me, 2009 was different. I was rooting for them all the way but every thing broke against them and in the end they just weren’t a very good team. Looking to next year, it’s possible that Jackson and Sizemore will have great rookie years. It’s possible that Maggs, Guillen and Bonderman will bounce back. It’s possible that Porcello and Scherzer will join Verlander as true top of the rotation starters.

                But it’s also very possible that this team will be worse in 2010. It’s a cliche that good teams are strong up the middle. In ’84, we had Parrish, Trammel, Whitaker and Lemon — all above average players. This year we will have Laird, Everett, Sizemore and Jackson — two below average vets and two rookies who have never played a game in the majors. There are also a couple of potential holes in the rotation, while the bullpen might be one brigh spot on the team. I hope I’m wrong, but this team will be lucky to break .500.

            2. Really, I just think most people are under-estimating how good our starting pitching is and how great it could be if Verlander and Porcello build on their 2009 seasons.

              When I think of the offense from last year, Granderson and Polanco really didn’t do much to help, so I don’t think they’ll be missed much offensively. If Sizemore and Jackson bat 1st and 2nd, they might match the production that Granderson and Polanco had last year. Sizemore is a pretty good hitter and he’ll probably get on base and score runs better than anyone on the team. Jackson might be a legit .290+ hitter, much like Polanco was.

              Having Alex Avila for a full season as our back-up catcher / PH is a huge upgrade over Treanor/ Sardinha/ Ryan.

              We won’t be wasting AB’s or playing time on guys like Josh Anderson too.

              Are bullpen could be better also. Ryan, Schlereth, and Zumaya each have nasty enough stuff to be great closers. If all 3 are healthy that is a sick 1,2, 3 punch we’ll have for the 7th, 8th, and 9th innings.

              Scherzer, a healthy Bonderman, a bounce back year from Galaragga, and this crappy team starts looking really good.

  10. “This Tigers team is getting hard to like.” My sentiments also. My daughter and I were discussing who we would rally around as fans this season. It’s looking like Inge might have to be our Tiger. Meep!

  11. Mr. X
    There is nothing wrong with being optimistic buddy. I don’t think that this year will be as bad as everyone thinks. It’s also safe to say that a championship in 2010 is unlikely.
    2011 should be interesting though. Verlander/Porcello/Scherzer/Crosby/Turner is pretty sick on paper. Weinhardt/Satterwhite/Oliver/Perry is also pretty sick in the pen.
    Hopefully, it works out.

    As for Laird, either way you slice it he’s dead wrong! He knows better and he should be ashamed. Then again, I’m a cop so…

    1. I agree that a championship is unlikely. My definition of success is that they play important games in September and have a legit chance to win the division. The Tigers don’t need to win a championship in 2010 to make me happy. I’m fine if they just have a highly competitive team. What I don’t want is for the team to revert back to the 1993-2005’s way where they never had a winning season and didn’t have any super star players. I love having elite players like Cabrera and Verlander that we can build around. I think this team has much to look forward to and could someday go all the way with this nucleus of players.

      Laird: I don’t know the facts of the story or what really happened, but I do know that boys will be boys. Shame on the Lairds though. They messed up and should know better. The security guards probably messed up too. It’s their job to prevent fights; not to start fights with customers. So shame on them too. A smart security guard or a good cop probably would of diffused the situation without causing much of a scene.

      1. The Tigers COULD contend, only because the Central is weaker than the other divisions. I’m afraid that they’re not going to win with defense this year, though. Granderson was PERFECT for Center at Comerica. Polanco was (and probably still IS) one of the top 3 defensive second basemen in the American League (and from what I read about Sizemore, he’s “adequate” defensively). The combo of Everett and Santiago are good at short, and Laird had a historical year at Catcher, but can he do it again? Will his legal troubles be a distraction for him – or the team? In the end, Laird is simply a .230 hitter. If he DOESN’T have a year throwing out baserunners like he did in 2009 (if he reverts to his career average), can you live with a .230 hitter with no pop?

        What bothers me most about the offseason decisions is that they seem to be applying their method randomly. Okay, we think Polanco is on the decline – fine. Why did Maggs get re-upped? Talk about DECLINE! We get rid of Grandy (presumably because they feel that he has what amounts to permanent issues with Left-handers and strikeouts), but we keep Gerald Laird, a .230 batter with no pop at a power position, (presumably because we like his defense/handling of the young pitching staff). Huh??

        It doesn’t make sense to me. Apply the criteria the same way and then I’ll know what you’re doing with this team… as it is now, I have no idea.

        1. It makes sense if you look at it in the light of 2010 being a rebuilding year. Management won’t admit that of course, probably in fear of chasing away more fans than will likely happen anyway due to the bad economic times. The Tigers are stuck with too many bad contracts and too many underperforming players to seriously contend for a league championship this season. If we were the Yankees or Red Sox, Illitch could just eat the losses, can the no-goods and go out and buy better replacements, but that is obviously not an option for the Tigers this year.

          As you said, they COULD compete for the division crown only because the Central is so weak, but even that is an highly optimistic expectation in my view. The pitching is about the same at best and the hitting is probably worse than last year (and remember they gave up more runs than they scored last season).

          As I see it, about half this team (as constitued at the moment) are merely placeholders until 2011 when there will be more payroll flexibility allowing for some FA signings, and hopefully a few more prospects arriving out of the farm system. Most of, if not all of, Bonderman, Robertson, Willis, Ordonez, Guillen, Inge, Laird, Everett, plus miscellaneous spare parts on the bench and in the bullpen, and maybe the manager will not be wearing the Olde English D in 2011. Depending on how they come out of the chute, we may see the “firesale” manifest itself during the ’10 season. I expect them to struggle in 2010, but if you step back and take in the bigger picture it will still be an interesting season even if they flop as contenders for the division crown.

        2. I would disagree that the catcher’s position is a “power position”. To me, the catcher’s position is defensive. Laird is one of the best defensive catchers, even if he declines in throwing out runners this year. The batting average needs to go up, agreed, but his primary focus should be on the defensive duties. Look at the kind of contracts that a guy like Jason Kendall was getting….Without checking, I believe he went something like 2 or 3 years without a homerun and still had suitors who wanted his services. Joe Mauer is a freak of nature. Mike Piazza was a horrible catcher with a big bat. Jorge Posada is decent defensively and has a good bat, but is rare in that regard. Russell Martin had one good offensive year 2 years ago but was pretty rank with a bat last year. There may be a few catchers with some pop, but not enough to quantify the position as a power position.

          If the Tigers are looking for some better offensive numbers at a “power position,” Inge needs to hit the road. That is the real weak spot right now, not puny Adam Everett or Gerald Laird. I am totally fine with Laird being our catcher and being spelled by Avilia or that guy we got from Pittsburgh. I am indifferent to Everett, but he plays above average defense.

        3. Maggs got re-upped because we were leading the division and he was one of the hottest hitters on the team. They had to have him for the playoffs. Sigh……………..

          1. Maggs wasn’t “re-upped” his contract option kicked in. This was a risk they team had to make when he first signed to even get him to be around to be the hero in 2006. His 2010 contract is for past results, not current expectations. We are stuck with him because of how well he played duing the first few years of his contract. In no way, shape, or form does his 2009 season deserve his 2010 contract but this is the game Illitch played with Boras to get players to want to “restore the roar” after 2003.

  12. I think it’s odd to throw equal blame on the security guards on this (pending further investigation). They were such an annoyance they were thrown out (this isn’t all that easy to achieve by the way)…then two of them (guess which) talked their way back in (hey man, we’re major league baseball players you !#%*! you don’t throw us out!)…I’m guessing someone overruled security at this stage. Then they proceeded to start fighting and when security shows up they decide that trying to beat them is a good option. I don’t see any possible positive spin on this.

    Of course if any of us made complete public nuisances of ourselves, groped women, started a fight, then resisted arrest we would be treated just as leniently as they end up being treated.

  13. Miggy probably respects Laird more now. Out with Grandy, in with Miguel and Laird….classy. If a Tiger wants traded, he knows what to do, community service and charitable service. If he wants to stick around, he needs to hang out with Cabrera and Laird, get crushed in the thick of the pennant race, start fights and grope women.

    1. Wow. I’m surprised you can even reach your keyboard from way up there on your high horse. Let’s all remember that assault can be no more than saying “Hello there, sir. I am planning on engaging you in fisticuffs. What say you?”. In the heat of the moment, trying to stop a fight can look and sound an awful lot like starting a fight. I’m sure a few too many beers were had and rowdiness took place. At an NBA game. Sure, he should be smarter than that, but so should we all. I’m not ready to paint the dude as the Antichrist because of this.

      Just for kicks, imagine how many times this sort of thing happens 81 days a year at Laird’s office. Where he works. And we watch baseball. It’s sort of a thing that happens at sporting venues. Shouldn’t happen, but it’s far from the worst thing ever.

    2. Tiger Woods was the hallmark of classy before 6 weeks ago…..

      Dig a little and you’ll find some dirt on almost everyone, even Granderson.

  14. As usual, I could care less. Years ago, the public was unaware of players’ personal lives and what they did after the games. Now, we know too much. I hope he gets off without a charge. I love his play on the field.

  15. First comments were genius. Joey in Portland takes the cake, but his success was built on the prior ones.

    If Laird wants to get drunk an pick a fight, who cares? I’m sure many on this list have been known to do the same. He’ll have to deal with the repercussions same as any of us.

    As far as the off-season goes, Maggs was re-upped b/c he had to be. Sure, we could have benched him, but he was a big contributor post All Star. PP can be the Wizard if he wants to be, that’s not gonna do much to win games when he’s hitting 3 singles out of every 10 ABs and walking like a #9 hitter. Laird, on the flip side, gets a bye b/c of his defense. I can give up O for D at two positions. SS and C. We’ve done that, fantastic. PP had to go. He’ll do better in the weaker NL.

    And I know that everyone is still smarting about Grandy. But friends, we’re trying to win championships, not popularity contests. I wish he had done a little less community service and spent a little more time in the cages. I’d have gladly done his community service for him if it would have meant a timely hit off of lefty in September (or even October…I’m still suffering from the final week of the regular season).

    I’m not too excited about 2010 (same as I was going into 2009), but I love 2011 – 2015. Though it’s still baseball.

  16. Pingback: The Spot Starters » Gerald Laird » Laird Arrested

  17. Any opinions on the Orlando Hudson rumor? By my roster math, the bench is already pretty locked in as Raburn, Santiago, Thomas/Ramirez/Wells, and Avila (or other backup C). Hudson would pretty much mean that Sizemore is in Toledo next year. Hudson is a pretty nice (but not great or young) player that should be a comparative bargain with all the 2B FAs this year. Whatcha think?

    Personally, my opinion is that if he can be had for one year, I’d try to get him for like $3 mill. In my mind, he’s either a steady hand at 2B or trade deadline bait. I think you’ll be able to get a good return on him come July and then slot in Sizemore unless he falls apart in AAA. If Hudson wants multiple years or over $4 mill, no thanks.

    1. Reading between the lines, I’m worried that all may not be well with Sizemore’s rehab. That’s pretty much the only reason I could see the Hudson rumor having any legs (pardon the pun).

      1. http://blog.mlive.com/cutoffman/2010/01/report_tigers_not_negotiating.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+detroit-tigers+%28Detroit+Tigers+Impact+-+MLive.com%29&utm_content=Twitter

        “Consider this: If the Tigers were really attracted to the idea of bringing in a veteran second baseman for a year until Polanco was ready, whether Sizemore was ready or not, they probably wouldn’t have hesitated to offer Polanco arbitration. Keep in mind that while Hudson signed for a relatively low base salary last year, he doubled his salary in performance bonuses for plate appearances, to the point where he would’ve made around $8 million.”

        I’d say the rumor was probably much-ado about nothing.

  18. Where is billfer? VERY quiet lately. Troubled and depressed by the off-season activities so far? Say it ain’t so. Come back Bill.

  20. Pretty funny that my comments would evoke a ‘high horse’ comment. Really? Seriously? So Lairds actions are fine, and yet a casual, flippant comment in response to them is compared to labeling him an antichrist? Yeah, I can see that. Good call man. So it’s championships and not character that matters eh? You’re right, it doesn’t matter what they do, they could be the most obnoxious, unlikable, ill-mannered punks I’ve ever met, but you’re right, it matters not, all that really matters are the uniforms. That’s what makes fandom worthwhile, cheering for laundry. Let’s go English D Unis!

    1. I follow your logic that it’s much better to root for a team with good morals, and I agree. But I think the ‘high-horse’ comment came from your comment about the organization:

      “If a Tiger wants traded, he knows what to do, community service and charitable service. If he wants to stick around, he needs to hang out with Cabrera and Laird, get crushed in the thick of the pennant race, start fights and grope women.”

      You’re dealing with a VERY small sample size. 5% of the big league roster does not create the image for the entire team. It may attribute to it, but it’s only a couple guys. Let’s hope these things can be dealt with in-house. Boys will be boys, IMO.
      And for the record, to be traded you need to:
      A) Bat .250 in the 1 or 3 positions, or
      B) Have a career year and have someone willing to pay for that performance.

    2. This isn’t Little League. These are professional ballplayers who long ago developed their characters and morals. I pay good money to watch them win. Detroit won a championship with a group of “bad boys.”

    3. What’s funny is that Cabrera has been the most dependable player on the Tigers these past 2 seasons, in which he’s played a total of 320 games. He’s self motivated. He shows up to the park on time. Works late. He never complains. He’s the best all around player we’ve had in 40 years. He makes one little mistake and now he’s condemned by some fans even though he publicly apologized to everyone. Does that make him a bad guy? What should be said about the fans who will not forgive him? Bitter obnoxious fans are not likable either.

      1. Cabrera was part of the Venezuela´s champion team , Aragua ´s Tigers four times . He didnt play but was with them last year. He was expelled from a game he was not even registered to play. He was yelling at the other team over a dirty play by the other team. For sure he knows to win and play for the team

      2. Do you know what else isn’t likeable? Fans who sugarcoat the shortcomings of players and management. Mr X, you do realize it’s been 26 YEARS since the Tigers have won a division title, right? With the exception of 2006, which featured an epic 19-32 regular season collapse just so we wouldn’t get cocky, this team has been consistently awful and/or disappointing. 2007, 2008, and 2009 were not successes! Big deal, so people picked them to finish last and then they won 84 games in 09 with a giant, bloated payroll. They were ‘in it’ until the last day? To quote Derrick Coleman ‘whoop de damn doo.’ We’re supposed to do cartwheels because the team wasn’t as terrible as some predicted and waited until September before they collapsed? Nope. Am I glad the Tigers don’t suck as much as they did between 1989 and 2005? Yep. Do I see the current regime’s one playoff appearance and then three seasons of cumulative .500 ball with a giant payroll a success? No. The goal is to be consistently good not thank your lucky stars that you’re not the worst team in baseball.

        1. I see your point of view and agree with it sometimes. Did you know that the Marlins never won a division title, but they’ve won 2 championships?

          The words I see most that describe the Tigers these days are: disappointing, devastating, and frustrating.
          Did you know that most Yankee fans are disappointed, devastated, and frustrated each year they don’t win the World Series? I don’t think it matters what team some people root for, they are going to feel the same way no matter what if their team doesn’t win.

          The Tigers before 2006 were mostly described as: excruciating, unbearable, and pitiful. Glad I don’t feel that way anymore.

          1. Well said, and to add to that:

            I see the Twins as being a team who’s ‘consistently good’. They’re young, cheap, and always competitive. They play good ball. Yet Twins fans are always whining and complaining about how their team sucks cause they can’t win in the playoffs. I guess it’s all relative.

            Listen, we have two of the best players in baseball in Verlander and Cabrera. As long as we stay competitive, I won’t be complaining one bit. Especially when I think about all the games I watched in the 90’s. Now THAT stunk.

  21. G-Man in Venezuela ( still round robin playoff)
    6 2/3 IP 4 R- 1 Er. 3 h. 1 E. Game won
    One walk and a blooper ( maybe a wrong call by the Ump.) by Elvis Andrus almost cost him the game. Pandoval was also in the game

  22. It was a Caracas- Magallanes game. The equivalent of a Brooklyn Dodgers – New York Yankees game. Or a Dodgers- Giants game . Or as ESPN ,in their auto deception like to believe, BoSox- Yankees.
    Caracas are the Yankees and Magallanes is the people´s team ( at least the capital city ´s media like to think it is) like the Cubs or the BoSox until 2004. When they play in Caracas more than half of the 25 k attending the game are cheering the visitor team, Magallanes ( Magellan).

  23. Kathy – this isn’t little league? hmm…. I thought it was, thanks for the tip.

    Mr. X – one little mistake? LOL, the mistake was monstrous, and his pathetic, forced ‘apology’ was more of a spit in the eye, would have been better if he had said nothing, instead it seemed like he was MORE concerned about whining that his privacy was being violated. Local Detroit news sources said it was a pattern, not a one time event. If you consider it obnoxious that I don’t find his actions endearing, so be it. Can’t say that I get the logic behind that, but ok. Also don’t understand how it’s construed as bitterness that I’m not compelled to root for Miguel. Such actions don’t compel me to pull for individuals. His actions were disrespectful to the organization, and the patrons that indirectly paid for his salary with their support of the Detroit Tigers organization. I agree with Bilfer, this team is getting difficult to like.
    Smith – agreed about the sample size, it comes down to there has to be enough likable guys on the team. Just disappointing that so many of the ‘good ones’ are now gone, and the number of ‘unlikables’ is growing.

    1. monstrous? That is ridiculous. He wasn’t smoking crack or doing heroin. He wasn’t robbing people or vandalizing anything. He didn’t go home and butcher his wife and kid either. What Cabrera done was almost laughable 20 years ago and it would of stayed private also.

      All he really did was have some beers with his buddies after work, then he went home drunk, but he was too loud, woke up the wife, and got into a dispute with her. The only beef I had with the whole thing was that his drinking buddies were players from the White Sox. Shame on him.

      IMO, he was just living the life of a normal baseball player. The media and disgruntled fans were angry because the timing of it really stunk.

      Try to understand the travel schedule that baseball players keep. These guys get home or check into their hotels at all hours of the day and night during the season. Drunk or not, getting home early in the morning is sometimes unavoidable for them. I bet it takes time for them to unwind too. Drunk or not, he might wake his wife up and be too loud if he’s not tired and can’t sleep. The fight they had was probably inevitable.

      This reminds me of my good friend who divorced his wife because her chaotic travel schedule and life-style as an airline stewardess clashed with his 9 to 5 life-style of being a salesman. They are both wonderful hard working people, but they were always fighting over something stupid. It doesn’t make them monsters though. That’s just how life goes with it’s ups and downs if you have a life.

      1. Guy gets paid extremely well to play a child’s game in a foreign land. Guy fraternizes with the opposition at the very end of the season while we still haven’t clinched. Guy had not only his personal reputation on the line, but fans’ loyalty, the organization’s success, his teammates hopes and dreams and most importantly a lack of respect for the game.

        In short the “Guy” was a loser who should have had his @$$ shipped somewhere else. It(the incident) was a complete and utter joke, and if you try and defend his actions after you spend just five minutes thinking about them then I can’t take you seriously. Anyone with half a brain can see his total lack of respect for anything the Tigers’ are trying to accomplish.

        As far as Laird goes
        A) It was in the off season
        B) It was not a murder or rape
        that is all you need to know

        Oh and Stephen your comments made me lol, fantastic, exactly what I was thinking after reading Mr. X talk the Tigers up like a used car salesman or stock broker. I mean come on

        2005 .500 ball after 100 games I believe? then collapse (failure)
        2006 Top of the world then collapse and squeak into playoffs by virtue of Twins passing them on last day and get to WS (still success imo)
        2007 Best record in July then flunk and collapse
        2008 Huge hopes, dismal failure
        2009 A big ??? Waited longer to collapse but did so needing an extra game which was subsequently blown

        They made the playoff 1 out of the last 5 years. Again Dombro and Leyland should be gone along with Miguel and Magglio. I mean they’ve got some nice young SP both here at the show and in the minors as was pointed out earlier in this thread and also a few hopefuls. IMO they should be rebuilding for 2012-2014 with a budget closer to the Indians than what we just have seen the last few years.

        I still say they should focus on getting more SP any way they can. My 2cents, since I haven’t posted in a long time.

        2. Please,don’t send me biblethumpers. I want ballplayers. Grandy once said he enjoyed going to strip clubs. Good thing a fight didn’t break out or he got caught drinking too much. What about that Tim Lincecum? God forbid we get a pitcher who likes to toke it up once in a while.

          1. I’m not a biblethumper. Cabrera is no ballplayer, he is a man-child. He is a waste of talent, the polar opposite of a guy like Pudge who works his ass off.

            1. I wish everyone would “waste their talent” to a tune of a .925 career OPS and a 162 game average of 33 HR and 117 knocked in. But that’s just me. Also of note, dude has never played fewer than 157 games in a season. That’s not nothing.

              1. That is exactly my point. He wanted to win at all costs, Pudge had a very strong work ethic and was determined to win. I am NOT anti-roids. I’d rather they were allowed to ingest whatever they want.

        3. Kathy,

          Lets not confuse the issue here by suggesting that drinking or “boys being boys” is an all or nothing type of thing. It is very possible to drink and party responsibly, its even possible to be responsible while drinking heavily if you plan ahead – ie. call a cab, not get so wrecked that you’re still under the influence at game-time, etc…

          If the insinuation is that you’d prefer Cabrera to be a ballplayer (because only ballplayers drink and party, eh?): he went hit-less in that potentially clinching series, which seems…well un-ballplayer-y. If he want’s to drink and party like Ruth and Mantle, he should work on producing with a hangover, or avoid the situations that lead to them during the season.

          1. Absolutely, players should try and avoid getting into situations. But denouncing someone because they got caught is what bugs me. It’s the getting caught that bothers most people. It’s the knowing someonoe made an error in judgement, when every person I know during my rather lengthy lifetime has made errors in judgment. Most of them don’t get caught. That’s all I’m saying. Miggy, imo, is one of the best ballplayers in baseball. He’s an elite talent, and I hope he can keep his personal life private and be able to produce even if he’s hungover.

            1. Has every person you known had many friends, coworkers, the general public counting on them to perform? Plain and simple there was no error in judgement. There WAS a total disregard for his team, the organization you, me, everyone here, and the game.

              I mean what is the whole point of this game? It is to win at all costs. He tried to lose at all costs.

              We aren’t talking about some guy who works at Smoe’s Shop (no offense to Schmoe 😉 ). We are talking about a man who is playing a game, comes to “work” in horrid shape at the most crucial time of the year after being buddy-buddy with the enemy the night before. There are levels of idiocy and his was not even on the chart.

              1. Yes. I worked for a public school district. Some of my friends work in the medical profession. Some of my family are involved with politics, engineering, and trucking.

            2. Kathy,

              That’s cool, I just didn’t think that it was fair to throw biblethumper out there as if it was the only other option for a player. For the sake of clarity I’m not denouncing him as a person either – but his actions were nothing to be laughed off as Mr. X might have some think. I’ve given up holding players in any sport to a high moral standard, I’m not sure who that says more about: them or me. For whatever reason though, I really liked Miggy and thought he seemed like a great guy. I’m not saying this incident proves anything for certain, but I’d be lying if I said this didn’t tarnish him in my mind. In general he seems like a great player who works hard and hadn’t really ever caused any trouble, unless you were pitching to him. Not that it matters in the grand-scheme, but this will probably linger in my memory for a while, or at least until his next GS. I don’t really care (in terms of “judging” the guy) if he has a drinking problem as long as he keeps it off the field…although I have some doubts as to the possibility of that being, er…possible.

          2. Yes, that was the nice way of putting it Andre, I agree. It still has me pissed, along with several other things about last year.

      2. Mr. X

        “What Cabrera done was almost laughable 20 years ago and it would of stayed private also. ”

        “The only beef I had with the whole thing was that his drinking buddies were players from the White Sox.”

        I’ll start in reverse order.

        You didn’t have a beef with Cabrera for doing basically the opposite of what he should have been doing to ready himself for one of the most important series the Tigers played last year: staying out extremely late (even for baseball players) and drinking enough to remain under the effects of alcohol come game time? This wasn’t one of your “beefs”?

        Domestic violence laughable? Today? 20 years ago? To who? I’m guessing that he, his wife, the Police and DD weren’t laughing too hard. I good be wrong. That this kind of thing would have stayed private in the past is no indication that any of those involved were better off because of it.

        1. I basically agree yet again. It is obvious that defending Jose in this situation has an extremely weak argument.

          I don’t know about the rest of you… I want the Tigers to win at the very least the division year in and year out, pure and simple. Jose Miguel Torres was in effect a road block to that goal.

        2. Instead of speculating, why don’t we just look into the matter more deeply. We can estimate if he was still drunk using this Blood Alcohol Content Calculator. :
          http://celtickane.com/projects/blood-alcohol-content-bac-calculator/

          The breathalyzer test he took estimated that his BAC was .26. To do that he’d need to drink about 12 beers @ .5% alcohol and 8 shots @ 40% alcohol in 5 hours of time. Let’s also say that he’s a 240 lb male and is a frequent or heavy drinker. A frequent drinker would be completely sober in 13 hours. If he was a heavy drinker, like how most people think he was, he’d be completely sober in 7 hours. I’ll split the difference and say he was between a frequent and heavy drinker, where as he’d be completely sober in about 10 hours. If the breathelyzer test was given at 7AM, then he’d be completely sober at 5 pm. The baseball game started at 7 pm.

          Cabrera didn’t get charged with ANYTHING. The police officer stated : “We determined that they both contributed to the domestic assault,” the chief said. “It was minor in nature. They did have some marks on their faces. We could not determine who the aggressor was.”

          I have no problem with ANYONE getting home at 5 am. I do that often because I sometimes work until 3AM. If I go have drinks with people after work, I sometimes won’t get home until 9 AM. Sometimes I’ll skip going home and sleeping altogether and go golfing with my buddies. People like me just have completely different sleeping schedules than some people here. Baseball players probably do the same thing.

          2. Mr. X

            Billfer already ran the numbers here: http://www.detroittigersweblog.com/2009/10/miguel-cabrera-screwed-up/

            “An average person metabolizes alcohol at .015 per hour meaning it would take about 17 hours to metabolize all the alcohol in Cabrera’s blood. At the time Dombrowski picks him up Cabrera had less than 12 hours until game time and less than 9 hours until he needed to be at the park.”

            I don’t think there’s enough variation in the body’s ability to absorb alcohol to fit the timetable that site came up with.

            As far as sleep schedules go, yeah I know I used to bartend. You know what I didn’t have to be prepared to do the next day: play pro sports.

            Mr. X, do you seriously believe that the all-night bender is the preferred way to get ready for one of the most important games of the season? Yes or No?

            1. No, it’s not the preferred way, even if you are having relationship problems or need a slump buster.

              I’m not sure if absorption rates of alcohol would matter after a given time. Billfer’s math was right, but the logic wasn’t sound because the metabolic rates of each person greatly differs. Cabrera is not an average person.

              If Cabrera has an incident where he gets into some actual legal trouble because of his drinking, then I’ll start hating him too.

              1. .015 per hour is the rate for the average person. the possible range is .010 to .020 per hour, with the extremes being very rare. even giving Cabrera the maximum benefit or .020 per hour, after 12 hrs that’s still a .002 BAC. the dude was not in game-shape.

              2. My source says the metabolic range is from .010 to .040.
                http://science.education.nih.gov/supplements/nih3/Alcohol/guide/info-alcohol.htm

                I don’t know how much Cabrera usually drinks, but if he’s able to consume about 22 drinks in around 5 hours without getting sick after about his 18th drink, then he might be one of the extremes we’re talking about. He certainly has the body of a heavy drinker.
                The numbers in the BAC calculator I posted look fairly accurate to me. Either way, he made a stupid mistake and has a drinking problem.

              3. I’d be more PO’d if he pulled a Ron Artest. The drinking during the game thing, not the brawling with fans thing.

              4. You get my point about the getting “caught” part. I hope no member of our team gets caught doing something they shouldn
                ‘t be doing.

  25. And if Miguel Cabrera and Gerald Laird suffer serious injuries this season, I don’t want to hear any crying.

  26. Did you guys hear Gerald Laird got arrested?

    Boy, I really take new content ( or its absence ) from Billfer too seriously.

    1. /second

      Billfer, take this in the spirit it was given, I think I speak for a lot of us when I say:

      We miss your scent.

      /end awkward Anchorman reference

      1. Patience dear readers. Billfer is undoubtedly waiting to get the inside scoop from Henning (The Imbedded One) on what is going on in the mind of the Tigers. 😉

    1. I would seriously question any rumor that involves Lowell in the deal. His trade to Texas blew up when the medical reveled he’d need surgery, on his hand I think. Another Boston wet-dream evaporates…

      1. Probably just someone speculating. I know they do want to dump Lowell, but we don’t need him. You have to wonder how the rumor even started.

        1. Well, they wanna dump him cause his tendons aren’t intact anymore. Also, hint #2 that this was bogus was the “posted by Anonymous”.

  28. Well this is just the billfer offseason I’m sure, c’mon…

    Unless…

    Well now that I look back, he was last seen mentioning a mysterious “4th person” involved in the Laird arrest, and then nothing…hmm…I guess no Internet access in the Phoenix jails?

  29. I LOVE the SF Giants! As if the were my own child…

    Because, after watching what happened to Detroit when they had a Ham Sandwich playing SS , they went out and bought said Sandwich, paying a premium above what Detroit was paying (to put in perspective–you can get EIGHT Everetts for the price of a Ham Sandwich.

    So today, apparently, it comes out that the Giants are signing a bat to protect Sandoval–the illustrious Club Sandwich, none other than Aubrey Huff!! I can’t wait to see what they’re paying him.

    It’s only a matter of time: the Giants will eventually announce they have replaced the retiring Big Unit by signing Jarrod Washburn.

  30. And Lynn Henning takes a few more shots at Granderson

    In the case of Granderson it was more about other things: Granderson’s in-and-out ways with baseball, his off-the-field priorities, his bar and restaurant in Chicago, his .249 batting average, his stuck-in-the-mud ways against left-handers, his fairly tepid defense (apart from the occasional sensational catch), etc.

  31. So, if Henning didnt already prove he was a numbskull with his man-love crush Brandon Inge, he certainly is solidifying his mental-midgetness with all of this blabber about Granderson. This just reinforces why I ignore him altogether.

    We all get how you feel about Granderson, Lynn. Go write about something else. Better yet, retire.

  32. a liitle late to the debate but im positive they would have put Miggy on a saline drip IV. its common practice for alcohol poisoning, and my nurse/doctor friends do it themselves to avoid hangovers.

    there is no way DD would have picked him up, knowing he was trashed and just let him sleep it off before another important game….probably on the horn to Randy within minutes to take care of him.

    im with MrX, who cares? Yes, i prefer good guys like Grandy and Kaline but Baseball has a history of terrible human beings becoming good ball players. Cobb was probably the best Tiger ever and yet worst player in terms of character…but you know what? He has a statue in the outfield.

    Professional atheletes are paid to play good ball, not to be nice guys. If you want an allstar team of Choir Boys, be prepared to wait for eternity.

    1. Totally agree………except for the part where Cabrera went hit-less; in that game, and the rest of the series.

      You can be a jerk and still show up ready to play (great example with Cobb, but now you’ll have David coming after you). This incident has nothing in common with his legacy.

      Take the blinders off, nobody is saying give us Choir Boys or Bible Thumpers. What I think most of us would like is for the players to show up fit to play the game, and replenishing electrolytes through IV’s doesn’t count. Why is this somehow a strange concept?

      And please, I don’t think the incident means that he’s a monster (he could be, i don’t know, and i doubt it), but I just don’t see the reasoning behind the give-me-a-badboy-who-plays-ball stance, and all the crazy lengths of rationalizing when the incident CLEARLY hampered his ability to play.

      ‘Cause you see guys: IF he had IVs, and IF he was a crazy fast alcohol metabolizer, and IF… then he would have been in GREAT shape to play…

      OOOORRRRR, maybe we could all just agree that had the dude had a full nights rest (whatever that means for him), then he might, just maybe, coulda been in better shape to perform in a clinching series. Just a thought.

      1. I’m more peeved about how everything unfolded that week.

        Getting rained out that Monday perhaps hurt us the most. That forced us to skip Porcello on Satuday and let Alfredo Figaro start vs the White Sox. Cabrera incident or not, I don’t think we had much chance of winning with Figaro starting. To top off that, we used Ryan Perry for 3 innings in that game.

        Then in game 163, it all came down to Rodney pitching in the 12th inning after he had already thrown 3 innings. Our lack of pitching depth is what ultimately destroyed us.

        In that final week, we had Nate Roberson, Eddie Bonine, and Alfredo Figaro starting games for us. No team deserves to make the playoffs with all 3 of those guys starting.

        Let’s also not forget that Edwin Jackson pitched his worst game of the season, giving up 8 er in 5 innings vs White Sox. Just maybe, he could of been in better shape to perform.

        Cabrera messed up, yes, but he has been made the scape goat for everything that went completely wrong that week.

  33. mickey mantle showed up drunk to more games than not..Im sure it hampered his ability to perform several times, possibly at unforgivable times…but in the end he was still a great player.

    I totally understand your frustration, and like everyone else here- I am mad he went out and got drunk, and if he does it again at a crucial point I will be extremely…..extremely angry and ask for a trade.

    But he carried the team’s offense last year, and remains one of the best players in the league. If you feel like we could get someone better than him, I would disagree…so hate Miggy or not, I think he continues to be the best option for the team for years to come.

    ps- “What I think most of us would like is for the players to show up fit to play the game”

    I think we all want this

  34. Are all the tigers in hibernation…including Bill? I’m tired of checking this page w/o any new updates!

    1. Well there’s definitely no shortage of topics in the world of baseball. Baseball is a true never-ending story. In an ideal world, heated baseball debate and discussion and analysis should be going on constantly and w/o interruption in flow. The game is too fascinating to leave on the shelf collecting dust.

      A lot of these Tiger bloggers could probably be served by networking with more writers for each of their sites, as well as more cohesion and collaboration amongst each other for those that are suited for and interested in mutual partnering.

      1. MLB Trade Rumors say the Cardinals have jumped on board for Valverde, too. They have about 7 or 8 million floating around they don’t know what to do with. I’ll be sick if we lose him.

        1. I don’t want him at all. I want to use that money as juice to facilitate trades to reorganize our hitting lineup for the future. I just say NO to the player, and YES to cleaning up our mess, investing into the future, and retuning our franchise’s overall design such that it operates as an assembly machine that produces wins. In other words, Valverde is a good player, but the time and place for him isn’t now and in Detroit.

  37. He has still been twittering, as recently as a couple days ago…so I wouldnt fear for the worst. Probably just enjoying the off-season break to heal his typing fingers.

  38. I’m okay. Thanks for everyone’s concern. I will explain more when I know more, but a series of events have kept me away from the blog. Changes in my professional life, a renewed focus on my family, and general disenchantment about the direction of the team have kept me away. Hope to resume things soon.

    1. Bill,

      You have done a great job and everybody appreciates it. I know that I do as a lifelong Tiger fan. I am headed down to Lakeland in the middle of March if I can help in any way.

      Family is always first. I can feel that you really enjoy what you do, but family first, ALWAYS. I hope that everything works out.

      1. +1. Well we also might best be served by not seeing any new updates for a while. Cause you know the most likely thing that could happen to spawn a new update would be a Valverde signing. Let’s hope things stay a little quiet for a bit longer.

  39. BA’s PROJECTED 2013 LINEUP
    Catcher Alex Avila
    First Base Miguel Cabrera
    Second Base Scott Sizemore
    Third Base Brandon Inge
    Shortstop Gustavo Nunez
    Left Field Wilkin Ramirez
    Center Field Austin Jackson
    Right Field Daniel Fields
    Designated Hitter Ryan Streiby
    No. 1 Starter Justin Verlander
    No. 2 Starter Rick Porcello
    No. 3 Starter Jacob Turner
    No. 4 Starter Max Scherzer
    No. 5 Starter Casey Crosby
    Closer Ryan Perry

    They must be joking that Inge will still be around.

    1. Inge can hit. And play defense. He just hasn’t hit consistently and hasn’t built up a favorable confidence that he will, but he could conceivably do it. He has some decent power that is obviously there and if he could just hone in a better plate discipline and efficiency, he might have a better shot at juicing his average and OBP by enough of a factor to make a good impact than a guy like Everett has in all of a sudden developing power, or conversely for Everett to peak to a higher batting avg OBP for himself. What’s more likely, that Everett will raise his average by 10-20% of his expected average, or for Inge to do so for himself? I would lean towards gambling on Inge cause I have seen decent streaks of hitting skill and discipline and maybe he can pull of an improvement. It’s a tough gamble, but one that is potentially calculable in our favor. I’d still hope that I could find a trade for him though, I’m always looking at trading first, as transforming the entire build and makeup of the offense and infield is my number one highest priority. We have a LOT of key ducks to get in a row, and the only way to do that is through some harmonious surgery within our remaining and soon to be expiring lifelines.

      Not all of them are money lifelines, but they do have options and they do have some value and we need to bring them together in order to tear them apart together in order to breathe life into a new team together. That’s the only way that makes sense to me in my mind.

    2. Based only on players presently in the system, BA apparently feels the Tigers don’t have a valid 3B option other than Inge right now.

  41. How, if I’m to believe there’s a just and loving God, did G-Money get a $1m raise? I’m going to have an aneurysm.

    Mr. X, what’s the company line?

    1. Because DD has a goofy way of evaluating players. He overvalues Laird’s ability to throw out runners. If Laird could throw out 60% instead of 40% then he’d be properly compensating for his lack of a bat. Heck, even if he could do at least 50% we could “get by” with him. But 40% is atrocious for his bat. Not even close. He’s a detrimental player at 40%. The best catchers are the ones that don’t need to throw guys out to hold their worth, and then when they do throw guys out over a minimum level, all of that is just extra gravy. Laird has no opportunity for gravy throws, cause he’s stuck too far in the red. Overall, you can’t win baseball when you have guys like Laird and Everett on your team. They just aren’t good enough. And not even close to good enough. MAJOR HANDICAPS

      1. Great link. What a wonderful memory!! And everyone in MLB saw it over and over again on ESPN and MLB Network. It also showed the “rookieness of Avila” hanging back not seeming to know what to do.

        1. LOL, wonderful memory indeed! I love this game for tender moments like that. Seeing Porcello toss Youk to the ground just warms the cockles of my heart. 🙂

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