2011 Season, Players, Spring Training

Cabrera, the day after.

11 Comments

(image courtesy of DetroitNews.com)

I’m sure that most of you have read the Freep and News by now, they are both loaded with Cabrera stories.

The central theme is that Cabrera is unlikely to report to camp tomorrow with the rest of the fielders, as the commissioner’s office and the union are involved in “the process.”  Looks like his next steps (rehab? admonition by the team? personal time?) are still up in the air.

I don’t think that alcoholism is novel to ballplayers, but Cabrera seems to have a depression problem.    I also think that DD is full of it when he says he was “shocked” to learn of the incident. I’m not blaming DD here, but I’m confident the front office knows their players better than that.  I think there was a better option for his reaction to the media.  Continuing, the Tigers need to support this guy.  In my limited, unprofessional opinion, drinking scotchy scotch scotch in front of the cops was a blatant call for help.  How did these personal issues get past DD, Avila, Cabrera’s agent, etc.?  Cabrera wanted this to blow up.

Predictably, Mitch Albom, was judgmental and belittling in today’s column.  (Question, Albom used to be awesome, but now he’s annoyingly holier than thou, no?  He and Skip Bayless look more and more alike every day; Dorian Gray anyone?)

The News actually took a pretty dim, and far-fetched view of things, with Wojnowski reporting that Cabrera’s “career may be on the line” and the Tigers are pondering “Miguel Cabrera’s future.”  Both of these vagaries can be loosely interpreted as either good analysis or ridiculous shock content, I fall in line with the latter.  His career is not on the line, and we need to rally around this guy.

Honestly, I don’t think this affects the season at all.  Cabrera needs to see about 3 pitches to be MVP caliber ready, so if anyone can show up to spring training late, it’s this guy.  He has the resources around him (we hope) to get the treatment/help he needs.  What befuddles me is that the organization has seemingly distanced themselves from him, rather than rallying around him. There is still time to do so, but it needs to happen, soon.  At least Leyland is moving on from it, saying yesterday that it “won’t affect the team.”  In fact, he was pretty emphatic about it, reports Ken Rosenthal.  I’m sure Leyland has seen a lot in his day, and I’m inclined to agree with him.

(I’m also a little concerned about the “3-4 knee spikes” into Cabrera’s thigh.  You’d need a lot of force to take the big man down.)

11 thoughts on “Cabrera, the day after.”

  1. “(I’m also a little concerned about the “3-4 knee spikes” into Cabrera’s thigh. You’d need a lot of force to take the big man down.)”

    Not as much as you would think. The common peroneal nerve runs down the thigh. A well-directed blow will put anyone on their knees. If the nerves aren’t working, the muscles don’t mean jack.

    1. Thanks for the lesson Walt. I take it you’re a Doctor based on your clever icon. I will use this info wisely.

      1. I am a chemist. I know this from the year I spent as an MP while in the Marine Corps. As part of a hazing event I once took about 30 of these shots on each leg. Miggy will fine.

  2. Who wants to get wasted?

    More of a whiskey drinker myself, but we can drink scotch in honor of Miggy.

  3. re your comment: What befuddles me is that the organization has seemingly distanced themselves from him, rather than rallying around him.

    Let’s be patient on this. The team isn’t fully in camp and working out together yet, and Leyland (rightly or wrongly) basically shut down the discussion yesterday by clearing the clubhouse. We also have no idea what’s going on behind the scenes (nor do we have a right to know that).

    Agree with the rest of your post though, nice job.

  5. My confidence level and blossoming optimism for the 2011 Tigers was beginning to crest; so a humbling/embarrassing experience like this is just the type of grounding (reality check) this Tiger fan needed. So let the cartoons, i mean “games” begin.

    And the same could said for the Tiger team – as i recall the off-season the Tigers traded for Cabrera and Willis, most of the so-called ‘experts’ (sportswriters/commenters) picked the Tigers to be the favorite in the AL Central, and many for the AL pennant… well, the Tigers finishing in last place in the AL Central in ’08, 14 games under .500.

    Optimism (like booze for Cabby) can be a dangerous drug for Tiger fans.

  6. Albom’s holier-than-thou schtick passed its sell-by date 10 years ago, especially considering his own little brushes with the truth. He’s a relief from Detroit’s talk-radio wingnuts and surely has a future churning out morality-book pap, but he’s lost his mojo as a sportswriter. Hard to believe he was once the best reason to get the Freep.

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