Knuckle Curve » miguel cabrera

Miguel Cabrera Drunk, Fights with Wife

Stephen Kersey — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 00:54:04 +0000

The Detroit Tigers are fighting to make the 2009 baseball playoffs. Miguel Cabrera, he of a $152.3 million contract, has also been fighting — with his wife.

According to reports, Cabrera was drunk and got into a fight with his wife over the weekend. His wife called 911 and he was taken to a police station. While there, Cabrera registered a 0.26 blood alcohol level — more than three times the legal driving limit of 0.08 in Michigan.

Dave Dombrowski, the general manager of the Tigers, picked up Cabrera at the police station. With Detroit desperately needing a win in their three-game series against the Chicago White Sox, Cabrera responded by going 0-for-11.

On Monday, a day before the Tigers play the Minnesota Twins in a tiebreaker game for the AL Central, Cabrera released a statement.

“I am sorry this has become a distraction, and I apologize to the Tigers, my teammates, and all of the fans. I would appreciate it if you would respect my family’s privacy as I prepare for our next game.”

If Cabrera doesn’t produce in the tiebreaker game against the Twins, Tigers fans will have a difficult time forgiving the team’s superstar slugger.

Miguel Cabrera was drunk and fighting his wife (Image: Zuma Press)

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Tigers Extend Cabrera

Geoff Young — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 00:48:17 +0000

According to ESPN, the Detroit Tigers have inked “third baseman” Miguel Cabrera to an 8-year, $153 million contract extension. With the understanding that the economics of baseball are inherently insane, this strikes me as pretty darned good value.

Cabrera was my dark horse candidate for MVP in 2007, and although it didn’t quite work out that way, the guy hit .320/.401/.565 for a franchise hell-bent on destroying itself and oh, by the way, did I mention he was only 24?

Sure, Cabrera got a little fat, but hey, who doesn’t?. Besides, just because the Marlins had no use for his talents doesn’t diminish the fact that he’s still an elite offensive performer.

Will Cabrera stay at the hot corner? Probably not. I mean, maybe for a while, but eventually he’ll move back to the outfield or maybe first base. You know how much it’ll matter? Not one bit. A bat like his will play anywhere. Seriously, his top comp by age every year since arriving in the big leagues is Hank Aaron.

Yeah, that’s kinda good.

Other Voices

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Tigers Extend Granderson

Geoff Young — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 21:33:55 +0000

How did the Tigers go from MLB doormat to model organization without any real transition? They draft aggressively, pay for external talent where needed, and are fearless in trading. Oh, and they win a lot.

Detroit’s latest move is to lock up center fielder Curtis Granderson for 5 years in a deal reportedly worth $30.25 million. Granderson is coming off a .302/.361/.552 campaign and turns 27 in March. His only weaknesses are a propensity to strike out (which he remedied somewhat last year and which is mitigated by the fact that he hits a ton) and a susceptibility to left-handed pitching (.160/.225/.269 in ‘07). He’s young and talented enough to improve against southpaws, at least to the point of respectability, which would make him an elite player in the American League — if he isn’t already.

When the Tigers traded Cameron Maybin, their first-round pick in 2005, as part of the package for Miguel Cabrera, they essentially anointed Granderson the club’s center fielder of the present and the future. Inking him to a long-term deal at below market value was the next logical step. This reminds me a little of when the Indians signed Kenny Lofton and other young stars to long-term contracts back in the mid-’90s. It was a smart strategy then, and it’s a smart strategy now.

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