Blogs > Out of Left Field

A sometimes-irreverent look at Detroit's Boys of Summer, the Tigers, as they try to return to the top of the American League Central.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Miguel Cabrera reports to Tigers camp, apologizes


Miguel Cabrera finally made his belated arrival at spring training Thursday, one week after the story of his much-publicized arrest made headlines, and was so contrite, he apologized in two languages.

In his first public appearance since his arrest in late in the evening of Feb. 16, Cabrera met with members of the Detroit Tigers organization, then spoke to the media for nearly 30 minutes.

“First of all, I want to apologize to everybody. I want to apologize to my teammates, to my fans, to my family, to the Detroit Tigers, to the team,” the superstar said in English, before switching to his native language because of the gravity of the moment. “This is very important to me, that’s why I want to speak Spanish, because I don’t want to make any mistakes with my language.”

Tigers assistant general manager Al Avila acted as his translator for the rest of the news conference. Regardless of the language in use, there were still topics that got a “no comment,” including the reasons behind the still-sketchy incident, as well as concrete details of the outpatient treatment recommended by doctors brought in by Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association.

Cabrera, who was arrested on one count of suspicion of driving under the influence and two counts of resisting arrest without violence in Fort Pierce, Fla., roughly halfway between his Boca Raton home, and the Tigers’ facility in Lakeland, was on his way to spring training.

The vehicle he was driving, a 2005 Land Rover, hadn’t been driven in three or four months, and broke down at the side of the road.

Saying he “had no desire to drive right now,” Cabrera apologized to the officers who were later required to restrain him before arresting him, thanking them for the handling of the situation, and said that when the justice system takes its course, he believed “at the end, things will be cleared up.”

He also did not feel banning alcohol in the clubhouse or on team flights would be “appropriate,” and that “everybody should be responsible for their own actions, and he’s taking responsibility for his,” Avila translated.

“I just want to say that I’m very sorry for what I’ve done. I want to apologize to all my teammates, my owner, my family, my friends and everybody that I let down. I’ve worked very hard for a period of time in overcoming this, and I just want to get back and play, and have everybody forgive me. I ask for forgiveness,” Cabrera said.

“I also want to regain my reputation. I will work hard to regain that respect and my reputation.”

Some of that work will have to be with his teammates, who voiced their unconditional support for Cabrera in his absence, but had to deal with the aftermath of what he termed “one bad decision.”

Cleared to begin working out with the team as early as today (Friday), Cabrera said he did not plan to hold a group meeting to speak with his teammates, but preferred to meet with them individually, so he could apologize “face-to-face.”

Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski said Cabrera had been cleared to play, and the choice to do so would be manager Jim Leyland’s.

Cabrera will be able to stay with the Tigers while going through the treatment program, and Dombrowski said they were actively helping Cabrera look for someone to stay with him at all times as a sort of chaperone, much like the one who accompanies Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers.

“Any time a problem manifests itself, it probably would have manifested itself at some point, so we’re better off that this was approached at this time,” said Dombrowski, admitting that the incident has the potential to be life-changing moment for Cabrera.

“I think so ... and I hope so. I mean, he’s really — it’s a shame when you have problems ... and there are a lot of good things that come along when you have his ability, but you’re also under the spotlight. And I think it’s a situation where he’s a quality person he has a good heart, he’s very supportive of his teammates, he’s great with kids, he loves his family. And so there’s so many good things, of course when there’s something like this happens it’s under the spotlight. ... It’s a situation where, hopefully we can put these type of things behind him, and all those other things will shine forward.”

Dombrowski also expects Tigers fans to be very forgiving of their star.

“I hope that they see how sincere he is, and that he acknowledges that he has a problem, and that he’s committed to fixing it, making it work. And I hope that they have an open mind to that,” the GM said.

Matthew B. Mowery covers the Tigers for The Oakland Press. E-mail him at matt.mowery@oakpress.com and follow him on Twitter @matthewbmowery.

Below is the audio from Thursday's news conference (courtesy Tigers media relations):
(Warning: It's long)


Miguel Cabrera reports to camp, apologizes by MMowery23

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Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Court date set for Miguel Cabrera

Now that the brunt of the Cabrera Storm — which as at full fury after Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera's drunken arrest late Wednesday night — have blown over, things are moving at a more sedate pace this week.

The Tigers' brass have said that the slugger won't report to spring training in Lakeland, Fla., until he's been evaluated by doctors to determine the next course of action. He returned home to Boca Raton, Fla., after he posted bail Thursday.

Most of the national coverage of the case has dwindled, too, at least until that plan is announced.

Now, at least, Cabrera knows when he must appear in court. His arraignment, on one count of suspicion of driving under the influence and two counts of resisting arrest without violence, has been set for 9 a.m. March 16, in the St. Lucie County courtroom of circuit court Judge Cliff Barnes. No attorney of record for Cabrera has yet been filed with the court.


The next step appears to be the medical examination, if it has not already taken place. Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski said this weekend that the organization would work with Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association, using that medical assessment to determine the course of Cabrera's treatment. Dombrowski told reporters he'd have a better read on the situation by the middle of this week.

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Thursday, February 17, 2011

Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski addresses Miguel Cabrera's DUI arrest

By now, I'm sure everyone's heard about Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera's DUI arrest in Florida Wednesday night. (If you haven't, the link to the story on The Oakland Press website is here. The link to my column is here.)

Tigers GM and president Dave Dombrowski spoke with members of the media Thursday afternoon, briefly addressing the incident, and what will happen next.

Below is the audio track, provided by the Tigers PR department:


Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski by MMowery23

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Thursday, February 10, 2011

Tigers announce 2011 television broadcast schedule

The Detroit Tigers and their broadcast affiliate, FOX Sports Detroit, announced the broadcast schedule for the 2011 season on Thursday, with 152 games scheduled to be shown in high definition on FSD, and nine more slated for national broadcasts.

The Tigers will be featured on FOX Saturday Baseball twice in April (2nd and 23rd), including the season's second game, against the Yankees, once in May (28th), three times in July (16th, 23rd, 30th), once in August (27th) and twice in early September (3rd and 10th). Three each of the nationally-televised games — which will be shown locally on FOX-2 (WJBK) — are against AL Central foes the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins.

That leaves just one game not broadcast on TV this season: The Tigers' Sept. 17 Saturday afternoon game at Oakland, just before the team returns home for its final home stand. Four spring training dates will be broadcast before the start of the regular season, however.

For the ninth straight year, the FSD broadcast will feature the partnership of the play-by-play voice of Mario Impemba, and the colorful commentary of Rod "Country Strong" Allen.


SPRING TRAINING:
Day   Date        Opponent           Time       TV
Wed. March 16 St. Louis             1:00      FSD
Tue.           22 N.Y. Mets              1:00      FSD          
Thu.           24 Washington           6:00      FSD
Sun.           27 Houston                1:00      FSD

Day   Date        Opponent           Time       TV
Thu. March 31 at N.Y. Yankees   1:00      FSD
Sat.   April    2 at N.Y. Yankees   4:00      FOX
Sun.              3 at N.Y. Yankees   1:00      FSD
Mon.             4 at Baltimore           3:00      FSD
Wed.             6 at Baltimore           7:00      FSD
Thu.              7 at Baltimore           7:00      FSD
Fri.                8 KANSAS CITY       3:00      FSD
Sat.               9 KANSAS CITY      4:00      FSD
Sun.           10 KANSAS CITY       1:00      FS PLUS
Mon.          11 TEXAS                   1:00      FSD
Tue.           12 TEXAS                   1:00      FSD
Wed.          13 TEXAS                   1:00      FSD
Thu.           14 at Oakland           10:00      FSD
Fri.             15 at Oakland           10:00      FSD
Sat.            16 at Oakland            9:00      FSD
Sun.           17 at Oakland            4:00      FSD
Mon.          18 at Seattle             10:00      FSD
Tue.           19 at Seattle             10:00      FSD
Wed.          20 at Seattle              3:30       FSD
Fri.             22 CHI. WHITE SOX   7:00      FSD
Sat.            23 CHI. WHITE SOX  4:00      FOX
Sun.           24 CHI. WHITE SOX  1:00      FSD
Tue.           26 SEATTLE              7:00      FSD
Wed.          27 SEATTLE              7:00      FSD
Thu.           28 SEATTLE              1:00      FSD
Fri.             29 at Cleveland          7:00      FSD
Sat.            30 at Cleveland          6:00      FSD

Sun.  May     1 at Cleveland         1:00      FSD
Mon.             2 N.Y. YANKEES     7:00      FSD
Tue.              3 N.Y. YANKEES     7:00      FSD
Wed.             4 N.Y. YANKEES     7:00      FSD
Thu.              5 N.Y. YANKEES     1:00      FSD
Fri.                6 at Toronto             7:00      FSD
Sat.               7 at Toronto            4:00      FSD 
Sun.              8 at Toronto            1:00      FSD
Mon.             9 at Toronto             7:00      FSD
Tue.           10 at Minnesota         8:00      FSD
Wed.          11 at Minnesota         1:00      FSD
Fri.             13 KANSAS CITY      7:00      FSD
Sat.            14 KANSAS CITY      4:00      FSD
Sun.           15 KANSAS CITY      1:00      FSD
Mon.          16 TORONTO            7:00      FSD
Tue.           17 TORONTO            7:00      FSD
Wed.          18 at Boston              7:00      FSD
Thu.           19 at Boston              7:00      FSD

Day   Date        Opponent           Time      TV
Fri.    May  20  at Pittsburgh          7:00     FSD
Sat.            21  at Pittsburgh          TBD     FSD
Sun.           22  at Pittsburgh          1:30     FSD
Mon.          23  TAMPA BAY          7:00     FSD
Tue.           24  TAMPA BAY          7:00     FSD
Wed.             25                          TAMPA BAY    1:00  FSD
Thu.           26  BOSTON               1:00     FSD
Fri.             27  BOSTON               7:00     FSD
Sat.            28  BOSTON               7:00     FOX
Sun.           29  BOSTON               1:00     FSD
Mon.          30  MINNESOTA         1:00     FSD
Tue.           31  MINNESOTA         7:00     FSD

Wed. June   1  MINNESOTA         7:00     FSD
Fri.               3  at Chi. White Sox      8:00  FSD
Sat.              4  at Chi. White Sox      7:00  FSD
Sun.             5  at Chi. White Sox      2:00  FSD
Mon.            6  at Texas                 8:00     FSD
Tue.             7  at Texas                 8:00     FSD
Wed.            8  at Texas                 8:00     FSD
Thu.             9  SEATTLE              7:00     FSD
Fri.             10  SEATTLE              7:00     FSD
Sat.            11  SEATTLE              7:00     FSD
Sun.           12  SEATTLE              1:00     FSD
Tue.           14  CLEVELAND          7:00     FSD
Wed.          15  CLEVELAND          7:00     FSD
Thu.           16  CLEVELAND          1:00     FSD
Fri.             17  at Colorado            8:30     FSD
Sat.            18  at Colorado            8:00     FSD
Sun.           19  at Colorado            3:00     FSD
Mon.          20  at L.A. Dodgers   10:00     FSD
Tue.           21  at L.A. Dodgers   10:00     FSD
Wed.          22  at L.A. Dodgers      3:00     FSD
Fri.             24  ARIZONA               7:00     FSD
Sat.            25  ARIZONA               7:00     FSD
Sun.           26  ARIZONA               1:00     FSD
Tue.           28  N.Y. METS            7:00     FSD
Wed.          29  N.Y. METS            7:00     FSD
Thu.           30  N.Y. METS            1:00     FSD

Fri.    July    1  SAN FRANCISCO  7:00     FSD
Sat.              2  SAN FRANCISCO  7:00     FSD
Sun.             3  SAN FRANCISCO  1:00     FSD
Mon.            4  at L.A. Angels        9:00     FSD
Tue.             5  at L.A. Angels     10:00     FSD
Wed.            6  at L.A. Angels        3:30     FSD
Thu.             7  at Kansas City        8:00     FSD
Fri.               8  at Kansas City        8:00     FSD
Sat.              9  at Kansas City        7:00     FSD
Sun.           10  at Kansas City        2:00     FSD
(All-Star Break, July 11-14)


Day   Date        Opponent             Time      TV
Fri.    July  15  CHI. WHITE SOX   7:00     FSD
Sat.            16  CHI. WHITE SOX   4:00    FOX
Sun.           17  CHI. WHITE SOX   1:00    FSD
Tue.           19  OAKLAND              7:00    FSD
Wed.          20  OAKLAND              7:00    FSD
Thu.           21  at Minnesota          8:00    FSD
Fri.             22  at Minnesota          8:00    FSD
Sat.            23  at Minnesota          4:00    FOX
Sun.           24  at Minnesota          4:00    FSD
Mon.          25  at Chi. White Sox    8:00    FSD
Tue.           26  at Chi. White Sox    8:00    FSD
Wed.          27  at Chi. White Sox    2:00    FSD
Thu.           28  L.A. ANGELS         1:00    FSD
Fri.             29  L.A. ANGELS         7:00    FSD
Sat.            30  L.A. ANGELS         4:00    FOX
Sun.           31  L.A. ANGELS         1:00    FSD

Tue.  Aug     2  TEXAS                   7:00    FSD
Wed.            3  TEXAS                   7:00    FSD
Thu.             4  TEXAS                   1:00    FSD
Fri.               5  at Kansas City         8:00    FSD
Sat.              6  at Kansas City        7:00    FSD
Sun.             7  at Kansas City        2:00    FSD
Tue.             9  at Cleveland           7:00    FSD
Wed.          10  at Cleveland           7:00    FSD
Thu.           11  at Cleveland           7:00    FSD
Fri.             12  at Baltimore            7:00    FSD
Sat.            13  at Baltimore           7:00    FSD
Sun.           14  at Baltimore           1:30    FSD
Mon.          15  MINNESOTA          7:00    FSD
Tue.           16  MINNESOTA          7:00    FSD
Wed.          17  MINNESOTA          7:00    FSD
Fri.             19  CLEVELAND          7:00    FSD
Sat.            20  CLEVELAND         7:00    FSD
Sun.           21  CLEVELAND         1:00    FSD
Mon.          22  at Tampa Bay        7:00    FSD
Tue.           23  at Tampa Bay        7:00    FSD
Wed.          24  at Tampa Bay        7:00    FSD
Thu.           25  at Tampa Bay        1:00    FSD
Fri.             26  at Minnesota          8:00    FSD
Sat.            27  at Minnesota          4:00    FOX
Sun.           28  at Minnesota          2:00    FSD
Mon.          29  KANSAS CITY        7:00    FSD
Tue.           30  KANSAS CITY        7:00    FSD
Wed.          31  KANSAS CITY        1:00    FSD


Day   Date        Opponent             Time      TV
Fri.    Sept    2  CHI. WHITE SOX   7:00    FSD
Sat.              3  CHI. WHITE SOX   4:00    FOX
Sun.             4  CHI. WHITE SOX   1:00    FSD
Mon.            5  at Cleveland           1:00    FSD
Tue.             6  at Cleveland           7:00    FSD
Wed.            7  at Cleveland         12:00    FSD
Fri.               9  MINNESOTA          7:00    FSD
Sat.            10  MINNESOTA          4:00    FOX
Sun.           11  MINNESOTA          1:00    FSD
Mon.          12  at Chi. White Sox   8:00    FSD
Tue.           13  at Chi. White Sox   8:00    FSD
Wed.          14  at Chi. White Sox   2:00    FSD
Thu.           15  at Oakland            10:00   FSD
Fri.             16  at Oakland            10:00    FSD
Sat.            17  at Oakland              4:00   No TV*
Sun.           18  at Oakland              4:00   FSD
Tue.           20  at Kansas City         8:00   FSD
Wed.          21  at Kansas City         8:00   FSD
Thu.           22  BALTMORE           7:00    FSD
Fri.             23  BALTIMORE          7:00    FSD
Sat.            24  BALTIMORE          7:00    FSD
Sun.           25  BALTIMORE          1:00    FSD
Mon.          26  CLEVELAND          7:00    FSD
Tue.           27  CLEVELAND          7:00    FSD
Wed.          28  CLEVELAND          7:00    FSD

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