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.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Cabrera has broken orbital, will be re-evaluated in a week
Apparently the only way to get Miguel Cabrera out of the lineup at third base was to break his face.
The Tigers slugger was diagnosed with a non-displaced fracture of the orbital floor underneath his right eye, and will be sidelined for a week for the swelling to go down before he can be re-evaluated, according to multiple reports out of Lakeland, Fla., on Tuesday.
Cabrera was struck in the face by a first-inning grounder off the bat of the Phillies’ Hunter Pence, after it took a bad hop on him. He immediately left the field under his own power, with trainer Kevin Rand helping stanch the bleeding with a towel. He was taken to a local Clearwater, Fla., hospital for testing.
Buster Olney of ESPN reported that Ramon Santiago had been urging Cabrera to wear sunglasses to see the ball better.
That urging may have saved Cabrera’s eye, even though the glasses were what caused the cut, which required eight stitches to close.
“I want to thank God I had glasses on,” Cabrera said, according to Olney, noting that he hopes to play opening day.
“His sunglasses helped him a lot. You could see the imprint of the ball on the glasses,” Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski said, according to Lowe. “We will know a lot more in a week.”
Tigers manager Jim Leyland joked Monday that Cabrera looked like a boxer who wasn’t doing too well in a fight, but the slugger said he didn’t feel any pain on Tuesday.
You had to know that Brandon Inge was going to try to get on the field somehow.
With the addition of Prince Fielder necessitating the move of Miguel Cabrera to his "natural" position of third base, that meant that Brandon Inge was out of a role, albeit not out of a job. Still under contract for 2012 at a cost of $5.5 million — awfully expensive for a utility infielder — the Tigers would love to make use of their longest-tenured player, rather than just let him languish on the bench.
Leyland: Inge has asked for chance to compete for 2nd base job. He'll get his shot. More to come on the site.
So it was no surprise that reports out of Lakeland, Fla. (first mentioned by MLB.com's Jason Beck) were that Inge had asked permission to enter the competition for the one and only starting spot still up for grabs — second base. Tom Gage of the Detroit News reported that Inge first made the request with a call to Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski, who then called manager Jim Leyland.
"don't know how he will handle the pivot, plus he has to hit" - #Tigers Leyland about Inge
That move doesn't really answer any questions, and merely brings up some more, but it does give him a chance to compete, at the very least.
That's something that both Dombrowski and Leyland said that Inge would both need AND want to do in spring training.
"I did not speak to Brandon or his representatives, but I can understand he would not be thrilled. But I also think at this point, probably the best thing for him to do at this point — he’s not coming off a big-number year, and the market has been pretty well set — probably the best thing is let him come to spring training and let him play well, and let’s see what happens from there," Dombrowski said at the Fielder press conference, when asked if Inge had requested a trade. "I still think he can play a very important part of our club. And I’ll tell you what, we’re trying to win."
And while Leyland knew Inge wasn't happy, he also knew he'd be willing to fight. After all, it was Inge himself who said during the Winter Caravan this would be a season where there'd be "No more Mr. Nice Guy," when it came to playing time.
"I really believe Brandon Inge can be a big part of this team, if he wants to be. He’s a trooper, he’s a Tiger. He’s done everything we’ve asked. I don’t control situations like that. The owner of this ballclub wanted to sign Prince Fielder, and he did. And that makes the manager move some pieces around. That’s my responsibility. It just so happened that Brandon was involved in some of that movement, as we speak today," Leyland said at the Fielder press conference.
"I don’t want to slight Brandon Inge’s contributions, and hopefully his future contributions, to this organization.
I talked to him (the day before the press conference), I did the best I could to explain it to him. I apologized to him for not getting it to him before the news broke. ...
"He’s not very happy, because he wants to play, and I wouldn’t give you a nickel for him, if he didn’t want to play.
"I love Brandon Inge."
Zumaya signs with Twins, as both he and Tigers move on
You could look at it one of two ways.
A optimist might say that the workload of Tigers trainer Kevin Rand just lessened considerably.
A pessimist might point out that one of the Tigers’ chief rivals may have benefitted from the organization’s reluctance to continue throwing money at that recurring injury issue.
When Joel Zumaya — the former rookie sensation with the Tigers in 2006, and oft-injured since — reportedly signed with the Minnesota Twins on Sunday, it finally closed an uncomfortable chapter for both parties.
MLB.com’s Jason Beck, who first broke the story, reported that Zumaya’s deal could reach anywhere between $800,000 and $1.7 million, based on incentives.
The Tigers, who’d paid him $3.88 million over the last five years but gotten in return just 126 innings in parts of four seasons, were only offering a minor league deal with a spring training invitation.
General manager Dave Dombrowski said at the start of the offseason that he wouldn’t blame Zumaya for taking an offer of guaranteed money, if someone else put it on the table.
“I don’t know where I’m going to end up next year. Hopefully it’s here. I love this place,” said Zumaya, who later held a workout for scouts, reportedly hitting the mid-90s with his fastball, a showcase the Tigers did not attend.
“If the Tigers want to go ahead and talk and do something, I’m ready. I don’t feel like going anywhere else. I started here and I wish I could end here.”
Considering Zumaya had never matched his rookie season, when he went 6-3 with a 1.94 ERA in 83 games for the World Series-bound Tigers, there’s no guarantee what the Twins will get. He’s endured four surgeries (two since last appearing in a game on June 28, 2010, at Minnesota) to correct injuries to three different parts of his pitching arm — shoulder, finger and elbow — forcing him to miss parts of four seasons and all of last year.
The Tigers, for their part, stuck with Zumaya through all the injuries and rehabs, re-signing him to a one-year, $1.4 million contract at this time last year. But they’d also hamstrung themselves by depending on Zumaya’s presence in the bullpen in the late innings, a weakness that they addressed this offseason with the signing of Octavio Dotel.
Fifty-one weeks after he was a footnote transaction, reliever Alberto ("Al-Al") Alburquerque has become a household name in Detroit — although notsomuch amongst New York talk radio hosts like Mike Francessa.
Wednesday, it was announced that he'd been named the 2011 Detroit Tigers Rookie of the Year by the Detroit Sports Broadcasters' Association, an award the organization has handed out since 1969.
Alburquerque was well worth the big-league contract the Tigers handed him, signing him the same day they inked set-up man Joaquin Benoit, finishing as the leader among American League relievers in batting average allowed (.142), as well as hits (4.36) and strikeouts (13.92) per nine innings. His strikeout rate and average allowed were the best numbers recorded by a Tigers reliever in the post-World War II era.
As a rookie, Alburquerque finished 6-1 with a 1.87 ERA in 41 outings, not allowing a single earned run after his September return from injury, but had a postseason ERA of 13.50 in four playoff outings. The rust on his arm from missing time with a forearm injury and the much-publicized batting practice concussion limited his ability to contribute in the postseason, hamstringing the Tigers at the end of games, forcing them to go almost exclusively with Benoit and closer Jose Valverde.
General manager Dave Dombrowski didn't seem to indicate any need to improve the back end of the Tigers' bullpen before next season, trusting that Alburquerque can snap back to form with an offseason of rest.
"You've got Valverde, you've got Benoit, Alburquerque was a little bit of an unusual situation at the end of the year, but he'll be healthy, so that's three guys that have established themselves from the right side," Dombrowski said.
With both GM and president Dave Dombrowski and manager Jim Leyland entering the final year of their contracts in 2011, this year had a "win-or-else" feel to it all along for the Detroit Tigers' organization.
That threat — real or inferred — was lifted Monday, when the organization announced contract extensions for its two most visible faces, giving Dombrowski a four-year extension, through 2015, and upping Leyland one more year.
“Dave has built a solid foundation for this organization and assembled competitive teams that give us a chance to win year in and year out. We have a lot of confidence in his continued leadership of the Detroit Tigers,” owner Mike Ilitch said in a press release. “I am pleased Dave has agreed to continue to lead our organization.”
The owner also acknowledged the leadership of Leyland, who took the Tigers to a World Series in his first season in Motown, the franchise's first trip to the postseason in 19 years, and the first fall classic appearance in 22. The Tigers haven't been back since, however, despite a payroll amongst the highest in baseball. Most observers figured there would be a housecleaning if they didn't get to the playoffs for the first time in five seasons, at bare minimum among the coaching staff.
“I know Jim shares our desire to deliver a winner. We’re pleased to have him continue leading the Detroit Tigers on the field,” Ilitch said.
While extensions were also granted to all of Dombrowski's chief lieutenants — vice presidents Al Avila, David Chadd, Scott Reid and John Westoff — Leyland's crew does not get that same added security. While the Tigers currently have the second-largest divisional lead in Major League Baseball, there still could be an overhaul if the team does not make the playoffs.
The coaching staff already had one change made midseason, when the Tigers let pitching coach Rick Knapp go just before the All-Star break.
Still, Leyland has said he doesn't mind a year-to-year contract basis, to make sure he doesn't get himself in a situation like he did in Colorado, where he lost the desire to manage. So far, that hasn't happened here.
“I want to thank Mr. Ilitch and Dave Dombrowski for the support and confidence they have shown in me and I look forward to managing the Detroit Tigers in 2012," the manager said in a press release of his own. "Also, my many thanks go out to generations of Tigers fans who have supported the Tigers through the good times as well as the tough times. I’m proud to take the responsibility to assure Mr. Ilitch, Dave and our many fans that we will never fall short of doing everything we can to maintain the pride of our organization and our fans.”
No surprise: Inge clears waivers, Tigers outright him to Toledo
In a turn of events that surprised absolutely no one in the world, Brandon Inge cleared waivers allowing the Tigers to outright his contract to Toledo.
This was just the cleaning up of the procedural leftovers from last Wednesday's decision to designate Inge for assignment. Inge, who has the ability to veto such a move as a 10-and-5 player (a 10-year veteran who's spent five years with their current team), has said that he'd accept the assignment.
"Everyone goes through rough patches and I just need to go down and work on something. I’m not holding anyone responsible. It’s me. I’m in the batter’s box. I play 100 percent every day, and it just wasn’t working out right there," said the veteran third baseman, who was hitting just .177 with one home run, necessitating the team trading for the Royals' Wilson Betemit. "I haven’t been playing well, and there comes a time when you need to fix it.
"I’m actually in a good place with it. I want to go down there and work on it."
Even though the Tigers knew that the move could easily have resulted in the end of Inge's career with the organization, they're not counting him out, either.
"Can he get his swing back, and make things happen? Hopefully. Right now, when we look at it from our own situation, trying to win, it just hasn’t happened for him, really," Dombrowski said.
"He’s still fine at third base, and I think if he’s hitting like he’s capable of hitting, I think he’s plenty fine at third base. But I would think — he’s only human if it’s not affecting him at some point. I mean, he’s been scuffling. He tries his hardest, he gives you everything he can — he always has done that — and I’m sure it affects him.
"But unfortunately, that ... is part of being a big-league player, when you scuffle like that. Hey, when you’re a general manager, and you make a bad trade, people boo you and throw (barbs) at you. ... It’s the same thing: We’re in a production-oriented business."
Inge promised he'd be back when the rosters expand in September, but until then, he'll be a high-priced insurance policy, should Betemit or one of the reserve infielders get injured. His price tag, which includes the remainder of his $5.5 million salary from this year, as well as the rest of the two-year, $11 million contract he signed in the offseason.
That's likely a good part of the reason no team put in a waiver claim. There were some rumors that the Florida Marlins would put a claim in, hoping to land a calming influence for their young squad, but the team said recently it did not know where that rumor had started.
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)
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.
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:
As was rumored, the Tigers did indeed pull off the trade we wrote about earlier in the day, sending Armando Galarraga to Arizona in exchange for a pair of low-level pitching prospects.
(Click on the headline above to take you to the full story in Tuesday's edition of The Oakland Press)
Granted, two Class-A pitchers — whom Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski termed "fringe, not blue-chip" — is not a monumental return for a guy that's been a useful member of your rotation for three years, but it is better than getting nothing at all.
The Tigers clearly did not think they were going to have any use for him this season, nor did they feel the need to keep him as "insurance" should there be injuries to the starting pitching staff.
Report: Diamondbacks interested in taking Armando Galarraga off Tigers' hands
While the Winter Caravan and TigerFest are all about pumping fans up about those players who'll be on the field for the Tigers come Opening Day, some of the news evolving near the end of TigerFest was about a player who it's increasingly likely won't be with the Tigers.
Nick Piecoro, the Diamondbacks beat writer for the Arizona Republic tweeted Saturday evening that the club he covers was interested in talking trade with the Tigers for Armando Galarraga. That came after Tigers GM and president Dave Dombrowski told reporters at TigerFest that a deal was "likely" to come this week.
If the D-backs do make a swap for the veteran right-hander, the irony will be that they were the organization willing to take Dontrelle Willis off Dombrowski's hands last summer. The Tigers picked up the vast majority of the $8.5 million they still owed the quirky lefty at the time, swapping him for Billy Buckner, an underwhelming right-hander, a guy they coveted so much that they released him a little over three weeks later.
Unless there's a similar financial element to the Galarraga deal, the Diamondbacks would be assuming the (non-guaranteed) $2.3 million deal the Tigers signed Galarraga to, just hours before designating him for assignment. The Tigers were seemingly trying to avoid the deadline to swap arbitration figures, signing Galarraga to a deal Tuesday morning, then removing him from the 40-man roster to make room for free-agent signee Brad Penny.
Piecoro's blog notes that the name of 20-year-old Kevin Eichhorn has come up. A third-round pick of the Diamondbacks out of high school in the 2008 draft, Eichhorn has never pitched above Class A. The Tigers already have two first-round picks from that draft in their bullpen — former University of Arizona teammates Ryan Perry and Daniel Schlereth, who went 21 and 26 overall to the Tigers and Arizona, respectively.
Tigers avoid arbitration with Galarraga, agree to 1-year deal
It appears everyone will get a little bit of what they want in this case.
Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman tweeted late Monday night that the Detroit Tigers had reached an agreement with pitcher Armando Galarraga on a 1-year, $2.3 million deal, avoiding the prospect of an arbitration battle.
For Galarraga, who has an astronomical run of bad luck — dating back to his stolen perfect game on June 2, through his inability to win a game for the remainder of the season (he finished 4-9 with a 4.49 ERA), to the likelihood that last week's signing of Brad Penny for the No. 5 starter role making the just-turned-28-year-old expendable — this was finally a bit of good fortune. After making just $438,000 last year, Galarraga got nearly a $2M raise.
For Tigers president and GM Dave Dombrowski, it's a still clean record of never going to arbitration in his tenure with the franchise. That record was in jeopardy, with the deadline for clubs and arbitration-eligible players to exchange offers looming Tuesday.
Now the two sides will have to figure out what Galarraga's role will be on the 2011 squad. With Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer and Rick Porcello set in stone atop the starting rotation, and the Tiger brass confident that lefty long reliever Phil Coke — a starter for most of his minor-league career — can make the transition back to starter, it appears that there's only one spot open on the starting staff. The Tigers agreed to terms on a one-year, $3 million contract with Penny last week, and even if the club has the two battle it out for the No. 5 spot, the veteran likely has a better chance, if he's back to his form of two seasons ago.
Galarraga is out of options, so the Tigers can't send him back to the minors, meaning — should he lose the battle for the No. 5 spot with Penny — they'll either have to put him in a long relief role in the bullpen, or see if he's got any value on the trade market.
UPDATE: The Tigers didn't let this one linger long, deciding just hours after officially announcing the deal with Galarraga to designate him for assignment. The organization will now try to trade him to a team looking for a back-of-the-rotation starter.
For the full story, click here.
Matthew B. Mowery formerly covered the Detroit Tigers for The Oakland Press. He has also been the college writer and lead sports copy editor for the paper. Prior to his arrival in Pontiac in 2006, Mowery previously worked at The Morning Sun in Mt. Pleasant, The Alpena News and the Midland Daily News. He's covered every possible corner of the sports world, from preps to pros, from tennis to Lions training camp for The Associated Press.
RSS
