3/26 @ 1:05 Phillies @ Tigers

[Tiger337]

I am not really worried about anyone based on spring training performance.  I am basically hoping they (1) stay healthy, especially their young pitchers and (2) Greene and Torkelson hit well enough, so there is no excuse to not bring up north.    So far, so good.  

[casimir]

2 hours ago, Scottwood said:

How long until Cabrera drops to 8th in the lineup?

I think Schoop and the catching tandem will be 8 & 9 before Cabrera drops to 8.  I think Cabrera does drop to 6 at some point this season.

[1984Echoes]

I think Miggy in the #5 or #6 spot should be a non-issue.

I'm just guessing but... I think Miggy is just happy to be here. He loves the game, he loves being here, he loves all the kids coming up, and he would love to be in the playoff hunt again. Just my opinion, but I think #5 or #6 is not disrespecting him and I think he will agree to that and not make one single squawk about that.

 

[casimir]

2 minutes ago, 1984Echoes said:

I think Miggy in the #5 or #6 spot should be a non-issue.

I'm just guessing but... I think Miggy is just happy to be here. He loves the game, he loves being here, he loves all the kids coming up, and he would love to be in the playoff hunt again. Just my opinion, but I think #5 or #6 is not disrespecting him and I think he will agree to that and not make one single squawk about that.

 

Cabrera ain’t perfect.  But I think in general he’s been a team first kind of ball player.  We can question his conditioning.  There was the drunken stupor years ago.  But he’s also moved positions a couple of times for the benefit of the team.  He appears to be a pretty good teammate (although we only see the public side of that).

I have to think he realizes he’s at the end of the line.  He’s already admitted, maybe indirectly, that he’s no longer the first baseman.  I think he genuinely wants team success.  There’s the 3,000th hit.  There’s his eventual hall of fame enshrinement.  Aside from that, the individual accolades are pretty much done.  He can move up some leader boards, but he’s already in the neighborhood of prime time names.  He’s only got one WS ring, and that was from 2 decades ago.  I think he probably realizes that he can’t lead a team there by hitting 4th, but he can be a part of it lower in the lineup and by being a veteran leader.  Just my guess.

[Tiger337]

Yes, Cabrera does seem to be more of a team player than Rodriguez.  He has been willing to move around the infield and DH and might not make a fuss if he is dropped in the line-up.    

[mtutiger]

1 hour ago, casimir said:

Cabrera ain’t perfect.  But I think in general he’s been a team first kind of ball player.  We can question his conditioning.  There was the drunken stupor years ago.  But he’s also moved positions a couple of times for the benefit of the team.  He appears to be a pretty good teammate (although we only see the public side of that).

I have to think he realizes he’s at the end of the line.  He’s already admitted, maybe indirectly, that he’s no longer the first baseman.  I think he genuinely wants team success.  There’s the 3,000th hit.  There’s his eventual hall of fame enshrinement.  Aside from that, the individual accolades are pretty much done.  He can move up some leader boards, but he’s already in the neighborhood of prime time names.  He’s only got one WS ring, and that was from 2 decades ago.  I think he probably realizes that he can’t lead a team there by hitting 4th, but he can be a part of it lower in the lineup and by being a veteran leader.  Just my guess.

Your post stands as a reminder of, if we were ever going to have a star player of his caliber, how lucky we have been to have him as our star.

He has had his personal demons, but on the whole he’s a good egg. And he seems intent on playing that mentor role for the next generation 

Edited March 27, 2022 by mtutiger

[Jim Cowan]

I like him but I have to smile about him making a sacrifice by moving around the infield.  According to Leyland at the time, Cabrera had been bugging him about playing third for quite a while before the Fielder trade.

I liked him at third.  If you hit it right to him he made all the plays, and he had a great arm.

[Tiger337]

15 minutes ago, Jim Cowan said:

I like him but I have to smile about him making a sacrifice by moving around the infield.  According to Leyland at the time, Cabrera had been bugging him about playing third for quite a while before the Fielder trade.

I liked him at third.  If you hit it right to him he made all the plays, and he had a great arm.

It was OK at the time.  He wasn't good, but he was adequate.  I think third base is becoming more of a position where they expect some range.  With all the shifts, it's harder to have a catch and throw guy at third base.    

[casimir]

13 hours ago, Jim Cowan said:

I like him but I have to smile about him making a sacrifice by moving around the infield.  According to Leyland at the time, Cabrera had been bugging him about playing third for quite a while before the Fielder trade.

I liked him at third.  If you hit it right to him he made all the plays, and he had a great arm.

True.  But he could’ve pulled an Inge about being moved from 3B to 1B because of Guillen’s poor feetwork.  He could’ve balked about moving back over to 3B to accommodate Fielder at 1B.  And he could’ve pushed back about Castellanos getting the 3B job which pushed Cabrera back to 1B.

It wasn’t all that long ago that there was some open wondering about how he would deal with eventually being phased out of 3/4 in the lineup.  There’s some natural denial that top athletes have to deal with about eroding skills and thinking that they still have some time before that sets in.  I’m not saying he should be thrown a parade for going along with what looks like the plan.  But we’ve seen other athletes bristle at the notion that they could lose what they assumed was their position in the lineup.