Cabrera Apologetic, Will Undergo Treatment

The much maligned slugger of the Detroit Tigers reported to camp this afternoon, one week late. After meeting with Tigers management, Miguel Cabrera addressed the media on the field at Joker Marchant Stadium.

Cabrera, speaking mostly through an interpreter (who happened to be Tigers assistant GM Al Avila), was apologetic, but declined to comment about the details of the incident last Wednesday evening, citing legal concerns of doing so.  Cabrera will be in camp from now on, he has been cleared to participate fully in team activities. General Manager Dave Dombrowski said the decision on when Cabrera will play in Grapefruit League games will come from manager Jim Leyland.

The media session went as expected. There were no great revelations here. When asked if he is an addict, Cabrera said that he’s not a doctor and couldn’t make that judgement. Dombrowski later alluded to this when he was asked the same question about Cabrera and added that “(Cabrera) is committed to fixing the problem.”

Basically the session was summed up beautifully by Alli of No Run Support.

Major League Baseball was involved in the examination of Cabrera over the past week. They issued a statement on the situation just before Cabrera began his media session.

"“Over the past several days, Miguel Cabrera has been evaluated by representatives of the Treatment Board jointly operated by the Commissioner’s Office and the MLBPA. Our Treatment Board is staffed by outstanding doctors who are experts in dealing with addiction issues. Mr. Cabrera has voluntarily cooperated and has been completely forthcoming in this process.“As a result of the evaluation, the Treatment Board has recommended a multifaceted, professionally administered program for Mr. Cabrera, which will include supervision as is necessary to ensure that he adheres to his program. Mr. Cabrera understands the importance of this program and is fully committed to the program. He also understands that any future alcohol-related incidents could involve more serious consequences.”"

So basically, that’s it. Cabrera will continue to receive treatment while he’s with the club. He was contrite, he said as much as he was comfortable saying, and he’ll meet with each of his teammates individually to apologize to them. He is hopeful that the fans will forgive him. When asked if there was a moment that he thought “What have I done?”, he responded “Everyday… everyday.”

People will make their own decisions about how to feel about Cabrera and his remarks today. I won’t waste my time fighting the ignorant views of others. Cabrera’s actions have allowed those people the ammunition and they have already chosen to use it against him. That’s unfortunate, but there’s nothing Cabrera will be able to do to change their minds about him. There’s nothing I’ll be able to write that will do so, either.

But Cabrera never owed me an apology, he doesn’t owe one to Dave Cameron, or Mitch Albom, or Jon Heyman, or any other writer, either. He owed, and has given, apologies to his family and his employers. If those people, the people that actually matter to this situation, are comfortable with Cabrera and how he will proceed, then that’s all that I need to hear.

No, I certainly don’t condone his actions. But people make mistakes, we are human beings after all. Thankfully, no one was hurt and Cabrera will be receiving, and is open to receiving, help with his issues. Isn’t that really the more important thing then us knowing for sure exactly how many times Cabrera has turned to the bottle? To me it is.

Hopefully, this will be the last time I have to cover this topic. If so, it means all is going well in Cabrera’s recovery.

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