The Cabrera Situation

By now, I’m sure most of you are aware of the details that have been announced regarding the cuts and bruises on the face of Miguel Cabrera.  Several media outlets are reporting that he was removed from his home on Saturday morning after an altercation with his wife and that he blew a .26 on the breathalyzer.

Kurt Menching summed up his displeasure at Mack Avenue Tigersand J. Ellet Lambie wrote a compelling piece at Eye of the Tigers sharing his thoughts as well.

To theirs, I will only add this: It really isn’t any of our business.

That’s not to say I’m not disappointed in Cabrera, I am.  As a fan, it pains me when it becomes apparent that my stake in this team seems greater than the player’s.  If these games mean so much to me, they should mean more to the guys that are actually getting paid to win them.  Sometimes, that doesn’t seem to be the case, and that’s when the fans get upset.

I’m not going to bore you with some long-winded diatribe about how these guys just don’t get it, I’m sure that the vast majority of them do.  I don’t know Miguel Cabrera, I don’t know his personal life, nor do I feel entitled to.

I do know that to the fans, this situation appears to be counterproductive to winning a must-win game, and that’s why the fans are upset.  And I understand that feeling well.

Whatever happens in Cabrera’s home is his business, I don’t feel a pressing need to know what’s going on.  Neither should you.  As far as the disappointment/anger you have about the timing of his indiscretion, feel free to feel how you do, I have no problem with that.

I don’t know if Cabrera needs to apologize to the fans, as others have stated.  He didn’t get into an altercation with me, so I don’t feel an apology is neccessary.

What he does need to do is to put his circumstances out of his mind as best he can, and play the game of his life tomorrow.  Not because he owes the fans anything, though, but because he owes that to Mike Illitch and Dave Dombrowski and the Detroit Tigers.

And that’s no different from the way he should approach every game.