Detroit Tigers: Do not piss off Miguel Cabrera

For anyone who follows the Detroit Tigers, there are two trains of thought that seem to seep through the consciousness of the fanbase when it comes to Miguel Cabrera. 

One thought that seems to be a hindrance to why the Tigers will not spend is because of his contract.  Fellow contributor Chris Mangum believes he’s a “curse”.   The other is because he is not a leader in the clubhouse.

The comments on social media about Miguel Cabrera and the visceral he brings out of the fanbase are depressing.  The guy is not perfect, and we are all too aware of his mistakes off the field. Based on the behavior of the front office, I even thought he should be traded because I thought when the DH rule was announced last season, I thought he would be a good choice.

Whatever you think of Miguel Cabrera, there is one thing you can’t question anymore. He does care and very self-aware.

The other piece of video yesterday that went up and made headlines was him calling out the White Sox for thinking the Tigers were passing signs from 2nd base. (Warning: The video contains foul language)

It’s more the foul language

The first thing I took away from answering Chris McCosky of the Detroit News was the first sentence I heard. ” I still got it”.  I am not going to pretend that was some thinly veiled comment towards the fan base but with Cabrera recently coming back from the IL, he has a chip on his shoulder.  He may not be the Triple Crown player but he knows what has, based on what is currently capable of.

He spoke out in the winter about playing first more and we all remember the first home run of the MLB season in the driving snow. Manager A.J. Hinch expressed his gratitude for having Miguel back in the lineup two days ago when the Tigers first got to Chicago.

Miguel has 11 home runs left before he gets to 500. While there has not been a team captain for the Tigers since 1915, Cabrera has clearly shown he does not need a “C” on his uniform. His teammates can count on him to speak his mind when he needs to.

You may not like the off-field issues he has had. But stop blaming the guy for the troubles on the team. It goes much further than his contract. I like someone who can speak their mind. Ian Kinsler was a good example of that and Carlos Guillén’s bat flip off Jared Weaver is one of the memorable moments in recent Tigers history.

It is a different approach postgame than the tired, old cliches that we always hear.