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Jim Leyland sounds adamant about playing Miguel Cabrera every day, for nine full innings, at third base. But it's early and things might look a lot different next summer.
Jan 27, 2012 - Prediction: When the Detroit Tigers open the second half of the 2012 season in Baltimore, Maryland, Miguel Cabrera will not be in the lineup at third base.
Thanks for coming, everyone; please drive safely on your way home!
Nah, there's more. I'm not as clever as some of the other wits in these parts. I gotta expound. But first, see if you can spot the really hilarious part -- unless you're Brandon Inge, or a Detroit Tiger who pitches baseball for a living -- in this tweet:
@JimBowdenESPNxm
JIM BOWDEN Jim Leylands lineup as of today: " Jackson CF;Boesch RF;Cabrera 3B;Fielder 1B;Young LF;Avila C;Peralta SS;Dirks/Thomas/Kelly DH Raburn 2B"
Favorite Retweet
You think Bowden's just making things up, because he can? Via Joanne C. Gerstner in The New York Times, we have an unimpeachable source regarding the Detroit manager's thinkings:
He already knows what his preferred lineup would be: 1. Austin Jackson, 2. Brennan Boesch, 3. Cabrera, 4. Fielder, 5. Delmon Young, 6. Alex Avila, 7. Jhonny Peralta, 8. Andy Dirks or Clete Thomas or Don Kelly, and 9. Ryan Rayburn.
"I’ve got a lot of nice pieces to the puzzle, now it’s my job to put it together," Leyland said.
Imagine a world in which Prince Fielder, Miguel Cabrera, and Delmon Young are on the same AL team and someone else is the designated hitter.
Any time you can put a potential -40 defender on the field so that Don Kelly can DH, you have to do it.
Not just put him there; leave him there! For the whole game, even if you're up 2-1 in the bottom of the ninth with a ground-ball pitcher on the mound! If you believe Jim Leyland, anyway.
All of this was occasioned by Thursday's press conference, in which the Tigers introduced their new first baseman to the world. And apparently Prince Fielder, who of course was promised first base all to himself before signing for nine years and $214 million, isn't at all concerned about pushing Miggy to third base.
Fielder: "I'm confident in Miguel doing a good job. That's where he started out, at third base." Which is why Chipper should play shortstop
See what he did there? And Chipper's not the only one. Alex Rodriguez started out at shortstop. So did Mike Morse. Alfonso Soriano started out at second base. Jim Thome started out at third base. Victor Martinez started out at catcher. So did Pablo Sandoval. Art, we can do this all day long.
Finally, just as silly as Miguel Cabrera - Third Base ...
So to be clear, the Tigers lost their starting DH, went out and signed Prince Fielder, and now all they need is... a DH?
#misconfused
What, you don't think Andy Dirks and/or Clete Thomas and/or Don Kelly are up to the job?
Remember my prediction? I think that Dave Dombrowski and perhaps even Jim Leyland know that Miguel Cabrera has little or no business at third base; if he did, he wouldn't have left there in the first place. I think they also want to keep their biggest star -- well, now their second-biggest star, technically speaking -- happy, and if that means playing third base on Opening Day, so be it.
If you need actual evidence that this is largely about Cabrera's feelings, here's the wrap of an interview in which Leyland supposedly said he wouldn't bump Cabrera from third base, even in the late innings of a close game?
I think that within two or three months, it will become apparent to everyone, including Cabrera, that third base just isn't a happy place for him. He might volunteer for a happier place, or his manager might just send him there. And when it happens, Brandon Inge and a bunch of pitchers will throw a big honking party to celebrate a glorious Triumph of Reason.
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Comments
Just asking...
…if the Tigers swap Cabrera’s and Don Kelly’s positions (3B and DH), won’t their defense still be pretty awful?
Twitter: @bgrosnick
Writer at RotoHardball
by Bryan Grosnick on Jan 27, 2012 11:21 AM EST reply actions
It seems that
all of the options at 3B are pretty ugly no?
Cabrera aside, was worth less than 1 WAR last year, and Inge was worth negative WAR.
Ugly.
by aronofsky40 on Jan 27, 2012 11:39 AM EST reply actions
Cabrera aside, Kelly was worth
that should read.
by aronofsky40 on Jan 27, 2012 11:39 AM EST up reply actions
Cabrera is a superior player to Fielder.
It must irk Miggy having to adapt to Fielder’s desires, rather than the other way around. Fielder gets paid more, but we’ll see who provides more value. It will be interesting to witness how Cabrera handles playing second fiddle despite being the best player on the club.
Crum-Bum Beat
by Curley Bender on Jan 27, 2012 12:03 PM EST reply actions
Leyland on Mike and Mike this morning
Not only is this a pyschological ploy on Cabrera, but also on Victor Martinez. Leyland stated point blank during the interview that Martinez is having surgery today and he doesn’t want him to have to wonder if he’s been kicked to the curb while going under the knife and then also during rehab. If Leyland came right out and said Cabrera can’t play 3b and is the everyday DH, not only do you have an upset Cabrera but you also have an upset Martinez.
Baseball players have feeling too, ya know.
by sparty316 on Jan 27, 2012 1:07 PM EST reply actions
Jim Bowden's Positions
I’d like to know where the positions came from in Jim Bowden’s tweet. The batting order is correct and came from Leyland speaking at the press conference to announce Fielder. I don’t remember Leyland saying anything about positions, maybe I just missed it. My assumption would be that Young will be doing a fair share of the DH duties and left field will be a combination of Dirks, Thomas, or Kelly. Ramon Santiago will also, I assume, see a fair bit of time at second base which will probably move Raburn out to left. So, yeah, Leyland is going to keep his stars as happy as possible by giving them 1st and 3rd, at least until they prove that they can’t handle it. I think it may be a bit of a stretch to assume Dirks, Thomas, or Kelly will be sharing DH duties though.
by grath on Jan 27, 2012 1:36 PM EST reply actions
The Bunt
Has anyone thought about this? Between Cabrera and Fielder manning the corners, Adam Dunn can get bunt hits whenever he wants!
by M.Daniyal Farrukh on Jan 27, 2012 2:43 PM EST reply actions
BP article
Jay Jaffe had a good article on BP this morning laying out how:
1) Cabrera’s bad defense is actually less harmful at 3B than it is at 1B (in terms of roster construction); and
2) there is zero correlation (literally, 0.0) b/t infield corner defense and winning.
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=15914
It seems like the Tigers have more to gain on defense by getting Delmon Young out of LF than they would by sticking Cabrera at DH. Moving Raburn and/or a platoon to LF, Young to DH (until they find a real one) and Santiago to 2B with Cabrera at 3B actually looks like their best lineup with the roster they currently have.
by chinesebandits on Jan 27, 2012 2:55 PM EST reply actions
What Cabrera lacks in range
Will be made up for with a powerful lineup. He’ll make most of the plays he needs to, and that’s fine.
But Bowden’s positions are flat out wrong. Delmon is DH… Kelly/Dirks/Thomas are fighting for the LF job. An article based on one dude being wrong?
Must be a slow news cycle if the only thing people can talk about is how the Tigers are dooooooooomed because of defense. Why not talk about how the Yankees are still running Jeter out at SS?
by Oberon on Jan 27, 2012 3:01 PM EST reply actions
Let's not forget Victor Martinez, 2013
That’s four DH’s making 70 million between them…on the same team. And the one guy who CAN play 1B decently…is the third option (Martinez).
by Scarecrow13 on Jan 29, 2012 6:08 AM EST reply actions
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