Everyone knows it - Miguel Cabrera has had a tough year. I'm an optimist, but that doesn't mean I deny reality. Something is wrong, but I believe it will be fixed and he'll be back to a more normal Cabrera next year. But based on the things I'm hearing, even resting for an off-season might work for a short time and not solve the issues.
The fact of the matter is, Cabrera has dealt with injuries and played through them the past few years. Playing nine innings is not easy. He won't say much until the season is over, but there have been allusions made that he hurts when he's standing out in the field. So my solution is simple - make him the DH. The details of that transition may be a little more complex, but the idea isn't.
Victor Martinez is currently the DH, but he only has one year left on his contract, and with his health issues this season, the possibility exists that he could retire after the current season ends. No one knows.
The Tigers don't want to lose Miguel Cabrera's bat and I don't think it's gone. Maybe he does just need rest and thanks to the year we are having, he'll get plenty of it. (See, there is my optimism coming out :).
It's not like we have a first baseman waiting in the wings, but that is less important than figuring out a way to get Miggy back to being Miggy. I'm sure he and the Tigers are going to be looking at everything they can. They don't need my opinion, but I thought I'd throw it out there for us lay people to mull over.
(Photo credit: mine)
There is a Detroit Free Press article (pardon the word usage) that makes the case that, when JaCoby Jones is healthy, the Tigers have a dilemma: is their outfield going to be know for it's offense or defense?
The dilemma stems from Jones himself, a premier defender, possibly one of the best centerfielders in the game, but a poor batter (at least for now in the Majors). His fill ins, Jim Aducci, Tyler Collins, & Andrew Romine, are better batters (again, at least for now) but poorer defenders (comparatively).
I would make a counter argument to the Freep article - we don't have to choose.
Looking at defense, Jones is a great one by all accounts. Lloyd McClendon sings his praises (something we're told rarely happens) and Jones has looked good in center in his time in Detroit. However, all that does not make the other options bad. The sport writer community here in Detroit seems to believe that Collins or Aducci in the outfield is a liability. (Romine generally plays infield, but he has shown some skill in the outfield too, of course). Now, I don't have all the numbers, but numbers can be misleading. Supposedly, we have a below-average outfield when we are healthy. I have a very hard time believing that, but that's for another time. Putting Collins, Aducci, or even Mahtook in the outfield is not a liability. They're not going to hurt you out there. Maybe they won't make a play that Jones would have made, but they aren't Jones. Not everyone is a premier defender or they wouldn't call them premier.
If you read the article, Seidel gives the example of a ball Collins laid out for and couldn't quite haul in. The opinion is expressed that Jones probably would have made the catch, saving the runs and the Tigers would have won. Maybe. Maybe Jones would have caught that ball and those particular runs wouldn't have scored, but other runs could have and we had the opportunity to win in the 9th and didn't capitalize. It was a close game and we just lost.
Switching over to offense, Jones was struggling a bit before he went on the DL. Not really surprising, considering the Tigers wanted to leave him at Triple A at least for the beginning of the year, until J.D. got hurt. He's a rookie trying to hit Major League pitching. I think we should expect some struggles. Collins has been hitting well, Aducci is on fire (he'll most likely come down out of the atmosphere at some point), and Romine is, well, Romine. Enough said. Mahtook has a low batting average, but he's also not had much playing time. If the Tigers went with Jones, our lineup is able to handle it if he struggles. But would that be good for Jones?
In the spring, the Tigers kept saying they wanted Jones to develop more before coming up. An injury forced their hand, but with Collins and Aducci doing so well, why not just leave Jones in Toledo until you need him? If Aducci begins to struggle, then call Jones back. (There might be something in here about how many options Jones has, but I know nothing about that, so I can't address it).
My thought is this: Collins and Aducci are solid in the outfield and are hitting. If you stick with them, you'll be fine. Jones is stellar in center and we could deal with him struggling. I don't see major issues with either choice and I don't think we'd be harmed by either one. Might one be better for us? Maybe. But then we are picking from two viable options, not which one will be less damaging.
Miguel Cabrera? J.D. Martinez? JaCoby Jones? Who are they?
It's never good to lose players to the DL, especially for a lengthy period of time, but it's always made easier when your replacement players step up to the plate (no pun intended). That is EXACTLY what John Hicks and Jim Aducci have done for the Tigers.
Not that there is room for them to stay, but when our starters get back, I think it's going to be hard to send these guys back down. They've hit well and been plus defenders. We certainly weren't hindered by them in any way. Now, we definitely miss our starters and I'm super excited that Cabrera is coming back today, but it is nice to know that we have such capable players to call upon when there are injuries.
Do you have a topic you'd like me to talk about here? A certain aspect of the Tigers or baseball you'd like to know my thoughts on? Send me an email at smylinggirly.blog@gmail.com, or leave your question in the comments!
