Tigers Octavio Dotel says Miguel Cabrera isn't a leader

By Sean Gagnier
 
Octavio Dotel has been on 13 teams and in 752 MLB games, meaning that he knows what goes on in the locker room and what needs to be said in crunch time. Which is perhaps why Dotel told Yahoo! Sports that teammate Miguel Cabrera was not a leader because he didn't call a team meeting during the World Series last season.

It is surprising that Dotel would bring this up during Spring Training, which is usually a happy time when there is very little controversy, but there could be a kernel of truth to this statement.

When Victor Martinez went down, there was an obvious leadership vacuum on the Tigers that was never really filled. The 2011 Tigers were lead by Martinez and his son "Little Victor," but 2012 brought with it no new leaders for Detroit.

General Manager Dave Dombrowski has said that his team lacks leadership before, and even manager Jim Leyland has said that Cabrera isn't vocal in the locker room and that his personality doesn't lend itself to being a clubhouse leader.

So take it as you may, but perhaps the wily veteran of 13 ballclubs could just be right, and the Tigers need to find themselves a new leader.

The argument in favor of WAR

By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier

When it came to the American League MVP race, the baseball world was split between two camps, those who supported the use of the words above replacement statistic and those who did not. Those who did support WAR were often ridiculed for using a stat that was too "high minded" or "too abstract."

While many WAR supporters did support Miguel Cabrera winning the AL MVP, there were others, such as myself, that believed that Mike Trout was more deserving of the award. Why? Because WAR accounts for much more than just three arbitrary stats that have been singled out as superior to others.

Yes, Cabrera did win the Triple Crown. But what exactly is the Triple Crown? It is when a player is atop the league in home runs, runs batted in and batting average, but who said that those are the three most important categories?

Leading the league in batting average, RBI and home runs is impressive, but it is akin to an accounting trick. No one thought what those stats meant when they were picked as the most important, they were just singled out and are now held higher than anything else.

But why? Those stats aren't nearly as good as people believe them to be. And just because they are easy to compute doesn't mean they are superior.

While home runs may be straightforward, one must take into account how each ballpark plays and look into whether a player is hitting balls out of Comerica Park or the bambox in the Bronx.That being said, it's hard to argue with the HR stat, it is what it is.

The RBI is perhaps the most overrated stat in all of baseball. Who said that getting other players to score is more important than scoring yourself? All an RBI means is that a player gets hits when someone else is on base, he didn't do the work of getting the runner on, he simply benefits from someone else being in position.

The Triple Crown completely ignores a player's contribution to the team defensively, as does most MVP voting, both of which leave out an incredibly important part of the game that can make or break a team. A player can be an offensive wizard, but if he is incapable of fielding then he will cost his team, and that is exactly what WAR attempts to account for.

Batting average, too, is a flawed stat in that it doesn't take into account each of a players plate appearances, only the ones in which they either got a hit or headed back to the dugout. While other stats take into account each time a player gets a hit, walks, gets hit by the pitch, flies out or strikes out. That is a more accurate picture of a players performance than batting average.

The only reason people understand the formula for batting average is because at-bats have adorned the back of baseball cards for a century. If Topps had printed Plate Appearances on baseball cards instead of At-Bats, this debate wouldn't be happening.

In WAR there are more complicated formulas, yes, but statisticians and computers do most of the calculations for the fan, which makes it very similar to the formula for batting average.

While there are flaws in WAR, it more accurately depicts a complete player than the Triple Crown categories. It attempts to level the playing field of "favored statistics" and factors in all factors of being a successful baseball player.

WAR is not, and should not, be the end all, be all stat. But it should be the starting point for any educated baseball fan. Any fan that dismisses WAR and then tries to say batting average, RBI and HR's mean something is a hypocrite.

Tigers Nick Castellanos Must Stay at Third Base

Originally published on http://blog.detroitathletic.com/

By Sean Gagnier

It’s no mystery that the Detroit Tigers have a gaping black hole at second base, with no sign of anyone being able to fill the void. The Tigers have tried using Scott Sizemore (although they gave up pretty fast), Will Rhymes, Ramon Santiago, Brandon Inge and Danny Worth and none of them have been able to step in and take control of the position. It is because of this that Tigers fans are grasping at straws trying to find some fix for second, but they’re favorite “solution” just won’t work.

No matter how much Tigers fans pine for and argue for it, Nick Castellanos will not and should not become the second baseman in Detroit. Yes, he is having an incredible offensive season, but he has never played second base, and contrary to public belief, it isn’t exactly an easy job to just start doing.

General Manager Dave Dombrowski has repeatedly said that Castellanos will continue to play third base in the minors, because that is what he is, a third baseman.

Some people point out that Castellanos is too big to play second. While he is 6’4” and 210 lbs, he isn’t the only big guy to have the option to play second; Cal Ripken, Jr. was a big guy too and he played shortstop.
But his size isn’t the factor; he’s just too good of a prospect at third base for them to be messing with. Think about Evan Longoria, and you have a good comparison for Castellanos. In 298 at-bats during the 2012 season (through late June), Castellanos has 113 hits, a .379 batting average, with a .421 on-base percentage, .544 slugging and .965 on-base percentage plus slugging.

He’s on fire this season, having moved up from Single-A Lakeland to Double-A Erie and hasn’t missed a beat. While he should not be hurried along to the majors any time soon, he is proving that he truly is the “can’t miss” prospect that the Tigers think he is.

But how do the Tigers use him when they are ready to have him in the majors? They have an All-Star in Miguel Cabrera at third base and another All-Star, who they just invested more than $200 million in at first in Prince Fielder. Where does Castellanos fit in? the answer? Right where he is – at third base.

Victor Martinez (remember him?) has two years remaining on his contract in Detroit, once that expires Tigers fans should expect to see Castellanos joining the major league club. When healthy, Martinez is a great designated hitter, hitting over .400 last season with runners in scoring position and filling in for Alex Avila early in the year to give him some rest. But Martinez will be 35, going on 36, in 2014 and will not be worth the amount of money he will want in a new deal.

Castellanos fills that hole left by Martinez for Detroit. The Tigers have seen that Fielder is, to put it nicely, not the best defensively at first base, and Cabrera is not much better at third. However, when Cabrera was at first base he fielded his position well, which is why he needs to be placed back there.

With Cabrera back at first base and Castellanos filling his vacated position at third base, that leaves Fielder without an every day job. While he has said that he does not want to be a designated hitter, his defensive play has shown that he should not be the everyday first baseman because he will cost the team runs. At DH he can contribute offensively, which he has been able to do this season, without costing Detroit runs in the field.

If that scenario plays out – and it’s the best path for the Tigers to follow – come ’14 the club will feature a lineup of Miggy at 1B, Fielder at DH, and Castellanos at 3B.

What Do Tigers Do With Nick Castellanos?

By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier 

At the beginning of the 2012 season many Tigers fans were lamenting their team's defense, it was thought that the Miguel Cabrera experiment at third base wouldn't last 100 games because of his poor play - now that that has been proven false the Tigers are left with a problem, what to do with star third base prospect Nick Castellanos.

The Tigers are high on Castellanos, which explains why they drafted him 44th overall in the 2010 MLB Draft, but they drafted him as a third baseman and eventual replacement for Brandon Inge. Well, two things have changed. Inge is no longer with the team, and an all-star took his spot at third for the foreseeable future.

General Manager Dave Dombrowski has said in the past that they would continue to develop Castellanos as a third baseman, but that was before Cabrera showed that he could field the hot corner admirably. The question has continued to press on Dombrowski about Castellanos' future; he was moved from Single-A West Michigan to Single-A+ Lakeland this season and has tore the place up.

The Lakeland Flying Tigers have played Castellanos in all 34 games this season, at third base, but in those games he has had 134 at-bat's and has responded with a .403 batting average a .450 on-base percentage and a 1.009 on-base percentage plus slugging. In short, he's really good.

It is obvious that it is time to move Castellanos up a league to Double-A Erie, but when that move comes does he make the trip to Pennsylvania as a third baseman, shortstop or second baseman? With Cabrera occupying the hot corner at present and looking like he likely won't relinquish it any time soon it appears that Castellanos needs to be moved to a new position, but what?

Detroit just resigned Jhonny Peralta to a two-year extension, which means that shortstop is filled for the time being but that could change in the next couple of seasons. Castellanos has played shortstop in his baseball career, it was in the distant past, but not impossible for him to move one spot over.

Second base is where the Tigers have the overwhelming majority of their problems at the moment. Currently on the major league roster Detroit has three "second basemen," in Ryan Raburn, Ramon Santiago and Danny Worth. Raburn has set a new standard for poor play this season, so he is clearly no threat to Castellanos. Santiago has been, and remains, a utility player and backup at best, meaning that he is not and never will be an every day player.

Worth is still a bit of an enigma for Detroit as they have not gotten him enough at-bat's to be able to tell what they have in him, but even if he settles in and solves the Tigers problems at second for the time being, it would be hard to favor him over the kind of talent that Castellanos brings.

According to Baseball America, Castellanos is the Tigers second best prospect in their system right behind Jacob Turner. He is also ranked as the best hitter for average and best power hitter in the Tigers entire farm system. The projections came out prior to the Prince Fielder deal and Cabrera's shift to third base, but Baseball America has Castellanos projected to be the Tigers 2015 starting third baseman.

The same projection of the 2015 Tigers has Santiago as the starting second baseman, meaning that Detroit has no other options at that position. So if Cabrera, who is projected to be the 2015 first baseman, will still be playing and Detroit has no better options at second than Santiago, then Castellanos may have just found his spot.

Castellanos is not built in the typical second baseman form, he stands 6'4" and weighs 220 lbs., quite big for a second baseman. Although it is not unheard of for a second baseman to be 6'4", Cal Ripken was also 6'4" and 200 lbs., it is rare. With his power, a switch to second would draw comparisons of Dan Uggla for Castellanos.

Uggla stands 5'11" and weighs 205 lbs., but a comparison of Castellanos to Uggla would be a fair one. Both are power hitters who can field their position. Both have extra base power, after 34 games in Lakeland Castellanos has 15 extra base hits and both have obscenely good OPS numbers.

At third base Castellanos has drawn comparisons to Evan Longoria. Longoria is 6'2" and 210 lbs. and possesses the kind of power that many players dream of. If Castellanos can draw comparisons to both Longoria and Uggla, the Tigers need to hold onto him and treat him like the once in a lifetime prospect that he is.

Miguel Cabrera Stars in "La Cueva del Fanatico"

By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier 

In their recent trip to New York City several of the Tigers paid visits to the MLB Fan Cave; Justin Verlander surprised a young fan and Miguel Cabrera and Collin Balester starred in a MLB Fan Cave telenovela production of "La Cueva del Fanatico."

The title translates to, "The Fan Cave," and features many of the members of the fan cave along with Cabrera and Balester. Cabrera fits right in as the prototypical Spanish soap opera villians in his role as "Miggy Pocco." With bat in hand and eye patch on Cabrera threatens the fan cavers until Jon Glaser, posing as Jim Leyland steps in and tells him, "they aren't worth it."

Balester is involved in a love triangle with two of the fan cavers, and his love leaves her beau to be with Balester who plays the role of "The Tourist" in La Cueva del Fanatico.

Cabrera ultimately ends up killing one of the members of the fan cave and throws him down a slide before Glaser's Jim Leyland dies in Cabrera's arms.

The telenovela ends with the remaining cavers and Balester standing around an apparently dead Miggy Poco; when one of the cavers asks if he is dead Cabrera opens his eyes causing screams and the episode ends.

One can only hope that when the Tigers return to the Big Apple Balester and Cabrera reprise their roles in a sequel. You can see the whole video on MLBfancave.com.

These Tigers Lack Leadership

By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier

With expectations high and coming off a torrid start to the 2012 season the Detroit Tigers have fallen on hard times, winning just one game in their last home stand against the Texas Rangers and Seattle Mariners. In past years when the Tigers hit a slump they turned to their leaders in the clubhouse, notably Ivan Rodriguez, and until this past season, Carlos Guillen.

These leaders in the clubhouse were able to rally the team around them and break down the issues effecting the team. When the team would struggle offensively Rodriguez and Guillen would assemble the team and give them a kind of pep talk that only a teammate could give. A kind of players only meeting that would kick start the bats and propel the team out of the slump they were in.

The Tigers are in another slump, but this time, there is no leader to turn to. There is no player that can command the respect of the clubhouse and give this team the kick in the pants that they so desperately need. Manager Jim Leyland has tried everything under the sun to get his team to produce and nothing is working; what is needed is for a player to step up and take command of this team.

Typically the short stop becomes the captain of the infield and thus commands the respect of much of the team, but Jhonny Peralta does not seem to have the swagger and bravado needed to become the leader in the clubhouse that this team needs. He is the captain of the infield, but his leadership doesn't go much beyond that.

On many teams the star player is the clubhouse coach, Detroit has that in spades but their top player is Miguel Cabrera and he doesn't seem to have much interest in any leadership roles. After his DUI incident in Florida, Cabrera took an even more hands-off approach than usual. He is a quiet leader is the clubhouse, choose to lead by example than with his words. This team needs a vocal leader to get in their face and snap them out of their funk.

Outfielders are vary rarely the leader of the team, they are generally too far away from the action, in-game, to effect much change and as such their words don't usually carry the same weight as those coming from an infielder.

Prince Fielder is a big asset to Detroit, he provides a big source of power and a quality first base, but, like Cabrera he tends to be on the quiet side and shies away from the leadership position. Fielder would much rather lead others by going out and hitting one over the right field wall than to give a fiery speech in the dugout.

Justin Verlander is the face of this Tigers team, but he plays just once every five days and even then is not directly in the game, he initiates the play and then the rest of the team finishes the play behind him. Verlander could give some pep talks to the club, but they would not be all that effective given his position.

There is only one player that could become the leader of this team, Alex Avila. That is a lot of responsibility to place on the third year catcher as he already has to run the pitching staff and catch the majority of games. But he has proven that he has the grit that other players respect, playing much of the 2011 post season on one leg due to injuries.

Avila must step up and shoulder this next responsibility in order to improve this team. He has shown in the past that he is willing to do whatever it takes as long as it benefits the team as a whole, and Detroit needs this.

Tigers Cabrera Catches White Sox Batter's Box Mistake

By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier 

While it may not have been on purpose, it was, after all, opening day for the U.S. Cellular Field grounds crew, Detroit Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera proved that he has more baseball smarts than many gave him credit for. When he stepped into the batters box in the first inning of the Tigers game with the White Sox on Friday he, wasn't actually, in the box.

Cabrera's back foot was more than six inches out of the back of the batters box. While he does tend to hang out at the extreme back of the box, and rub out the back line, Cabrera knows where he can and can't stand. And he was right. After digging in, he notified the umpire that he believed the box was not the correct size.

The batters box had been shifted up about six inches, a brilliant move if you don't get caught. The move would force sluggers such as Cabrera that feed on fastballs to sit closer to the middle of the plate. That shift would give them less time to decide on a pitch and pull the trigger.

Other batters, such as Chicago's Alexi Ramirez are thrown a steady diet of breaking pitches and like to dig in at the front of the box. A shift of the box up would allow them to get their bat on the ball before the pitch began to break when it reaches the plate.

Major League Baseball rules state that the "batters box shall extend for three feet forward of home plate and three feet behind home plate." With three feet on each side of the plate batters are free to move forward and back to find the right feel for their batting style.

Cabrera is a veteran and he knows when something is wrong, and when his back foot was beyond the chalk in the first inning, he let someone know about it. After convincing home plate umpire Adrian Johnson of the mistake the U.S. Cellular Field grounds crew were called out to rechalk the batters box with the umpires observing the process.

White Sox starter Jake Peavy had struck out the Tigers one and two hitters in Austin Jackson and Brennan Boesch prior to Cabrera alerting the umpires to the mistake. One may think that this mistake could have caused Jackson and Boesch to be late on their swings, which they were, and could have helped Peavy record those first two outs.

While that looks to be the case, it more than likely was a simple mistake by a grounds crew chalking the field for the first time this season and not any conspiracy. But next time you see a batter dig into the box, take more time to check out his feet and make sure the chalk is where it's supposed to be.

Cabrera Says He's Ready, Hoping for Good Evaluation on Tuesday

By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier 

After taking a wicked hop to the face off a solidly struck Hunter Pence hit, Detroit Tigers Miguel Cabrera feared the worse, not being able to play this season. Once the ball had hit his sunglasses he quickly tossed them aside and according to Brandon Inge, he "started to panic" when he saw the amount of blood coming from his upper cheek.

The Tigers trainer Kevin Rand sprinted to Cabrera to towel off the blood and calm the slugger down as they walked him off the field and into the Joker Marchant Stadium locker room. Once inside the club house the paramedics were called and Cabrera was transported to the nearest hospital to receive stitches and x-rays.

After being stitched up the doctors reviewed the x-rays and determined that Cabrera had suffered a fracture of the orbital floor of his right eye. This injury, while frightening, will not hold Cabrera out for the season and according to those in Lakeland, Fla. with the Tigers it isn't stopping the Tigers third baseman from attempting to get back into games already.

As much as Manager Jim Leyland would have loved to have penciled in Cabrera's name into one of his roster sheets this past week he followed the doctors orders and held Cabrera out of all team activities as to not aggravate his injury.

When he was taken to the hospital last Monday the doctors told Cabrera that he was not to participate in any physical activities with the team for one week and then be reevaluated, Mar. 27, to determine if he was healthy enough to rejoin the team.

If Cabrera would have had any say in things he would have been on the field days ago - with the swelling down Cabrera says he feels fine and wants to get back into the game as soon as he can. The Tigers and Cabrera can only wait and hope that the doctors agree with their slugger and he can trot out onto the field a few more times before heading north.

 

Cabrera Sidelined Up to Two Weeks

In the first inning of the Detroit Tigers game against the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday, Hunter Pence hit a line drive towards third base that took a hop just before reaching Miguel Cabrera. Cabrera had reached the perfect position to play the ball but once it took the hop it ricocheted up and into his cheek just below his right eye.

It was a scary scene as the slugger tossed away his sunglasses and began to notice the blood streaming down his face and soaking his uniform. Brandon Inge quickly got over to his teammate to attempt to calm him down, saying that once Cabrera noticed the amount of blood he began to panic.

Inge and pitcher Max Scherzer calmed Cabrera as Tigers trainer Kevin Rand raced out to help the slugger. The ball had impacted Cabrera's sunglasses even leaving seam marks impressed on the plastic frames. Doctors at the hospital where Cabrera was transported said that he was lucky to have had the glasses on as they may have saved him from a full orbital fracture.

Tigers General Manager Dave Dombrowski said that while Cabrera was at the hospital he received eight stitches in his cheek and x-ray's revealed a slight fracture in the orbital floor under his right eye. The fracture, known as a non-displaced orbital fracture, will sideline Cabrera anywhere from a week to two weeks.

Cabrera will be held from activities for a week at which time he will be reevaluated to check the healing process of the orbital bone, if he is cleared he could resume drills and activities in a week or two.

Things could have been much worse for Cabrera and the Tigers as he had only begun wearing sunglasses in the last few game prior to the injury. He began wearing the Oakley sunglasses after teammate Ramon Santiago told him that he might be able to be a better fielder if he started wearing shades.

The sunglasses had only recently arrived and Cabrera was only wearing them for the third time, needless to say he will need a new pair. It is safe to say that because he was wearing the sunglasses Cabrera may have saved not only his season but his vision. Injuries to the orbital bone can typically effect the vision.

Manager Jim Leyland said that Cabrera looked like a prizefighter who wasn't doing so well after taking the liner to the face but reiterated to the ESPN crew that was interviewing him that Cabrera was his third baseman and that the ball would have caught any third baseman in the face.

While having the American League batting champion sitting on the bench is not what the Tigers want, it is better than the alternative of having him on an operating table and an eye patch on for the entirety of the season.