Shame comes to the “Righteous Franchise” in Detroit

Being that I’m the resident baseball geek at my place of employment (no one knows my name really, I’m just the crazy baseball girl on the east side of the building)  I was slightly shocked by the steady stream of foot traffic that made it’s way to my cubicle today.  “Did you hear about Miguel Cabrera?”  “Why would he do that?” “What was he thinking?” “He just lost my vote for MVP.” “I’m going home and burning my Cabrera jersey tonight…” “Did you know this was going on?” and various other forms of those statements were whispered to me as I tried to cut some purchase orders so my stores could have plants to sell.  My co-workers somehow think that because I am a super fan, I have the inside scoop on what is going on with every player on the team. Finally, about an hour before I left work, a co-worker came up to my cube and asked “What do you think about all this?” and I let him have it…

As a lifelong Tiger’s fan I have really never been so upset with one individual player in my entire life.  I feel sorry for his wife, his child, the Birmingham Police Department and all others involved that night.  But above all, I feel sorry for my fellow Tigers fans.  This season, we have poured our heart and souls into this team.  We have rearranged schedules to accommodate games.  We have scrimped and saved so we could go to games down at the CoPa.  We have had to sit through some amazing lows (like loosing 3 of the last 4 games of the season to send the AL Central to a tie breaker).

I can back a player who is having a hard time performing – as long as they are doing everything in their power to try to break the slump and return to form (yes I was a Magglio lover all season and he rewarded me with a .309 BA on the last game - big love to my boy Maggs!) However, I can in no way back a player who puts himself in a situation by his own hand to fail and take his team (and city) down with him.  This was the case with Miguel Cabrera during the last home stand against the Chicago White Sox. It was hard not to notice the production of Miguel Cabrera slipping on Saturday…  He looked sluggish and lethargic at the plate, slow at 1st.  People in the press noticed the marks and bruises on his face and he blamed it on his dog…  the fans smell a scandal… after ending the series on a low note (0-11 at the plate) and the Tigers squeaking into a playoff game, the truth comes out about Cabrera… Something’s rotten in the state of Detroit…

As it was reported by many sources earlier today, Miguel Cabrera went out carousing on the town (at a bar he was warned to stay out of in late August) with friends from the White Sox.  He had himself way to much to drink then went home and tried to fight with his wife.  Fortunately for his wife, she fought back and left him with some unsightly bruises on the left side of his face.  She apparently had an “abrasion on her lower lip”. The cops show up and she tells them to take him away – so they do.  He goes to the cop shop and blows a .26 at 6am and President and General Manager of the Tigers Dave Dombrowski has to come rescue him from the clink around 7:30-8am… Game time is 7:05pm.  That doesn’t leave a lot of time for sleeping, sobering up (.26 BAC requres alot of sobering up!), eating, warming up and taking batting practice now does it?

Crap hits the fan for “The Righteous Franchise” of Detroit (or so Sports Illustrated called us).  Why would a player put the opportunity to clinch their division in jeopardy for a night of boozing and carousing – WITH THE ENEMY NONE THE LESS!!!  Why couldn’t he just wait till after they had clinched?  Why did he have to lie to us?  Why did we fans have to sit through a cracker- jack stamped apology today on the 6 pm news?  Why did he have to let his team mates down?  Only Miguel Cabrera knows, and he’s not talking – not to anyone.

As for me – severe disappointment.  I have invested insane amounts of time, not to mention money, blogs written, sweat and tears into this team - and this is how I am repaid?!  I live and die by the progress of this team and apparently Mr. Cabrera doesn’t give a damn.  His party-hearty social life is far more important than the hopes and dreams of the citizens of the city he represents.  I feel disappointed, depressed, cheated and above all infuriated that the nation now has another reason to look down on the City of Detroit.  How could he do this to us?  After all we have been thru this season!!! AAAAAGGGGHHHH!  Now I want to punch him out too!!!

Miguel may never completely know the ramifications of his actions on that night last Friday.  He has disappointed his Team, his club name, the city he plays for and the fans that pay his salary through gate tickets.  Best advise for him at this moment is to go out there and crush that ball in the Twinkie bag on Tuesday.  If he has a phenomenal game, much of this infraction will not be remembered come April.  But If he goes in there committing errors and going 0-fer at the plate, Tigers fans will never let him forget it.  He may not be the only reason for the Tigers failure if they loose tomorrow – but he will definatley become the poster child of a team that could have been.  He deserves all the heat that he gets.

Shape up Cabrera, get your head together and think about someone and something that is bigger than yourself…