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Cabrera's cuts indicative of Tigers' late swoon

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Jon Paul Morosi

Jon Paul Morosi is a national MLB writer for FOXSports.com. He previously covered baseball for the Detroit Free Press and Seattle Post-Intelligencer. He began his journalism career at the Bay City Times in his native Michigan. Follow him on Twitter.

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Updated Oct 4, 2009 2:25 AM ET
     
 

DETROIT

In some ways, Miguel Cabrera is the face of the Tigers. And right now, that face is cut, scratched and puffy. The Tigers don't look much better. They lost again Saturday, 5-1, to the Chicago White Sox. The defeat dropped Detroit into a first-place tie with the Minnesota Twins entering the final scheduled day in the meandering American League Central race. The Twins have won three straight, including a dramatic 5-4 victory over the Royals on Saturday. The Tigers have lost three straight. And if those trends continue, the Yankees will be visiting the Metrodome at this time next week. In the midst of what could become one of the worst collapses in baseball history — more on that later — Detroit's most important hitter reported to work Saturday with a curious-looking countenance. There were red scratches along the left side of his face. There was a scrape on his lip. These marks were not present when he spoke with the media following Friday's game. But they were there less than 24 hours later, obvious enough that several teammates came over to his locker before the game to take a look. Cabrera told several reporters after Friday's game that he was going home to relax and get ready to play the next game. Somewhere, those plans apparently ran afoul. Before the game, I approached Cabrera and inquired as to what happened. He looked puzzled. He asked why I would want to know. I repeated the question, making it clear that his face, well, had some stuff on it that wasn't there before. And this, folks, is what he said next: "It was my dog." He emphasized that he was talking about a fairly big dog. He ended the interview soon afterward with help from Magglio Ordoñez, who made it clear that Cabrera wanted to be left alone. Then Cabrera went 0-for-4 in the Tigers' listless loss. A combined six runners were on base when his at-bats began. Cabrera couldn't blame the dog for that. In one bizarre sideshow, during the final weekend of the season, we might have the best explanation yet as to why the Twins have rallied from a seven-game September deficit.
It was only Thursday afternoon, after a rare scene of on-field infighting between Twins players Delmon Young and Jose Mijares, that Minnesota players (save Mijares) stood in front of their lockers and talked about the odd way their victory ended. They didn't dodge the awkward questions. They were accountable for what took place. The Tigers could learn a lesson from them. Ordoñez declined comment after Saturday's game — for a second straight night. And Cabrera, who has otherwise shown signs of maturity this year, was nowhere to be found. He left the clubhouse without speaking to reporters. The team's official response was peculiar. When asked about Cabrera's cuts after the game, manager Jim Leyland said, "I didn't see it." So, we forwarded the question to Kevin Rand, the team's head athletic trainer. But a team spokesman said Rand didn't see Cabrera on Saturday. Really? Rand didn't see him? Not in the clubhouse, while Cabrera was sitting at his locker before the game? Not in the dugout? It didn't catch his attention that the most important player on the team had a series of cuts on his face? He didn't see him? Well, the players did. And they were as confused as the reporters. "It's fair to ask," shortstop Adam Everett said. "I don't know. That's the thing. I really don't know. Honestly, I wish I could tell you. I have no idea what happened." "No clue," third baseman Brandon Inge seconded. Of course, none of this would matter much if Cabrera were hitting. But he isn't. Three times on Saturday, his at-bats ended an inning in which runners had been on base. Cabrera saw nine pitches on Saturday and swung at seven of them. He didn't hit the ball out of the infield. It looked a lot like his performance on Friday — another 0-for-4. "He had a bad day, that's all," hitting coach Lloyd McClendon said. "I don't know what's going on there, honestly," Everett said. "I'm sure he'll come ready to play tomorrow." Cabrera's worst showing came in the eighth inning — the one time that the mostly silent crowd of 35,184 had reason to be excited. After 16 scoreless innings, the Tigers got their first run of the series when Placido Polanco singled home Everett. That made it 4-1. And there was one out with men on first and second when Cabrera came to the plate. The first four hitters of the inning took the first pitch and went on to have good at-bats. Cabrera, on the other hand, bit on the first pitch he saw. The result was a ground ball to shortstop Alexei Ramirez for a 6-4-3 double play. Inning over. Did Cabrera miss a take sign? No, McClendon said. Cabrera had the green light. "Sure," McClendon said. "He's our guy. He got a pitch. He squared it up. He just didn't get it up. "Like I told our guys, 'Come tomorrow, there's no struggles. It makes no difference what you did in the past.' We've got to grind at-bats out and get a win. It's that simple." And if they don't, well, history might be waiting for them. According to research by STATS LLC, no team has been in first place from May 10 onward and lost a division title in the final week. Sunday, or in a one-game playoff in Minneapolis on Tuesday, the Tigers could become the first. When play began Saturday, the Twins still needed help to make the playoffs. And they got it — first from Royals manager Trey Hillman and later from the Tigers themselves. Hillman made two decisions on Saturday afternoon that were well-received in the Twin Cities and probably cursed across Michigan. He permitted ace Zack Greinke to pitch to Joe Mauer with first base open and the go-ahead run at third base with two out in the sixth(mistake). He later kept rookie left-hander Dusty Hughes in the game to face righty slugger Michael Cuddyer when Juan Cruz was ready in the eighth (bigger mistake). Mauer punched a run-scoring single to right. Cuddyer homered. And that pretty much did it. After nightfall, the Tigers obliged with another night of lousy hitting. Over their last three games, they are batting .211 with runners in scoring position. "Maybe if they tense up a little, maybe they'd be better," Leyland said. "I don't know the answer." To be fair, this could all change quickly. Justin Verlander, who has stood tall in his finest season yet, will pitch for the Tigers on Sunday. The Twins will entrust their postseason hopes to Carl Pavano, who was rocked by Detroit in his last outing. But the damage might already be done. Cabrera, the highest-paid player in Tigers history, arrived for his team's biggest game of the season with a bruised-up face. He left with no hits and no postgame explanation for the paying customers of a sports-loving, recession-weakened state. If you believe in karma, then you probably believe in the Minnesota Twins.
Tagged: Delmon Young, Alexei Ramirez, Joe Mauer, Carl Pavano, Juan Cruz, Placido Polanco, White Sox, Miguel Cabrera, Tigers, Justin Verlander, Royals, Brandon Inge, Twins, Yankees, Adam Everett, Dusty Hughes, Zack Greinke, Michael Cuddyer

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