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Miguel Cabrera’s bat finally woke up
Tuesday’s Say Hey, Baseball includes a big night from Miggy, Tyler Collins flipping the bird, and Bryce Harper’s Smithsonian selfie.
Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images
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Miguel Cabrera has had an uncharacteristically slow start to the season, but he tried to fix that all at once on Monday night. The Tigers' slugger went deep two times -- his first dingers since all the way back on April 8 -- and had four hits overall to help the Tigers snap a four-game skid. The Tigers desperately need this version of Cabrera to continue to show up to games, as they've lost seven of their last nine games after a strong start to the year and already find themselves four games back in the AL Central.
No one expected Cabrera to slump forever, of course. It’s fair to start to become concerned about a player who is 33 and has had the nagging injuries Cabrera has played through: at some point, he just might stop hitting, no matter how talented he was in the past. We can wait a little longer than a few weeks to start to worry about that happening, though, especially when Cabrera is coming off a season that’s nearly as good as anything else he’s produced in his career.
The Tigers have far bigger problems right now than just Cabrera’s slow start, but if he’s swinging the bat well again, some of those problems can likely be glossed over. That’s the kind of impact Cabrera can have on a lineup, and while he’s not going to hit two homers per night, he did lead the league in average and on-base percentage last summer, so he should still be able to get on base plenty for the Tigers’ purposes.
- If you just sit here all day long clicking through our Minor League Team Name Generator, no one would blame you.
- We're still 10 months away from the 2017 World Baseball Classic, but Francisco Lindor is ready to play for Puerto Rico.
- Tigers' outfielder Tyler Collins flipped off his own fans on Monday, then later apologized and said he was embarrassed by his actions. You think heel Stone Cold ever apologized for flipping the bird?
- Bryce Harper was at the Smithsonian on his off-day, and found a young fan wearing a Harper shirsey, whom he then took a secret photo of.
- Albert Pujols tied Reggie Jackson for 13th place on the all-time homer list on Sunday, and now he's all alone in 13th after hitting two more bombs on Monday. Next up, Rafael Palmeiro's 569.
- Sam Miller would like to know which bunts are missing.
- If you're wondering why the Red Sox haven't promoted top prospect Yoan Moncada to Double-A yet, you might want to consider the weather.
- Mike Trout is fantastic, but even he's not enough to save the Angels' lineup.
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