Before Game 6 last night, Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland talked about Cabrera’s injury saying, “It kind of breaks your heart, to be honest with you, to see him out there the way he’s hurting. He’s tough as nails. I have so much respect for him. Everybody is conscientious these days about people earning their money. You talk about somebody who is earning their money, this guy feels like he owes it to the Detroit Tigers and our fans to be out there."
The first clear example of Cabrera hurting was in Game 3 with one out, runners on first and third, the Red Sox leading 1-0 and Cabrera at the plate facing Junichi Tazawa. Tazawa pumped three 94 mph fastballs right by Cabrera (and one out of the zone), which would have never happened during the regular season.
Here’s the video of the at-bat:
Cabrera struck out, and the Tigers wouldn’t get another chance, losing the game, 1-0.
It happened again in Game 5. In the bottom of the first inning with two outs, with Cabrera on second, Johnny Peralta singled to left field. Detroit sent Cabrera home, and by the time he rounded third his hamstring had given out and he was thrown out at home by several steps.
Take a look:
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| Photo Credit: Nosebleeds |
Cabrera was tagged out, costing the Tigers a run, and the Boston Red Sox would go on to win the game by one run, 4-3, meaning that Cabrera being tagged out was the difference in the game. For the series, Cabrera hit .272 with one extra base hit and struck out seven times in six games.
If Miguel Cabrera had been Miguel Cabrera, we could have seen the Detroit Tigers winning the pennant last night, and not the Red Sox.
[Standing O Sports]
