Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #697 - Miguel Cabrera Milestone - 1000 XBH
Hi Mom,
I am approaching a milestone for the blog, and last night, Miguel Cabrera reached a milestone in Baseball. (I would like to remind everyone, and you, Mom, that I capitalize Baseball because I think of it like a religion, and one capitalizes those names.)
I am on the eve of day 700 since you passed away, Mom.
Last night, Miguel Cabrera knocked two doubles and his 1000th extra base hit (XBH) in his Baseball career. As the graphic shows, he's the 39th player in major league history to launch 1000 or more extra base hits. Current players who have achieved this milestone include Albert Pujols (1223), Adrian Beltre(1074), and Carlos Beltran (1052). Here's the LIST.
Obviously, Hank Aaron (1477) tops the list followed by the controversial, drug-enhanced Barry Bonds (1440). Alex Rodriguez who will surely be elected to the Hall of Fame, or should be despite the controversy surrounding his career, which is the same conundrum as with Bonds, sits at 6th on the list with 1275 extra base hits. Many Baseball pundits like to argue the legitimacy of A-Rod's and Bonds' feats and numbers compared to Aaron, Stan Musial (1377), or Willie Mays (1323), who achieved these milestones without the enhancement of PEDs. I don't care about those debates. They're interesting, but the PED hitters still excelled in an era in which many players were taking PEDs. I don't like the "asterisk" next to records (see Roger Maris as an example - asterisk).Cabrera can move up this list pretty quickly. This weekend he could take 38th (1003) set by former Tiger Gary Sheffield. This year, he could make up to between 27th (Chipper Jones = 1055) and 26th Mel Ott (1071) as last year he hit 72 XBH. I could take the time to calculate an exact average of XBH per year, but simply with 1000 as of last night, and a 15 year career, though that first year was half a season, so a 14.5 year career, he's at 68.97 XBH/year, and he out-performed his own average last year. See Miguel Cabrera career stats.
Miguel Cabrera is a special player. I had my eye on him and had added him to fantasy teams before the Detroit Tigers acquired him. I have been thinking of trading him from my keeper league when his value is high, and now may be the right time.
Anyway, I like the listen to Tigers games in bed. I plug one ear into the ear bud that is connected to the radio, and in this way, I can talk to my wife if needed. I quickly take out the ear bud, if I need to give her my full attention. I started listening to the game a bit late as I forgot that they were back home and the game would start around 7 p.m. Plus I had been mowing the lawn. By the time, I was settled in bed and listening, I thought I heard wrong when Dan Dickerson said the score was 10-2. I quickly checked the box score, fearing that the Tigers were DOWN by that score only to find out that they were up 10-2, and they went on to win the game 15-5.
So, hats off to Miguel Cabrera for reaching that milestone. He's one of my all-time favorite Tigers and all-time favorite Baseball players.
I am reaching a milestone of my own. Two days after the anniversary of 700 days since your death, Mom, I will post Hey Mom #700. I never intended to continue my Hey Mom feature indefinitely. I was going to stop at one year, 365 posts, as I did with my T-shirts Blog. But the daily posting thing has become a great outlet for me, part of my routine, and part of my identity, and I plan to keep it going. The only significance of 700 is that it's another 100 and close to the mark of two years (730).
Two years ago at this time was right before you started dying, Mom, and then I had to sit by and watch you die.
Two years later, Watch me live, carrying your memory and your love in my heart, with my always.
Watch people like Miguel Cabrera do great things.
We need great things because we have a petulant lunatic and asshole as a "president."
Did I just ruin it with that venom? :-)
Cabrera, Martinez lead Tigers in 15-5 win over White Sox
FROM - http://www.espn.com/mlb/recap?gameId=370602106
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| (Photo: Duane Burleson, Getty Images) |
DETROIT -- The Detroit Tigers didn't get as much rest as they might have wanted Thursday on their day off, but it was enough to get them hitting again.
In their first game after a 4-7 road trip that included four games in a 48-hour stretch in Chicago, the Tigers had a season-high 11 extra-base hits in a 15-5 win over the Chicago White Sox on Friday night.
"We got in early Thursday morning, so it wasn't ideal, but the bats certainly came alive," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. "It was good to see our big guys swinging the bat again."
Miguel Cabrera and J.D. Martinez combined for five hits, all for extra bases, and six RBI in eight at-bats.
Martinez went 3-for-5 with a double, triple and homer, but flew out to right in the seventh inning to miss out on Detroit's first cycle since Carlos Guillen in 2006. Martinez missed the first 33 games of the season with an ankle injury, and is hitting .297 with a .797 slugging percentage in 20 games.
"He's been unbelievable," Ausmus said. "He had a little lull on the road trip, but other than that, he's been as good as any hitter in baseball."
Michael Fulmer (6-3) allowed a season-high five runs and seven hits in seven innings. The Tigers had been shut out in his past two starts.
"I'll give up five and take a win over giving up one and taking a loss any day of the week," he said. "I'm not worried about my game. I'm just happy we got a win."
White Sox starter Derek Holland (4-5) allowed eight runs and eight hits, including three homers, in 2 1/3 innings.
"This one is totally on me," Holland said. "I was fighting my mechanics all night, and everything I threw ended up over the plate. That's a great offense, and they are going to hurt you when you make that many mistakes."
The Tigers took the lead in the first when Nicholas Castellanos walked and scored on Cabrera's RBI double. Two batters later, Martinez made it 2-0 with a double to left-center field.
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| Tigers rightfielder J.D. Martinez hits an RBI-double during the first inning of the Tigers' 15-5 win Friday at Comerica Park. (Photo: Duane Burleson, Getty Images) |
Cabrera hit a two-run double in the second inning to become the 39th player with 1,000 extra-base hits, including active batters Adrian Beltre, Albert Pujols and Carlos Beltran.
Leury Garcia's RBI single pulled the White Sox to 5-1 in the third, but Holland allowed homers to Martinez and Hicks in the bottom of the inning to give the Tigers a seven-run lead.
Michael Ynoa replaced Holland and gave up a single and a triple before leaving with soreness in his right quad.
The Tigers led 10-1 before Chicago scored three runs in the fifth. Castellanos made it 11-4 with an RBI in the bottom of the inning, and Detroit added three more runs in the sixth.
TRAINER'S ROOM
White Sox: Ynoa will be evaluated on Saturday before a decision is made on his roster spot. ... RHP Jake Petricka (strained lat) was scheduled to start a rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte on Friday night, while RHP James Shields (strained lat) is expected to make a rehab start for Charlotte on Saturday.
Tigers: DH Victor Martinez left the game in the fifth inning with flu-like symptoms. ... RHP Anibal Sanchez, who has been starting in Triple-A Toledo in an attempt to revive his career, left Friday's start with a left-leg injury.
UGLY START TO A TRIP
The White Sox were playing the first of nine games on a three-city, ten-day road trip, and manager Rick Renteria acknowledged it wasn't the ideal start.
"This is going to be a tough trip, so you want the first game to be better," said Renteria, whose team will also visit Tampa and Cleveland.
BOYD HEADING FOR TRIPLE-A
The Tigers optioned starting pitcher Matt Boyd to Triple-A Toledo after the game, and will recall LHP Daniel Stumpf from the Mud Hens on Saturday. Boyd is 2-5 with a 5.69 ERA in 11 starts, and has gone 0-2 with a 10.13 ERA in his last four games.
"I have no one but myself to blame for this," Boyd said.
With a day off on Monday, the Tigers won't need a fifth starter until June 10.
AVILA STILL STANDING PAT
Tigers general manager Al Avila spoke to the media Friday afternoon, saying the team is still committed to trying to win the AL Central title this season, and that no decisions will bemade about selling until closer to the trade deadline.
UP NEXT
White Sox: RHP Miguel Gonzalez (3-5, 6.99) is scheduled to start for Chicago on Saturday in the second game of the weekend series. Gonzalez is 0-4 with a 6.56 ERA in his last four road starts, but beat Detroit on May 28 in Chicago.
Tigers: RHP Jordan Zimmerman (4-4, 6.47 ERA) will pitch for the Tigers, six days after losing to Gonzalez and the White Sox. In that start, he allowed seven runs and eight hits in five innings.
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Reflect and connect.
Have someone give you a kiss, and tell you that I love you.
I miss you so very much, Mom.
Talk to you tomorrow, Mom.
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- Days ago = 699 days ago
- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 1706.03 - 10:10
NOTE on time: When I post late, I had been posting at 7:10 a.m. because Google is on Pacific Time, and so this is really 10:10 EDT. However, it still shows up on the blog in Pacific time. So, I am going to start posting at 10:10 a.m. Pacific time, intending this to be 10:10 Eastern time. I know this only matters to me, and to you, Mom. But I am not going back and changing all the 7:10 a.m. times. But I will run this note for a while. Mom, you know that I am posting at 10:10 a.m. often because this is the time of your death.
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