OT: Cabby is prepared to field the hot corner

Submitted by Moleskyn on

According to ESPN, Cabrera says he is prepared to play third for the Tigers:

"It was something we were talking (about at the Tigers') fan fest (last week). Return to third base, that is my natural position," Cabrera told Lider en Deportes. "Fielder's arrival will benefit us."

Also, BYB posted this picture of Cabby earlier today:

Not lookin' too bad. Maybe he's decided to take conditioning seriously?

MichiganMan2424

January 25th, 2012 at 7:53 PM ^

Defensively, Cabrera at third will not work. The last two seasons he played signifcant time at third, 2006 and 2007 when he started there for the Marlins, he committed a combined 40 erros in two seasons and had a combined UZR/150 of -7.8, which is not good at all. Then when he played in 2008 for the Tigers, he committed 5 errors in 14 games, which would have been a UZR/50 of -36.8. Obviously that wouldn't have held up because that was such a small sample size, but still, not good.

Now you're asking him to move back to third 4 years later after playing first, where he was a below average fielder, and he's a bigger guy now. That doesn't look to end well. The guy who played third the most for the Tigers last year, Inge had a 3.3 UZR/150. So it's a big drop defensively. Obviously the thought is Cabrera's offense will make up for that and more, which it should, so short term it shouldn't matter.

2 other points. First is there will also be a drop defensively at first from Cabrera to Fielder. 2 is the idea of playing V-Mart at third is insanely unrealisitc. They don't have UZR for catchers, but he was never great defensively there, is a below average 1st baseman defensively, and is older and coming off major knee surgery. Plus he's never played there in his MLB career. Won't happen.

 

Bluemandew

January 25th, 2012 at 8:05 PM ^

It is easy to sit there and tell us everything that won't work and how bad this looks but what is your better plan? Cabrera in center field and Prince in left?  /s

Will the Tigers be a great defensive team? No but with the added  offence hopefully it will offset the bad d.

Moleskyn

January 26th, 2012 at 9:40 AM ^

You've got it backwards. Cabrera isn't likely to play third much at all this year, unless he is miraculously a competent fielder there. He and Prince can rotate between DH/1B this year and play every game. It's next year that becomes the problem, since V-Mart is someone else who could play DH a lot. If Castellanos is ready for the Bigs next year, that just provides an even bigger challenge with trying to get everyone in the lineup.

JudgeMart

January 25th, 2012 at 8:22 PM ^

I said this yesterday and say it again...Cabrera will end up in left field this season.  You can hide a bad defensive player there that you just can't hide at third base.  Some of the worst defensive players in history played that position, many of whom were even larger and more out of shape than Cabrera will (may) be when the season starts.  Greg Luzinski, Pete Incaviglia, Frank Howard, Willie Horton...the list goes on and on.  BTW did you see Delmon Young play left field for the Tigers last year?  Ever wonder why a team in your own division would let him go to their main rival for nothing?  How much worse could Cabrera be than that? 

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

January 25th, 2012 at 10:22 PM ^

Cabrera will not play left field.  At Comerica you really ought to have another center fielder there.  Young is there because what choice did we have last year?  He was one notch short of passable.  Cabrera weighs 40 more pounds than Young, he's big and slow and not getting any faster, there's no effing way he's gonna cover the ground you have to cover in Comerica.

If this was Fenway?  I could see it.  Not in Comerica.

mackbru

January 25th, 2012 at 9:26 PM ^

It's silly to be having this debate about playing third when the obvious answer is to have Cabrera and Fielder alternate DH and 1B. The only hitch is whether the two of them will take it for the team and agree to platoon the position. The Tigers shouldn't be putting Cabrera at 3rd and Fielder and 1st just to satisfy the two players' egos. 

lilpenny1316

January 25th, 2012 at 10:39 PM ^

People seem to forget that his moping about losing the 3B job to Miggy in 2008 set a negative tone in the locker room.  There was no "take it for the team" coming out of his mouth.  I'd rather have his rally killing bat out of the lineup permanently and risk 10-15 more errors from of the 3B position.  Odds are Miggy comes out of the game in the 8th or 9th inning most nights to preserve a lead, which would help.

radfan5

January 28th, 2012 at 4:33 AM ^

 Leyland already said he wouldnt use a defensive replacement for Cabrera at 3rd in the late innings. I know saying it now and sticking with that in June are tow different things. Just thought id pass the info.