Miguel Cabrera - major dumbass

[Bob Kohm]

I remember getting into it with Bhob Khohmh about Miggy's value. His take was that his predisposition toward the sauce made him a risky pick (and I think he also called him a fatass or something like that) and that his value should take a hit. I was more of the mind that his steady production year after year made him be not a risky play. We all saw how that worked out.

And you're still wrong about that. That there can be any question that a player who is drinking to this level of excess, running afoul of the law and embarrassing team ownership is in danger of losing playing time to suspension or legal issues or is more susceptible to injury is asinine. Is his behavior limited solely to alcohol (which is already obviously bad enough) or is he also abusing illegal drugs? Will his demonstrated lack of control lead to a violent incident off the field? Will the alcohol itself catch up to him and hurt his response time? Of course there is dramatically increased risk here-- not risk borne of the guy's innate skill set and talent level but of his failing to be able to use those skills and talents because of his lifestyle, disease and (growing) arrest record. To argue otherwise is nuts. That doesn't mean you shouldn't buy him, but it does mean that if you decide to do so you have to be aware of the risks you are shouldering as a result of the risks he's shouldering and you need to be ok with pitching your season int he crapper when he likely, be it this year or three years from now, throws himself into it, too. It's like going full bore after a pitcher with known elbow issues-- yet on that topic there's no debate.

[gcstomp]

Miggy's apology was not sincere. He carefully set his words as "this one incident", as if he happened to be clean and sober every day, until miracle of miracles the one day he drinks he gets pulled over.

He is not ready to admit he has a problem, so down the rabbit hole he must go, till he hits whatever is rock bottom for him. His natural talent is so Ruthian, that it may not have any noticeable effect this season, but he is dragging himself down.

Best case scenario, repeat of last years stats. Realistically, well, he gets pulled over again, and pulls out a bottle and drinks in front of an officer. How much louder a cry for help can he make? DWI is not a ticket double park offense, he could get time if he does a repeat performance.

[chancellor]

I just don't think it's that big of a deal (commence with the flaming, teetotalers). I don't see the likelihood that he "throws himself into the crapper" like you do.

His track record of proven success far outweighs any risk associated with a drinking problem, if he has one. I have a hard time even thinking of three other players who are the kind of "money-in-the-bank" kind of player that Cabrera is.

Again, I don't downgrade him because of this incident at all.

No flaming, but I'd still downgrade him a little. I didn't see it in Bhob's reply, but I'm more concerned the league will come down on him with another incident or two like this than any decrease in skills. He's the kind of guy I'd have gone the extra 5-10% on; now I probably wouldn't do that. There's the outside chance he does something monumentally stupid while drunk and damages himself permanently (ala Dick Allen), but I see that as a lower risk.

[ThatRogue]

Miggy's apology was not sincere. He carefully set his words as "this one incident", as if he happened to be clean and sober every day, until miracle of miracles the one day he drinks he gets pulled over.

He is not ready to admit he has a problem, so down the rabbit hole he must go, till he hits whatever is rock bottom for him. His natural talent is so Ruthian, that it may not have any noticeable effect this season, but he is dragging himself down.

Best case scenario, repeat of last years stats. Realistically, well, he gets pulled over again, and pulls out a bottle and drinks in front of an officer. How much louder a cry for help can he make? DWI is not a ticket double park offense, he could get time if he does a repeat performance.

I'm not as perceptive as you, because I don't know if a man is sincere after reading a reporter's paraphrasing of the translation of what he said. I do find the "Ruthian" comparison to his talent level particularly interesting, because the alcohol consumption is another apparent similarity between them.

I also don't know if the alcohol use will impair Cabrera's talent level. Players like Ruth, Mantle and, to a lesser long-term extent, Boomer Wells, all seemed capable of performing at a high level despite their indulgences.

I do know that there are studies indicating "Hispanic American subgroups in the US have a higher proportion of alcohol related traffic fatalities". I believe there are cultural differences in the way the U.S. views alcoholism and the way it is defined in other cultures...which impacts the ability to diagnose and treat people suffering from this addiction. Thus I hope that an understanding of these differences is incorporated into Cabrera's program, so that the treatment can truly take.

[gcstomp]

I'm not as perceptive as you, because I don't know if a man is sincere after reading a reporter's paraphrasing of the translation of what he said.

Reporter's paraphrased statement?> :Crazy: WTF? I saw & heard Miggy himself read his statement, thru the magic of this here tv gizmo which is catching on.... As for perceptive, not such a magic trick, my very next sentence is where I explain why I felt he was not sincere.

In any case, I will repeat, His natural talent is so Ruthian, that it may not have any noticeable effect this season.

[ThatRogue]

Regarding the statement, I thought you were referring to this article that had been referenced. But, if you can definitively tell that Miguel is being insincere from this video clip, then kudos...because you are far more perceptive than am I.

However, if you evaluating the sincerity of the apology, based on whether he believes he is an alcoholic, then that goes beyond perception, as those are two completely different things. Cabrera can be sorry about what he did (DUI/DWI) without realizing that he has a far deeper problem (alcoholism). As to whether he has driven while intoxicated between his two publicized incidents, that is certainly possible...but totally unknown...and still has no bearing on whether he is sorry for what he did.

[wombat104]

When asked if he had a problem with alcohol his answer is that is up to the doctor? Coupled with the "This one time" peppered thoughout leads be to believe that there is an icreased risk with future alcohol realted issues. He also specifically chose to speak in spanish to make sure he said exactly what he wanted to say, so translation should not be an issue.

Alcohol problems tend to get worse over time, not better. If he is not ready to admit he has an issue then the risk is he gets busted again for an alcohol related offense, not a decline in skills. The other side is maybe he really doesn't have an issue, but 2 extreme incidents so close together leads me to believe otherwise.

Is he still a top 3/5 player? I would say yes. What is not getting talked about is he appears to be in great shape, added weight, supposedly all muscle. Said he weighs in a 270 and the reporter I read indicated he looks much stronger. When drafting or buying the increased alcohol realted risk needs to be factored in, MLB already said next time they would take action.

[ThatRogue]

RE: Translation...

I sat in a meeting last night with a Sr. Executive from a Latin American company and he speaks English as if he'd lived his entire life in the U.S., with a slight accent of course. In the meeting were two of his direct reports and several of our companies Latin American sales managers. At one point while the Sr. Executive was speaking, he asked his colleagues how to translate an expression, and, after several seconds of speaking in Spanish, two different translations were mentioned, both of which seemed a little odd in English and, in my opinion, failed to convey the exact point he was trying to make. I've been in more meetings with international customers than I can remember, and trust me, certain things do get lost in translation.

I am not disagreeing that Cabrera has a problem and that he may not realize the extent of that problem. And, I agree that his alcohol problem comes with increased risk for a number of reasons. My point was simply that determining a lack of sincerity based on that press conference seemed a bit unreasonable. (And that a number of seemingly functional alcoholics appear to have performed quite well in baseball.)

[Gregg]

I never met an alcoholic that wasn't sincere in his apologies when they first started getting into alcohol related troubles. The sincerity for some has very little to do with getting sober. It is in the action that proves the sincerity that normies want to see. When that action involves quiting drinking as the proof, that is when most (about 93%) fail.

No one who enjoys alcohol to excess wants to hear or believe that there is a potential problem looming ahead.

[Gregg]

I enjoy alcohol to excess. Sure, there may be potential problems looming ahead but there's fantastically fun times ahead as well!

Well, that was certainly my battle cry!

Sheens way living the life of an addict/alcoholic seems more fun than Cabrera's. Drunk alone on the side of the road fighting with police, doesn't seem like much fun.

[wombat104]

Drunk Baseball Star Told Arresting Officers, "Shoot Me, Kill Me."

It just keeps getting better, check out the Smoking Gun article: LINKY

Warning there is some foul language involved.

[revo]

Better promote him to Sergeant Dumbass.

2-4 with 2 bombs today.

Love that crazy drunken bastard!

Wouldn't a promotion be Lt. Colonel Dumbass? Just keep hittin' HRs!

[Erik]

Got him at a slight discount in my main league, am loving it.

[wannabegriffey]

We had our auction yesterday, league uses total bases and on base % instead of hr and b.a. among our 5x5 hitting categories. At first base, the prices were:

Miggy $42
A.Gonzalez $40

ADAM DUNN $41

[Erik]

Dunn's value goes way up when stats other than AVG are used. I get him in the third round of my OBP/SLG league every year, and no one else seems to have caught on.