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Pastimes : NNBM - SI Branch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Cactus Jack who wrote (72208)	7/9/2008 11:56:20 PM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 104154

Miguel Cabrera in the last 11 games: batting ave is .418, 5 HRs, 12 RBIs, and his Slugging Pct. is .813. I would say he's heating up...;-) Cabrera finds his groove as Tigers pound Indians by Graham Couch Columnist Booth Newspapers Wednesday July 09, 2008, 12:15 AM DETROIT -- The camera lights shut off and, on cue, Miguel Cabrera shut down his engaging smile. His 4-for-4 night with two home runs and three RBIs in a 9-2 Tigers victory over Cleveland on Tuesday had captured the media's love for a few minutes. Cornered, he obliged. Then he couldn't get away fast enough. "It doesn't matter to me," Cabrera said quietly of the attention, before turning toward the intriguing contents of his locker, including Voodoo dolls watching over three unwrapped candy bars. Moments later, Cabrera was among the first to exit the Tigers' clubhouse, greeting family members with a grin likely more sincere than the one that had so recently disappeared. He may not be interested or, perhaps, comfortable building his Detroit stardom through a clan of English-speaking reporters, but Tuesday he showed why the Tigers gave up so much to get him and then gave him 152 million reasons to stay for the next eight years. With the Tigers missing their only All-Star, Carlos Guillen (birth of his daughter), their usual cleanup hitter, Magglio Ordonez (injured oblique), and having scored five runs combined in their last three games, Cabrera delivered what turned out to be the game-winning blast. "Don't panic, don't get too excited. Let it happen," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said of Cabrera, who's batting .291 on the season. "Let him see the pitchers in the league. ... He's smart. He's one of the most instinctive players we have." "That's part of the process to me. Coming over and everything that went on and the trade and the big expectations. This is in the (record) book. This is four years ... the numbers are there. When it's all said and done through his years with the Tigers, he's going to put up big, big numbers." Ordonez, who's eligible to come off the disabled list during next week's All-Star break, said he warned his 25-year-old Venezuelan countryman about the transition from the Florida Marlins to the Tigers. "People don't understand, when you go to another team, it takes time to adjust to the people, the city and everything," said Ordonez, who joined the Tigers in 2005 after seven seasons with the White Sox. "Now he feels more comfortable." Cabrera set the bar high during four seasons in Florida, batting .313 with 138 home runs. As he left the Marlins, however, there were questions about his weight and his ability to field third base. After a rough start at third -- not helped by a hip-flexor strain on his left side he's suffered through all season -- Leyland moved the former minor league shortstop to first base in early May. "Shape is not an issue," Leyland insisted about Cabrera. " ... Last year he weighed 25, 30 pounds heavier and hit close to .400 (actually .320). He's so talented. If he's healthy and he bears down, he's going to hit. It's in the book." The book on Tuesday certainly agrees, even if Cabrera could do without being asked about it. "Just on the base paths, he looks like he's stealing when everyone knows he's not," Curtis Granderson said. "He's having fun on defense with whoever the opposing runner happens to be at first base, in the clubhouse with his Voodoo dolls in the locker -- all those different things that just let you know he's enjoying going to the ballpark day in and day out."