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Title: Miguel Cabrera speaks out on death threats, bribes paid to protect his mom from kidnapping
Source:
M Live
URL Source: http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.s ... rea.html#incart_river_home_pop
Published: Jul 11, 2017
Author: Evan Woodbery
Post Date: 2017-07-11 10:39:14 by Deckard
Ping List: *Baseball* Subscribe to *Baseball*
Keywords: None
Views: 3877
Comments: 23
DETROIT -- Detroit Tigers star Miguel Cabrera is speaking out more forcefully than ever before about the ongoing crisis in his native Venezuela, breaking what he said was his long-standing rule against meddling in politics. In a series of free-wheeling videos posted on Monday to the "stories" section of his Instagram account, Cabrera blasted the corruption of Venezuela's government, voiced his support for protesters and spoke of threats against his family that required him to pay vacunas, or protection money. The passionate political speeches in Spanish were interspersed with videos of his family on a private jet and then at a beach resort. Monday was the first day of the All-Star Break and Cabrera was among several players who left for family vacations after Sunday night's game. It's not clear if Cabrera intended the videos for wide distribution. Instagram stories are designed to be viewed only once and disappear completely within 24 hours. In any case, Cabrera's comments instantly made headlines in Venezuela, where newspapers and websites put his words in bold headlines: "If I go to Venezuela 'they'll break me, they'll kill me'" "I'm tired of paying protection money so they don't kidnap my mother" Cabrera's words come at a pivotal time in the history of Venezuela, which was once one of the wealthiest in South America. Today it's on the brink of economic collapse. President Nicholas Maduro has called a July 30 referendum that opponents believe will be used to permanently enshrine a Cuban-style communist dictatorship. The opposition has called on supporters to ignore Maduro's plan and instead vote in an unofficial referendum on July 16. Protests against Maduro's government have racked the country for months. Although Cabrera said he did not consider himself a member of the opposition, he made no secret about where he stands. "I protest for truth, for the end of communism, and I am not with dictators," he said. "To the people of the resistance, you are not alone." Cabrera also added that no "gringo" had paid him for his views, a reference to Maduro's claims that the United States is paying celebrities and athletes to speak out against his government. Miguel Cabrera apoya las protestas y denuncia que le cobran vacuna Cabrera's words are from more than a dozen short videos posted on Instagram. Spliced together, they're a mixture of high-minded political philosophy and personal grievances, along with pleas for his family's safety. "Please do not do anything to my family. That's what I ask," Cabrera said. Poster Comment: I wondered why his hatting has been way down this year. His .264 batting average is the lowest of his career.
Miguel Cabrera spoke out on the crisis in Venezuela and threats to his family in a series of videos posted on Monday (photo by Mike Mulholland, MLive).
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Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 11.
#1. To: Deckard, CZ82 (#0)
Age actually. When players get older and don't adjust their diet and exercise, they get more injuries. He's a pudgy but talented baseball player. Now entering the mid to late 30s and that will take a toll. Happened to Prince Fielder a lot sooner.
I agree. I've got to believe though that the situation with his mom is taking a toll as well. Even when playing injured, he was always smiling and joking around with opposing players. Not so much this year. A hitter like Cabrera doesn't drop from a .316 to where he is now in one year. Also, I think his playing in the WBC this spring may have not been the best idea for someone his age. Kinsler too, he played in the WBC and his hitting is down as well.
Kinsler and Cabrera are not the only ones who played WBC that are down this year. Lucroy-Rangers---great WBC but is on a downward trend from last year offensively and defensively. Sam Dyson: Was the go to guy out of the pen in the 8th and 9th (sometimes pitching both innings) closing out games for team USA. He bombed and got DFA'd by the Rangers as he blew 5 saves in a row, demoted and bombed in the set up role; then bombed in the 'we have a lead, how much can Sam hurt us (and did) category.' Now with the Giants and 3 for 4 on saves with an ERA under 3. Beltre: played limited during WBC and pulled a calf muscle keeping him on the DL until mid June this year. Odor: did great in WBC and rode that wave into the early season, but fell off the face of the earth below Mendoza for May, June and early July. Just started to come around in the last two weeks. Yeah, WBC did not help the Rangers out this year.
Neither did their pitching, some of my neighbor kids could do better.
Yeah there were many factors which contributed to mediocrity. We already knew at season start the line up had two holes and then Beltre went out leading to a third. The thinking was our pen was top of the league and would keep us competitive. Well who thought every arm would be unrelaible? The rotation was not much to think of. Two pitchers does not make a rotation and we traded one of two. Bright spot was Cashmen in the second half of the season. Watch they won't sign him. So the rotation will not improve much next year. Of course a lot has to do with actually getting on base and scoring runs other than the long ball. I don't think we had anyone who played a full season hit above .270 other than Elvis. It was pathetic to see three everydays hovering the Mendoza all season. All of the above tells the story of why the Rangers just were not a good team this year. They also have few options to make it better for next year.
On the offensive side of the ball: Odor; Is he going to stay at the Mendoza line or will he get back to .270? I think he fell in love w/hitting all those HRs last year so he consequently regressed. Someone needs to sit him down and help him get his head on straight. He can get to 25-30 HR but with over 100 RBIs if he just lets the game come to him, put the ball in play instead of taking a K and he can create more havoc on the bases with his speed. Joey; I think he will continue to improve, don't think he'll ever be a .300 hitter but I would be happy with .250-.260 in his stat line to go along with you know 40+ HRs. (Hit 2 bombs last night, the one in the second deck must have been 475' or more). lol Mazara; not sure how much better he's going to get, already at 100 RBIs in his second year, maybe raise his average to .275-.285 which would mean more RBIs. Choo; got 3 more years on contract but I think he can keep his stats up if he stays healthy, he's not ALL/NOTHING like some guys. And for him to stay in the leadoff position you need guys at 8-9 that can get on base, otherwise move him down a slot or two. Also see him being fulltime DH part time RFer. Adrian; can't get any better but really needs to stay healthy, he put up really good stats for what little time he played this year. Elvis; don't really see any regression coming unless it's HRs, he is finally what they always thought he would be (and finally earning his salary). DD; Is there room for improvement yes but will he?? Is he our fulltime CFer next year, he's more suited for LF so I don't think so. The club is being tied to Lorenzo Cain as of this time and he would be a decent fit, would prefer Billy Hamilton because of SBs but would love to have Josh in his prime!!! Gomez and Napoli = Probably Gone (Gomez could come back if the can't find another CFer, if he does they need to do the same thing with him they need to do with Roogie). Profar; what the heck are they going to do with him, trade or super utility player? (I think the super utility role screwed him up at the plate, he's too young yet to wrap his head around that). If they trade Adrian he'll stay with the club and maybe put him at 2B and move Roogie to 3rd. He also played CF in the classic so that is an option but I think a longshot at best, they didn't play him there at AAA this year only SS. (Soriano went from IF to CF and did quite well there). Is Calhoun in the mix now? Maybe if they want to save some money to get good FA pitching. Problem is he's a LFer we already have 5 or so.
Great run down. You should be GM. :-)
#12. To: redleghunter (#11)
(Edited)
Here I thought you might find this interesting about the "All or Nothing" guys....... Launch angle hitters are in trouble Joey Votto sharpened his command of the strike zone to even greater heights. Is there a lesson there for other hitters? Shelley Lipton/Icon Sportswire The electronic strike zone would crush a generation of ‘launch-angle’ hitters. A really smart executive asked a really smart rhetorical question the other day as he discussed the high rate of home runs and strikeouts: If a hitter trains himself to angle his swing upward, what is the highest pitch he can consistently reach within the strike zone? He wasn’t referring to the likes of Kris Bryant, who developed his unusual swing as a child, or Josh Donaldson, who has a special ability to lift the ball. He was talking about the average major leaguer, and he answered his own question. “If you’re talking about getting to the ball with an angled swing,” the executive continued, “the highest -- the highest -- might be mid-thigh, or at the [groin].” With that kind of swing, the executive continued, the launch-angle hitters are effectively conceding the upper half of the strike zone in an era in which umpires are calling more high strikes -- and are graded on properly calling the high strike. “It’s not working for the hitters,” said the executive, who believes, like many players, coaches and managers, that the baseballs are smaller and harder this year. “Home runs are way up, but I think that’s the ball. How about making contact? How about putting the ball in play?” Last week, MLB hitters smashed the record for most homers in a season, crushing the mark set in 2000, in the heart of what will always be remembered as the steroid era. In that 2000 season, 101 batters hit 20 or more homers. This year, 111 batters have 20 or more homers, with a week to go. But there’s a flip side to the homers this year: the explosion of strikeouts. During the 2000 season, 58 batters had 100 or more strikeouts. In 2017, 126 batters have 100 or more strikeouts. These times are different, of course. Pitchers throw harder than they used to, and front offices prefer to use hard-throwing relievers rather than allow a lot of starting pitchers to face a lineup for a third time within a game. But a lot of evaluators believe that many players would be better served by trying to make contact instead of trying to angle their swings and hit a fly ball. Many players love to pick the brain of Reds first baseman Joey Votto, who is generally regarded as perhaps the smartest hitter in the game. On a podcast recently, Votto talked about how he came into this year devoted to the task of cutting down on his strikeouts. Votto had racked up 135 strikeouts in 2015 and 120 in 2016, and in his effort to reduce that this year, Votto decided to cut down on his swing as he got deeper into the count -- choking up a little more after one strike, and even more on two-strike counts. At times, Votto seems to wield his bat like a tennis player at the net, volleying pitches foul just to stay alive. The change in his walk/strike ratios has been exceptional: Year Walks Rate Strikeouts Rate 2015 143 20.6% 135 19.4% 2016 108 16.0% 120 17.7% 2017 129 19.2% 78 11.6% He is one of only three MLB batters qualified for the batting title who have walk/strikeout ratios of 1/1 or better, and along the way Votto has compiled 35 homers, the second-most in his career. As detailed in a recent column, the rise in home run hitters may well diminish the value of that particular skill in the trade and free-agent market. And here’s another concern: If the electronic strike zone is implemented in the near future, with a higher ceiling than what has been called by most umpires, a generation of hitters who have designed their swings to lift the ball may be much more vulnerable. “I think they’re [in trouble] anyway,” said one MLB staffer. “Pitchers are going to continue to carve them up. They are selling out for a home run … I would take gap power with hitters who have the ability to make adjustments. This launch angle thing is terrible for the game.” Somebody is going to make a lot of money in the next few years as the launch- angle fixer: the hitting instructor who takes a page from Votto and teaches pupils to hit the ball hard and be able to cover more than the lowest portion of the strike zone.
They quit listening to me so look what happened this year, 95 wins down to 78 big drop.
Olney: How can Shohei Otani make up $200 million in squandered value? http://www.espn.com/blog/buster-olney/insider/post/_/id/17401/olney-how-can- shohei-otani-make-up-200-million-in-squandered-value Excerpt from the article: The Associated Press reported the other day that the Texas Rangers could offer the most money to Otani at $3.535 million. The New York Yankees can offer $3.25 million. Offers from other teams would be in the same fiscal neighborhood, which is what a lot of middle relievers receive -- not superstar-level players, which is what executives expect Otani will be, whether he eventually pitches, hits or does both. His fastball has been clocked as high as 101 mph recently, and last year, he batted .322, with an OPS of 1.004. Otani played through an ankle problem and batted .341 this year.
Rangers to part ways with Mike Napoli? http://www.espn.com/blog/mlb/rumors/post/_/id/37230/rumor-central-rangers-to- part-ways-with-mike-napoli Looks like part of the problem for playing positions for some of the younger players has been solved, and I can't honestly say unexpected either as evidenced by my earlier rants. :) They're also kicking their BP coach to the curb which isn't unexpected either. And some speculation on some of the BP arms for next year: http://m.rangers.mlb.com/news/article/259048956/rangers-have-14-pitchers-to- evaluate-in-winter/ Oh and a reminder as to who is in the farm system and may be getting closer to Arlington: http://m.mlb.com/prospects/2017?list=tex
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/LatestHis .264 batting average is the lowest of his career
#2. To: redleghunter (#1)
Age actually. When players get older and don't adjust their diet and exercise, they get more injuries.
#3. To: Deckard, CZ82 (#2)
Also, I think his playing in the WBC this spring may have not been the best idea for someone his age. Kinsler too, he played in the WBC and his hitting is down as well.
#4. To: redleghunter (#3)
Yeah, WBC did not help the Rangers out this year.
#5. To: CZ82 (#4)
Neither did their pitching, some of my neighbor kids could do better.
#10. To: redleghunter (#5)
(Edited)
Of course a lot has to do with actually getting on base and scoring runs other than the long ball. I don't think we had anyone who played a full season hit above .270 other than Elvis. It was pathetic to see three everydays hovering the Mendoza all season.
#11. To: CZ82 (#10)
Replies to Comment # 11. Great run down
#13. To: redleghunter (#11)
Great run down. You should be GM. :-)
#14. To: redleghunter (#11)
Great run down. You should be GM. :-)
#15. To: redleghunter (#11)
(Edited)
Great run down. You should be GM. :-)
End Trace Mode for Comment # 11.
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