Miguel Cabrera aka El Caballo (yes i have a nickname for all my favorite sports players) hit a big single in the bottom of the 13th inning and also scored on Brandon Inges' walk off single. He also hit his 37th homerun driving in his 124th RBI on the blast to left field. These just add to the already stellar numbers he has put up in his MVP season this year. Since Josh Hamilton hasn't played in a game since Sept.4 against Minnesota and he is most likely gonna be out until Oct.6 that means he will miss the rest of the season with his 2 fractured ribs. Now i understand the argument about the MVP being on a team headed for the post season but i dont think you can really ignore the kind of season that Cabrera is having regardless of what his team is doing as far as records go. Compared side by side Cabrera is ahead of Hamilton in 3 out of the 5 major statistical areas 37 HRs to 31, 124 RBIs to 97, .420 on base percentage to .414. Hamilton does have the edge in batting average with a very impressive .361 to .329 and his slugging percentage of .635 is better then Cabbis' .619. But seeing as Cabrera has a few more games to better his numbers and hamilton is resting up his injured ribs its a pretty easy decision as to who has EARNED this years AL MVP and Cabreras performance tonight just reenforces my opinion of just how important (or valuable) he is to this Tigers team. I put a poll up on the blog to see who you all think should win the AL MVP award this year, vote and lets see who would win if we had our way.
Another Tiger that im sure has been a very pleasant surprise to the fans this year is Austin Jackson. I have to admit i was one of those fans this off season who was not a fan of the trade between the Yankees and the Tigers that saw a fan favorite in Curtis Granderson going to the evil empire for a young and not very well known outfielder. But i am happy to say that i was utterly and completely wrong about that trade because not only was Jackson able to step into the void in centerfield left by Granderson seamlessly, but had one of the best seasons ever by a Tiger rookie. With the numbers he has put up this season and his always solid fielding in the outfield in spacious Comerica Park i believe he is a shoe in for the AL rookie of the year.
Even with all the excitement of the extra innings win and the monster game that Cabrera had i couldn't shake the feeling that this was going to be the last time that i would see some Tigers in the Detroit uniform in person. If this was Bondermans final start in front of the fans in Detroit it didn't start off at all as he would have liked with a grand slam in the top of the first inning. He settled down in the following innings but couldn't make up for that bad first inning. Another Tiger that may be on his way out after the season is fan favorite Brandon Inge. Despite being a leader in the club house and one of the more popular players on the team his consistant inconsistancy at the plate has hurt his performance the last few years. I personally would like to see him come back next season to hold down the hot corner like he has over the years.
The Tigers weren't the only Detroit teams that played today, the Red Wings and the Michigan State Spartans were also in action. The Wings wrapped up their back to back series with the wanna be wings in Chicago tonight losing 4-2. Chris Osgood got the start letting in 4 goals on 34 shots. Valtteri Filppula lit the lamp in the 2nd period for the Wings as well as Drew Miller in the 3rd. The Fighting Babcocks get back to action Sunday night against the New York Rangers down at the Joe. No coach D no problem for the Spartans today against Northern Colorado in East Lansing. The Spartans looked to be on a mission today in their game holding Northern Colorado to 7 points all day pitching a shut out until midway through the fourth quarter. The offense looked very good against the over matched Bear defense with Le'veon Bell going for 92 yards on 11 carries, 127 yards all together with 35 receiving and 3 td's on the ground giving him 396 yards and 7 td's though 4 games this year. Has anyone else noticed how dominant and imposing this guys looks when he's running through and over the opposition every week? Thats gonna do it for this Diary entry i hope you enjoyed my thoughts on the Al MVP and Rookie of the Year races, i'll be posting after what i hope will be a Lions victory over the Minnesota Brett Favres tomorrow afternoon
Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world and ice that knee Denard
(big ups to birchgate89 for the awesome pics)
Drew in the D
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