Stress can make people snappish, and ballplayers are no exception.
The Tigers (59-64) surely feel stress, as Detroit News columnist Bob Wojnowski experiences as the target of clubhouse tension after Sunday's 4-2 loss to the Rangers at Comerica Park.
Cabrera "accused me of 'always talking (stuff),' which is rarely my intent," Detroit News columnist Bob Wojnowski writes.
The sportswriter describes what happened while he was "trying to unravel the mystery" of why the "postseason flicker is pretty much extinguished:"
Frustration is bubbling, partly because the Tigers know they enter most games shorthanded and short-armed. If it's possible, this is one of the best seasons of Miguel Cabrera's career, and also among the most taxing and vexing. . . .
"We're tops in the league in offense in a lot of categories," Ian Kinsler said. "So we're supposed to produce six runs every game, is that how baseball works?" . . .
Theoretically, when a team is atop several categories, run-scoring isn't an issue. But as Kinsler and Cabrera explicitly noted, this isn't a game of theory.
"Theoretically?" Kinsler said in retort. ."Oh, OK. You can't just be an offensive team. I don't know how long y'all been covering baseball or sports, but you have to be able to perform all aspects of the game." . . .
There was an edge to Kinsler's voice, and a dismissive head shake. There was an edge to Cabrera as well, who stood two lockers away and angrily disagreed with my line of questioning.
I get it, that pitching dominates, that offensive production comes and goes. When negativity seeps into a clubhouse, players try diligently to stamp it out, and that's what Cabrera was doing, in his own raw way.
He accused me of "always talking (stuff)," which is rarely my intent, and he declined to answer questions.
And so it goes, with six weeks left in this rocky season for Detroit.
-- Alan Stamm
Related article today: Yashinsky: Miguel Cabrera Has a Huge Lead, But Will He Qualify for Batting Title?
