[VIDEO] Miguel Cabrera Nails 2000th Career Hit in Longball Fashion

Miguel Cabrera is a beast. You know, I know it. He accomplished his 2000th career hit today, and of course it was a home run. Don't be silly.

The Detroit Tigers first baseman notched hit No. 2000 of his career Friday afternoon in the form of a two-run bomb to left field. It came off Baltimore Orioles reliever Ryan Webb in the eighth inning of his team's 10-4 win at Comerica Park, where he enjoyed a 4-for-5 game, including an RBI single in the sixth.

Cabrera is the ninth player in MLB history to have 2,000 or more hits by the age of 31, joining the likes of Hank Aaron, Mel Ott, and Rogers Hornsby.

Season Previews: Detroit Tigers

With another baseball season just around the corner, it's time for one of our favorite things in all the world: Season Previews. Five years ago, they began as a semi-serious analysis and ended up as half-assed haiku. We're just gonna go with what we know. Kicking off our preview of the American League Central, check out the 2012 Detroit Tigers.

Check out Prince Fielder
He's a Detroit Tiger now
Cabrera's at third

Raburn at second
Santiago plays backup
Got a sweet deal

Jhonny Peralta
Spells his name wrong but at least
His name isn't Clete

Alex Avila
Is the starting backstop and
Gerald Laird backs up

Justin Verlander
Hasn't thrown a perfect game
Or hit that either

But he's still the best
We love Max Scherzer, and Rick
Love Doug Fister's name

Holy Crap Prince Fielder Got a Nine-Year Deal from the Detroit Tigers

First and foremost, we are not happy to be back in Minnesota after a long vacation in Florida. It's disgusting here. But we missed you.

Second, we'd like to ponder why on earth the Detroit Tigers would give a fatass like Prince Fielder a nine-year deal worth $214 million. Just kidding... kind of.

The Tigers agreed to sign the free agent first baseman on Tuesday out of nowhere, adding some more pop to the middle of their lineup with the already hard-hitting Miguel Cabrera in there. This, just days after announcing designated hitter Victor Martinez would miss a bunch of the 2012 season with an ACL tear he endured during offseason conditioning.

Fielder, who batted .282 with 230 home runs and 656 RBI over seven seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers, now owns just the fourth $200+ million deal in baseball history with his $23.78 million a season beaten only by Alex Rodriguez, Ryan Howard, Cliff Lee, and Albert Pujols, among active players.

While several teams, such as the Texas Rangers and Washington Nationals, had thrown their hats into the Fielder bidding ring this winter, Detroit was no where to be found. General Manager Dave Dombrowski and owner Mike Ilitch even denied having any interest in signing him whatsoever. Liars. But having Prince in the lineup makes them even more of a favorite to repeat the AL Central title this season and possibly win their first World Series since 1984. They made a run at it last season after winning their division by 15 games, but ended up losing to the Rangers in the ALDS.

This move also keeps the Fielder name in the Tigers organization, which is pretty neat. His father, Cecil, nailed 51 longballs with Detroit back in 1990 after playing 15 years of Japanese ball. Senior played with the Tigers into the 1996 season while his young son hit bombs during batting practice. More importantly, Fielder finally leaving the National League to become the DH he was always meant to be.

[Detroit Free Press]

Octavio Dotel Refuses to Retire, Signs with Detroit Tigers

Reigning World Series champion Octavio Dotel has signed with the Detroit Tigers in an effort to put one more big league club on his career resume.

On the final day of the winter meetings in Dallas on Thursday, the right-handed reliever and his agent convinced the Tigers he would be of use to them before he retires. Whenever that will be.

The 38-year-old Dominican, whose $3.5 million option for 2012 was declined by the St. Louis Cardinals, will give the bullpen some depth for at least the one year he was signed for to the tune of $3.5 million. Of course, he must pass a physical first.

I'm sure he has nothing to worry about.

Dotel has enjoyed 13 seasons in the majors with 12 different teams; in 2010 he was shuffled between three teams, which is unheard of. When he takes the mound in a Tigers uniform, he will become the first player in the history of the game to play for 13 clubs. That's quite an accomplishment.

[Detroit Free Press]

Ramon Santiago Gets a Pretty Sweet Deal to Remain with Detroit Tigers

Ramon Santiago took a shot at free agency but it was a little scary out there, so he came right back to the Detroit Tigers for a $4.2 million, two-year contract on Wednesday.

The 32-year-old infielder will split that salary right down the middle for each of the next two seasons, and might even get the extra playing time he's been after. That lack of playing time was part of the reason free agency didn't work out so well for him: no one was willing to offer him more time at the plate and fellow infielder Carlos Guillen will not likely be returning to the Tigers next season. However, since Ryan Raburn will be around in 2012, it looks like Santiago will have to share the middle infield anyway.

Santiago batted .260 with five homers and 30 RBI over 101 games with Detroit last season, which may or may not warrant a $750,000 raise. However, the second half of the season must have been fresh in the minds of Detroit brass since he batted .295 after the All-Star break to help lead the Tigers to the postseason. Then there's the business of how he played at second.

While Santiago has played a lot of short stop in his 10 big league seasons, last year he was also part of a four-man rotation at second base, batting .289 in 75 games starting there. But regardless of where he played or how he played, manager Jim Leyland says he's the most well-liked guy in the clubhouse:

"With his teammates, he could be the most popular player we have. I'm thrilled to have him back. He's happy with what he got and feels we were fair, and we're happy with what we gave him. It doesn't get any better than that. This is a situation in which everybody wins."

[MLB]

Justin Verlander's Badassery Knows No Bounds; AL Cy Young and MVP in the Bag

Is there anything Justin Verlander can't do? Maybe... but probably not.

After winning the American League’s pitching triple crown by going 24-5 with a 2.40 ERA and 250 strikeouts, the Detroit Tigers right-hander officially became the Most Valuable Player of 2011 on Monday. He's the first pitcher to earn the MVP honor since Dennis Eckersley with the Oakland Athletics in 1992 and the first starting pitcher since Roger Clemens won it with the Boston Red Sox in 1986. It's been a while.

Verlander, who also earned the AL Cy Young Award last week, beat out Boston Red Sox center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury, Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Jose Bautista, New York Yankees center fielder Curtis Granderson (Verlander's preference other than himself) and fellow teammate, first baseman Miguel Cabrera. Tough competition for sure, but Verlander's season was not only memorable, it was out of control good.

The 28-year-old tossed his second career no-hitter against the Blue Jays on May 7, and went on to have the winningest season since Bob Welch went 27-6 for the Oakland Athletics back in 1990. His pivotal role in the Tigers' quest for the postseason reopened the heated debate on whether pitchers, who already have their own award, should be considered in the MVP voting at all.

Apparently the debate was not quite strong enough this season, as Verlander received 13 of the possible 28 first-place votes and 280 points over, 38 more points than Ellsbury. He's pretty pumped:

Justin Verlander Crushes AL Cy Young Award Voting, MVP May be Next

The announcement that Justin Verlander won the American League Cy Young Award on Tuesday was no surprise to anyone, including the BBWAA voters, who were unanimous in their decision. All 28 first-place votes.

His reaction to receiving the honor was met with the question of whether he will also nail the Most Valuable Player Award:

“Do I think it’s possible? Yes. Would I like to win it? Of course. It’s kind of a weird scenario... I'm so different from everybody”

Well, at least he's modest.

No starting pitcher has been named MVP since Roger Clemens back in 1986, with Dennis Eckersley being the the last reliever to get it in 1992. While lots of people believe pitchers shouldn't even be on the MVP ballot since they already have their own award for outstanding performance, seasons like Verlander's might change their tune.

The 28-year-old right-hander (along with his 100mph heater and ridiculous slider and curveball) won the pitching Triple Crown, leading Detroit to its first division title in over two decades with 24 wins, 250 strikeouts, and a nice 2.40 ERA. Not bad.

While that's impressive as hell, the AL MVP crowd includes teammate Miguel Cabrera, along with the likes of former Tigers outfielder Curtis Granderson, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Jose Bautista.

Oddly enough, Verlander said that if he didn't get the honor, he'd like to see Granderson get it. Not Cabrera.

[Detroit Free Press]

There's Always Next Year, Tigers Fans

The Detroit Tigers' season is over after an embarrassing Game 6 effort in Arlington in which they lost 15-5 to the American League Champion Texas Rangers.

Thanks in large part to a nine-run third inning by Max Scherzer, Daniel Schlereth, and Rick Porcello, the Motor City Kitties hung their heads and watched the red and blue confetti fly throughout Rangers Ballpark Saturday night. But enough about the game, let's see the Tigers off with a bang, in sad photo montage, of course.

Texas Rangers Win American League Pennant, Nelson Cruz Earns Series MVP

The world of baseball has never seen anything like what Nelson Cruz displayed over the entire American League Championship Series. In fact, over the 142-year history of Major League Baseball, no one had ever topped his performance.

After a terrible ALDS in which he went 1-for-12 with five strikeouts, Cruz absolutely lit up both ballparks, hitting .364 with a big league-record six home runs and 13 RBI in the ALCS. The guy was completely out of control.

Meanwhile, we can't decide whether the Rangers embarrassed the Detroit Tigers or the Tigers embarrassed themselves. Between an incredible display of incompetence on the field and a lack of timing and finesse at the plate, they were crushed 15-5 and sent packing for the offseason Saturday night.

Tigers Force Game 6 with Win over Rangers, Series Headed back to Arlington

What an awesome series so far.

Justin Verlander did his best over seven-plus innings Thursday night to keep the Detroit Tigers in the game. Meanwhile, the offense was behind him all the way and extended the series with a 7-5 win over the Texas Rangers to cut the Texas lead to 3-2 in the best-of-seven series and shift the contest back to Arlington.

The Tigers managed to use a little teamwork to hit for the cycle during the sixth inning. In order. Ryan Raburn got on base with the single, Miguel Cabrera took care of the double, Victor Martinez nailed the triple, and Delmon Young crushed a two-run shot (his second of the game) to cap the deal and give Detroit a 6-2 lead. History was made during this series once again, as it became the first natural cycle ever to happen in the postseason.

Speaking of records, Nelson Cruz and his Boomstick hit a ridiculous fifth home run of the series, becoming the fifth player in history to do so, in the top of the eighth to bring the Rangers within three. They added another run on a Michael Young base hit in the ninth to make it 7-5, but the Tigers held on for the victory, even without Jose Valverde to shut it down.

Phil Coke got the final five outs for his first career postseason save. Way to go, buddy.

The Rangers will get another shot at punching their ticket to the World Series for the second straight season in Game 6 Saturday night in Texas. Derek Holland and Max Scherzer, both of whom have failed to get a decision this postseason, will face each other at 8:05pm ET on FOX.

[Detroit Free Press]

Nelson Cruz Busts out Trusty Boomstick, Mike Napoli Aids in Rangers Game 4 Win

The Texas Rangers are one win away from their second consecutive World Series appearance.

Nelson Cruz, whose grand slam in the 11th inning won Game 2 for his Texas Rangers, was the star of Game 4 once again Wednesday night in his team's 7-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers to give them a 3-1 advantage in the best-of-seven series.

With the ballgame all tied up in the eighth inning, Cruz threw Miguel Cabrera out at the plate with a pretty throw to his partner in crime Mike Napoli, who was luckily not absolutely clobbered by the husky Cabrera. As if that wasn't badass enough, the outfielder followed up the leather-flashing, arm cannon action with a three-run shot (his fourth homer of the ALCS) in the 11th off Jose Valverde, who just so happened to be right in the middle of imploding, immediately after Napoli blooped a go-ahead single.

Doug Fister Hurls Tigers Past Rangers in ALCS Game 3

After dropping the first two games of the American League Championship Series in Arlington, the banged-up Detroit Tigers absolutely had to win Game 3, and Doug Fister gave them a chance to do that. It wasn't exactly a must-win situation, but only the Boston Red Sox have come back from a 3-0 deficit to force a Game 7. They managed to win the 2004 World Series that year, but it's not the recommended way of doing things.

The right-hander with a bad case of hat-head was about as cool as the other side of the pillow in the huge Game 3, pitching 7.1 solid innings Tuesday night where he allowed just two runs on seven hits to aid in his team's 5-2 victory over the Texas Rangers. Fister loves pitching at Comerica Park. He's an incredible 5-0 with an 1.23 ERA at home... pretty much unhittable.

Meanwhile, Rangers starter Colby Lewis suffered his very first postseason loss after entering the game with a career 4-0 record and 1.67 ERA in the playoffs. It was a good run.

Josh Hamilton drove in a first inning run to give Texas an early lead, but the Tigers tied it up on a Victor Martinez lead-off solo shot in the bottom of the fourth. The following inning, Miguel Cabrera said "Hold your horses, Rangers," when he hit an RBI double to the right field corner to give Detroit a 2-1 edge.

Jhonny Peralta nailed one into the Tigers bullpen in the sixth before Austin Jackson, who had three hits in the game after going 3-for-25 with 14 strikeouts over the first seven postseason contests, blooped a run-scoring single to center. Cabrera, who struggled through the first few innings, crushed a longball to left in the seventh to make it 5-1.

Nelson Cruz Does it Again, First Ever Walkoff Grand Slam in Postseason History

Are you joking me Nelson Cruz?

Just two innings after it appeared his wrist was shattered into a million pieces by a 92-mph Jose Valverde fastball in the ninth, the Texas Rangers outfielder took advantage of a second consecutive Ryan Perry slider to give his team a 2-0 advantage in the best-of-seven ALCS with a 7-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers in 11 innings.

What's more amazing than that? Not only did he go yard to tie it up at 3 runs-a piece in the seventh inning and kick opposing starter Max Scherzer off the hill, but his extra-inning, walkoff grand slam marked the first in the history of ever.

To clarify, it's only technically the first walkoff grand slam in MLB playoff history. Back in 1993, Robin Ventura hit one during the 1999 NLCS for the Mets, but he was so busy celebrating the victory, he failed to touch home plate and was credited with a Grand Slam Single. In his defense, however, his stupid teammates carried him off the field before he had a chance to score. (Details, Schmetails.) God, we went from talking about Ventura pretty much never to mentioning him like three times in a week. I'm sure we'll have a lot more to make fun of him for to talk about regarding his White Sox managing adventure in 2012.

Magglio Ordonez Out of Commission, Delmon Young Returns

Unfortunately for Magglio Ordonez, he will miss all the fun and excitement that comes with the rest of whatever playoffs lay ahead for his Detroit Tigers, whose outfielders are dropping like flies.

Ordonez fractured his right ankle some time during Game 1 of the American League Championship Series on Saturday, exiting in the top of the fifth inning when he drew a walk between rain delays before being replaced by a pinch-runner.

Nelson Cruz Busts Out His Boomstick, Rangers Beat Tigers in Game 1

After not one, but two rain delays added nearly two hours to the game Saturday night, the Texas Rangers came away with a 3-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series.

David Murphy hit an RBI triple in the second inning and scored on an Ian Kinsler base hit to give the Rangers an early 2-0 lead before Nelson Cruz busted out his boomstick. The outfielder led off the fourth with a solo shot, taking Justin Verlander deep on an 0-2 fastball which turned out to be the deciding factor in his team's win. Good for Cruz too, cause he was in quite a slump so far throughout the postseason, sporting an .067 batting average entering the series.

Rangers starter C.J. Wilson had a rather rough outing, lasting just 4.2 innings. The lefty walked five and coughed up two runs, including one a wild pitch that scored a run between rain delays. However, the relief corps cleaned up the mess and stomped the Tigers' rally. Five Texas relievers combined for eight strikeouts, with only Neftali Feliz allowing a hit while getting clocked at 101 mph for his fourth postseason save.

I suppose Detroit's loss could be partly attributed to the absence of Delmon Young -- we swear that's an impostor -- who batted .316 with three homers against the New York Yankees in the ALDS before suffering an oblique injury during Game 5. The left fielder now has to watch the best-of-seven series from the bench.

Game 2 is set for Monday night at 4:19pm ET on FOX with Derek Holland starting for the Rangers against Tigers right-hander Max Scherzer. The contest was postponed a day since  there was a 60 percent chance of rain over the Arlington area just before Sunday's game time.

[SB Nation]

There's Always Next Year, Yankees Fans

Moving right along with this season's second edition of There's Always Next Year...

The Detroit Tigers are headed to the American League Championship Series for the first time since 2006 after scraping past the New York Yankees 3-2 Thursday night with an exciting Game 5 victory in the Bronx.

The Texas Rangers, who advanced to the ALCS on Tuesday after taking three of four Division Series games over the Tampa Bay Rays, were ready and waiting and probably didn't give a crap who they faced in the end, as long as they get another shot at the World Series.

But enough about the winners. Let's have an emotional look at the losers. In sad photo montage, of course.

Yankees Force ALDS Game 5 with 10-1 Punishment of Tigers

The Detroit Tigers put Rick Porcello on the hill for Game 4 in the hopes that he would get the job done and send the New York Yankees packing for the offseason.

Instead, the Yanks took advantage of a couple of the 22-year-old pitcher's mistakes before busting the game wide open off the relief corps for a 10-1 victory to force Game 5 of their American League Division Series.

Derek Jeter drilled a 1-0 slider for a two-run double in the third inning before Curtis Granderson, who made a spectacular catch with the bags juiced in the first, crushed one for an RBI double in the fifth to give New York an early lead. Then they kicked the door in with a six-run eighth inning off relievers Al Albuquerque and Daniel Schlereth.

While Yankees starter A.J. Burnett sucked pretty much all season, he did what he had to do against the Tigers, who wasted opportunities with runners in scoring position the entire game. They failed to get a hit with men on four separate times, in fact.

The two teams will meet again Thursday in the Bronx for the deciding contest at 8:07pm ET on TBS. This marks the first postseason series for Detroit that will go the maximum number of games since 1972 when the Tigers lost at home to the Oakland Athletics in Game 5 of the ALCS.

[The Detroit News]

CC Sabathia Struggles in Game 3 Loss to Tigers, Yankees on Brink of Elimination

CC Sabathia was all over the place Monday night in his New York Yankees' 5-4 loss to the Detroit Tigers, who now hold a 3-1 lead in the best-of-five American League Division Series.

The chubby left-hander, who could barely lob the ball to Russell Martin on an intentional walk, matched a postseason-worst with six walks. He literally could not find the strike zone... and he feels pretty bad about it:

"I put us in a bad spot... the next time I get the ball, I'll try to go out and try to help us win."

Too bad he might not get the chance until next season.

But it wasn't all CC's fault. Rafael Soriano, the $161 million man who was tagged with the loss, surrendered the go-ahead home run to Delmon Young in the seventh inning. Two innings later, Jose Valverde had Tigers fans sweating for the second straight game with the Yankees rallying in the ninth, but Derek Jeter failed miserably, striking out with two runners on for the final out.

Justin Verlander was pretty solid for Detroit, giving up four runs on six hits with three walks, but fanning a career postseason-best 11 batters. Hitting an incredible 101-mph on the gun into the eighth inning, the right-hander gained run support through second baseman Ramon Santiago, who went 2-for-4 with 2 RBI. Meanwhile, Jhonny Peralta nailed an RBI double to tie it up in the sixth just before Sabathia's exit.

Now on the brink of elimination Tuesday night, the Yankees will look to A.J. Burnett, who sucked quite a bit this season, to shift the series back to New York and force a Game 5. Rick Porcello, a career 2-2 with a 5.56 ERA against the Bronx Bombers, will pitch Game 4 for Detroit at 8:30pm ET on TBS.

[Detroit Free Press]

Detroit Tigers Fend off New York Yankees to Even up ALDS

The Detroit Tigers held off the New York Yankees to tie up their American League Division Series on Sunday with a 5-3 win at Yankee Stadium, and are very much looking forward to heading back home to Detroit Monday night.

AL Batting Champion Miguel Cabrera smoked a two-run homer off Yankees starter Freddy Garcia in the first to give Max Scherzer an early lead before adding another RBI in the sixth along with Victor Martinez to make it 4-0. Scherzer actually pitched no-hit ball into the sixth before the Cano blooped one the opposite way into left field, but we totally forgave him for that.

About the time it started to rain again, Curtis Granderson hit a solo shot in the eighth off Joaquin Benoit, but Don Kelly answered with a home run of his own in the top of the ninth to bring the score to 5-1.

Things got a little crazy in the bottom of the ninth when Nick Swisher went yard and Andruw Jones added a sacrifice fly to bring the Yankees within two.  Tigers closer Jose Valverde then walked Granderson to put runners on first and second, but quickly recovered to retire the hot-hitting Cano and cap Detroit's victory to bring the series to Motor City for Game 3 Monday at 8:30pm ET on TBS.

Ivan Nova, Robinson Cano Lead Yankees Past Tigers in ALDS Game One

A day after their rain-suspended Game One of the American League Division Series, the Detroit Tigers headed back the Yankee Stadium to resume play in the bottom of the second inning.

Right-hander Ivan Nova pitched 6.1 brilliant innings of relief while Robinson Cano contributed a tie-breaking double in the fifth and a grand slam in the six-run sixth to give their Yankees a 9-3 victory Saturday night.

Nova surrendered only two runs on four hits, striking out five and walking four. Opposing pitcher Doug Fister lasted just 4.2 innings of relief, getting the loss after fanning seven, but giving up six runs on seven hits.

Freddy Garcia will get the ball for New York Sunday afternoon for Game Two of the best-of-five series at 3pm ET on TBS. He'll face 27-year-old righty Max Scherzer, who is a career 3-0 in as many starts against the Yankees, with a 2.84 ERA. Garcia, who came to the Bronx this winter, is 18-8 with a 3.88 ERA against the Tigers over 32 career starts, seeing lots of time against them while with the Chicago White Sox in the AL Central.

[Baseball Nation]