MVPs

Reinforces the idea of being Most VALUABLE, too.

 

Morosi brought this up the other day, too. This logic presumes that Cabrera's switch freed up a spot for Fielder to get more at-bats. But Fielder was always going to play, so it really didn't matter if Cabrera moved to third or DH because both of them were going to be in the lineup regardless.

Cabrera was originally offered a chance to DH full-time, and he declined. His move to third meant Delmon Young became the DH instead of the starting left fielder. (It also meant Brandon Inge was expendable.) After all the shuffling was done, Cabrera's switch actually freed up a spot for Andy Dirks or Quintin Berry to get more at-bats as the primary left fielder. That's not a whole lot of extra offense.

If Cabrera had done what the team had asked, the Tigers would have had this lineup:

1B Fielder
DH Cabrera
3B Inge
LF Young

But because Cabrera made the switch, they ended up with this lineup:

1B Fielder
DH Young
3B Cabrera
LF Dirks/Berry

The infield defense is provably, demonstrably worse (though the outfield defense is better without Young there), and the offense isn't a whole lot better than it would have been in the first place (assuming Inge stays on the team and/or stays healthy, which isn't a given.)

So you're really looking at Inge vs. Dirks/Berry. Did that improve the team or ... did it make the Tigers worse? Should Cabrera get credit for that? Is there any credit to be given?

I sure don't think it's obvious that Cabrera's switch helped the team, overall. And I think a case could be made that it actually made the Tigers worse. Doesn't help his MVP case, that's for sure.

 

Andy Dirks has been exceptional this year. He's easily the team's fourth-best hitter.

 

Who wants to be a DH when you're in your prime?

[ "Don't fuck with happy." -- Elliotte. ]

 

Also, isn't Delmon Young a lousy defensive outfielder?

 

buckweaver mentioned that.

 

Bring back Larry Herndon!

 

Whither Bobby Higginson?

 

Ah, I missed it. So he did.

 

Shame he's not clean.

 

Shame you say that about everybody who dares to be good for an NL Central team other than the Cubs.

 

Good point. In the rush to make my bigger point I left a couple of huge holes in the smaller one. If someone is the best offensive player, they should not lose to someone who was an inferior offensive player just because the inferior offensive player's team made the postseason. If inferior offensive player made up for the gap with his defense, fine.
And, while I agree that there are technically scenarios where the triple crown winner is not the best offensive player, I don't see that this year.