Dan Gladden, it was obvious Friday, has not yet recognized the new reality with Miguel Cabrera: "Miggy" is no longer the overwhelming hitter he once was.
Cabrera's slash line after 0 for 4 Friday was an underwhelming .248/.328/.397. Coupled with his subpar defense at first base, and you have a player who is barely better than replacement, at least by Baseball Reference' version of WAR.
Gladden seems to think that the 34-year-old Cabrera is still MIGUEL CABRERA. He's not. Same person, with sharply diminished skills.
The "fun" part for the rebuilding Tigers is that this was the first year of an eight-year contract extension. Unless the big guy finds a way to reverse the ravages of age -- I wouldn't count on it -- the Tigers have seven more years of this ahead of them.
Tough choice: the rest of Cabrera's contract or that of Pujols'? I can imagine some bounceback for the former player, but Pujols just seems completely unplayable, even at dh just against lefties.
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