Detroit Tigers Clips Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Detroit Free Press Chicago 5, Detroit 1: Tigers' Max Scherzer lasts only 4 innings, fails in third attempt at 20th win (Sipple) Brayan Pena hopes to lose 25 pounds, return to Tigers next season (Sipple) Chicago 5, Detroit 1: Why the Tigers lost Monday (Sipple) Detroit Tigers' Torii Hunter will cheer on son's football team on upcoming off day (Sipple) Chicago 5, Detroit 1: Chris Sale outduels Max Scherzer as Tigers lose (Crawford)

The Detroit News Tigers' Omar Infante quietly sits among AL batting leaders (Gage) Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera 'in shock' over ejection (Gage) Max Scherzer struggles, Miguel Cabrera tossed as Tigers lead shrinks to 4½ (Gage) Tigers' Miguel Cabrera, Jim Leyland ejected in first inning for arguing checked-swing strike (Gage) Monday's Tigers lineup: Miguel Cabrera in lineup against White Sox (Staff) If Jhonny Peralta can help, Tigers must welcome him back for playoffs (Mensching)

MLive.com Detroit Tigers' Miguel Cabrera 'shocked' that he was ejected during at-bat for second time this season (Iott) To reach full potential, Detroit Tigers need Miguel Cabrera, Max Scherzer to return to superstar form (Iott) Detroit Tigers' Max Scherzer falls short of win No. 20, bats quiet against Chris Sale in 5-1 loss to White Sox (Iott) Detroit Tigers' Miguel Cabrera, Jim Leyland ejected during first inning against Chicago White Sox (Iott)

MLB.com Detroit Tigers and Karmanos Cancer Institute team up for Pink Out the Park, September 13 (Staff) Scherzer's quest for No. 20 denied by White Sox (Beck) Miggy, Leyland ejected in first inning against Chicago (Beck) Tigers limited in rehab options for Peralta (Beck) Tuiasosopo trying to stay fresh with limited chances (Beck) Pitchers do better job of holding runners against Royals (Beck) Tigers try to even series against White Sox rookie (Nightengale) Tigers try to even series against White Sox rookie (Nightengale)

FOXSportsDetroit.com Tigers need to step it up (Wakiji) 1 Miguel Cabrera ejected in Chicago (Wakiji)

Associated Press Sale tosses gem for Chicago to deny Tigers' Scherzer 20th win (Staff) Miguel Cabrera, Jim Leyland ejected (Staff)

ESPN.com Cabrera versus Trout about RBIs, not WAR (Schoenfield)

CBSSports.com Stock Watch: Fish tales boost Trout, but truth is Miggy is still better (Heyman)

FOXSports.com 2013 Triple Crown stat tracker (Staff)

OPPOSING TEAM

MLB.com Sale, White Sox deal Scherzer second straight loss (Merkin) Hahn already working toward 2014 and beyond (Merkin) Johnson to be integral part of White Sox rotation (Pleskoff) Tigers try to even series against White Sox rookie (Nightengale)

Chicago Tribune White Sox Game Day: Sox win 5-1 (Kane)

CBSSports.com Daily Transactions

2 Chicago 5, Detroit 1: Tigers' Max Scherzer lasts only 4 innings, fails in third attempt at 20th win September 10, 2013 By George Sipple / Detroit Free Press

CHICAGO — Max Scherzer pitched a season-low four innings Monday night and failed in his third attempt to reach the 20-win plateau. Scherzer gave up four earned runs, and his throwing error led to another run for the White Sox. The Tigers went on to lose, 5-1, to the White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field. Miguel Cabrera and Tigers manager Jim Leyland exited even earlier than Scherzer. Both were ejected by home plate umpire Brian Gorman in the top of the first inning. The Tigers fell behind, 2-0, in the first on a two-run single by Paul Konerko. “He was trying to go down and away on the pitch to Konerko and he left it up,” Leyland said of Scherzer. “That hurt him.” The White Sox added three more runs in the fourth to take a 5-0 lead. With two outs in the fourth inning, Scherzer gave up four consecutive hits — a double to Conor Gillaspie, an RBI single to right to Dayan Viciedo, a single to Jordan Banks that put runners on the corners, and a soft infield single to Josh Phegley. After the single to Banks, pitching coach Jeff Jones came out to the mound to talk to Scherzer. “I thought he was a little out of kilter and his command wasn’t as good as it has been,” Jones said of Scherzer. “Yeah, his changeup was a little bit off.” Jones said he went to the mound to get Scherzer refocused. Viciedo was halfway home when Phegley hit a soft grounder toward third. Scherzer fielded the ball and made an errant throw that sailed into rightfield. Viciedo had already scored. The throwing error allowed Danks to score and Phegley to advance to third. Scherzer (19-3) allowed six hits, two walks and five runs (four earned) in four innings with six strikeouts. “Once we got behind by five, you get to this point in the season and try to save pitches for some guys,” Jones said. “That’s what we decided to do at that point. If it was a little closer game we would have left them in.” Jose Alvarez pitched three scoreless innings of relief for the Tigers, giving up one hit and two walks with four strikeouts. White Sox lefty Chris Sale gave up four hits, one walk and one run in eight innings with eight strikeouts. Sale gave up a solo home run to Victor Martinez in the seventh inning. It was the 12th home run of the season for Martinez, matching the season total he had with the Tigers in 2011. “We ran into a buzzsaw with Sale,” Leyland said. “He was terrific. “From where I was sitting, I could see the pitches on TV. He was terrific. Absolutely terrific.” Cabrera was ejected in the middle of an at-bat for the second time this season. Cabrera was hit on the knee by a slider from Sale as he tried to check his swing. Cabrera seemed to point toward first base as if to suggest that Gorman should get help with the call. After hitting a foul ball one pitch later on an 0-2 count, Cabrera continued to chirp at Gorman and was ejected. Cabrera was animated afterward, pointing at Gorman as the umpire spoke with manager Jim Leyland. It’s the fifth career ejection for Cabrera. It’s the fourth time this season that Leyland has been tossed and the 72nd time in his career. Ramon Santiago came in to bat for Cabrera and grounded out to short. Santiago finished 0-for-4.

3 Brayan Pena hopes to lose 25 pounds, return to Tigers next season September 10, 2013 By George Sipple / Detroit Free Press

CHICAGO — Brayan Pena is having a career year as a backup catcher for the Tigers. He hopes it results in another season with the club in 2014. Pena, who was 0-for-3 Monday night against the White Sox, is hitting .306 in 65 games, with 22 RBIs. Since the All-Star break, Pena is hitting .349 with five doubles, two home runs and eight RBIs in 25 games. “I give all the credit to Mac and Toby and my teammates,” Pena said, referring to hitting coach Lloyd McClendon and assistant hitting coach Toby Harrah. Pena has established single-season career-highs this season in hits (67) and runs scored (18). He has 10 doubles, one shy of his career high set in 2011 with the Royals. He’s three RBIs shy of his career high set last season. Pena said he’s learned a lot from the likes of Miguel Cabrera, Torii Hunter and Victor Martinez this season about hitting, and the coaches have “helped him study the game completely.” Pena hit .236 last season in 68 games for the Royals and .248 in a career-high 72 games in 2011. “In my humble opinion, I knew I was better than that,” Pena said. “I knew there was more (possible) out of me. “I’m playing for such a great team and learning from such great hitters, I’m able to absorb those tips to make me a little better as a hitter.” Pena isn’t focused on trying to finish the season above .300, though. “I think it’s better to finish on the right note and being able to help my team do the right things, than (worry) about average,” Pena said. Pena (5-9, 230) has decided he will not play winter ball in the Dominican Republic after the season, as he’s done in the past. He plans to use that time to lose 25 pounds. He has hired a personal chef and nutritionist for the off-season and plans to spend the winter training with Tigers strength and conditioning coordinator Javair Gillett in Lakeland, Fla. “I want to lose 25 pounds,” Pena said. “I know it’s going to make a difference. I think it will help me to become a better hitter, to become a better catcher. It will help me to be more useful for my team. If I was able to lose 25 pounds the right way, I’m going to be much better.” “Being able to play winter ball, it was harder for me to lose weight, to have that regimen, to have that discipline. Now is the time for me to do it and dedicate more time to my body. “I want the Tigers to know I’m serious about showing up in spring training in great shape.” Meanwhile, Pena said he was fitted for his tuxedo during the recent trip to Kansas City for the November wedding of Kansas City Royals pitcher Bruce Chen. Pena will be Chen’s best man.

4 Chicago 5, Detroit 1: Why the Tigers lost Monday September 10, 2013 By George Sipple / Detroit Free Press

■ WHAT HAPPENED: Miguel Cabrera and Jim Leyland were ejected in the first inning. Cabrera tried to check his swing as he was hit in the knee on a slider by Chris Sale. Home plate umpire Brian Gorman called it a strike. Cabrera continued to chirp at Gorman after he fouled off a pitch and was tossed. Leyland was ejected a few minutes later. The White Sox took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first on a two-run single by Paul Konerko. The White Sox scored three more runs, two earned, in the fourth inning to take a 5-0 lead. ■ NO 20-20 VISION: Scherzer gave up four earned runs and his throwing error allowed the fifth run to score. Scherzer gave up six hits and two walks in four innings with six strikeouts. Scherzer is 19-3 and hasfailed to reach his 20th win in three consecutive starts — two losses and a no-decision. ■ A V-MART SPECIAL: Victor Martinez hit a home run off Chris Sale in the seventh inning. It was the 12th home run of the season for Martinez, matching his total with the Tigers in 2011. Martinez went 2-for-3 and is hitting .423 (22-for-52) with two home runs and six RBIs in 14 games against the White Sox this season. ■ NO. 200: Austin Jackson struck out swinging in the third inning, giving Chris Sale his 200th strikeout of the season. Sale is the fastest White Sox pitcher to reach 200 strikeouts in a season by both innings pitched and appearances. Sale allowed four hits, one walk and one runs over eight innings with eight strikeouts. ■ SAY WHAT? Monday’s game featured the top two pitchers in the American League in wins above replacement (WAR). Sale entered the game with an AL-leading WAR of 6.5, while Scherzer was second (5.9). Tigers starter Anibal Sanchez ranks fourth in AL WAR (5.2). ■ THREE STARS: 1. Sale; 2. Konerko (two-run single in first); 3. Martinez.

5 Detroit Tigers' Torii Hunter will cheer on son's football team on upcoming off day September 10, 2013 By George Sipple / Detroit Free Press

CHICAGO — Torii Hunter plans to watch one of his sons play college football when the Tigers are off Thursday. Arkansas State will host Troy in Jonesboro, Ark., on Thursday night, and Hunter plans to be there to see his son, Monshadrik (Money) Hunter. “I haven’t seen any of my sons play since they’ve been out of high school,” Hunter said. “If you’ve got that opportunity, you gotta do it. “I’m going to check it out and have my jersey on and hat on, then come back ready to play on Friday. It’ll be good. I haven’t seen my boys in months.” Money Hunter is a 6-foot-1, 193-pound freshman safety for Arkansas State. He made 2.5 tackles in the season- opening 62-11 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Aug. 31. Hunter didn’t play in last week’s 38-9 loss to Auburn. Hunter’s two other sons are also on college football teams. Darius is a freshman wide receiver at Southeastern Louisiana. Torii Hunter Jr., a freshman wide receiver at Notre Dame, suffered a broken leg while working out for the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. He was drafted in the 36th round by the Tigers in June but decided to play college football. Hunter said because redshirts don’t travel to road games, son Darius plans to come for a visit to Detroit the next time Notre Dame plays on the road.

6 Chicago 5, Detroit 1: Chris Sale outduels Max Scherzer as Tigers lose September 10, 2013 By Kirkland Crawford / Detroit Free Press

Max Scherzer was once again denied his 20th win as the Tigers lost to the White Sox, 5-1, tonight in Chicago. Chris Sale, the other All-Star pitcher in the game, gave up just one earned run on four hits and a walk while striking out eight. It's the sixth loss in the last eight games for the Tigers, whose lead in the AL Central is now down to 4 1/2 games after the Indians beat the Royals tonight in Cleveland. In the first inning, Miguel Cabrera was ejected by home plate umpire Brian Gorman during Cabrera's at bat. An 0-1 pitch hit Cabrera in the leg but Gorman ruled that Cabrera's check swing went too far. After some mild conversation, Cabrera fouled off a pitch. After what seemed to be some more talking, Gorman gave Cabrera the thumb. Soon after, Jim Leyland was also ejected. Ramon Santiago finished the at bat by grounding to short. The Tigers were down a pair of runs until there were two away in the fourth. Conor Gillaspie double to right and then scored on Dayan Viciedo's flare single to right. Jordan Danks then singled to right and Josh Phelgey hit a swinging bunt down the third base line. Scherzer fielded the ball and then fired wildly to first. Phegley was awarded an infield single and Danks scored on the error. Meanwhile, Sale (11-12) held the Tigers in check. He gave up a one-out single in the second to Victor Martinez, though Sale recorded the next two outs. He pitched around a leadoff walk to Torii Hunter by getting the next three outs. Nick Castellanos got his second career hit to open the fifth, but a fielder's choice and a double play ended the inning. Detroit didn't get a runner in scoring position until the sixth, when Jose Iglesias hit a leadoff single and then got to second on a groundout. But Santiago struck out to end the threat. Martinez (2-for-3) got the Tigers on the board with a solo home run, his 12th of the year, off Sale with one out in the seventh. But he ended the seventh by striking out Omar Infante and went 1-2-3 in the eighth, striking out Iglesias and Austin Jackson to end the frame. Nate Jones struck out Hunter to open the ninth. He then got Hunter and Prince Fielder to ground out to end the game. Scherzer (19-3) pitched just four innings, giving up five runs (four earned) on six hits and two walks while striking out six on 90 pitches. In the bottom of the inning, Alejandro De Aza hit a leadoff single and Gordon Beckham walked. With one out, Adam Dunn flied out to center and both runners moved up. Then, Paul Konerko singled to right-center, driving in both. Jose Alvarez walked the first two hitters he faced to start the fifth, Beckham and Alexei Ramirez. But he struck out Dunn, Paul Konerko and Gillaspie. Alvarez faced the minimum in the sixth and seventh. Joaquin Benoit, who had not pitched since Sept. 1, got the first two outs of the ninth before allowing a double to Gillapsie.

7 Tigers' Omar Infante quietly sits among AL batting leaders September 10, 2013 By Tom Gage / The Detroit News

Chicago — He wasn’t going to win the batting title, anyway. But it would have been nice to qualify, especially before a winter in which he could be a free agent Omar Infante is hitting .322 after going 0-for-3 in Monday’s 5-1 loss to the Whits Sox, which would rank third in the American League. But he missed so much time with the ankle injury he suffered on Colby Rasmus’ slide into second base in Toronto on July 3. To qualify for the title, a hitter has to have 502 plate appearances in a season. Infante has 408 with 19 games remaining. The numbers just aren’t there for him. He’s going to come up short, not by a lot, if he stays healthy, but short. Fifty-eight players in the American League, including five Tigers, already have at least 502 plate appearances. Prince Fielder is third at 635. Also above 502 are Victor Martinez, Torii Hunter, Miguel Cabrera and Austin Jackson. But Infante was hurt during Game 83 and didn’t come back until Game 117. As far as being able to find his name among league leaders, the length of his absence killed his season. It didn’t kill the quality of his season, though. Since coming back from the injury, Infante hit .371 in a 25-game stretch (36-for-97) through Sunday’s loss in Kansas City. “He knows what he can do,” said Torii Hunter, whose appreciation of Infante has bloomed because he now sees him play every day. “Omar doesn’t try to hit home runs. Why would he try to swing for the fence when he’s not a home run hitter. “He has a short-swing approach that he stays with, short and sweet. He’s a line-drive hitter and knows it. But he comes up with big hits all the time because he doesn’t try to do too much.” Infante’s had a five-hit game since returning, a four-hit game and a two-home run game. He’s also had games in which he knocked in six runs and five. “Omar has a good feel for hitting a tough pitch,” manager Jim Leyland said. “But when he gets a cookie, he can also turn it loose.” In Infante, Hunter also sees a smart hitter with a short stroke who not only reacts well to pitches but anticipates well. “Good players get smarter as they get older,” Hunter said. “Omar knows what pitchers are trying to do to him when he’s at the plate, and because he does, he can prepare better.”

8 Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera 'in shock' over ejection September 10, 2013 By Tom Gage / The Detroit News

Chicago — Miguel Cabrera said he was trying to get out of the way of the pitch that hit him. Umpire Brian Gorman said he swung at the pitch. When Cabrera disagreed more than once, maybe even more than twice, Gorman ejected him — in the first inning of the Tigers 5-1 loss on Monday night to the Chicago White Sox. Did Cabrera really say enough to warrant such an early ejection? “He was told to stop arguing and continued to argue,” Gorman said. “He was ejected for continuing the argument.” “Jim’s was the same way,” added Gorman, referring to manager Jim Leyland, who was also ejected in the first inning. Leyland didn’t argue the call with which Cabrera disagreed, however. “He didn’t argue the call at all,” Gorman said. “He was arguing the ejection. He deserved an explanation and I gave him an explanation. I don’t think he was too happy with it, but I gave him the explanation. “It’s just that he continued, was warned, and was ejected.” Cabrera stood at his locker after the game, voicing his surprise at how the incident was handled. “The ball hit me on the right knee,” Cabrera said, “but I tried to get out of the way. That’s what I tried to tell him a couple of times. He said I swung. “I said something else and he threw me out. But I didn’t say anything for him to throw me out — especially now that we’re in the race. I don’t want to get thrown out.” The incident left Cabrera wondering what he can and can’t do when he disagrees with a call. “I’m in shock right now,” he said. “I don’t know what to expect the next time. I don’t know what I have to do next time.” Cabrera has a habit on checked swings of pointing at first base, as if appealing the play on his own. That’s what it initially looked like this time. “Miguel didn’t think he swung, but the call was correct,” Leyland said. “Whatever he said, I felt, didn’t warrant an ejection. He didn’t put on a big show, get in his face or throw his hands up. “You can’t be running guys for that. I thought it was a totally unnecessary ejection, but I was kind of surprised he threw me out. “I guess I made my point too long.”

9 Max Scherzer struggles, Miguel Cabrera tossed as Tigers lead shrinks to 4½ September 10, 2013 By Tom Gage / The Detroit News

Chicago — Everything was fine until three batters into the game. Or until the third pitch to the third batter. At that point, the continuation of a Tigers trip which hasn’t exactly been their best got worse, got angrier, maybe even got a little worrisome with a 5-1 loss Monday night to the White Sox. And with the early ejection of Miguel Cabrera. The loss trimmed the Tigers’ lead over the second-place Indians in the American League Central to 4½ games, the first time since Aug 5 that it’s been under five games. With two games remaining, they are 2-5 on their last three-city trip of the season. Asked after the game if he was concerned about Cleveland, manager Jim Leyland said, “I don’t worry about the other teams, I worry about my team. “If we take care of business, we’ll be fine. But we’re in a little bit of a funk right now.” Speaking of funks, what happened in the first inning? Cabrera got tossed by plate umpire Brian Gorman for over-barking about a checked-swing strike, that’s what happened. Much to the Tigers’ amazement “This is America so I can say what I want to say. I think the umpire pulled the trigger too fast,” catcher Brayan Pena said. So from the first inning on, the Tigers didn’t have their best hitter. Or their manager, because Leyland was ejected along with Cabrera in the first inning And from the fifth inning on the Tigers didn’t have their starter — because their best starter, Max Scherzer had a bad night in his third attempt to win his 20th game. “I made too many mistakes,” said Scherzer, who gave up a two-run single to Paul Konerko in the first and made a costly throwing error in the fourth. “I was close to getting it going, but made some bad two-strike pitches.” Instead of winning his 20th, Scherzer lost his third — marking the first time this season he has lost two games in a row. As for who shut the Tigers down, until Victor Martinez hit his 12th home run in the seventh, it was left-hander Chris Sale (11-12) — for whom Leyland has a high regard. When it was mentioned before the game that some might regard a series against the White Sox as a break in otherwise demanding schedule — what with the Sox just back from a 1-9 trip —Leyland replied “I’d hate to think anybody would say that when we’re facing Chris Sale, one of the best pitchers in baseball. “That would be a foolish statement.” And sure enough, after the game, Leyland said Sale “was terrific.” Cabrera’s ejection certainly didn’t point the game in a promising direction for the Tigers. Sale had a 0-1 count on him with two outs and the bases empty in the first when Cabrera swung at, but also was hit by the next pitch. Cabrera would have been awarded first base if it had been ruled he checked his swing because he was hit on the right knee by the pitch. But Gorman ruled he swung at the pitch. When Cabreera fouled off the third pitch, the 0-2 pitch, he made some comments that got him ejected. “He kept arguing the swing part of it,” Gorman said. “He just continued it. After being warned, it’s an ejection.” Said Cabrera, “I tried to get out of the way of the pitch. He said I swung, but I told him a couple of times I was just trying to get out of the way. “Then he threw me out.” It was Cabrera’s second ejection of the season. For Leyland, who told Gorman he felt the ejection was unnecessary, the boot was his fourth of the season and the 72nd of his career. With the way Sale threw, however — four hits allowed in eight innings —even Cabrera’s presence might not have made a difference.

10 Scherzer allowed five runs, four earned, on six hits in four innings. He struck out six, but has now allowed 11 earned runs in his last 16 innings while going three starts in a row without a victory. He didn’t struggle in all three starts, though — losing 2-1 to the Red Sox in his last start. So a record that was 19-1 hasn’t exactly fallen apart just because it’s now 19-3. It’s just that Scherzer hadn’t hit any kind of speed bump this season before now.

11 Tigers' Miguel Cabrera, Jim Leyland ejected in first inning for arguing checked-swing strike September 10, 2013 By Tom Gage / The Detroit News

Chicago — Tigers’ slugger Miguel Cabrera was ejected in the first inning of Monday night’s game against the Chicago White Sox by plate umpire Brian Gorman for a dispute involving a checked swing strike. Manager Jim Leyland was also ejected for carrying on the argument at the plate. Cabrera was ejected with an 0-2 count on him. There were two outs and the bases empty at the time. The ejection was Cabrera’s second of the season and the fifth of his career. For Leyland, it was his fourth of the season and 72nd of his career. The dispute stemmed from an 0-1 pitch that hit Cabrera on the right knee as he was swinging at it. Gorman ruled that Cabrera had not checked his swing, but Cabrera pointed to first, as if he were asking Gorman to seek help on the call from first base umpire Tony Randazzo. Apparently confident that Cabrera had swung at the pitch, Gorman did not agree to Cabrera’s request for an appeal. After Cabrera fouled off the 0-2 pitch, he said something to Gorman that got him ejected before the at-bat was completed. Ramon Santiago completed the plate appearance by grounding out to short.

12 Monday's Tigers lineup: Miguel Cabrera in lineup against White Sox September 10, 2013 By Staff / The Detroit News

Chicago — Miguel Cabrera is playing, after all. The Tigers slugging third baseman, who’s battled an assortment of injuries since early July, was in the Tigers’ lineup Monday night for the opener of their three-game series against the White Sox. One lineup posted on Twitter on Monday afternoon and retweeted showed Cabrera out of the lineup. That was incorrect. Cabrera played all three games in Kansas City, after missing two of three in Boston. He’s played just four games this month. The Tigers enter the game 5.5 games up in the American League Central, with 19 games remaining. The pitching matchup is a gem: Max Scherzer, going for win No. 20, against Chris Sale. First pitch is 8:10 at U.S. Cellular Field. Monday's Tigers lineup 1. Austin Jackson, CF 2. Torii Hunter, RF 3. Miguel Cabrera, 3B 4. Prince Fielder, 1B 5. Victor Martinez, DH 6. Nick Castellanos, LF 7. Omar Infante, 2B 8. Brayan Pena, C 9. Jose Iglesias, SS P. Max Scherzer

13 If Jhonny Peralta can help, Tigers must welcome him back for playoffs September 10, 2013 By Kurt Mensching / The Detroit News

When asked recently in a radio interview about the possibility of suspended shortstop Jhonny Peralta making his postseason roster, Tigers president and general manager Dave Dombrowski was non-committal. Recent offense woes by the Tigers, though, make you wonder if he should be. A 2-5 record to open the month, thanks to a distinct lack of consistent scoring, does not instill a great amount of confidence. Yet September struggles aside, a look at the statistics provides an eye-opener: The Tigers scored just as many runs per game before Peralta’s suspension as they did after it: just a bit more than five per game. So maybe they don’t need Peralta, after all. In a vacuum, Peralta should make the Tigers’ postseason roster. He’ll have served his 50-game punishment and, so far as we know, has done nothing wrong in 2013. Coupling Peralta and Jose Iglesias as a bat-and-glove duo at shortstop gives Tigers manager Jim Leyland the opportunity to pick the player who fits a specific situation best. Beyond that, who’s going to turn away an additional weapon in the lineup? In a year Prince Fielder hasn’t been hitting like himself and Miguel Cabrera has battled a host of injuries, playing one of the season’s best-hitting shortstops seems like a no brainer. Oh, if only it were that easy. Under consideration Here’s only a partial list of items that have to be considered: ■ Can Peralta even come back in the same form? He’ll be coming off a 50-game suspension. With no minor- league season to join, options are limited for Peralta to get back up to game speed. If the Tigers could have cryogenically frozen him, well, maybe it would be different. But there just aren’t any guarantees he’ll return in the same form. ■ Are the Tigers willing to risk a public relations hit by playing Peralta? The Giants set a precedent in 2012 by leaving Melky Cabrera off their postseason roster. Because they still managed to win the World Series, there was no reason to second-guess the decision. Even though Peralta was suspended for an event that occurred before the 2013 season, playing Peralta would leave open the door for people to paint any Tigers’ postseason success as ill-gotten gains. ■ If the Tigers shake loose of their recent woes, what would Peralta do to the chemistry? Not the chemistry in the locker room, but the stuff on the field. This is a question of suddenly upsetting the routine that players had gotten used to for the past two months: their spot in the lineup, their teammates in the infield. Heck, who even gets the start for the Tigers? Peralta or Iglesias. Wait-and-see approach Even if Dombrowski is leaning strongly in one way, stating any decision in public right now would be a mistake. What would the Tigers do if they said that Peralta wouldn’t be back, only to see Cabrera or Iglesias shelved for the rest of the season with an injury? What might be the deciding factor is how Peralta looks in the final week to 10 days before the playoffs begin. He’ll have just three regular-season games to prove he’s ready. If he looks like he could help, and if the Tigers don’t feel compelled by the Giants’ precedent, bringing Peralta along would be the best move. If Peralta can play, he should be part of the roster. The playoffs are never a guarantee. A team owes itself and its fans the best possible chance at winning the World Series. Peralta gives the Tigers the best chance at that.

14 Detroit Tigers' Miguel Cabrera 'shocked' that he was ejected during at-bat for second time this season September 10, 2013 By Chris Iott / Mlive.com

CHICAGO -- Home-plate umpire Brian Gorman and Detroit Tigers manager agreed that Gorman made the right call on the play that led to the ejection of Miguel Cabrera. Leyland and Cabrera agreed that Cabrera shouldn't have been thrown out of the ballgame. Gorman said he warned Cabrera. Leyland said he believed Cabrera was warned. Cabrera said he wasn't. But everyone seemed to agree that it was odd to see Cabrera ejected from the game during an at-bat for the second time during the 2013 season. The incident took place Monday night in the top of the first inning of a 5-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox when Cabrera tried to check his swing on an 0-1 slider from Chris Sale that ended up hitting Cabrera. Gorman believed Cabrera did not check his swing in time and called strike two. Cabrera pointed to first base, as if to say that he wanted Gorman to appeal. But umpires appeal only if they are uncertain of the call and cannot appeal after calling a strike. Cabrera argued with Gorman, then continued the argument after he fouled off the next pitch. At that point, Cabrera was ejected. A few minutes later, Leyland was, too. "He wasn't in his face. He wasn't throwing his hands up. He wasn't putting on a big show." -- Jim Leyland Cabrera explained that he thought his bat swung as far as it did only because he was trying to avoid being hit by the pitch. "I tried to get out of the way," he said. "I tried to tell him a couple times. He didn't say anything … and he threw me out. I don't think I said anything for him to throw me out." Gorman disputed that fact. "He kept arguing about the swing part of it," Gorman told a pool reporter after the game. "He was warned and he continued to argue. He was told to stop arguing and continued to argue and he was ejected for continuing the argument." Leyland said that Cabrera was warned, but he thought Gorman could have been more clear about it. "In my opinion," Leyland said, "when you do something like that, you say, 'Look, Miguel, I'm trying to keep you in this game. I don't want to throw you out of this game. OK. I don't want to throw you out. But that's enough.' And be emphatic about. And then if he says something, throw him out. "He said, 'That's enough.' But it was periodic that Miguel (argued)." Leyland said Gorman made the correct call on the pitch, and on another just like it that hit Ramon Santiago later in the game. "He called both of them absolutely correct," Leyland said. "There's no question about that. It's basically a strike and a dead ball. Brian Gorman, who is a very good umpire, called them exactly right. There's no question about that. After hearing Brian's explanation as to why he threw him out, I was a little upset, because I did not think it warranted an ejection by any means." Leyland explained how he understood things went down. "Miguel said about three or four times, 'That's (bullcrap),' " Leyland said. "That really doesn't, in my opinion, warrant an ejection. He wasn't in his face. He wasn't throwing his hands up. He wasn't putting on a big show. I just felt it was a very unnecessary ejection." Gorman saw it a different way. "He just continued to argue the call," he said, "and after being warned, you're subject to ejection after doing that." Cabrera was ejected from a game in early July while arguing balls and strikes during an at-bat. He said now he is unclear on what he can and cannot say to a home-plate umpire to avoid ejection. "I'm shocked now," he said. "I don't know what to expect next time. I don't know what I have to do next time. To me, to get thrown out two times this year, almost in the same position, in the middle of an at-bat, to me, I don't know what happened. I don't know what to expect."

15 The Tigers likely would not have solved Sale even with Cabrera in the lineup, but it certainly became an even bigger uphill battle for the team when he was ejected. "I don't know what happened that moment, but I don't think I said anything to get thrown out of the game, especially right now," Cabrera said. "We're in the race. You don't want to get thrown out of the game. You know what I mean? You want to fight. You want to compete. "I don't know why. I don't know what happened. I don't know why he threw me out."

16 To reach full potential, Detroit Tigers need Miguel Cabrera, Max Scherzer to return to superstar form September 10, 2013 By Chris Iott / Mlive.com

CHICAGO -- The Detroit Tigers remain in control of their own destiny in the American League Central Division race. Max Scherzer still seems to have the inside track on winning his first Cy Young Award. But neither the Tigers nor Scherzer did anything to advance their cause Monday night in a 5-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox. The Tigers were outplayed by the last-place White Sox and saw their division lead over the Cleveland Indians shrink to 4 1/2 games. Scherzer was outdone by White Sox left-hander Chris Sale and has pitched just nine innings combined in his most recent two starts, both losses. Tigers fans might be driving with one eye on the Indians in the rearview mirror, but Tigers manager Jim Leyland said he's not going about his business in that manner. "We've got to take care of our own business," he said. "If we do that, we'll be fine. If we don't, we won't win. It's pretty simple. I don't mean that disrespectful to Cleveland or Kansas City. I don't mean it that way at all. What I mean is, I don't worry about the other teams. I worry about my team." The two absolute constants for the Tigers throughout the ups and downs of the 2013 season have been Scherzer and Miguel Cabrera. Scherzer did not pitch well, not well enough to give the Tigers a chance to win against Sale, who was excellent. Scherzer has had a bit of a rough go of it recently. He had a 2.73 ERA through 26 starts this season but has allowed 11 earned runs in 16 innings in his three most recent outings. He is 0-2 with a 6.19 ERA during that stretch and has seen his ERA climb back above 3.00. "It was frustrating," said Scherzer, who allowed five runs, four of them earned, in just four innings of work, which made it his shortest outing of the season. "It was not an effective start for me. I just made too many mistakes. I left the ball up, elevated the ball, the ball was too high, I wasn't able to get it down and it cost me." Cabrera didn't hang around long enough to make an impact in this one. He was ejected during his first at-bat of the game. But he has been battling injuries for some time now and has struggled at the plate in recent weeks. Cabrera has not had an extra-base hit since Aug. 26 and is 5-for-22 (.227) during that stretch. Cabrera is running out of time to win the Triple Crown, but he is still the clear leader in his attempt to repeat as the American League Most Valuable Player. Scherzer, despite his 19-2 record, has less of a stranglehold on what is an extremely tight and very interesting race to win the AL Cy Young Award. Sale is a contender. So is Yu Darvish as well as a handful of others. But the focus on individual achievements has faded a bit as the Tigers' lead in the division has shrunk. Detroit held a commanding 8 1/2-game lead over the Indians on Sept. 2 but have seen that lead shrink by four games in just more than a week. The Tigers have won just one of their past six games. "Right now, we're in a little bit of a funk and we're not doing enough things to win the game," Leyland. "It's simple. I throw us all into the same barrel. You've got to manage better, you've got to pitch better and you've got to play better. We're all in this together. We're a tough team. We're a resilient team. I have a lot of confidence in this team, so we'll see how it plays out." The Tigers are still the most talented team in the Central Division. They should make the playoffs. But they need Scherzer and Cabrera to return to form. They might manage to hold off the Indians for the division title without strong finishes by those two, but they cannot win it all if Scherzer and Cabrera are not at their best.

17 Detroit Tigers' Max Scherzer falls short of win No. 20, bats quiet against Chris Sale in 5-1 loss to White Sox September 10, 2013 By Chris Iott / Mlive.com

CHICAGO -- Is the third time the charm? It wasn't this time. Max Scherzer fell short on his third attempt at earning his 20th victory as the Detroit Tigers suffered a 5-1 loss Monday night to the Chicago White Sox. The Tigers saw their division lead over the Cleveland Indians shrink to just 4 1/2 games. The Indians pulled out a 4-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals. The White Sox scored five runs, four of them earned, off Scherzer before the Tigers managed to get their second hit of the night off White Sox starter Chris Sale. The Tigers struggled all night against Sale, who allowed one run, gave up four hits, walked one and struck out eight in eight innings. Scherzer, who lasted just five innings in his previous start, made it through just four innings in this one. It was his shortest outing of the season. Scherzer (19-3) improved to 19-1 on Aug. 24 in a 3-0 victory over the New York Mets but is 0-2 with a no- decision in three starts since then. Miguel Cabrera and Jim Leyland were ejected from the game in the first inning. KEY TO THE GAME The Tigers didn't manage much early offense against Sale, but they trailed just 2-0 before the White Sox broke the game open in the bottom of the fourth inning. Scherzer retired the first two batters he faced in the fourth, but the next four batters reached base on hits. Those four hits, along with an error by Scherzer, allowed the White Sox to extend their lead to 5-0. TIGERS HIGHLIGHTS -- Nick Castellanos, making just his second career start, singled off Sale to start the fifth inning. It was just the second hit of the night for the Tigers, who trailed 5-0 at the time. -- Jose Alvarez walked the first two batters he faced in the fifth inning after relieving Scherzer. Then he struck out the next three batters, all on swings-and-misses. -- Victor Martinez hit a solo home run off Sale in the seventh inning to cut his team's deficit to 5-1. It was the 12th home run of the season for Martinez. That matched his home run total for the 2011 season, his first with the Tigers. TIGERS LOWLIGHTS -- The first two batters Scherzer faced reached base. Both eventually scored. Alejandro De Aza singled to lead off the game, and Scherzer walked Gordon Beckham to put two on with no outs. Both runners moved up on a fly ball by Adam Dunn that was caught for the second out of the inning. Both of them came home to score on a single to center by Paul Konerko. There might have been a play at the plate, but Beckham crossed the plate easily for the second run when the ball skipped past Austin Jackson in center field. There was no error on the play. Konerko was credited with a single and two RBIs. -- The White Sox added to their lead with a two-out rally in the fourth. Conor Gillaspie hustled to second for a double on a line drive near the line in right field, then raced around to score when Dayan Viciedo singled past a diving Prince Fielder to make it 3-0. After Jordan Danks singled, Josh Phegley hit a dribbler near the line at third base. Phegley was bound for an RBI infield single, but Scherzer made it worse by fielding the ball and throwing wide of the bag at first, which allowed another run to score. That gave the Tigers a 5-0 lead. -- Max Scherzer had a 2.73 ERA for the season after his Aug. 24 win over the Mets. He has a 6.19 ERA (16IP, 11ER) in his most recent three starts. His ERA has climbed to 3.01 during that time. OTHER GAME NOTES -- Sale recorded his 200th strikeout of the season when he got Austin Jackson to swing and miss at strike three to end the third inning. Based on appearances and innings pitched, it's the fastest a White Sox pitcher has ever reached 200 strikeouts in a season.

18 -- Ramon Santiago made the final out of the sixth inning when he was swung and missed at a third strike that him. Santiago replaced Cabrera earlier in the game after home-plate umpire Brian Gorman ruled he had swung at a pitch that hit him.

19 Detroit Tigers' Miguel Cabrera, Jim Leyland ejected during first inning against Chicago White Sox September 10, 2013 By Chris Iott / Mlive.com

CHICAGO -- Miguel Cabrera started the game Monday night. But he didn't come anywhere close to finishing it. Home-plate umpire Brian Gorman ejected Cabrera during his at-bat in the top of the first inning, then ejected manager Jim Leyland after he came to Cabrera's aid. Cabrera tried to check his swing on an 0-1 slider from Chicago White Sox starter Chris Sale that hit him in the knee, but Gorman ruled that he had swung. Cabrera had a few words with Gorman at that point. He appeared to be complaining that Gorman didn't appeal to the umpire at first base before ruling that Cabrera had gone around. Cabrera fouled off the next pitch from Sale, then turned and said something to Gorman, who immediately ejected him. Cabrera continued to argue his point while shaking his bat in Gorman's direction as Leyland came to home plate to continue the argument. After a lengthy discussion, Leyland was also ejected. Ramon Santiago replaced Cabrera with an 0-2 count and grounded out to shortstop to complete a 1-2-3 inning for Sale.

20 Detroit Tigers and Karmanos Cancer Institute team up for Pink Out the Park, September 13 Wear Pink to the Game to Support Breast Cancer Awareness and Prevention September 10, 2013 By Staff / MLB.com

The Detroit Tigers and the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute are teaming up for the second annual Pink Out the Park at the Detroit Tigers vs. Kansas City Royals game Friday, Sept. 13, at 7:08 p.m., at Comerica Park. The evening's festivities will celebrate and honor those touched by breast cancer. Fans are encouraged to wear pink to the game to support breast cancer awareness and prevention. Delta Air Lines, the Official Airline of the Detroit Tigers, will serve as the host sponsor for this year's Pink Out the Park and will provide a pink tote giveaway to the first 10,000 fans attending the Sept. 13 game. Media sponsors for Pink Out the Park include FOX Sports Detroit and CBS Radio Detroit: WWJ Newsradio 950, 97.1 The Ticket, 98.7 AMP Radio, 99.5 WYCD, 104.3 WOMC and CBS Sports Radio 1270 WXYT. There will be several activities supporting breast cancer awareness and prevention starting with an on-field pre- game ceremony at 6:30 p.m. honoring breast cancer survivors and ending with a fireworks display following the game, presented by Pepsi. Special Detroit Tigers pink pins will be available for purchase for $12 at all Comerica Park retail locations. A portion of the proceeds will benefit breast cancer research at the Karmanos Cancer Institute. Special kiosks with breast health information will also be available to all fans. In addition, there will be a 50/50 raffle held at both the Sept. 13 and Sept. 14 Detroit Tigers vs. Kansas City Royals games. Raffle tickets will sell three for $5 and proceeds from the 50/50 raffle will benefit the Karmanos Cancer Institute and the Detroit Tigers Foundation. "We're honored to team up with Delta Airlines and the Karmanos Cancer Institute to raise awareness of health issues that impact our fans, and we're thrilled with the community's response to Pink Out the Park," said Duane McLean, executive vice president, Business Operations, Detroit Tigers. "Cancer impacts all of us in one way or another. The Detroit Tigers organization is committed to raising awareness of health issues through events like Pink Out the Park and health fairs for our employees, offering up-to-date health information as well as tools to help prevent and survive cancer and other diseases. Together, working with partners like the Karmanos Cancer Institute, our fans will have the opportunity to enjoy many more Detroit Tigers baseball games in the years to come." Tickets are still available for the Sept. 13 Pink Out the Park and may be purchased by going to www.tigers.com. "Everyone knows someone touched by breast cancer," said Tom Brookens, Detroit Tigers third base coach. "Please join me and my family for Pink Out the Park on Sept. 13 and support the great cancer research being done at the Karmanos Cancer Institute. "We look forward to seeing a packed ballpark with everyone wearing pink!" The Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute is one of only 41 National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer centers in the country and the only hospital in Michigan solely focused on treating cancer. From ground-breaking research to the most up-to-date therapies and individualized treatment plans, Karmanos is truly on the cutting-edge when it comes to fighting cancer. "We are very grateful to the Detroit Tigers and all the sponsors and fans supporting the second annual Pink Out the Park," said Gerold Bepler, M.D., Ph.D., president and CEO, Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute. "Cancer is a tough disease but we have a relentless, committed team of experts at Karmanos working to eradicate breast cancer and other cancers every day. Having the Detroit Tigers and our community behind our winning team continues to fuel our determination to advance cancer research, detect cancer early, as well as discover better treatment options for cancer patients." For more information on cancer care, call 1-800-KARMANOS (1-800 527-6266) or visit www.karmanos.org. About The Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers, Inc., a charter member of the American League in 1901, have won four World Series and 11 American League pennants. The team is owned by Michael Ilitch who purchased the ballclub in 1992. Michael and his wife, Marian, jointly own other companies in the food, sports and entertainment industries include:

21 Little Caesars Pizza, Blue Line Foodservice Distribution, the Detroit Red Wings, Olympia Entertainment, Olympia Development, Little Caesars Pizza Kit Fundraising Program, Champion Foods, Uptown Entertainment and Ilitch Holdings, Inc. Marian Ilitch is the sole owner of MotorCity Casino Hotel. For more information, visit www.tigers.com. About the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute Located in mid-town Detroit, Michigan, the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute is one of 41 National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer centers in the United States. Caring for more than 6,000 new patients annually on a budget of $260 million, conducting more than 700 cancer-specific scientific investigation programs and clinical trials, Karmanos is among the nation's best cancer centers. Through the commitment of 1,000 staff, including nearly 300 physicians and researchers on faculty at the Wayne State University School of Medicine, and supported by thousands of volunteer and financial donors, Karmanos strives to prevent, detect and eradicate all forms of cancer. Its long-term partnership with the WSU School of Medicine enhances the collaboration of critical research and academics related to cancer care. Gerold Bepler, M.D., Ph.D., is the Institute's president and chief executive officer. For more information call 1-800-KARMANOS (1-800-527- 6266) or go to www.karmanos.org.

22 Scherzer's quest for No. 20 denied by White Sox Righty allows five runs over four innings; Miggy ejected in first AB September 10, 2013 By Jason Beck / MLB.com

CHICAGO -- The first-inning exit from Miguel Cabrera, three pitches into his at-bat after disputing a checked swing with plate umpire Brian Gorman, wasn't a good sign for the Tigers' evening in the Windy City. "We're in the race," Cabrera said afterward. "You don't want to get thrown out of the game." The two White Sox runs in the bottom half off Max Scherzer, who had given up just seven first-inning runs all season, probably suggested worse. "I made too many mistakes," Scherzer said. "I left the ball up, elevated the ball. I wasn't able to get the ball down and it cost me." By the time Scherzer left the mound after four innings, flummoxed by an infield single from No. 9 hitter Josh Phegley that turned into a two-run play and a five-run lead on Scherzer's throwing error, the feeling was unmistakable. The question now is whether the Tigers' current struggles, including Monday's 5-1 loss, are a sign of a bigger late-season concern. Around the same time lefty Jose Alvarez replaced Scherzer for the bottom of the fifth inning, Scherzer's earliest exit in a start this season, Indians closer Chris Perez stranded the bases loaded in the ninth inning in Cleveland against the Royals to finish off a 4-3 Tribe win. The two results moved the Indians to within 4 1/2 games of the Tigers in the American League Central. The gap in the division hasn't been this small since Aug. 5, just as the Tigers were beginning a four-game sweep in Cleveland to take command of the race and move 23 games over .500. They're now 14-17 since that series, having lost five of their last six on this three-city road trip. The Indians, meanwhile, have won five of their last six, cutting four games off the Tigers' division lead in just over a week. Four of Detroit's losses have come against left-handed starters, whom they have struggled to hit off and on throughout the year. Chris Sale has given them troubles for most of the year and continued that Monday. If there was concern about Cleveland on the Tigers' part, they weren't showing it. The concern about their own game right now is obvious. "I'm not concerned about Cleveland. I'm concerned about the Tigers," manager Jim Leyland said. "I don't worry about the other team. We've got to take care of our own business. If we do that, we'll be fine. If we don't, we won't win. It's pretty simple." Scherzer isn't overly concerned. "Right now, we're not quite playing our best baseball," he said, "but that can change in a heartbeat. We can come out tomorrow and play and get on a streak. There's too much talent in this clubhouse to really get frustrated with how we've been playing." Two of those Tigers losses have been in starts from Scherzer, whose 19-1 record, 2.73 ERA and consistent quality starts had made him nearly impossible to beat a couple weeks ago. The Red Sox finally beat him Tuesday in Boston only because Jon Lester outdueled him in a 2-1 game. This was different. Scherzer never gave up a crushing hit; only one of Chicago's six hits off him went for extra bases, and he struck out six over his four innings. However, he never quite looked comfortable with his command, even as he cruised through the third inning and into the fourth. He nearly worked his way out of his opening-inning jam, retiring Alexei Ramirez and Adam Dunn with two men on, but Paul Konerko lined a 2-2 pitch into shallow center field for a two-run single as Austin Jackson and Torii Hunter struggled to collect the ball. "Give Konerko credit in the first for battling me," Scherzer said. "He had a good AB against me. I threw him three quality sliders, and the third one was a really good pitch that he fouled off. That's why he's always put up good ABs against me. That was my pitcher's pitch that he fouled off. "I tried to go with a fastball down and away and I left it up over the middle of the plate. He's too good of a hitter to make a mistake like that to in that situation."

23 The three-run fourth-inning rally that doomed Scherzer (19-3) came entirely with two outs, starting with Conor Gillaspie's double before continuing with consecutive singles from Dayan Viciedo, Jordan Danks and Phegley, the bottom third of the White Sox order. "With Viciedo, it was just kind of a hanging slider," Scherzer said. "He seemed like he was a little fooled too, and he just was able to get barrel to it and shoot it down the line. And then Danks had a good AB against me, and he hit a fastball. And then Phegley, swinging-bunt slider, it was a do-or-die play for me at that point in time. I just picked it up and threw it. Obviously, it wasn't the best throw." The throw went into right field, adding on an unearned run. That was too much for the Tigers to overcome against Sale (11-12), who blanked them for six innings until Victor Martinez homered in the seventh. Sale struck out eight Tigers over as many innings for his third win in four starts against Detroit this season. Losing Cabrera arguing a checked swing in the opening inning, he admitted, gave him some comfort. "The best hitter to ever walk the planet leaving after the first," Sale said. "It doesn't get any easier after that. You still have to make pitches and stuff because they have a heck of a lineup up and down. Just try to stay on the game plan and get through it."

24 Miggy, Leyland ejected in first inning against Chicago Slugger tossed for arguing strike call on ball that hit his right knee September 10, 2013 By Jason Beck / MLB.com

CHICAGO -- For the second time this season, Miguel Cabrera was ejected in the middle of an at-bat early in a game. This one took out the Triple Crown candidate and Major League batting leader in the first inning of a game the Tigers knew would be short on offense for them against White Sox left-hander Chris Sale, a game the Tigers went on to lose Monday, 5-1. The question for many on the Tigers side was whether the rule justified the playing a game in a division race without their best hitter. "He made the correct calls," manager Jim Leyland, who was also ejected in the ensuing argument, said of plate umpire Brian Gorman's strike call on Cabrera. "I wasn't questioning the calls at all. But I just thought that it was an unnecessary ejection." For Cabrera, given the implications, it was a perplexing one. "I don't know if I've got bad history," Cabrera said. "I don't know what was going through his mind. To me, it's not like he's not the best umpire, he's not the worst umpire. To me, it's in the middle of a situation where you want to do good for your team and you want to fight. "Right now, we're in good position to win our division. Kicked out of the game like that, I think that's frustration for me." The call itself was pretty clear. Cabrera, batting with two outs in the opening inning, took a called first strike from Sale before trying to check his swing on a nasty slider that drove down and in on him. Replay showed the ball hit him on his right knee, but Gorman said Cabrera went around on his swing. In that case, it's a strike regardless of whether the ball hits him. Cabrera tried to argue he was trying to avoid the pitch. "I tried to get out of the way," Cabrera said. "He said, 'You swung.' He said, 'You're too far out.' I said, 'How can you explain that? How can you explain I'm too far off?'" Gorman, at some point, warned Cabrera to stop it. "He kept arguing about the swing part of it," Gorman said. "He was warned, and he continued to argue." Cabrera fouled off the next pitch, then apparently said something more as he stepped out of the batter's box. Gorman promptly ejected him, much to Cabrera's surprise. "Oh, come on," Cabrera could be seen telling Gorman on replay. It was somewhat similar to a July 28 ejection Cabrera received from plate umpire Chad Fairchild, who tossed Cabrera for his reaction to a called strike with the bases loaded and one out in the third inning. In that case, too, Cabrera saw another pitch before being ejected for saying something about the previous one. In neither case did Cabrera make a physical gesture. In both cases, the respective umpires said they warned Cabrera not to say anything more, and promptly ejected him when he did. "He was told to stop arguing and continued to argue," Gorman said, "and he was ejected for continuing the argument." Cabrera said he didn't hear any warning from Gorman, or any response at all. "He didn't give me anything," Cabrera said. "He didn't say anything. I think he said a couple words to skip. I don't know if he didn't understand what I said. I don't know what happened that moment, but I don't think I said anything to get thrown out of the game, especially right now. … "We're in the race. You don't want to get thrown out of the game. You know what I mean? You want to fight. You want to compete. I don't know why. I don't know what happened. I don't know why he threw me out." Asked if the situation of the game made the ejection call a difficult one, Gorman said, "I think all situations are difficult. You just have to handle them as an umpire. It's part of our job." Leyland, in this case, disagreed with the decision, given the situation. He said Cabrera did answer back, but didn't believe it warranted an ejection.

25 "He was pointing toward the first-base umpire, but once the umpire calls it a strike, he can't check with the first- base umpire," Leyland said. "The calls were correct. But Brian, basically, Miguel said about three or four times, 'That's bull ...' "That really doesn't, in my opinion, warrant an ejection. He wasn't in his face. He wasn't throwing his hands up. He wasn't putting on a big show. I just felt it was a very unnecessary ejection." Even White Sox Josh Phegley, who overheard the argument, seemed surprised. He didn't think Cabrera said a profanity. "I didn't think it was much of an argument," Phegley said. "It surprised me that he got thrown out that early. But I was hoping to try to get him out today and pitch to him." Gorman said continuing the argument essentially amounts to arguing balls and strikes, which in itself is an ejection. That's the explanation Leyland received when he came out to argue. Leyland, too, continued to argue after the explanation. Gorman said he warned Leyland, then ejected him. "He deserved an explanation, and I gave him an explanation," Gorman said. "I don't think he was too happy with it, but I gave him the explanation. It's just he continued and he was warned and he was ejected." Monday marked the fifth ejection in Cabrera's career. Leyland's ensuing ejection was his fourth this season and the 72nd of his career.

26 Tigers limited in rehab options for Peralta September 10, 2013 By Jason Beck / MLB.com

CHICAGO -- The Tigers have yet to make a decision on a possible return for suspended shortstop Jhonny Peralta, team president/general manager Dave Dombrowski said again Monday. Next week, however, could provide an initial sign. If they're going to get Peralta ready for a return, the prep work is going to come pretty soon. By the rules of Peralta's 50-game suspension, he's eligible to begin a rehab assignment in about a week. However, the Tigers have no Minor League affiliate still playing. Double-A Erie was eliminated from the Eastern League playoffs over the weekend, and neither Triple-A Toledo nor the Class A teams in Lakeland, Fla., and West Michigan made the postseason. That leaves the Florida instructional league as the highest-level destination where he could rehab. It's where teams send players after their Minor League seasons end for extra work in September and early October, either to follow up on progress made during the summer or to set up a move for the following spring. The majority of players involved are in the lower levels of the farm system. Since it's not an official league with a set schedule of games against other clubs, instructional league technically doesn't count as a rehab assignment. With intrasquad games, however, the Tigers could set up simulated games to get Peralta extra at-bats. The Tigers' instructional league begins Sept. 19, a week before Peralta's suspension ends. When the latter happens, on Sept. 26, the Tigers must decide whether to restore Peralta to the active roster or make a move to take him off.

27 Tuiasosopo trying to stay fresh with limited chances September 10, 2013 By Jason Beck / MLB.com

CHICAGO -- Matt Tuiasosopo entered Monday night's series opener against the White Sox having put up decent numbers off starter Chris Sale, going 4-for-11 with a home run this season. But with Nick Castellanos getting the start in left field, Tuiasosopo was the odd man out. It marked the third consecutive game that Tuiasosopo did not start against a lefty. He last started last Tuesday against Red Sox southpaw Jon Lester, going 0-for-3 with three strikeouts. He's 8-for-41, all of the hits singles, with three walks and 17 strikeouts since Aug. 1, but two of the hits were singles off Sale on Aug. 12 in Chicago. It's a conundrum the Tigers will face down the stretch. Both Tuiasosopo and Castellanos have played almost exclusively left field this season, so it's going to be difficult for the Tigers to give Castellanos a shot to prove himself while simultaneously giving Tuiasosopo a chance to work his way out of his slump. Tuiasosopo said he hasn't been doing any different work than usual with hitting coach Lloyd McClendon. At this point, he's keeping his bat fresh for his next game. The Tigers will face another lefty on Wednesday, when Jose Quintana takes the mound for the White Sox. They'll get a rematch with Royals left-hander Danny Duffy on Friday night at Comerica Park.

28 Pitchers do better job of holding runners against Royals September 10, 2013 By Jason Beck / MLB.com

CHICAGO -- After 24 consecutive stolen bases off Detroit pitching, the Tigers slowed down the running game to an extent against Kansas City, throwing out two would-be basestealers in four attempts. One of those steals came on a pitchout when catcher Brayan Pena couldn't handle the throw. They won't face quite as aggressive of a baserunning team the next few days, but manager Jim Leyland was encouraged from what he saw from his pitchers. "I think we did a good job," Leyland said. "We're conscious of it. Sometimes they just get hung up on throwing to the plate and they forget about [the runner]. That's something that we focused on a little better this weekend. We did a pretty good job of it, really." Some of that, Leyland said, was as simple as varying pickoff moves and varying when to throw over. "You've got to have different variations -- hold the ball, don't hold the ball, go quicker, hold the ball longer, step off [the mound]," Leyland said. "The thing is, you can't get in a situation where once you come set, you never throw over. "A lot of times, we throw over on the way up or throw over real quick. That sometimes serves a purpose if you can get a guy who's just taking a lead, because he gets caught leaning. But other times, once you come set, you've still got to throw over. But we did a pretty good job this weekend with it."

29 Tigers try to even series against White Sox rookie Division lead down to 4 1/2, Porcello squares off against Johnson September 10, 2013 By Bobby Nightengale / MLB.com

White Sox ace Chris Sale was able to stifle to the Tigers in a 5-1 win on Monday night, and the South Siders are hoping they can showcase a future ace, rookie Erik Johnson, in his first home start on Tuesday. Johnson, who is ranked No. 2 by MLB.com among the White Sox top prospects, went 12-3 with a 1.96 ERA and 131 strikeouts in 141 innings over 24 Minor League starts between Double-A and Triple-A. The 23-year- old right-hander allowed five runs (three earned) on seven hits in six innings in his Major League debut on Wednesday against the Yankees. "I'm looking forward to it, but it's just like any other start," Johnson said. "I try to treat each start like that and hopefully, I'll build off my first one and the second one goes as planned." The Tigers, losers of five of six, are in need of win after watching their American League Central lead reduced to 4 1/2 games over the hard-charging Indians, who have won five of six Rick Porcello will take the mound for the Tigers, facing the White Sox for the fifth time since July 10. He's 3-0 with a 2.36 ERA in those four starts, but he is coming off a rough outing against the Red Sox. On Wednesday, Porcello gave up eight earned runs on seven hits and four walks in five innings. It was the most walks he's allowed in a start this year. "Obviously leadoff walks come around to score pretty frequently in this league," Porcello said. "I think failure to get anybody out after that is pretty big, too." Tigers: Pitchers holding runners better After 24 consecutive stolen bases against Detroit pitching, the Tigers threw out two would-be basestealers in four attempts in their weekend series against the Royals. "I think we did a good job," manager Jim Leyland said. "We're conscious of it. Sometimes they just get hung up on throwing to the plate and they forget about [the runner]." The Royals stole nine bases over a five-game series against the Tigers last month. "That's something that we focused on a little better this weekend," Leyland said. "We did a pretty good job of it, really." White Sox: Dunn explains comments about retirement • Adam Dunn talked about his non-retirement comments last week and stressed he would only retire if the game was no longer enjoyable for him, regardless of stats or money owed to him. Dunn has made similar comments in the past. "For some reason, people take that as I'm retiring. Is this year hard? Yeah, it's hard," Dunn said. "Has it been one of the harder ones? Yeah, because the expectations that we had in this locker room were so high. To play like we are playing, it's a huge letdown. I don't know where that comes into that I'm retiring." • Avisail Garcia had root canals performed on two different teeth Monday, but manager Robin Ventura said he may be able to return to the lineup on Tuesday. Worth noting • Gordon Beckham is hitting .435 with four doubles and four RBIs in 23 career at-bats against Porcello. It's the best batting average for any player with at least 20 at-bats against the Tigers right-hander. • Dunn needs one home run to tie Andre Dawson for 39th place on the all-time home run list with 438 homers.

30 Tigers try to even series against White Sox rookie Division lead down to 4 1/2, Porcello squares off against Johnson September 10, 2013 By Bobby Nightengale / MLB.com

White Sox ace Chris Sale was able to stifle to the Tigers in a 5-1 win on Monday night, and the South Siders are hoping they can showcase a future ace, rookie Erik Johnson, in his first home start on Tuesday. Johnson, who is ranked No. 2 by MLB.com among the White Sox top prospects, went 12-3 with a 1.96 ERA and 131 strikeouts in 141 innings over 24 Minor League starts between Double-A and Triple-A. The 23-year- old right-hander allowed five runs (three earned) on seven hits in six innings in his Major League debut on Wednesday against the Yankees. "I'm looking forward to it, but it's just like any other start," Johnson said. "I try to treat each start like that and hopefully, I'll build off my first one and the second one goes as planned." The Tigers, losers of five of six, are in need of win after watching their American League Central lead reduced to 4 1/2 games over the hard-charging Indians, who have won five of six. Rick Porcello will take the mound for the Tigers, facing the White Sox for the fifth time since July 10. He's 3-0 with a 2.36 ERA in those four starts, but he is coming off a rough outing against the Red Sox. On Wednesday, Porcello gave up eight earned runs on seven hits and four walks in five innings. It was the most walks he's allowed in a start this year. "Obviously leadoff walks come around to score pretty frequently in this league," Porcello said. "I think failure to get anybody out after that is pretty big, too." Tigers: Pitchers holding runners better After 24 consecutive stolen bases against Detroit pitching, the Tigers threw out two would-be basestealers in four attempts in their weekend series against the Royals. "I think we did a good job," manager Jim Leyland said. "We're conscious of it. Sometimes they just get hung up on throwing to the plate and they forget about [the runner]." The Royals stole nine bases over a five-game series against the Tigers last month. "That's something that we focused on a little better this weekend," Leyland said. "We did a pretty good job of it, really." White Sox: Dunn explains comments about retirement • Adam Dunn talked about his non-retirement comments last week and stressed he would only retire if the game was no longer enjoyable for him, regardless of stats or money owed to him. Dunn has made similar comments in the past. "For some reason, people take that as I'm retiring. Is this year hard? Yeah, it's hard," Dunn said. "Has it been one of the harder ones? Yeah, because the expectations that we had in this locker room were so high. To play like we are playing, it's a huge letdown. I don't know where that comes into that I'm retiring." • Avisail Garcia had root canals performed on two different teeth Monday, but manager Robin Ventura said he may be able to return to the lineup on Tuesday. Worth noting • Gordon Beckham is hitting .435 with four doubles and four RBIs in 23 career at-bats against Porcello. It's the best batting average for any player with at least 20 at-bats against the Tigers right-hander. • Dunn needs one home run to tie Andre Dawson for 39th place on the all-time home run list with 438 homers.

31 Tigers need to step it up September 10, 2013 By Dana Wakiji / FOXSportsDetroit.com

It is not time to push the panic button or even jump off the proverbial bandwagon, but the Tigers have to start playing better. With Monday night's 5-1 loss in Chicago to the White Sox, the Tigers have won just two of their last eight games and are just 4 1/2 games ahead of the surging Cleveland Indians. The bad omen came very early in the game when Miguel Cabrera was ejected in the middle of his first at-bat. Cabrera had been hit by a pitch but the umpire ruled that he had swung before the ball hit him in the knee. Cabrera did not agree and when he continued to complain quietly, home plate umpire Brian Gorman tossed him. "I was shocked because there's no reason for somebody to throw you out in the first inning like that, especially when you're in a race to win the division, especially when you need to win games, especially when you inside, you're fired up because you want to win and you want to stay with teammates all game and try to play nine innings hard," Cabrera told FOX Sports Detroit's John Keating on the post-game show. "I think we don't deserve that. I think I don't know what I said but it's a little bit frustration because I think to myself, I let my team down when they throw me out in the first inning." It was Cabrera's second ejection this season. He also got the heave-ho July 28 against the Phillies from umpire Chad Fairchild. Manager Jim Leyland quickly came out to defend Cabrera and soon Gorman ejected him as well. "The umpire, he had two calls tonight in almost identical situations. Swings at a pitch where it hit the batter, he called both of them absolutely correct," Leyland told Keating. "There's no question about that. It basically is a strike and a dead ball and Brian Gorman is a very good umpire, called them exactly right. "After hearing Brian's explanation as to why he threw him out, I was a little upset because I did not think that warranted an ejection, by any means. He didn't curse him in any way and I know he said it two or three times, three or four times, I'm sure Brian said that's enough but I just think that after listening to the umpire's explanation, that doesn't warrant an ejection, in my opinion." Ramon Santiago took over at third base. While Santiago is a very capable defender, he can't be counted upon to provide the same offense that Cabrera does. Even without Cabrera, the Tigers should have had a good chance to win with Max Scherzer starting and trying for his 20th win for a third time. When the Tigers get a quality start, they're 68-25. But Scherzer couldn't give them one and Chris Sale did give his team one. Scherzer allowed two runs in a 30-pitch first, settled down a bit and then lost it in the fourth, allowing three runs, one on his own throwing error. "For me it was a do or die throw," Scherzer told Keating. "I thought with (Josh) Phegley running, it's a catcher, there was a chance I had a shot of getting him. It's a tough throw because it's always hard when you're throwing mid-90s and then pick up a ball and try to throw it a different way. I just didn't make an athletic throw, I threw it away, I cost our team another run." Scherzer, now 19-3, only made it through four innings, allowing five runs (four earned) on six hits while walking two and striking out six. His ERA is now 3.01. Sale, 11-12 with a 2.90 ERA, allowed just Victor Martinez's home run in eight innings of work. "We ran into a buzz saw with Sale," Leyland said. "We probably didn't have as good at-bats against him as we have had in the past but his stuff was nasty. That would be a long night for a lot of hitters when you see a guy that features the kind of stuff he featured (Monday)." The Tigers won't have to contend with Sale again this series but they're going to have to do better against Erik Johnson (0-1, 4.50) and Jose Quintana (7-6, 3.30). "Right now we're in a little bit of a funk and we're not doing enough things to win the game," Leyland said. "It's simple. I throw us all into the same barrel. You gotta manage better, you gotta pitch better, you gotta play better. We're all in this together and we're a tough team, we're a resilient team. I have a lot of confidence in this team so we'll see how it plays out." 32 Miguel Cabrera ejected in Chicago September 10, 2013 By Dana Wakiji / FOXSportsDetroit.com

For the second time this season, Miguel Cabrera has been ejected from a game. During his first at-bat Monday night in Chicago, Cabrera was upset when a pitch that hit his right knee was called a swinging strike. Home plate umpire Brian Gorman ejected Cabrera after he continued to argue the call. Manager Jim Leyland came out to support Cabrera and was soon following Cabrera into the clubhouse after being tossed himself. A similar situation took place July 28, when umpire Chad Fairchild ejected Cabrera "for arguing balls and strikes." Ramon Santiago took Cabrera's place at third base.

33 Sale tosses gem for Chicago to deny Tigers' Scherzer 20th win September 10, 2013 By Staff / Associated Press

CHICAGO -- Miguel Cabrera didn't have much of a chance to help Max Scherzer get his 20th win and the Detroit Tigers end their recent slump. Just three batters into the first inning, Cabrera was ejected by home plate umpire Brian Gorman and Detroit went on to lose 5-1 to the Chicago White Sox on Monday night. The reigning AL MVP and 2012 Triple Crown winner complained to Gorman that he had checked his swing on an 0-1 Sale pitch that struck him in the right knee. "I tried to get out of the way and (Gorman) said I swung, I was too far out," Cabrera said. "I asked him how could he explain that. I don't know, I just tried to get out of the way. I told him that a couple of times." Playoff Picture Playoff matchups and wild-card standings Gorman countered, "(Cabrera) was told to stop arguing and continued to argue and he was ejected for continuing the argument." Manager Jim Leyland ran out to defend his player and he was booted, too. "I guess I made my point a little too long and (Gorman) decided to run me and that's fine," Leyland said. "I wasn't questioning the calls at all. I just thought (Cabrera) was an unnecessary ejection." Chris Sale (11-12) outpitched Scherzer, denying him a 20th victory. Sale gave up one run and four hits in eight innings to win for the fifth time in six decisions. "We ran into a buzzsaw with Sale," Leyland said. "He was absolutely terrific." Sale was heartened by Cabrera's ejection, but it didn't make his job any easier, either. "I was kind of like 'thank you,' the best hitter to ever walk the planet leaving after the first," Sale said. "(But) it doesn't get any easier after that. You've still got to make pitches because they've got a heck of a lineup up and down." Scherzer (19-3) gave up five runs and six hits in four innings as he lost consecutive starts for the first time this season after Boston beat him Sept. 3. It was Detroit's fifth loss in six games, dropping the Tigers' lead in the AL Central to 4 1/2 games over Cleveland. "I just made too many mistakes, elevated the ball, it was too high, I wasn't able to get it down and it cost me," Scherzer said. As for failing for the second straight time to get his 20th win, Scherzer shrugged. "I'm not going to beat myself up over this outing," he said. "I've been pitching too well this year to do that. I'm just focused on what I can control and I just need to go out there and pitch the way I'm capable of." Monday's game was the second meeting of the season between the All-Star pitchers. The first was on July 22, when Scherzer pitched eight innings and allowed two runs to beat Sale, who also went eight but was victimized by two unearned runs. This matchup was different for Detroit, which has scored only 14 runs in September apart from its 16 on Friday against Kansas City. Sale's strikeout of Austin Jackson to end the third gave him 200 on the season in 190 2/3 innings pitched. It made him the fastest pitcher in White Sox history to 200 strikeouts in a season, passing Javier Vazquez in 2007 (207). After the ejections during the top of the first, Chicago gave Sale a lead in the bottom of the inning. The White Sox took a 2-0 advantage with two outs when Paul Konerko singled to center, driving in Alejandro De Aza and Gordon Beckham. Beckham walked with no outs and advanced to second on Adam Dunn's fly ball to center, which also got De Aza to third. Chicago scored three times with two outs in the fourth. Dayan Viciedo's RBI single gave the White Sox a 3-0 lead, then Scherzer's throw to first on Josh Phegley's soft roller between third and home was well away from Prince Fielder, bringing in Viciedo and Jordan Danks. Danks was in the lineup in place of former Tigers outfielder Avisail Garcia, who had two teeth pulled Monday and was held out. 34 Victor Martinez broke up Sale's shutout bid with one out in the seventh with his 12th home run of the season. Notes White Sox general manager Rick Hahn called their season "gut-wrenching" and said they have "a number of areas we need to upgrade." ... Leyland sounded happy with the results of the July 30 three-team trade that sent Garcia to Chicago, Jake Peavy to Boston and Jose Iglesias to Detroit. Garcia entered Monday hitting .320 in 27 games for Chicago, Iglesias has replaced suspended Jhonny Peralta in the Tigers lineup and was batting .297, and Peavy was 3-1 with a 3.55 ERA, giving all three teams production from their new players. "That's what you want in trades because then you can deal with those people again," Leyland said. ... White Sox DH Adam Dunn refuted a recent report that he was considering retirement. While he did say that the White Sox playing the way they have is a "letdown" he also said "I don't know where that comes into that I'm retiring." ... White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper (diverticulitis) was back with the team after missing two games. ...Tuesday's pitching matchup is Rick Porcello (11-8, 4.76) against Chicago's Erik Johnson (0-1, 4.50).

35 Miguel Cabrera, Jim Leyland ejected September 10, 2013 By Staff / Associated Press

CHICAGO -- Detroit Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera and manager Jim Leyland were both ejected in the top of the first inning of Monday night's 5-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox. The reigning AL MVP and 2012 Triple Crown winner complained to home plate umpire Brian Gorman that he felt he was struck in the right leg by a pitch from White Sox starter Chris Sale. After fouling off the next pitch, Cabrera continued complaining and was ejected by Gorman. "I tried to get out of the way and (Gorman) said I swung, I was too far out," Cabrera said. "I asked him how could he explain that. I don't know, I just tried to get out of the way. I told him that a couple of times." Gorman countered, "(Cabrera) was told to stop arguing and continued to argue and he was ejected for continuing the argument." Leyland came to his player's aid and was also ejected after less than a minute of arguing with Gorman. "I guess I made my point a little too long and (Gorman) decided to run me and that's fine," Leyland said. "I wasn't questioning the calls at all. I just thought (Cabrera) was an unnecessary ejection." The ejection was Cabrera's second this season and the fifth of his career. Leyland was tossed for the fourth time this season and for the 72nd time of his career.

36 Cabrera versus Trout about RBIs, not WAR September 10, 2013 By David Schoenfield / ESPN.com

As Mike Trout's lead over Miguel Cabrera in Wins Above Replacement continues to grow -- 8.6 to 6.9 on Baseball-Reference, 9.8 to 7.3 on FanGraphs -- it seems the Cabrera camp is actually starting to get a little more defensive than the Trout camp, which has more or less conceded that Cabrera will win the award, no matter how vociferous the debate should be. For example, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports and the MLB Network, attempts to defend Cabrera's case by tearing down WAR: Check out the WAR of Carlos Gomez (6.7, fifth best in baseball) and Gerardo Parra (5.1, tied for 20th best). Now it's possible they are indeed the fifth- and 20th-best players in baseball this year. But I doubt it. According to these figures, Parra is tied with Adrian Beltre and ahead of a plethora of other stars despite his mundane .725 OPS, and Gomez (.832 OPS) is ahead of everyone but Trout, Andrew McCutchen, Cabrera and Robinson Cano -- and he's barely behind Cabrera and Cano at that. Even within the center-field ranks, WAR looks pretty suspect. Shin-Soo Choo, who has helped make the Reds go with his second-in-the-NL .425 on-base percentage, has a 3.7 WAR. One spot ahead of Choo is Mets rookie Juan Lagares, at 3.8. It's a reasonable argument to bring up -- Gomez, Parra and Lagares benefit from outstanding defensive metrics that help their WAR total -- but not really germane to the Trout-Cabrera discussion, since Trout has been credited with -8 Defensive Runs Saved this season. (FanGraphs' defensive measurement has him at +6 runs.) No, I think the MVP discussion, such as it is, is really about old-school basics: It's hard to convince some that Trout has been as good, or better, than Cabrera, when Cabrera has 20 more home runs and 49 more RBIs (his lead in batting average over Trout is down to 15 points). First off, the 20 home runs. That's a huge advantage for Cabrera. But Trout has three more singles, 12 more doubles and eight more triples -- plus eight more walks, nine fewer double plays hit into and 29 more stolen bases. Based on those numbers, Cabrera's offensive advantage just isn't as large everyone thinks it is. In fact, Cabrera leads Trout in Runs Created by a slim margin, 147 to 143 according to Baseball-Reference. Put it this way: Cabrera only has 29 more total bases than Trout. Factor in steals, baserunning, double plays hit into, walks and defense ... well, is it really that surprising that Trout would have a higher WAR? (Ballparks also play a small role here in WAR. Trout plays in a lower run-scoring environment, so the runs he creates are a little more valuable than the runs Cabrera creates. And, no, Comerica Park is NOT a pitcher's park; it's been a good place for hitters in recent years.) So this gets us to RBIs. Cabrera has 133, Trout has 84. It's not cool to trumpet RBIs these days -- are you ready to defend Brandon Phillips as the second-best player in the National League? -- but this is exactly what the Cabrera camp should be pointing out, because it's the crux of his MVP case. According to Baseball-Reference, the average player with Cabrera's plate appearance total drives in 60 runs -- 73 fewer than Cabrera's total. Cabrera has had more runners on base than the typical hitter -- 405 to 346 -- but he's knocked in 90 out of those 405 runners (22 percent), plus himself 43 times. Trout has knocked in 84 runs compared to the average of 65 for his plate appearances. Trout has actually had fewer runners on base than the average player -- 353 to 373 -- and he's driven in 61 of those 353 (17 percent), plus himself 23 times. Cabrera is hitting .418 with runners in scoring position and .383 with men on base. With two outs and runners in scoring position he's hitting .466. In tie games he's hitting .351/.447/.696. When the margin in the game is greater than four runs, he's hitting .246/.306/.385 in 72 plate appearances; in other words, he's not piling up the stats in blowouts. It's almost like Cabrera tunes out when the game has been decided. Trout, meanwhile, has hit .331 with runners in scoring position and .309 with men on, good but not Cabrera. He's hit .471/.554/.843 in 83 PAs when the margin is greater than four runs. That's your Cabrera argument -- that he's risen his game when runners are on base. He has been an RBI machine. 37 Of course, so has Chris Davis, who is now only nine RBIs behind Cabrera. By the way, here's one last stat to consider. Late and close situations, when the games are most on the line: Davis: .329/.394/.817, 10 HR, 30 RBIs (94 PAs, 82 at-bats) Cabrera: .264/.404/.444, 4 HR, 10 RBIs (89 PAs, 72 at-bats) If you want to dismiss the "better" argument and bring in value ... well, that's a lot of clutch hitting there from Mr. Davis. Maybe he's your MVP?

38 Stock Watch: Fish tales boost Trout, but truth is Miggy is still better September 10, 2013 By Jon Heyman / CBSSports.com

The love for Mike Trout among hardcore baseball fans and especially stat lovers is understandable. He does everything well, even exceptionally well. And that is undeniable. But the adulation gets a little bit crazy at times, crazy enough that even some of the most knowledgeable baseball writers stretch to make him seem even better than he is. Maybe they love his WAR, his way, I'm not sure. Maybe they just want another great MVP debate. One of the more creative stat guys recently pointed out that Trout reached base nine times via error while MVP favorite Miguel Cabrera had yet to reach base by error. Aha, cried a few of the other stat guys! Reaching base by error is a "quantifiable" skill, they said. More applause for Trout. More evidence of Trout's superiority. Trout is a great player, and that's inarguable. And maybe his 9-0 "win" over Cabrera in reaching base by error is another reminder that speed pays off in ways you don't often think about. But does anyone really believe Trout's MVP candidacy is enhanced even a little by those nine extra times he reached base via error? If someone were to write a 50-volume story of the 2013 baseball season, I would hope that tiny bit of trivia doesn't even make it in. Trout's 8.6 WAR, a number that attempts to compute a player's total value based on all the other numbers, including defense and base running, once again leads all of baseball by a lot. And of course that means he leads AL MVP favorite Cabrera, whose not-all-that-close 6.9 WAR is second best in the league. Maybe this shows Trout is the best player again. But maybe WAR is still being perfected as a measure of all- around play. WAR seems to underrate great defensive catchers (NL MVP candidate Yadier Molina's WAR is 5.0), as even the stat guys will admit. The problem with WAR and catchers apparently is the range factor, which leads to an under-grading of some catchers. But is it possible the range factor leads to an over-grading of some center fielders, as well? WAR requires personal judgments, and may need some refining. Check out the WAR of Carlos Gomez (6.7, fifth best in baseball) and Gerardo Parra (5.1, tied for 20th best). Now it's possible they are indeed the fifth- and 20th-best players in baseball this year. But I doubt it. According to these figures, Parra is tied with Adrian Beltre and ahead of a plethora of other stars despite his mundane .725 OPS, and Gomez (.832 OPS) is ahead of everyone but Trout, Andrew McCutchen, Cabrera and Robinson Cano -- and he's barely behind Cabrera and Cano at that. Even within the center-field ranks, WAR looks pretty suspect. Shin-Soo Choo, who has helped make the Reds go with his second-in-the-NL .425 on-base percentage, has a 3.7 WAR. One spot ahead of Choo is Mets rookie Juan Lagares, at 3.8. Now Lagares is pretty terrific defensively in center field while Choo is merely adequate (though with a great arm). But Lagares' OPS is exactly 200 points lower than Choo's (.696 to .896) and Lagares has come to the plate almost 300 times less, which matters since WAR is a cumulative stat. Lagares has just 324 at-bats and 15 walks, Choo 516 at-bats and 97 walks. So with barely more than half the plate appearances, Lagares has managed to contribute more than Choo. At least if you believe WAR, he has. Trout's own 8.6 is also quite a bit lower than his 10.7 figure as a rookie despite having better offensive stats in virtually the same number of games -- 138 so far this year to 139 total last year. I suppose it's possible Trout is 24 percent worse this year in base running and defense alone. But I doubt it. Any way you look at it, Trout is a marvel. He's hitting .338 with 23 homers, 84 RBI and a 1.011 OPS. He has been quite a bit better in the second half, with a .378 batting average and 1.113 OPS (see below). He's something to behold. But once again, he's just short in the American League MVP race. If Trout has been as good as he was last year (and I tend to think he has been, despite a lower WAR), Cabrera has been even better. Cabrera is hitting .353 with 43 homers, 133 RBI and a 1.113 OPS (the same as Trout's second-half total) and quite a bit higher than his .999 in his MVP season a year ago. He would be in position to win a second straight Triple Crown if Orioles slugger Chris Davis wasn't doing his best Roger Maris impersonation, though I agree that a Triple Crown (or near triple Crown) isn't an automatic MVP win. 39 It also does matter that Cabrera is helping his team into the playoffs again, while Trout's great year is happening for the eminently disappointing also-ran Angels. That's no knock on Trout, and if the award were simply for the "best" player, he would have a better case. But it's for the "most valuable" player, and precedent tells us the hitting and fielding exploits that led to wins ultimately mean something significant. That means the playoffs. Rare MVPs such as Andre Dawson (1987 Cubs), Cal Ripken Jr. (1991 Orioles) and Alex Rodriguez (2003 Rangers) have come from losing teams. But they have come in years when their seasons were so much better than anyone else's. That isn't the case this year, not unless you believe Trout's season is really 24.6 percent better than Cabrera's, as WAR would have you believe. Or that, somehow, some way, those nine times he reached base by opponent error in meaningless games indeed put Trout over the top. Trout does make the Bull Market in this week's Stock Watch as he continues to make us marvel. Here are the other Bulls and Bears in another awards edition. Bull Market 1. Jose Fernandez, SP, Marlins: The just-turned-21 rookie has been the best pitcher in baseball in the second half, so hitters aren't coming close to figuring him out. With a 6-1 record, 0.79 WHIP and 1.33 ERA since the All-Star Game, where he was the youngest pitcher, he has stamped himself as the Rookie of the Year favorite, even ahead of that Dodgers igniter Yasiel Puig. It should be Fernandez's award to lose, considering he looks like a likely second- or third-place finisher for the NL Cy Young Award, too. In a year with several special pitching performances in the league (including Adam Wainwright, Cliff Lee, Francisco Liriano, Patrick Corbin and Craig Kimbrel), Fernandez and currently sidelined Mets star Matt Harvey should be runners-up to Clayton Kershaw. 2. Mike Trout , OF, Angels: What a brilliant second half it has been for the incredible 22-year-old talent. He's hitting .378 since the break with a .513 on-base percentage, .591 slugging percentage and 1.113 OPS. He has put himself in position for a likely second-place finish for AL MVP. Too bad he's going up against the incomparable Cabrera. 3. Martin Perez, SP, Rangers: In a blink he may have positioned himself to possibly nab the AL Rookie of the Year award, practically out of nowhere. As recently as a couple weeks ago, his name had been mentioned so infrequently for the award that some were still questioning whether he even qualified as a rookie. He does, and he's now right in the thick of things with a 6-0 record and 2.43 ERA over his past six starts. What's more, the past four wins have come over Bartolo Colon, Chris Sale and Felix Hernandez (twice). Bear Market 1. Yu Darvish, SP, Rangers : A week after becoming the darling of the #killthewin folks as the main contender to AL Cy Young favorite Max Scherzer and his 19-1 (now 19-2) record and topping the Stock Watch, one bad outing has derailed his candidacy and helped him take top (bottom?) honors here. He asked not to be judged, but sorry, that's what Stock Watch is all about. The five-inning, six-walk, five-run debacle in an 11-4 loss to main rival Oakland dealt a serious blow to his candidacy in a competition that looks all but over now. 2. Paul Goldschmidt, 1B, Diamondbacks: He may finally be getting tired of carrying the Diamondbacks, who have watched the Dodgers blow past them. He hasn't homered in 17 games since Aug. 20 as Pedro Alvarez nudged ahead of him for the home run lead (32-31). He still leads the NL in RBI with 107, but he hasn't had a hit in seven of his past nine games as his average has dipped to .293. He should still get heavy NL MVP support but doesn't look like a threat to win at the moment (Pirates star Andrew McCutchen is the favorite at this point). 3. Francisco Liriano, SP, Pirates: He's still having a great year, and he's still maybe the best buy of the winter ($1 million guaranteed, plus a lot of incentives). But his Cy Young standing took a big hit this week. First, he was unlucky enough to miss the rival Cardinals, who he has dominated this year (3-0, 0.75 ERA). Second, he turned in one of his rare bad outings of the year, allowing seven runs and seven hits in a 9-3 defeat at also-ran Milwaukee.

40 2013 Triple Crown stat tracker September 10, 2013 By Staff / FOXSports.com

Miguel Cabrera's chase for baseball history is starting to run out of time — and getting ejected in the first inning of Monday's game at the Chicago White Sox isn't going to help. During the Detroit slugger's first at-bat, Cabrera was upset when a pitch that hit his right knee was called a swinging strike. After arguing with home plate umpire Brian Gorman for a bit, Cabrera was tossed. While leading the AL — and majors — in batting average and RBI, the Detroit third baseman has the rest of the month to catch Baltimore's Chris Davis in home runs. Cabrera has a legitimate shot at becoming the first player to claim the Triple Crown in consecutive seasons. Last year Cabrera became the first major leaguer to win a Triple Crown since 1967, when Carl Yastrzemski did so with the Boston Red Sox. Unfortunately for opposing pitchers, Cabrera hasn't slowed down. The 2012 AL MVP is on a pace to hit more homers and RBI than last year, when he tallied 44 and 139. Cabrera and Davis rank 1-2 in RBI, while Davis leads Cabrera by five homers. While Cabrera and the Tigers are in Chicago for a three-game series through Wednesday, Davis and the Orioles are hosting the New York Yankees in a four-game set through Thursday. In the race for the AL batting title, Davis isn't a threat to Cabrera. Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout is second, .015 points back at .338 after a 1-for-4, three-strikeout outing in Monday's 6-3 loss at Minnesota.

41 Sale, White Sox deal Scherzer second straight loss Lefty fans eight over eight; Konerko drives in two first-inning runs September 10, 2013 By Scott Merkin / MLB.com

CHICAGO -- Let's play a little game called "Guess the American League Cy Young favorite." One candidate features a 3.01 ERA and has allowed a mere 139 hits over 194 1/3 innings following the White Sox 5-1 victory over the Tigers on Monday night at U.S. Cellular Field. The second, less-talked-about starter has an ERA checking in at 2.90 and has yielded 162 hits over a career-best 195 2/3 innings. Candidate No. 1 has fanned 215 and walked 48, while Candidate No. 2 pushed his strikeout total to 207 on Monday and his free passes to 41. Where fWar is concerned, the first choice stood at 5.7 entering Monday, while No. 2 had an fWar of 4.8. Detroit's Max Scherzer, who would be candidate No. 1 in this scenario, and Chicago's Chris Sale, who would be candidate No. 2, both have statistics infinitely worthy of the highest pitching honor. It just so happens that Scherzer pitches on a better team, helping him get to 19 wins and the unofficial title of Cy Young favorite, while Sale picked up just his 11th victory in the opener of a three-game set. "The win-loss record for Chris doesn't show what he's done this year on the mound," said White Sox catcher Josh Phegley, who was behind the plate as Sale improved to 3-1 with a 2.27 ERA over four starts against the Tigers this year. "It helps to be playing for Detroit and getting the run support, not to take anything away from Scherzer, because he's a great pitcher." Sale (11-12) worked eight innings against the Tigers (82-62), striking out eight and walking just one. The only run scored by Detroit came via Victor Martinez's seventh-inning solo shot, leaving the Tigers designated hitter with 11 hits in 19 career at-bats against Sale. For the sixth straight start, Sale threw at least seven innings. He has won five of his last six decisions and has allowed more than three earned runs just once in his last seven trips to the mound. Words such as confident and comfortable describe Sale's current demeanor, to go along with his first-rate stuff. "This is as well as I have seen him pitch this year as far as feeling at ease, throwing all of his pitches at any time," said White Sox manager Robin Ventura. "Just trying to pound the strike zone, fill up the zone. Make quality pitches," said Sale of his 114-pitch night. "That's a good team. You have to be on your A game. You have to take advantage when you can and it worked out tonight." Scherzer (19-3) worked a season-low four innings, yielding five runs (four earned) on six hits. He struck out six and walked two. Sale also had the advantage of not facing the game's best hitter after Miguel Cabrera was ejected by home-plate umpire Brian Gorman during his first at-bat. Cabrera thought a pitch hit his right leg on the second pitch, but Gorman ruled he swung at it. Cabrera fouled off the next pitch but continued to argue and was thrown out. Detroit manager Jim Leyland also was ejected in the ensuing argument, giving him 72 ejections for his career. When asked about not having to face Cabrera, Sale joked that it's not a bad thing when "the best hitter to ever walk the planet" makes a very early exit. He continued the joke saying that he looked skyward and said, 'Thank you,' after the ejection. Gorman told a pool reporter that Cabrera continued to argue about the swing part of the apparent hit by pitch. He was warned and was ejected for continuing to argue. Phegley had a close-up view of the argument and was surprised by the ejection. "I didn't know he said, 'Get out of here,' and threw him out," Phegley said. "I thought he said, 'That's enough.' But it probably helped us win the game." The White Sox scored two runs in the first inning on Paul Konerko's two-out single to center. They added three more two-out runs in the fourth on four straight hits, with Dayan Viciedo and Phegley picked up RBIs, while a throwing error by Scherzer scored the third. "These guys are big league hitters," Scherzer said. "They always have a plan against you, especially this team, and obviously their plan succeeded tonight."

42 Despite being officially eliminated from any sort of playoff competition with Tampa Bay's win Sunday, the White Sox (58-85) still managed to extend their winning streak to two games. Sale continued his strong '14 finish, sprinting to the finish line instead of limping in September last year, as he put it. Ultimately, being there for his team stands as more of a reward for Sale than any sort of postseason honor. "For me, it's one day at a time, one game at a time," said Sale, who became the fastest in franchise history to reach 200 strikeouts in a season when he fanned Austin Jackson to end the third. "Whatever that [Cy Young] stuff happens to be, it is. I'm not trying to put too much emphasis on it. Just go out there and do everything I can to win that game." "Best part about him, he's a lot like [Mark] Buehrle was here," said Konerko of Sale and his fourth-lowest run support among big league starters. "He's all about the team and never once did he ever --- he has not complained and has been behind his teammates the whole way. Not a bad word he'll say about anybody, so that's how you get respect from your teammates, and he has earned that."

43 Hahn already working toward 2014 and beyond September 10, 2013 By Scott Merkin / MLB.com

CHICAGO -- A debate has existed pretty much from the start of this disappointing White Sox season as to whether the sub-standard offense, defense or baserunning has been the most detrimental to the team's overall cause. During an 11-minute session with the media at U.S. Cellular Field prior to Monday's series opener against the Tigers, general manager Rick Hahn couldn't pick among the three problem areas. It's a discussion he doesn't want to have again in 2014. "Unfortunately, we have a number of areas that we need to upgrade, and you have named three at the top of the list," Hahn said. "Where we have performed offensively, obviously being at the bottom of the league in runs scored, how we've performed defensively and how we've performed on the bases has been well below our expectations and well below acceptable. "So we have a fair amount of work to do, and we realize that. It's something that because of the way the season has gone, we have had a little extra time to prepare for what we wanted to do. We were able to do some of it at the [July 31] Trade Deadline and hopefully come October and November, we will continue down that path." Because of the White Sox being out of contention since the All-Star break, they already have begun their reshaping process. They moved veterans such as Jake Peavy, Alex Rios, Jesse Crain and Matt Thornton to not only free up some payroll moving forward but also provide opportunities for young players to prove their mettle at the big league level. Erik Johnson makes his second Major League start Tuesday night against the Tigers. Marcus Semien figures to get plenty of starts around the infield over the final 20 games. Josh Phegley has taken over as the White Sox starting catcher. Jake Petricka and Daniel Webb are trying to assert themselves in future bullpen roles, while Andre Rienzo is trying to state his case to be part of the 2014 rotation. And Avisail Garcia, the South Siders' most important return as part of the three-team deal that sent Peavy to Boston, carries a .345 average since Aug. 13 into the series against his former team. The White Sox will not look to turn things around on youth alone, although Hahn wouldn't specify a free agent or trade route to be taken during this expected busy upcoming offseason. The process could feature a little bit from both columns. "We will have to wait for the market to open and then we will see," said Hahn about White Sox free-agent pursuits. "Again, we have work to do especially on the position-player side of things, and the main avenues outside the farm system are free agency and trades. Given our expectations and the amount of work we have to do, I think we'll be active in both. "At the Trade Deadline, we heard a lot about our young pitching, and I suspect that will continue into the offseason and we will remain open minded about all of it. While it's a strength and might be a strength to dip into a little bit to help augment other needs, it's not one we want to compromise too greatly because that is how we feel ultimately we will compete." Through this dismal showing, which saw the White Sox officially eliminated via Tampa Bay's win Sunday, the team has proven to have a solid pitching core. That pitching gives Hahn and the White Sox at least one platform to move from in regard to getting back into American League Central contention without a full-on rebuilding process. Hahn indicated conversations about the future for Paul Konerko and assessment of the White Sox coaching staff will come at the season's end. He joked that his wife pointed out more gray up top in his hair, as opposed to just on his sides, as a possible result of this trying season. It's been as difficult for him as any player or fan watching from April to September. "I'm no different from any fan or anyone in the front office or player who's suffered through a season that's been gut-wrenching," Hahn said. "It's been very difficult. "I try to look at it from the perspective of what we have in front of us now is a tremendous opportunity and a chance to address some of the issues we have and areas we need to get better in. Frankly, we're starting with a

44 little bit of an advantage given the pitching, as well as a bit of a blank slate in terms of a lot of areas that need to be improved. "Certainly it's been trying, one that's hard to sit through," Hahn said. "It's going to provide us with some opportunities to get better in the near future." Third to first • Pitching coach Don Cooper returned to the White Sox dugout after a flare up of early-season stomach issues that cost him 10 games. He missed three games in Baltimore over the weekend. "He seems fine," said White Sox manager Robin Ventura. "He was going to go get checked. If he feels good enough, he'll be here today. So that's good." • Garcia had root canals performed on two different teeth Monday, keeping him out of action against the Tigers. "We're going to let him relax and not do anything today," Ventura said. "So, hopefully tomorrow he'll be able to play." • Adam Dunn explained his non-retirement comments once again before the start of this 10-game homestand. Dunn stressed how the only point he was trying to make was that if the game no longer was enjoyable for him, he would walk away regardless of stats or money owed to him. "Probably the first time I ever said those words, I was probably 22 years old," Dunn said. "The day that I'm not having fun, the day that I walk into a locker room and it's tough for me to show up or the competitive juices aren't flowing, I'm leaving. I'm going home. "For some reason, people take that as I'm retiring. Is this year hard? Yeah, it's hard. Has it been one of the harder ones? Yeah, because the expectations that we had in this locker room were so high. To play like we are playing, it's a huge letdown. I don't know where that comes into that I'm retiring."

45 Johnson to be integral part of White Sox rotation Right-hander is ranked by MLB.com as No. 2 prospect in system September 10, 2013 By Bernie Pleskoff / MLB.com

I was both intrigued and impressed when I saw Erik Johnson pitch this past Spring Training at the Chicago White Sox camp in Glendale, Ariz. Johnson is a strong, wide-bodied right-handed starting pitcher the White Sox selected out of the University of California-Berkeley in the second round of the 2011 First-Year Player Draft. Johnson, who is ranked No. 2 by MLB.com among the White Sox Top 20 Prospects, earned his starting role at Berkeley following a highly successful high school career at Los Altos High School (Calif.). He was a three- time All-State selection, compiling 113 strikeouts as a senior. At 6-foot-3, 235 pounds, Johnson can be very intimidating on the mound. His solid build provides the first impression for the hitter. Then the reality of a very deep and effective repertoire of swing-and-miss pitches takes over. Johnson has a wealth of pitches he throws for strikes. He uses his four-seam and sinking fastballs to set up very effective secondary pitches that include a curveball, slider, changeup and a wicked cut fastball. The cutter might be the most explosive pitch of his arsenal. Throughout his Minor League career, Johnson has thrown strikes. He has shown consistently good command and control, with an average of 2.7 walks and 8.4 strikeouts per nine innings in his three seasons, the first of which included only two innings in the Pioneer Rookie League. Johnson's 2012 season was delayed a bit by shoulder issues that were resolved by June. He made 17 starts that included nine at Class A Kannapolis in the South Atlantic League and eight more after being promoted to Class A Advanced Winston-Salem in the Carolina League. Combined, he threw 92 1/3 innings, pitching to a sparkling 2.53 ERA and 1.20 WHIP. He gave up fewer hits (82) than innings pitched. I recall buzz this past Spring Training of Johnson possibly making the White Sox starting rotation. It didn't happen. Instead, Johnson threw 84 2/3 innings at Double-A Birmingham, recording an 8-2 record with a 2.23 ERA and 0.92 WHIP. He struck out 74 and walked 21. His performance took him to Triple-A Charlotte. Combined this season at the White Sox two highest classifications, Johnson had a 12-3 record with a 1.96 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP. Those numbers earned him a recent September callup to the big league club. Johnson made his Major League debut on Sept. 4. He faced the Yankees and lost the game, pitching six innings and allowing five runs, though only three were earned. Many more starting opportunities appear to be in Johnson's future. When I saw Johnson last spring, he wasn't as smooth in his delivery as he is becoming with maturity and excellent coaching. Basically, he got out of sync, losing a consistent release point. That caused some wild spurts that he corrected. Because he has natural life on his pitches, repeating his delivery will be key to using that movement to his advantage. During Spring Training and throughout this past season, White Sox personnel worked closely with Johnson to build a solid mechanical pitching foundation from which he can progress. Johnson projects to become an integral part of the White Sox future starting rotation. He can become a middle- of-the-rotation starter by continuing to refine his repertoire, learning to sequence pitches according to the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition, and consistently working to repeat a good delivery. He should get additional starts this season to carry him to Spring Training, serving as a springboard for success in 2014.

46 Tigers try to even series against White Sox rookie Division lead down to 4 1/2, Porcello squares off against Johnson September 10, 2013 By Bobby Nightengale / MLB.com

White Sox ace Chris Sale was able to stifle to the Tigers in a 5-1 win on Monday night, and the South Siders are hoping they can showcase a future ace, rookie Erik Johnson, in his first home start on Tuesday. Johnson, who is ranked No. 2 by MLB.com among the White Sox top prospects, went 12-3 with a 1.96 ERA and 131 strikeouts in 141 innings over 24 Minor League starts between Double-A and Triple-A. The 23-year- old right-hander allowed five runs (three earned) on seven hits in six innings in his Major League debut on Wednesday against the Yankees. "I'm looking forward to it, but it's just like any other start," Johnson said. "I try to treat each start like that and hopefully, I'll build off my first one and the second one goes as planned." The Tigers, losers of five of six, are in need of win after watching their American League Central lead reduced to 4 1/2 games over the hard-charging Indians, who have won five of six. Rick Porcello will take the mound for the Tigers, facing the White Sox for the fifth time since July 10. He's 3-0 with a 2.36 ERA in those four starts, but he is coming off a rough outing against the Red Sox. On Wednesday, Porcello gave up eight earned runs on seven hits and four walks in five innings. It was the most walks he's allowed in a start this year. "Obviously leadoff walks come around to score pretty frequently in this league," Porcello said. "I think failure to get anybody out after that is pretty big, too." Tigers: Pitchers holding runners better After 24 consecutive stolen bases against Detroit pitching, the Tigers threw out two would-be basestealers in four attempts in their weekend series against the Royals. "I think we did a good job," manager Jim Leyland said. "We're conscious of it. Sometimes they just get hung up on throwing to the plate and they forget about [the runner]." The Royals stole nine bases over a five-game series against the Tigers last month. "That's something that we focused on a little better this weekend," Leyland said. "We did a pretty good job of it, really." White Sox: Dunn explains comments about retirement • Adam Dunn talked about his non-retirement comments last week and stressed he would only retire if the game was no longer enjoyable for him, regardless of stats or money owed to him. Dunn has made similar comments in the past. "For some reason, people take that as I'm retiring. Is this year hard? Yeah, it's hard," Dunn said. "Has it been one of the harder ones? Yeah, because the expectations that we had in this locker room were so high. To play like we are playing, it's a huge letdown. I don't know where that comes into that I'm retiring." • Avisail Garcia had root canals performed on two different teeth Monday, but manager Robin Ventura said he may be able to return to the lineup on Tuesday. Worth noting • Gordon Beckham is hitting .435 with four doubles and four RBIs in 23 career at-bats against Porcello. It's the best batting average for any player with at least 20 at-bats against the Tigers right-hander. • Dunn needs one home run to tie Andre Dawson for 39th place on the all-time home run list with 438 homers.

47 White Sox Game Day: Sox win 5-1 September 10, 2013 By Colleen Kane / Chicago Tribune

Adam Dunn said the White Sox breathed a sigh of relief upon returning to Chicago after a 1-9 road trip. The Sox celebrated their first game at U.S. Cellular Field since Aug. 28 with a 5-1 victory over the Tigers on Monday night. Left-hander Chris Sale gave up one run on four hits and struck out eight over eight innings Monday in the win, and reliever Nate Jones pitched a scoreless ninth. Paul Konerko hit a two-run, two-out single off Tigers starter Max Scherzer in the first inning to push the Sox ahead 2-0. The Sox scored three runs off Scherzer in the fourth for a 5-0 lead. Conor Gillaspie hit a double, and Dayan Viciedo, Jordan Danks and Josh Phegley followed with singles. Phegley tapped an infield hit to Scherzer, who made a throwing error to first to allow the Sox to score the third run of the inning. Scherzer lasted just four innings, allowing four earned runs and six hits, walking two and striking out six. Victor Martinez hit a home run to left-center field off Sox starter Chris Sale in the seventh inning to cut the Sox's lead to 5-1. Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera and manager Jim Leyland were ejected in the first inning after exchanging words with home plate umpire Brian Gorman. The Sox had won 10 of 12 games before losing nine of 10 the Red Sox, Yankees and Orioles. “You look at the schedule in April, and you know that was going to be a tough stretch,” Dunn said. “It obviously compounded with us not playing very good baseball and running into three really good teams. That’s how you come out 1-9.” Sale took the mound after receiving a no decision in his last start, a 6-4 Sox loss at Yankee Stadium. He was 10- 12 with a 2.97 ERA this season. He faced Scherzer, who was 19-2 with a 2.88 ERA this season. Sox outfielder Avisail Garcia wasn’t in the lineup to face his former team Monday after he had dental work on two teeth. He could return Tuesday. Sox pitching coach Don Cooper was also feeling better after he was hospitalized with symptoms relating to diverticulitis Saturday, Sox manager Robin Ventura said.

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Tuesday, September 10, 2013

TEAM PLAYER TRANSACTION

Los Angeles Angels Howie Kendrick Removed From 15-Day DL, (Sprained left knee)

Monday, September 9, 2013

TEAM PLAYER TRANSACTION

Atlanta Braves Christian Bethancourt Called Up from Minors

Baltimore Orioles Alex Liddi Outrighted to Minors

Houston Astros Carlos Corporan Removed From 15-Day DL, (Concussion)

Houston Astros Carlos Corporan Recalled From Minors, Rehab Assignment

Los Angeles Angels Tommy Field Sent to Minors

Los Angeles Angels John Hester Called Up from Minors

Minnesota Twins Eduardo Escobar Called Up from Minors

Minnesota Twins Eric Fryer Purchased From Minors

Minnesota Twins Scott Diamond Called Up from Minors

Minnesota Twins Samuel Deduno Transferred to 60-Day DL, (Right shoulder soreness)

Minnesota Twins Cole De Vries Called Up from Minors

Minnesota Twins Michael Tonkin Called Up from Minors

Minnesota Twins Wilkin Ramirez Transferred to 60-Day DL, (Fractured left tibia)

Minnesota Twins Chris Parmelee Called Up from Minors

Minnesota Twins Shairon Martis Purchased From Minors

New York Mets Aaron Harang Purchased From Minors

49 New York Mets Ike Davis Placed on 60-Day DL, (Strained right oblique)

New York Mets Juan Centeno Purchased From Minors

New York Mets Mike Baxter Called Up from Minors

New York Mets Scott Rice Placed on 60-Day DL, (Sports hernia)

New York Yankees Zoilo Almonte Recalled From Minors, Rehab Assignment

New York Yankees Zoilo Almonte Removed From 15-Day DL, (Sprained left ankle)

Sunday, September 8, 2013

TEAM PLAYER TRANSACTION

Boston Red Sox Allen Webster Called Up from Minors

Chicago Cubs Scott Baker Recalled From Minors, Rehab Assignment

Chicago Cubs Scott Baker Removed From 60-Day DL, (Strained right elbow)

Chicago Cubs Cody Ransom Designated for Assignment

Houston Astros Rhiner Cruz Called Up from Minors

Houston Astros Brandon Laird Called Up from Minors

Houston Astros David Martinez Called Up from Minors

Houston Astros Jimmy Paredes Called Up from Minors

Los Angeles Angels Tommy Field Called Up from Minors

New York Mets Greg Burke Called Up from Minors

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