I had several people ask me, or wonder aloud, what the hell was wrong with Miguel Cabrera's face.  Honestly, I didn't even notice until I first heard about it and when I did, I just wrote it off as being a big ass pimple that he probably squirted all over Zach Miner.  I wasn't really worried about it because I was focused on the game and there have been times when Miguel gets sloppy with his tobacco, so I thought it could be that, too.

But, upon further review, Miguel's face is definitely effed up:

According to Jon Morosi of Fox Sports, it was his big ass dog:

Before the game, I approached Cabrera and inquired as to what happened. He looked puzzled. He asked why I would want to know.
I repeated the question, making it clear that his face, well, had some stuff on it that wasn't there before.
And this, folks, is what he said next: "It was my dog."
He emphasized that he was talking about a fairly big dog.
He ended the interview soon afterward with help from Magglio Ordoñez, who made it clear that Cabrera wanted to be left alone.

Lynn Henning of the Detroit News reported that nobody was talking about it, which is less than Morosi gathered from the Tigers, and that's probably because nobody likes Henning.   Although Fox Sports did say that Leyland and Kevin Rand had no idea Cabrera had scars on his face.  Weird.

It makes you wonder if the Tigers are hiding a clubhouse scuffle between teammates or if it's really "nothing" and Cabrera had a dog attack him late Friday night or early Saturday. Either way, it's definitely something.

If it's really a dog wound, then it just adds insult to injury of the Tigers losing their first place lead.  If it's indeed from a teammate, well, then hitting Miguel's face is the best hitting job his teammates have done all year. I'll say that the wound up by his temple looks a little more than what a dog is probably capable of, so I'm not completely convinced it's from his dog.

Cabrera has struggled in the past week or so, but this team would be in 3rd place without his 30+ HRs and 100+ RBIs.

UPDATE: There are plenty of rumors swirling.  Some might have some merit, others are poppycock.  For example, a fake Jim Leyland twitter account says that Cabrera stole his last smoke.  Others have speculated that Cabrera was out until six in the morning drinking and his girlfriend/wife scratched him up good.  The most reliable source though, so far, is Terry Foster, radio man and journalist from Detroit, who had this to say:

Hey gang.  I am hearing from my bar sources about a fight involving tigers.

There's not much info there, but I think it helps answer why the Tigers have been so hush hush about it when it could have been squashed with the truth immediately.  According to Dave Dombrowski and Jim Leyland, it's a "personal situation" and they have no further comment. Dave Dombrowksi apparently knows exactly what happened, though.

There was news after the Tigers game that Miggy would talk to the media about it today.   Who knows when that will be.

UPDATE:

The Detroit Sports Rag rumors were actually the closest "speculation to be true.  This from the Detroit News:

"A Birmingham Police log shows police were called to Cabrera's Birmingham home for a 'family trouble' call about 6 a.m. Saturday. The complainant was described on the log as "Rosanna Cabrera." The wife of the Tigers star is named Rosangel Cabrera.

"A neighbor reported she saw about three police cruisers in front of the Cabreras' home early Saturday morning and said officers put a man in the back of one of the cruiser

Chip also notifies me that the Detroit Free Press says that the Tigers player was hanging out with "Boston" White Sox players (which has since been corrected) that night.  No wonder the wife was pissed.

But in all seriousness, hopefully they can get their domestic dispute figured out and Cabrera can focus on bringing in runs for the Tigers.

UPDATE:

Cabrera apparently blew a .26 when the police came to pick him up early Saturday morning.  There was no way he wasn't at least still buzzing or extremely hung over for Saturday night's game was was just 13 hours after the police reportedly picked him up.  Disappointing news.  Here is the audio for the 911 call made by Miguel Cabrera's wife.

UPDATE: 10/5/09 4 PM EST

As if it couldn't get much worse, apparently this wasn't the first time Miguel Cabrera has got himself into trouble.

This according to the Detroit News:

During an altercation at a Birmingham bar in August, Detroit Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera allegedly mocked a teenager about his weight and challenged a man to a fight in an incident that resulted in no criminal charged but prompted Tigers management to order Cabrera to avoid the bar, according to information provided to The Detroit News.

In the August incident, according to the information, a man told Birmingham police that he and an unnamed teen encountered Cabrera at the Rugby Grille on Aug. 31 about 6:30 p.m. Cabrera allegedly asked the teen, who weighs about 300 pounds, "What's up, big boy? You need to work out," according to the information provided to The News. The teen then asked Cabrera to stop taunting him and said, "Let me be." But it became confrontational, the man told police: Cabrera allegedly challenged the man and the teen. "Let's go right now. I'll fight both of you right now. Let's go outside." At one point, the man told police he felt that Cabrera intimated that he had a gun, saying he was going to go to his vehicle and get his "click-clack" and making a motion with his hands that he interpreted as the racking of a handgun.

Not good.

And if you're interested in the police report, here it is. Shitstorm.

[images via Detroit News]

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