Last winter the Florida Marlins put the slugging third baseman Miguel Cabrera on the market, fearing they wouldn’t be able to afford him when it came time to show him the money. In return for such talent, the Marlins demanded top prospects or young big-leaguers. The Dodgers, among other teams, balked at the prospect of giving up players such as Matt Kemp, James Loney or Clayton Kershaw. The Detroit Tigers, however, did not, acquiring Cabrera and pitcher Dontrelle Willis for five prospects, including Cameron Maybin, Burke Badenhop and Andrew Miller.
This weekend the Dodgers and Tigers meet for an interleague series at Comerica Park, their destinies intersecting at the corner of caution and daring. Neither the Dodgers or Tigers, however, are any the better for trading or not trading for Cabrera; the Dodger offense has experienced the growing pains of their young hitters, and the supposedly vaunted Detroit lineup has failed to live up to expectations. If anything, the Marlins made out the best in the deal, with the prospects contributing to a team in the thick of the NL East chase while Cabrera and Willis have forgettable seasons.
In the end, however, someone had to win Friday’s opener, and the Tigers added to the Dodgers’ misery by posting a 5-0 shutout, running the Dodgers’ scoreless streak to 23 innings.
If the Dodgers’ posting five hits in their two losses to San Diego was bad, their three hits Friday must have been even worse. The benefit of playing with a designated hitter in an American League park became a disadvantage with Mark Sweeney going 0-for-3 to drop his average to .118. The 2-3-4 hitters were a combined 0-for-12, and Jeff Kent inexplicably remains entrenched in the cleanup spot despite a season-long slump and an average of .240.
Derek Lowe pitched admirably for the Dodgers, going seven innings and surrendering three runs (two earned) in the defeat. Another quality start, and another quality start wasted. The Dodgers might need to redefine the quality start as “six or more innings, no runs allowed.” Or if possible, negative runs allowed. Not quite sure how that would work, though.
