Detroit Tigers Links: Miguel Cabrera's New Diet & Jose Valverde's Work Ethic

There wasn't really anything that happened yesterday, you know, besides the fact that the MLB is going to completely change its playoff system. That, Miguel Cabrera's new diet, and more in today's Morning Prowl.

Day 10: Why Miguel Cabrera gets it - Jason Beck's Blog
Yes, this is yet another article about the weight of one of our superstars, but Beck's take is much more positive than others we've heard throughout the spring so far. Also, someone tell Avisail Garcia to tone it down a notch.

30 Tigers in 30 Days – #29: Don Kelly - Fire Gerald Laird
As the title suggests, Grey (@spacemnkymafia) has been previewing the entire Tigers roster over the past month. While I'd encourage you to read the entire series, his take on Don Kelly's 2012 outlook is particularly interesting.

Tigers closer Jose Valverde remains dedicated from start to finish - Detroit Free Press, John Lowe
"Take your job seriously but not yourself." Sage advice from the big man, who puts in a lot more work than you might expect.

Willie Horton made special impact - The Detroit News, Terry Foster
With Black History Month coming to a close yesterday, Foster takes a look back at Willie Horton's impact in the community for his actions both on and off the field.

Detroit Tigers' Jim Leyland: No sense looking for clues about who will be fifth starter - MLive, Chris Iott
The definition of insanity: Leyland tells the media to not look for hints about the 5th starter's role just yet, but the media does so anyway (because you know they will).

Jeff Zimmerman’s 10 Bold Predictions for 2012 - FanGraphs, Jeff Zimmerman
Brennan Boesch continues to be everyone's pick for "breakout player of 2012," so I'm not so sure that #1 (yup, #1 again) is a "bold" prediction, per se.

Around the AL Central:

Minnesota Twins' Justin Morneau is back, feeling normal - TwinCities.com, John Shipley
OK, so turning on a Francisco Liriano fastball hasn't exactly been the hardest thing in the world to do -- even during his stellar 2006 season, he was particularly homer-prone -- but otherwise it sounds like Morneau is back to his old self.

Shin-Soo Choo is probably in The Best Shape of His Life - HardballTalk, Craig Calcaterra
Save for Rays DH Luke Scott, Choo might be the only baseball player that spent his winter surrounded by heavy artillery. Choo trained with the army in his native South Korea to both stay in shape and fulfill a service requirement.

Elsewhere in Baseball:

Eight teams enough for MLB playoffs - ESPN, Jemele Hill
I was going to write something about this article on playoff realignment, but I still can't get over the amazing picture of Jim Leyland that waits for you when you click this link.

Howard sidelined indefinitely - Philly.com, Matt Gelb
Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard "will be sidelined indefinitely following a procedure to clean an infection" that developed in the wound following his Achilles tendon surgery. Bottom line: don't expect to see Howard on the field in 2012.

Another one bites the dust - Hardball Times, Bojan Koprivica
If you woke up this morning and thought "Man, I wonder which catchers were the best in baseball at blocking pitches in the dirt last season," then this post is for you. It's extremely stat-heavy, but I have a feeling that even casual readers will enjoy the "Adjusted WAR leaders" chart towards the end of the post.