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Austin Jackson's new stance is paying dividends at the plate, Miguel Cabrera wins the first of many awards in 2012, and one blogger is already eating crow about Cabrera's defensive abilities. These stories and a total bromance .gif in today's Morning Prowl.
Austin Jackson’s New Approach At The Dish - Walkoff Woodward, Brian Packey
Jackson has made noticeable changes in his batting stance and swing early on this season. Packey does an excellent job breaking down Jackson's new approach at the plate.
Detroit Tigers' Miguel Cabrera named American League Player of the Week - MLive, Chris Iott
Boston and New York both went 0-3, so they had to pick a deserving winner for once.
With these bulky bats, anything is possible for Tigers - The Detroit News, Bob Wojnowski
"This was alternately riveting and ridiculous, so of course it had to end with a stunning flourish. You might never see a game like this again. Or with these Tigers, you might see it again in a week." Let's hope they wait until at least May to give us that many collective heart attacks again.
Fun with Small Sample Sizes: Hitters edition - Motor City Bengals, Jordan Gorosh
Small sample sizes are way more fun when you extrapolate them over 162 games, but this works too. Personally, I'd love to see four hitters in our lineup finish the year with an OBP over .400.
2012 MLB Baseball Power Rankings Week 2 - ESPN
I think I'm more entertained by the number of teams with losing records in the top half of these rankings (SEVEN in the top 16!) than I am about the Tigers being ranked #1. Sorry for ruining the surprise.
Justin Verlander Voted Toughest Pitcher To Face On MLB Player Poll - SB Nation Detroit, James Brady
Something tells me that Miguel Cabrera will rank very highly on the "toughest hitter to face" list as well.
Pick it, Miggy: Cabrera shines on defense - Big League Stew, David Brown
It's nice to see Brown eating his words (so far) about Cabrera's defensive abilities. Also, this: "'It was awesome -- I love it,' Fielder said of that ovation for Cabrera. 'Every time he makes a good play, they should do that. At least I am.'"
If it wasn't obvious already, it is now: this is a full-blown bromance.
Around the AL Central:
Josh is Willing (Ham) - Twinkie Town
The Minnesota Twins lost to the Los Angeles Angels 5-1 yesterday behind 7 strong innings from Angels starter C.J. Wilson.
Game 4: White Sox 4, Indians 2 - Let's Go Tribe
White Sox 4, Indians 2: Given early cushion, Sale coasts - South Side Sox, Jim Margalus
In his first career start, Chris Sale handcuffed the Indians offense for 6 2/3 innings. Alejandro De Aza and A.J. Pierzynski both homered for the White Sox.
...and Awful Ball Was Played By All - Royals Review
A's: 1, Royals: 0
Elsewhere in Baseball:
Barry Zito notches first shutout since 2003 versus Rockies - HardballTalk, Matthew Pouliot
Zito has been paid over $80 million by the San Francisco Giants over the past five years. I'm no math expert, but I'm pretty sure that works out to about $80 million per shutout.
Yanks Show They Don't Have the Heart for 2012 - Pinstripe Alley
Fantastic. Absolutely fantastic.
Baseball in 140 (baseballin140) on Twitter
If you aren't following this account, you should be. Grey (a.k.a. @spacemnkymafia) does a great job giving quick recaps of every MLB game played each day.
On Daniel Bard and Panic Moves - Over the Monster
The mood has calmed in Boston since Sunday's game against the Tigers, but there are still questions to be asked about their pitching and bullpen. Also, take the paragraph about Jon Lester and Josh Beckett, apply that to Max Scherzer, and calm down. /soapbox