Miguel Cabrera is better in clutch situations than Mike Trout, Al Aburquerque is ready to resume his rehab assignment, and Chris Volstad is on the verge of a very spectacular record -- for losing. These stories and more in today's Morning Prowl.
Tigers links:
Tigers' Miguel Cabrera better in the clutch than Mike Trout, ESPN writer says -- Detroit Free Press, Brian Manzullo
Dave Cameron > Keith Law.
Baseball whispers: Detroit Tigers have some interesting combos going -- ChicagoTribune.com, Phil Rogers
Well at least we have this going for us.
If Cabrera, Fielder, Jackson don't get some help, Tigers could miss playoffs -- The Detroit News, Lynn Henning
That is a brilliant observation, Lynn Henning. Just brilliant.
Alburquerque cleared to resume rehab assignment -- Beck's Blog, Jason Beck
"The Tigers have been hoping for the sight of Al Alburquerque around Comerica Park at some point this summer. These weren’t the circumstances they were looking for, though."
Tigers Twitter Rankings – Summer 2012 -- Brain Matters
In case you're looking for cool -- or not so cool -- Tigers people to follow on Twitter. Follow at your own risk.
The Tigers Achilles Heels -- Motor City Bengals, Chris Hannum
"The fact remains: the Tigers offense is hitting, they are fourth in the AL in OPS, but they just aren’t scoring quite as many runs as that kind of talent (and production) should. One big reason is those double plays."
Around the AL Central:
Blackburn Roughed Up Early Again, Mariners Edge Twins 5-3 -- Twinkie Town
"Nick Blackburn gets tagged early, Twins unable to dig out of early hole. Wash, rinse, repeat."
Game 121: Athletics 7, Indians 0 -- Let's Go Tribe
"The Indians were blanked 7-0 by Oakland. A recap of the game."
Just Another Royals' Win -- Royals Review, Clark Fosier
"Not even a month ago, the Royals had made such a habit of losing that it was ridiculously routine."
Royals 9, White Sox 4: Why do we even play these guys? -- South Side Sox
"Royals 9, White Sox 4. Recap of the 8/18/12 game that saw Kevin Youkilis record his 1,000th hit and Adam Dunn hit his 400th homer. The rest of the game wasn't nearly as good."
Elsewhere in baseball:
Mike Trout might be having the best year in Angels history -- HardballTalk, Drew Silva
So he's pretty good at baseball, eh?
Felix Hernandez and arbitrarily historic performances -- The Hardball Times, Jesse Sakstrup
"Perfect game? That's nice, but I asked how well he pitched."
Will Chris Volstad Ever Win Again? -- Baseball Nation, Rob Neyer
He plays for the Cubs. So I feel like that's a trick question. Also, he got a no decision on Sunday.
Report: Melky Cabrera used fake website to create explanation for positive drug test -- Big League Stew, Kevin Kaduk
In the words of Ron Burgandy, "How'd you do that? Heck, I'm not even mad; that's amazing."