Catching someone sleeping on a pickoff play is usually a good thing. It’s not so good when the guy who’s sleeping is on defense. But that’s what happened with Miguel Cabrera.
During the first inning of Tuesday’s Cubs-Tigers game, Detroit starter Anibal Sanchez threw over to first base in an attempt to pick off Dexter Fowler. Miggy was holding his glove in his throwing hand at the time Sanchez made the throw, so he was unprepared as the ball arrived. It went past him, off the wall, and Cabrera picked it up and threw to second to get Fowler advancing.
The Cubs actually blew a chance to appeal the play. Since Cabrera had the glove on his wrong hand, he actually threw it at the ball to try stopping it. That is against the rules, and Fowler should have been awarded a few bases. However, the Cubs missed that and did not appeal, so they ended up with a player erased from the bases all because Miggy didn’t have his glove on. That cost them a run considering Chris Coghlan later hit a home run that would have been a 3-run shot but instead was a two-run bomb.
Video via Marcus D
