Miguel Cabrera Tweaks Side During All-Star Game, Says He's Fine

Tigers fans are holding their collective breaths in hoping that slugger Miguel Cabrera was not seriously hurt during Tuesday night’s MLB All-Star Game.

Fox Sports Detroit reported that Cabrera felt a “twinge” in his side during his only at-bat of the game. However, the Detroit Free Press said Cabrera contacted the Tigers’ PR department and told them he was fine and was taken out of the game as a precaution.

This is why many fans dread all-star games: the fear of losing your top player to an injury for a meaningless exhibition. It appears the Tigers have avoided a serious blow to their AL Central title hopes if Cabrera is indeed not seriously injured. Cabrera suffered a high ankle sprain last year which forced him to miss the final weeks of the season.

Cabrera leads the Tigers with 18 home runs and 59 RBI to go along with his .311 batting average.

Tigers Batters Go Hitless As National League Wins Second Straight All-Star Game

Prince Fielder belted a three-run homer run in the fourth inning and that was all the National League needed in a convincing 5-1 win in the 2011 MLB All-Star Game.

Adrian Gonzalez of the Boston Red Sox hit a third inning homer for the American League, the only run the star-studded lineup managed against the tough NL pitching staff. Ten pitchers combined to give up just six hits for the NL. Somewhat ironically, the pitcher that gave up Gonzalez’s homer was Cliff Lee, who allowed just one earned run in the entire month of June.

As for the Detroit Tigers, it was a pretty forgettable night. Miguel Cabrera, Alex Avila and Jhonny Peralta combined to go 0-for-5 at the plate for the AL. Avila started and caught the first five innings, grounding out twice in two plate appearances, before being relieved by Baltimore’s Matt Wieters. Cabrera ground out in his only at-bat, while Peralta hit a long fly ball to right and a pop up in his two attempts.

Justin Verlander and Jose Valverde were also at the game, but both pitched in Sunday’s 2-1 win over Kansas City and did not play. Verlander was unavailable to pitch, but Valverde probably would have been utilized if needed. The game was notable as aces like Verlander, C.C. Sabathia, Felix Hernandez and Jon Lester were all unavailable to pitch for the AL.

2011 MLB All-Star Game Lineup: Alex Avila To Bat 9th For AL

The lineups for the 2011 MLB All-Star Game were announced on Monday afternoon. Alex Avila, the game's starting catcher for the American League and the lone Tigers player in the starting lineup, will bat ninth. Here is a look at the full AL lineup:

1. CF Curtis Granderson (Yankees)
   
2. SS Asdrubal Cabrera (Indians)
   
3. 1B Adrian Gonzalez (Red Sox)
   
4. RF Jose Bautista (Blue Jays)
   
5. LF Josh Hamilton (Rangers)
   
6. 3B Adrian Beltre (Rangers)
   
7. DH David Ortiz (Red Sox)
   
8. 2B Robinson Cano (Yankees)
   
9. C Alex Avila (Tigers)
   

Anaheim's Jered Weaver will be the starting pitcher for the American League. Philadelphia's Roy Halladay is getting the starting nod for the National League. The NL's lineup can be seen below.

1. 2B Rickie Weeks (Brewers)
2. DH Carlos Beltran (Mets)
3. CF Matt Kemp (Dodgers)
4. 1B Prince Fielder (Brewers)
5. C Brian McCann (Braves)
6. RF Lance Berkman (Cardinals)
7. LF Matt Holliday (Cardinals)
8. SS Troy Tulowitzki (Rockies)
9. 3B Scott Rolen (Reds)

Justin Verlander is not eligible to pitch for the American League, but the Tigers will have Miguel Cabrera and Jhonny Peralta as replacements for fielders and Jose Valverde as the game's possible closer.

MLB All-Star Game: Jhonny Peralta Added To AL Roster

Earlier today Derek Jeter announced that he wouldn’t be playing in this year’s All-Star Game despite being ill-advisedly voted in by the fans to be the starter. Jeter, along with his teammate Alex Rodriguez, has elected to skip the All-Star Game to nurse his nagging injury and prepare for the second half of the season.

This is obviously good news, as the beneficiary of Jeter’s decision is the shortstop that should’ve been in his spot all along — Tigers’ Jhonny Peralta.

Peralta won’t start, because Asdrubal Cabrera was originally picked to be the backup, but he should be starting — he leads the AL amongst SS in BA (.313), OBP (.365), SLG (.539), HR (15), WAR (3.3) and is top five in all major fielding metrics. I’ve said that relative to his peers at the position, Peralta was the biggest snub in this year’s All-Star Game.

So, while he may not be the starting SS in this year’s All-Star Game, Peralta is at least getting his well earned spot on the squad. Peralta is the fifth Tigers player named to the All-Star team, the most they’ve had representing the Old English D in the mid-season classic since 2007.

MLB All-Star Voting: Paul Konerko Edges Victor Martinez In Final Vote

The Detroit Tigers tried their best to get Victor Martinez voted into the 2011 MLB All-Star Game, but their campaign came up short. Despite Justin Verlander and even Martinez's son doing their part in the "Vote Victor" campaign, Chicago White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko won the final vote for the American League.

Konerko ended up finishing with 8.4 million votes from fans. Martinez finished second and nearly edged out Konerko in the voting thanks to a "furious charge" on Thursday, the final day fans could vote.

For the National League, Phillies outfielder Shane Victorino won the final vote. The Phillies and Tigers actually partnered in order to get fans of both teams to vote for Victorino and Martinez, but the campaign was a success for only Philadelphia.

Although Martinez will not be going to the All-Star Game, the Tigers will still be represented in Arizona by Justin Verlander, Miguel Cabrera, Jose Valverde and Alex Avila, who will start for the American League.

Victor Martinez's Six-Year-Old Son Is Adorable And He'd Really Like It If You Voted For His Dad

MLB All-Star Voting: Tigers' Victor Martinez Up For Final Vote

Detroit Tigers fans came through for Alex Avila with their "Vote Avila" campaign and helped him win the starting job in the 2011 MLB All-Star Game over Russell Martin. Despite trailing by more than 400,000 votes with a day of voting left, Avila ended up receiving more votes than Martin in the end, which is pretty amazing.

Now Tigers fans need to turn their focus to the "Vote Victor" campaign and help Victor Martinez make the team. Martinez is one of the five American League players nominated for the All-Star Game final vote. Fans get to decide which players get the final spot on each league's All-Star Game roster, and if Tigers fans come through again, Detroit will end up with five players in this year's Midsummer Classic.

The other players nominated for the final vote for the American League are Alex Gordon, Adam Jones, Paul Konerko and Ben Zobrist. The National League players up for vote are Andre Ethier, Todd Helton, Ian Kennedy, Michael Morse and Shane Victorino.

As a few people have noted on Twitter, the Tigers and Phillies could partner for a "VictorVictorino" movement. Two years ago the two teams got together for the "BranTorino" movement, which resulted in Brandon Inge and Shane Victorino winning the final vote and making the All-Star Game. Now Tigers and Phillies fans could be called upon to do the same thing, just with Martinez taking Inge's spot in the final vote.

2011 MLB All-Star Rosters: Alex Avila To Start For AL

The 2011 MLB All-Star Game rosters were unveiled on Sunday. It was revealed that Alex Avila will be the starting catcher for the American League. Avila trailed New York Yankees catcher Russell Martin in the voting by more than 400,000 votes with only a day of voting left, but Avila edged out Martin for a starting spot in this year's Midsummer Classic.

Avila will be joined by three other Tigers players at the All-Star Game. Pitchers Justin Verlander and Jose Valverde made the roster for the American League, as did first baseman Miguel Cabrera. Cabrera was not voted in as a starter since Red Sox first baseman Adrian Gonzalez won the vote, but Cabrera made the team as a reserve.

Verlander is certainly one of the favorites to start at pitcher for the All-Star Game, but he likely won't be eligible to pitch since he is scheduled to make a start next Sunday. If that ends up happening, he will be ineligible to pitch in the All-Star Game. We could still see Valverde, who appeared in last year's All-Star Game in Anaheim, pitch in this year's game in Arizona.

Check out Baseball Nation for a look at the full 2011 MLB All-Star Game rosters.

MLB All-Star Voting: Alex Avila Still Trails Russell Martin

Voting for the 2011 MLB All-Star Game ends on Thursday, and the latest batch of numbers for which players are leading was released on Tuesday. The only position where a Detroit Tigers player is even in contention for a starting spot is at catcher, but Alex Avila is still trailing New York Yankees catcher Russell Martin by more than 400,000 votes.

Here's a look at the top five players at catcher as of Tuesday:

CATCHER
Russell Martin, Yankees: 2,779,592
Alex Avila, Tigers: 2,345,065
Joe Mauer, Twins: 1,699,604
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Red Sox: 1,505,143
Yorvit Torrealba, Rangers: 1,309,802

The "Vote Avila" campaign has been in full swing for the last week or so. Justin Verlander jumped on board and has been very active on Twitter promoting it. He is doing his best to get people to vote for Avila and unseat Martin as the starter behind home plate in this year's All-Star Game.

Like Avila, Verlander deserves to be a starter in the All-Star Game. Starting pitchers aren't determined by a vote, but chances are he would take the hill first for the American League if the dates of his starts worked out. Unfortunately because Verlander is scheduled to start the Tigers' final game before the All-Star break, he won't be eligible to start.

Regardless of who ends up starting at pitcher and catcher for the AL, I think most baseball fans would agree that the Tigers' duo of Verlander and Avila should be in the starting lineup. Thanks to the schedule and Yankees fans, however, it looks like neither will get that honor this year.