Gene Lamont optimistic on Cabrera playing third base – MLB News
It is easy to see why Detroit Tigers practice defence before swinging these days. In baseball, defence is as important as hitting and pitching. To make the most of available opportunities in the upcoming season, all Tigers' players have settled into their routine of daily workouts at the Tigers’ training facility.
In some ways, 2012 season will be very important one for the Tigers. General Manager Dave Dombrowski and Manager Jim Leyland have made some key changes to Tigers hitting and pitching line up to achieve their desired goals. Miguel Cabrera, who played the first base last season, has been asked to perform third base duties in 2012. Cabrera’s defence has always remained a subject of criticism as he put on a great amount of weight since joining the club.
The hard hitting striker has been training hard with the coaching staff for the last couple of weeks to bring more improvement in his defensive play and News have surfaced that Cabrera lost 15-20 pound of his weight to be successful in left field. Tigers’ third base coach Gene Lamont is very optimistic about Tigers’ preparations for Spring Training. In an interview with a leading sports website, he stated that he is looking forward to Spring Training.
"I think that's the best way to do it," said third-base coach Gene Lamont. "You want good energy when you're working on defence. Everybody looks forward to hitting. Not that some guys don't with defence -- don't get me wrong. But if you ask someone if they want to hit or field, I think most of them would say hit."
"We want to make sure that if we're not throwing through, the shortstop and second baseman don't cover second," Lamont further added. "If we are throwing through, we want to make sure the third baseman isn't going to third."
The Tigers were quite brilliant last season to win the American League Central title. However, with more experienced and quality players in their offence and defence, they will be looking to win the World Series this season. It will be interesting to see if their workouts and preparations can prove to be fruitful.
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