Miguel Cabrera gets hit with a DUI

[jacksonianmarch]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/spring2011/news/story?id=6131020

 

SO not only did he stagger, slur and smell of booze. But the guy took a swig of alcohol in front of the deputy. That guy is an idiot

[bsox0407]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/spring2011/news/story?id=6131020

 

SO not only did he stagger, slur and smell of booze. But the guy took a swig of alcohol in front of the deputy. That guy is an idiot

 

What an idiot. So not only can he get DUI he could get an open container. I really hope that they dont let him off easy. I wonder was he blew. That is the key.

[EXman369]

If he took a swig in front of the cop that means your pretty f***ed up

[BSN07]

Fing Idiot. He should be suspended(without pay)to help wake him the F up. Absolutely ridiculous. An example needs to be made.

[italstallianion]

I guess that he learned that he wasn't famous enough to get away with it. If this was Venezuela he might have had a shot at bribing the police, but not in the good ole US of A.

[VA Sox Fan]

Boy needs some serious help.

[Dipre]

I guess that he learned that he wasn't famous enough to get away with it. If this was Venezuela he might have had a shot at bribing the police' date=' but not in the good ole US of A. [/quote']

 

Ever been to Venezuela?

 

Road officers over there aren't as easily bribe-able as guys in, say, the DR or Puerto Rico. It's also common knowledge that Cabrera has gotten in trouble with Venezuelan authorities several times, but a DUI over there is not such a big deal as in the US. I get that people have pre-conceived notions about most Latin countries, but don't comment negatively on the system if you don't know the particularities of it. Venezuelan officers do a damn fine job (at least in regards to speeding and DUI offenses, since delinquency runs rampant, but that's neither here not there).

 

This is not meant to be insulting but rather enlightening by the way.

 

I'm also disappointed at people calling the guy "stupid". He has a problem, a very serious one, and needs help. Addiction is not something you turn on and off with a button. It's easy to criticize from the outside, and everybody has an opinion on everyone and everything.

 

Shame on all of you (except VA) and specially you, Jacko, because as a doctor, you should know how difficult it is to deal with addictions.

[italstallianion]

For the record, I was assuming (incorrectly I guess) that Venezuela was more like Brazil than say, like Puerto Rico or the DR.

[Emmz]

Ever been to Venezuela?

 

Road officers over there aren't as easily bribe-able as guys in, say, the DR or Puerto Rico. It's also common knowledge that Cabrera has gotten in trouble with Venezuelan authorities several times, but a DUI over there is not such a big deal as in the US. I get that people have pre-conceived notions about most Latin countries, but don't comment negatively on the system if you don't know the particularities of it. Venezuelan officers do a damn fine job (at least in regards to speeding and DUI offenses, since delinquency runs rampant, but that's neither here not there).

 

This is not meant to be insulting but rather enlightening by the way.

 

I'm also disappointed at people calling the guy "stupid". He has a problem, a very serious one, and needs help. Addiction is not something you turn on and off with a button. It's easy to criticize from the outside, and everybody has an opinion on everyone and everything.

 

Shame on all of you (except VA) and specially you, Jacko, because as a doctor, you should know how difficult it is to deal with addictions.

 

Dude, driving while intoxicated isn't something you just say "AWWWW, he's just an addict"

 

He could kill somebody, that's being stupid.

[Palodios]

Drinking while behind the wheel of a car, with an officer watching... A-gon looks better and better to me every day.

[Dipre]

I'm not going to go into an all-out battle about this because:

 

A) I wasn't referencing you with the above post.

 

B ) I'm not defending his behavior, so don't twist my words.

 

I've made my stance on drunk-driving clear several times on this board. But Cabrera's problem extends beyond the issue of drunk driving. He's a raging alcoholic who needs help. The fact that he still has a license is a travesty, because this isn't the first time he's been caught D&D'ing or exhibiting destructive behavior after drinking.

 

I'm not talking about "Miguel Cabrera the drunk driver" i'm talking about "Miguel Cabrera the alcohol addict", who definitely needs help. It's easy to point the finger and comment. Not as easy to put yourself in the other person's shoes and think how difficult it must be to try and fight something so difficult to control.

 

The league should take cards in it and take this guy step by step through his alcohol problem, or he'll end up hurting himself or even worse, somebody else, but please, spare me the "Holier-than-thou" attitude. We're all humans, and all liable to indulge in similar behaviors should similar circumstances arise.

[a700hitter]

Drinking from the bottle in front of the police officer might have helped his case. If the officer did not observe him operating the vehicle, his attorney may seek to argue that he got drunk after the car broke down using the bottle in the car and that he was not intoxicated while driving. He might only get a citation for an open container.

[Emmz]

I'm not going to go into an all-out battle about this because:

 

A) I wasn't referencing you with the above post.

 

B ) I'm not defending his behavior, so don't twist my words.

 

No one twisted your words. You were quick to your guns that he wasn't "being stupid" when he was doing something that could have caused harm, or even death to another human being.

 

I've made my stance on drunk-driving clear several times on this board. But Cabrera's problem extends beyond the issue of drunk driving. He's a raging alcoholic who needs help. The fact that he still has a license is a travesty, because this isn't the first time he's been caught D&D'ing or exhibiting destructive behavior after drinking.

 

Cool, so when people say he's stupid, just say yup, instead of shaming them, when they're right.

 

The league should take cards in it and take this guy step by step through his alcohol problem, or he'll end up hurting himself or even worse, somebody else, but please, spare me the "Holier-than-thou" attitude. We're all humans, and all liable to indulge in similar behaviors should similar circumstances arise.

 

You're the one who's trying to tell everyone they're not on your same moral level, or, "holier than thou" if you will. Other than that yeah, guy needs help.

[Dipre]

I'm sorry that i don't think that the guy's behavior, while reprehensible, is more a direct result of a problem he may or may have not created for himself.

 

I don't think i'm so much above another human being to look down on them and call them "stupid" for having a problem as serious as alcoholism. I lost my Halo on a boating accident.

 

I'd be much more inclined to agree with the general sentiment if it wasn't perfectly clear and well-documented that the guy is a raging alcoholic, not just a partying idiot who gets drunk every so often.

 

He made great strides last season in keeping that s*** under control, but all it takes is one argument with the wife, one problem with the boss, a misplaced word from a fan, and next thing you know, in comes the thought of "Taking a sip to cool yerself down" and off the wagon you fall. Weeks, months, or even years of hard work all down the drain. And in come the Halo-wearers proclaiming their superiority over the "Hopeless drunk".

 

I feel sorry for the guy, he has all the talent in the world, and seems to have seriously intended to clean up his act but f***ed up again. I'd rather see him get well than sit here and criticize him from my comfortable chair (and it's very comfortable).

[BSN07]

He is not stupid for being an alcoholic. He's stupid for getting behind the wheel of an automobile drunk. I don't care if your an alcoholic with a problem or an amateur that got tipsy. The act of getting behind the wheel intoxicated is "Stupid". The guy obviously needs help. The Tigers better be scrambling to do so.

 

And a700 I agree, I can see his lawyer pulling something like that.

[italstallianion]

I don't know Dipre, I think they call your point the "Mel Gibson Defense" whereby everything is excused because he's an alcoholic. You should watch the "Miss Teacher Bangs a Boy" episode of South Park and it'll make a good point. It just seems like you're playing "offensive" and "defensive" at the same time.

[Emmz]

I'm sorry that i don't think that the guy's behavior, while reprehensible, is more a direct result of a problem he may or may have not created for himself.

 

I don't think i'm so much above another human being to look down on them and call them "stupid" for having a problem as serious as alcoholism. I lost my Halo on a boating accident.

 

 

Being reckless is pretty much by definition stupid.

 

I'd be much more inclined to agree with the general sentiment if it wasn't perfectly clear and well-documented that the guy is a raging alcoholic, not just a partying idiot who gets drunk every so often.

 

Alcoholism doesn't make it less stupid. How can you pick and choose which drunks are and aren't "stupid"? He knows better, he's a grown man.

 

He made great strides last season in keeping that s*** under control, but all it takes is one argument with the wife, one problem with the boss, a misplaced word from a fan, and next thing you know, in comes the thought of "Taking a sip to cool yerself down" and off the wagon you fall. Weeks, months, or even years of hard work all down the drain. And in come the Halo-wearers proclaiming their superiority over the "Hopeless drunk".

 

I feel sorry for the guy, he has all the talent in the world, and seems to have seriously intended to clean up his act but f***ed up again. I'd rather see him get well than sit here and criticize him from my comfortable chair (and it's very comfortable).

 

What great strides did he take? Do you know him personally or what? The guy's just a dumbass. Call everyone else a "halo-wearer" but you're the one here who's trying to shame everyone. That's the epitome of someone with a holier-than-thou attitude.

[Dipre]

He is not stupid for being an alcoholic. He's stupid for getting behind the wheel of an automobile drunk. I don't care if your an alcoholic with a problem or an amateur that got tipsy. The act of getting behind the wheel intoxicated is "Stupid". The guy obviously needs help. The Tigers better be scrambling to do so.

 

And a700 I agree, I can see his lawyer pulling something like that.

 

When you've got enough bloodstream in your alcohol that you take a drink in front of an officer, i don't think you're conscious enough to know if you're driving a car or a donkey.

 

And i'm not condoning his behavior, but i ask, again, how the hell is he still allowed to have a driver's license?

[Emmz]

I don't know Dipre' date=' I think they call your point the "Mel Gibson Defense" whereby everything is excused because he's an alcoholic. You should watch the "Miss Teacher Bangs a Boy" episode of South Park and it'll make a good point. It just seems like you're playing "offensive" and "defensive" at the same time.[/quote']

 

I think he needs help. I don't pass judgment onto him, that's not my place. But he's an idiot for driving while drunk. IMO, that's not being judgmental, that's just calling a spade a spade.

[Dipre]

He stayed clean for months. Unless it was a "media-ploy" like everything that doesn't go along with the general opinion.

 

And you're not judging? Reaaaaaaally?

[Emmz]

Not really, like I said, reckless pretty much is stupid by definition. You see, when you judge someone, you tend to take guesses about said person's character. I have yet to do that. His intelligence is not his character. He's an idiot for getting into the car while drunk.

[Dipre]

Then what is your definition of judging?

 

First off, you say "He knows better"? (That is a judgement on his "judgement" by the way) And it's a logical leap of faith, because you say "i don't know the guy" but there is enough evidence to suggest he did, in fact, stay clean throughout last season, but no evidence to suggest he "knows better".How can someone who can't control an urge to drink "know better"? It's like a junkie. He doesn't know s*** besides his urge.

 

I'm not separating "types of drunks" i'm separating a "drunk" from an "alcoholic" who fell off the wagon. There is a big difference.

 

Should he be tried and punished for his offense? f*** yeah he should.

 

But should the focus be on helping him fix his situation instead of pointing the finger and saying "This guy's just another stupid drunk"? Positive as well.

[Emmz]

Then what is your definition of judging?

 

First off, you say "He knows better"? (That is a judgement on his "judgement" by the way) And it's a logical leap of faith, because you say "i don't know the guy" but there is enough evidence to suggest he did, in fact, stay clean throughout last season, but no evidence to suggest he "knows better".How can someone who can't control an urge to drink "know better"? It's like a junkie. He doesn't know s*** besides his urge.

 

Sorry, you do know better. Everyone who has a license is REQUIRED to know better, so your argument does not fly. Try again old top.

 

I'm not separating "types of drunks" i'm separating a "drunk" from an "alcoholic" who fell off the wagon. There is a big difference.

 

Yes you are, you're setting a second standard because he's an alcoholic. He's still a jackass for doing what he did.

 

Should he be tried and punished for his offense? f*** yeah he should.

 

But should the focus be on helping him fix his situation instead of pointing the finger and saying "This guy's just another stupid drunk"? Positive as well.

 

I agree, except for where you decided to get holier-than-thou, and tell us what a bunch of ass holes we are for thinking what he did was stupid.

[yankees228]

For me, this comes down to what conscious decisions he's making. I agree that getting drunk can be attributed to his alcoholism, and I certainly feel bad for him and hope he receives the necessary treatment. On the other hand, the decision to drink and drive is bad one and he deserves to take some heat for that.

 

The way I see it, these two things need to be seen separately. We can remark that his decision to drink and drive is a stupid one, while still acknowledging that his alcoholism is a disease and partly to blame.

[italstallianion]

Didn't he also say that he was going to stop drinking last year at Spring Training? I thought that he'd have an easier chance of staying out of the buffet line, but it looks like he was more dependent on alcohol than he was Hometown Buffet.

[Dipre]

Sorry' date=' you do know better. Everyone who has a license is REQUIRED to know better, so your argument does not fly. Try again old top.[/quote']

 

Required by whom? In what instance? Under what pretenses? This statement is a clear dichotomy between "what should be" and "what is". He's a declared alcoholic, so he doesn't know better, therefore, he shouldn't have a license.

 

 

Yes you are, you're setting a second standard because he's an alcoholic. He's still a jackass for doing what he did.

 

There is no second standard, a drunk is different from an alcoholic, just like a hippie weed-smoker is different from a crack addict. Try again, grasshopper.

 

I agree, except for where you decided to get holier-than-thou, and tell us what a bunch of ass holes we are for thinking what he did was stupid.

 

Nuh-uh. I wasn't even talking to you, but you came in dressed in your "Mother Emily from Calcuta" robes:

 

http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSIrL4to44wPqxW9_vyKu-oth7OHOH-xo59cegy7yttUDqjzq1X&t=1

 

On the left, Emmz, 50 years later.

 

^ Obviously a joke, but i thought i should point it out, before i am pounded into the ground by angry TalkSoxers.

 

It all comes down to what decisions he made while conscious, now, none of us knows for sure whether he got drunk to the point where he didn't know what the f*** he was doing, but the fact that he took a drink in front of a cop makes me think he probably thought he was riding a donkey throughout the fair streets of San Felix, Venezuela, and that doesn't give anyone the right to point their finger without knowing what actually happened.

 

This is the type of thing that people feel bad about when a report comes out that the story was completely different than what was initially imagined. (See: Taylor, Lawrence).That's why you don't judge.

[Pink_Hat_Girl]

Sounds like the Tigers need to get him a Josh Hamilton type baby sitter.

[BSN07]

I don't know about you Dipre, but part of the class I had to pass to get my license included drinking and driving awareness. And even if it isn't taught everywhere, a trained monkey knows drinking and driving is one of the stupidest things you can do. I would say the same thing if someone got all coked up and drove. Yes they may be an addict, but I would still call them stupid for driving under the influence.

[jacksonianmarch]

Ever been to Venezuela?

 

Road officers over there aren't as easily bribe-able as guys in, say, the DR or Puerto Rico. It's also common knowledge that Cabrera has gotten in trouble with Venezuelan authorities several times, but a DUI over there is not such a big deal as in the US. I get that people have pre-conceived notions about most Latin countries, but don't comment negatively on the system if you don't know the particularities of it. Venezuelan officers do a damn fine job (at least in regards to speeding and DUI offenses, since delinquency runs rampant, but that's neither here not there).

 

This is not meant to be insulting but rather enlightening by the way.

 

I'm also disappointed at people calling the guy "stupid". He has a problem, a very serious one, and needs help. Addiction is not something you turn on and off with a button. It's easy to criticize from the outside, and everybody has an opinion on everyone and everything.

 

Shame on all of you (except VA) and specially you, Jacko, because as a doctor, you should know how difficult it is to deal with addictions.

 

Shame on me? Really? You are gonna side with the guy who got bombed and got behind the wheel? You seriously are a moron.

 

This has nothing to do with profession, as a human being I frown on anyone who gets behind the wheel impaired. Now, if someone wants to risk their life, then so be it. But drinking and driving puts innocent people in danger. Now, there is obviously the low level mandated by law at 0.08 (for the most part), but he was CLEARLY acting like someone who should never have driven and was probably well over that number. In terms of dealing with addictions, well, there are addicts who hide in their homes and drink, others who are public drunks, but there is NO excuse for driving while bombed. Absolutely none. Take your blame the system card and shove it up your ass. I hope he gets nailed to the wall and made an exampe of.

 

As an aside, do you know that in Phoenix, if you get caught with a DUI, it is a mandatory 10 day "jail" term in one of their tent prisons? It's a hefty fine and everyone gets detained, regardless of how much money you make or influence you have. Thats something we should do here at least

[jacksonianmarch]

I don't know about you Dipre' date=' but part of the class I had to pass to get my license included drinking and driving awareness. And even if it isn't taught everywhere, a trained monkey knows drinking and driving is one of the stupidest things you can do. I would say the same thing if someone got all coked up and drove. Yes they may be an addict, but I would still call them stupid for driving under the influence.[/quote']

 

He is in this country. It's a law of the country. He broke the law. He should be punished. Simple as that.