Should Cabrera play?

The Detroit News has obtained a copy of the 911 call from the wife of Detroit Tigers star Miguel Cabrera, who allegedly beat up his wife after Saturday’s game against the Chicago White Sox.

1. Audio not found

The newspaper says Cabrera was out partying Friday with his on-field opponents.

The Tigers, of course, will play the Twins on Tuesday in Minneapolis for the right to go to the playoffs. Should Cabrera play?

This blogger, a Tigers fan, thinks so:

“I don’t know what benching him accomplishes. It sends a message to the multimillion-dollar man that this sort of behavior is intolerable. But it penalizes every other person in the organization, and it penalizes every fan who ever plunked down a dollar to watch this team play. If you’re a Tigers fan, I ask you this: How does benching Miguel Cabrera for a must-win game make your life any better? I know that’s not necessarily what it’s about. And I know that personal and family responsibility is far more important than a baseball game. But at the same time, there is the whole innocent-until-proved-guilty thing here. And at this moment, we don’t know exactly what went on in the Cabrera home. And we might never.”

That point is echoed by Sports Illustrated columnist Ted Keith, who says benching him would be unfair to the other players:

Despite all the justifiable outrage that is coming Cabrera’s way, there isn’t much anyone can do at this point. The Tigers can’t suspend him because his bat is too important to their chances of winning on Tuesday night and finally securing the AL Central title, and as unfair as Cabrera’s actions may have been to his teammates, it would be almost as unfair to deprive the rest of the club from having their most dangerous offensive player in the middle of their lineup for such a critical game.

If Cabrera plays — and he probably will — it should be an “interesting” reception waiting for him at the Metrodome.