Miguel Cabrera

With Opening Day fast approaching, Detroit Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera is in line to reach 2,000 career hits before the weather in Detroit gets warm.

The two-time reigning American League MVP has 1,995 hits through 11 seasons, leaving him just five shy of a milestone that 276 other players have accomplished.

If you see Miguel Cabrera and Andrew McCutchen walking around, they might be comporting themselves a little differently. Chest puffed out. Semi-smug grin. Bouncy steps.

If so, well, who can blame them? Awards tend to do that to people.

Miguel Cabrera fought through the last month of the season and then the playoffs while dealing with an amorphously defined injury.

Sometimes the baseball gods just aren't on your side. That certainly appears to be the case for Miguel Cabrera as he chases a second consecutive Triple Crown. 

The 2013 Detroit Tigers are a month away from postseason baseball, an excellent bet to repeat as American League champions and a marquee attraction for Major League Baseball's broadcasting plan down the stretch of the season.

Part of that allure: Star power.

From Justin Verlander to Prince Fielder to Torii Hunter, the current version of the Detroit Tigers are one of the most recognizable groups in recent memory.

Miguel Cabrera is one month away from possibly joining the likes of Nap Lajoie, Ty Cobb, Rogers Hornsby, Chuck Klein and Carl Yastrzemski.

Miguel Cabrera is the best hitter on the planet and is in a league of his own this season.

There's no reason the Detroit Tigers should keep him out of the lineup the next couple weeks.

Cabrera has been forced to miss eight games this season due to various injuries and pundits have debated whether the Tigers should give the defending Triple Crown and MVP winner a few days off down the stretch.

With just over one month left in the regular season, Miguel Cabrera's quest for a second consecutive Triple Crown is still very much alive but not quite as strong as it appeared the last time we checked in on the chase.

Cabrera enters play on Friday leading all of baseball in batting average (.354) and RBI (123), while trailing Baltimore's Chris Davis in home runs (46 to 40). 

On Friday, Basebook Baseball Magazine writer Paul Goode wrote a solid post that begged the question: Has Miguel Cabrera surpassed Albert Pujols as the premier all-round hitter in baseball?

The American League Central is one of the most interesting divisions in all of baseball this season.

The Detroit Tigers once again entered the year as runaway favorites to take the division crown, and are once again struggling at the first quarter mark, trailing the Cleveland Indians by 2.5 games.