5 Things For April 22nd: Miguel Cabrera, Brad Ausmus Tossed as Tigers Lose on Walk-Off Balk

1. It all started with an Ian Kinsler check-swing that was not appealed to the first base umpire.  Kinsler looked like he held up, and it was at least a close enough where it absolutely should have gone down to the first base ump.  Miguel Cabrera came up next, and here is what ensued:

Cabrera clearly went around, and should not have been arguing.  He was asking to get tossed, and that is Ausmus' job.  However, this all rooted from an egregious umpiring mistake during the Ian Kinsler at-bat, one that could have been easily avoided.

A number of other crazy things happened in this game.  Max Scherzer got touched up to the tune of seven runs in the first three innings.  Joe Nathan gave up a two-run homer to blow a save in the bottom of the ninth.  Alex Avila hit a homer to give his team the lead in the top of the 13th, but it was blown in the bottom of the inning and the game ended with a balk-off:

2.  Russell Byrd and Alex Gauna had reasonably high expectations when they arrived on campus at Michigan State.  Neither of them ever really turned the corner, and now they have difficult decisions regarding their futures at the university.  Byrd made his, and according to this Graham Couch article from LSJ.com he will be transferring to The Master's college just oustide of Los Angeles.

Gauna has not made a final decision, but LSJ.com reports that he likely will not play next season.  Gauna recently had a child, which is factoring into his decision.

3. The Spurs have a stranglehold on their series against the Thunder.  Serge Ibaka's absence was noticeable once again, as San Antonio shot 50% from the field and scored 54 points in the paint.  Danny Green drilled 7 three pointers en route to a 35 point Spurs victory.

4.  The Blackhawks were in complete control of game 2 against the Kings.  They led 2-0, until LA popped in a goal late in the second period.  Then their power play went to work, scoring two more goals early in the third.  The onslaught continued for the rest of the game.  The Tyler Toffoli/Jeff Carter/Tanner Pearson has been terrific, and they were dominant last night.  Carter led the way with a hat trick and an assist, Toffoli added a goal, and Pearson had two assists.  After a 6-2 win, LA has evened up the series heading back to the west coast.

5. There were two diamond classic games yesterday.  Grand Ledge blew out Haslett, and Charlotte topped Potterville to advance to the semifinals.