Fire Miguel Tejada's Defense of His Defense

Tejada's anger is misdirected (Getty).

During the trading deadline activity on July 31, the S.F. Giants picked up SS Orlando Cabrera from the Indians, presumably so that someone better than Miguel Tejada can play SS for the Giants. Tejada, who is on the DL, was predictably miffed about the situation, but his anger was not directed where you might expect. Tejada lashed out at the media, whom he says dissed his defense.

Tejada said: "All the reporters in San Francisco forget who I am. All the reporters put in the paper that I don't have range in this game. I'll prove it. I don't pay attention to what reporters say. All I do is work hard."

And just who is Tejada? Aside from a steroid user who lied to Congress, he's a former AL MVP and one-time excellent hitter - who was never much with the glove. He has a career fielding percentage of .971 and the league average at his position during his career has been .972. He is also around average by other, more advanced, metrics. His career range factor per game ((putouts + assists) / 9 innings) is 4.62 and the league average is 4.55. His range factor this year, however, is just 4.01 vs. the league average of 4.45.

Tejada probably feels threatened, and he should - Cabrera has three Gold Gloves (though none since 2007) and Tejada may find himself out of a job once he's healthy. But rather than lashing out at the media, maybe he should be pissed at his GM, Brian Sabean? Reports that Tejada doesn't have range anymore seem pretty accurate, and he's just another athlete who, at 37, can't admit that his career is winding down. If Tejada wants to keep complaining about news stories he doesn't pay attention to (ha), the HR Department will keep firing him.