Cabrerafan

Interesting article. The MVP award is tricky. I think it will come down to Howard and Pujols, with Howard winning. But I definitely think Cabs should be top 5 in the voting (Last year he was 5th, and had votes taken away by Carlos Delgado).

Marlins have played real well on national television this year I remember one goody: game vs. Yanks w/ Anibal getting his first win.

I don't think we can look at the players around Cabs (Uggs, Willingham, Hanley, Jacobs), look at their numbers, and say "He has protection." Our rookies, as well as they've done, are not established names (yet) in baseball. The pitchers who have faced Cabrera this year will never pitch to Miggy if they can pitch to the rookies around him. Remember about a week ago? Willingham had a homer and a double in the game, and they still intentionally walked Cabs to face him. Even though Burrell is having a very average/below average year, he's still more feared than Willingham.

I think this question would also depend on who the Marlins had protecting Howard. If he were in our current lineup, I don't think he would have been very successful; he's a pure slugger, and he would have had to make adjustments, like Cabs did this year, and not merely swing for the fences. Situational hitting isn't one of Howard's strong suits. who did Howard have protecting him this year? Well, Utley's no slouch. (Granted, Howard's helped his offense as well.) My point being, Cabrera had a bunch of rookies surrounding him. Don't you think, especially early on, that every team's approach w/ Cabrera (with the exception of S.F. & Washington) was to pitch around him to face those rookies? Cabs was 2nd in majors (behind Bonds) in IBB through much of the season. Then Howard got on fire.

I think this question would also depend on who the Marlins had protecting Howard. If he were in our current lineup, I don't think he would have been very successful; he's a pure slugger, and he would have had to make adjustments, like Cabs did this year, and not merely swing for the fences. Situational hitting isn't one of Howard's strong suits.

I wouldn't trade Cabs for Howard today. Like many of you said, I would have to give it a couple of years to see how pitchers adjust to Howard and how Howard reacts to these adjustments. Cabs is also 3 years younger. There's no doubt Cabrera is the better overall hitter, and if he wanted to, he could hit 40-45 home runs. I also think Cabrera's stronger defensively. If you look at Miggy's stats, he has improved in nearly every offensive category each season (with the exception of HRs and RBIs this year). He's been Mr. Consistent and has also been clutch (nearly .400 w/ RISP this yr). Howard hasn't proved himself to this extent yet (and w/ RISP, he has very unimpressive numbers.) *batting average his OBP is still .407 with a .519 slugging percentage But Ramp, isn't batting average the best determinant of success with RISP? The .407 OBP is just because he's been walked so many times. I am talking about the 156 opportunities he's had w/ RISP. Granted, pitchers have been pitching around him, particularly since August when he got hot, but prior to that, his BA was still weak in those situations. (And Cabs was actually pitched around more through the first 3/4 of the season). Anyway, Miguel's slugging % is .641 w/ RISP. So my point being, Cabrera's numbers are quite a bit better in every category w/ RISP. Howard's #s go down significantly (w/ the exception of OBP).

I wouldn't trade Cabs for Howard today. Like many of you said, I would have to give it a couple of years to see how pitchers adjust to Howard and how Howard reacts to these adjustments. Cabs is also 3 years younger. There's no doubt Cabrera is the better overall hitter, and if he wanted to, he could hit 40-45 home runs. I also think Cabrera's stronger defensively. If you look at Miggy's stats, he has improved in nearly every offensive category each season (with the exception of HRs and RBIs this year). He's been Mr. Consistent and has also been clutch (nearly .400 w/ RISP this yr). Howard hasn't proved himself to this extent yet (and w/ RISP, he has very unimpressive numbers.)

Cabrera last night hit his 50th double, becoming the 4th player in history to have 50 doubles and 25 homers before age 24. The 3 other players are Hank Greenberg in 1934, Alex Rodriguez in 1998 and Albert Pujols in 2003. :thumbup Looks like Cabs re-injured his shoulder last night. Any news on his availability today? I'm assuming he's going to play out the last 8 games. I want him to win that batting title. Too bad this injury may hold him back.

"I should add that I think if Miggy doesn't feel compelled to hit a bunch of homeruns and just goes with the flow he will win the batting title." This was predicted by Prinmemito. Way to go! :thumbup

Who needs Cabrera? :mischief

LOL, all the stuff they're saying about Miguel can be said about the overrated pretty boy they have at the hot corner. Met fans are so subhuman. Well, they're trying to make Wright the new poster boy of N.Y. Love how those Mets fans overreact. Miggy can be such a playful & silly guy.

Any news about Miggy yet?

Lock em up!!! Especially Cabs. Now that Miguel is eligible for arbitration, what would happen if the Marlins didn't agree to at least a 1-yr deal with him? I'm unfamiliar with how arbitration works. How can the Marlins not want to sign Miggy to a long-term deal? He is our franchise, a 23-yr-old superstar who is immensely popular and irreplaceable. Think we don't have a lot of fans now? See what happens if they trade Cabs away.

Well, I'm just going to try and enjoy the final games of the season. No worrying about playoffs. Hope they have some good games left in them! At least we have the Cabs/Sanchez batting title race to watch even more closely now.

I agree that this is more of a football than a baseball town, but I remember in the '90s when my dad and I would drive up to Stuart to watch the blacked-out Dolphin games.

Hate to keep playing the what if game, but what if he got the AB's last year that Lowell was getting. :confused Did Lowell get good or bad AB opportunities last year? All I remember is that he was horribly unproductive. This year, he's definitely getting good pitches batting behind Cabs. Edited to add: Oh. I think I know what you were referring to. You meant if Willingham was in Lowell's spot in the lineup last year, how much more productive would he have been than Lowell.

Well, I admit that Cabs doesn't have a chance to win MVP (unless he goes on an absolute tear these last 3 weeks, and the Marlins win the WC), but Jayson Stark wrote a nice piece about the NL MVP race, focusing mainly on Howard and Pujols, but mentions Cabs 3rd. Here is the blurb: Miguel Cabrera Has anybody noticed Cabrera is having a spectacular year? He keeps bobbing in and out of the league lead in average, on-base percentage and multi-hit games. He's hitting .387 with runners in scoring position. He has been responsible for a higher percentage of his team's runs produced (16.0 percent) than any regular player in the league. And according to the stat gurus at Baseball Prospectus, the only player in the NL who has had a "more valuable" year than Cabrera, as measured by his value over an average replacement player (VORP), is Pujols. And Cabrera was actually No. 1 in those rankings until Pujols' game-winning double Tuesday against the Astros. The link to the article: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/stor...&id=2585469

he started off hot and then ran into some rough times like alot of hitters out there do. but he's bounced back and has played consistently now, thats HUGE to protect Cabrera like that. now if we could only get Jacobs going again. He has been great this year. The problem, unfortunately, is teams still intentionally walk Cabs to face Josh and Jake. Perfect example is last night. Despite Willingham's double and homer, they still intentionally walked Cabrera to get to him. (one of the biggest plays of the night) From what I see, Josh could have 2 homers in a game, and in a big situation, they are still going to pitch around Cabrera to face the Hammer. I don't think teams are scared of him quite yet. Hopefully that changes next year.

If Im not mistaken, I think the purpose of the thread is not bash Cabs but to point out that he's feeling the playoff pressure. Unlike 03' he feels he has to lead the charge to the postseason this time and its causing him to put pressure on himself. Again, this is highly speculative, but there may be some truth to it. This is probably true, but it was one game! It's not like he's been making a habit of not coming through. Just to note: Ryan Howard's batting something like .240 w/ RISP.

If the bullpen holds the 4-0 lead then this thread never exists. Exactly.

Cabrera had three strike outs in the games. Lately he has not been too clutch. Perhaps I'm watching a different Miggy? :blink: He went into the game yesterday batting .390 w/ RISP & over .400 w/ 2-out & RISP. He was 2-2 w/ RISP in Monday's game, & 1-1 w/ RISP on Sunday (the only guy who got a hit with RISP). May I also add that he's 2nd in the NL in BA after the 6th inning (.370), and batting .364 in late and close games. He's had tons of clutch hits this year, he was facing Billy Wagner, and yes, doesn't help to have Abercrombie batting behind you. The kid can't do it all the time.

:notworthy

It's true. Miggy has been lost in the shuffle. Too bad he didn't get a curtain call when he got his 100th HR. To be batting .340 on a team full of rookies -- what a mature, disciplined hitter. :notworthy Perfect example: After Cabs hit his 2nd second homer (his 100th) against the Nationals, in his next at-bat, he walked. How many guys would try to swing at a bad pitch to try to hit another one out?

Vindicated as in freed from any question of guilt, Mr. Webster? Doesn't seem like an incredibly smart choice of vocab in this situation Moneybags. What am I guilty of? Not agreeing with you? Being a Red Sox fan which in turn to you lowers my level of thought process and makes me wrong? Let's break it down and tell me where Ortiz was in the wrong in this. 1. On Jeter: He said he's doing a great job, having a great season but Ortiz feels that guys that hit more out of the park and drive more people in are more valuable like.... 2. On Dye: having an unbelievable season, an incredible year. Which he reitterated with his teammate.... 3. On Konerko: he too (having an unbelievable season, an incredible year). He also tossed up another candidate.... 4. On Morneau: he's having a great season, but in Minnesota, there's no publicity. I bet you nobody knows who he is. [Y]ou've got to talk about Morneau because he's the guy who's done what people haven't done in years there. He also gave respect to a slugger in the NL.... 5. On Howard: I don't care what anyone says, he's going to finish with 60 home runs. Dude, he's going to have 150 RBIs. How can you take away the MVP from a guy like that? The horror! What a self-conceited obnoxious player! Only someone like yourself could misconstrue something like him saying the Sox lineup isn't as good as the Yankees lineup to him throwing his team under the bus. If he had said it was people would be all over him for that. I'm willing to bet no one on this team was 'hurt' or felt 'thrown under the bus' by that or would Lowell compare himself to A-Rod, Youkilis to Giambi, Coco to Damon, etc. "Come hit in this lineup, see how good you can be." -- Ortiz Doesn't he have Manny Ramirez batting behind him??? :plain I'd be lying if I said I'm suprised that the poster to come to Swift's aid was the one who recieved free great seats at a Marlins game that resulted in a no-hitter and has also only posted in the MLB forum a few times before, which were only to back Swift. Don't appreciate you taking shots at me. Grow up. Listen, it's the accusation that's annoying. I actually knew about this article before Swift posted it. But I'm not going to argue with you.

Vindicated as in freed from any question of guilt, Mr. Webster? Doesn't seem like an incredibly smart choice of vocab in this situation Moneybags. What am I guilty of? Not agreeing with you? Being a Red Sox fan which in turn to you lowers my level of thought process and makes me wrong? Let's break it down and tell me where Ortiz was in the wrong in this. 1. On Jeter: He said he's doing a great job, having a great season but Ortiz feels that guys that hit more out of the park and drive more people in are more valuable like.... 2. On Dye: having an unbelievable season, an incredible year. Which he reitterated with his teammate.... 3. On Konerko: he too (having an unbelievable season, an incredible year). He also tossed up another candidate.... 4. On Morneau: he's having a great season, but in Minnesota, there's no publicity. I bet you nobody knows who he is. [Y]ou've got to talk about Morneau because he's the guy who's done what people haven't done in years there. He also gave respect to a slugger in the NL.... 5. On Howard: I don't care what anyone says, he's going to finish with 60 home runs. Dude, he's going to have 150 RBIs. How can you take away the MVP from a guy like that? The horror! What a self-conceited obnoxious player! Only someone like yourself could misconstrue something like him saying the Sox lineup isn't as good as the Yankees lineup to him throwing his team under the bus. If he had said it was people would be all over him for that. I'm willing to bet no one on this team was 'hurt' or felt 'thrown under the bus' by that or would Lowell compare himself to A-Rod, Youkilis to Giambi, Coco to Damon, etc. "Come hit in this lineup, see how good you can be." -- Ortiz Doesn't he have Manny Ramirez batting behind him??? :plain I'd be lying if I said I'm suprised that the poster to come to Swift's aid was the one who recieved free great seats at a Marlins game that resulted in a no-hitter and has also only posted in the MLB forum a few times before, which were only to back Swift. Don't appreciate you taking shots at me. Grow up.