January 28, 200521 yr He's getting Barry Bonds type treatment down there... http://florida.marlins.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/...s_fla&fext=.jsp Cabrera leading Aragua in playoffs Young star looking good in Venezuelan postseason By Joe Frisaro / MLB.com Miguel Cabrera is 6-for-16 with nine walks and four runs scored in the first five games of the Venezuelan League championship series. (Alan Diaz/AP) In the Venezuelan Winter League championship series, Marlins phenom Miguel Cabrera is starting to realize how Barry Bonds feels. The opposition doesn't want to pitch to him. Cabrera has drawn nine walks in the first five games of the best-of-seven series. Playing for the Aragua Tigers, Cabrera has enjoyed a dominant winter season in his native country. With a berth to the Caribbean Series on the line, the Tigers are facing a star-studded Caracas Leones team that features Phillies slugger Bobby Abreu. As the most dangerous hitter in the Tigers' lineup, Cabrera is receiving star treatment. That means he isn't seeing many pitches to hit. After a 14-3 win on Wednesday, Cabrera's Tigers are ahead 3-2 in the series. Aragua can clinch with a victory at home in Maracay on Friday night. If the series stretches to seven games, the finale will again be in Maracay, Cabrera's hometown. In Wednesday's win, Cabrera collected three singles, scored a run and was walked once. Overall in the series, he is 6-for-16 (.375) with four runs scored, no home runs and no RBIs. Caracas is being particularly cautious in how they pitch to Cabrera, who tore up the 16-game round-robin tournament that set up the Venezuelan final series. During the round-robin portion, Cabrera hit .448 and set Venezuelan records with his nine home runs and 32 RBIs. The intensely fought series with the Leones produced a potentially ugly incident with the fans last Sunday in Caracas. The visiting Tigers had bottles and ice thrown at them as the players were returning to the dugout between innings. Fortunately, the debris throwing didn't get out of hand, and no players were struck. The Tigers did threaten to pull their players off the field if the unruliness continued. The actions of the fans were criticized by the Venezuelan media, which cited that the community should be honored that stars like Cabrera and Abreu are participating. At the ensuing game in Caracas, some Aragua players showed a sense of humor by wearing police helmets for a few moments in the dugout. Along with Cabrera, pitcher Yorman Bazardo represents the Marlins in the Venezuelan playoffs. Also on the Tigers, the lanky right-handed pitcher has appeared in two playoff games, giving up one run, a homer, in 2 2/3 innings. Bazardo, who likely will start the season at Double-A Carolina, has struck out three and walked one in the series with the Leones. Bazardo will get a look by the Marlins in Spring Training, and he will be a strong candidate to earn a spot in the rotation in 2006. Joe Frisaro is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
January 29, 200521 yr thats wat im talking about. the mvp of the marlins in 04 is dominating over there. i cant wait to see him in action again on April.
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