February 6, 200521 yr Cabrera showing Pujols-like talent By Joe Capozzi Palm Beach Post Staff Writer Sunday, February 06, 2005 At Cafe Canela in Weston, about 30 people gathered around a 25-inch TV screen the other day to watch a satellite feed from Venezuela. The show: The Aragua Tigers against Caracas Leons. The star: Miguel Cabrera. Cabrera, who plays right field for the Florida Marlins, is tearing up the Venezuelan winter league again. He batted.432 and hit 10 homers with 34 RBI in 23 regular-season games to win the Venezuelan Triple Crown. Cabrera is just 21, but in a 16-game round robin that set up the finals, he set records by hitting nine home runs and driving in 32 runs. In the final series against Caracas, he batted.381 but received the Barry Bonds treatment ? hitting one home run around being walked 11 times. The result: His hometown Aragua team won its second straight Venezuelan championship. No doubt the Marlins are paying attention to his off-season accomplishments. With Carlos Delgado, Florida's first left-handed power threat, batting fourth, who knows what Cabrera, batting third, might do this year. In Cabrera's first 1 1/2 season with the Marlins, he has 45 home runs and 174 RBI with a.285 batting average. That includes team highs last year of 33 home runs and 112 RBI. He also scored 101 runs, making him just the eighth player in history to record a 30-100-100 season before age 22. His salary last year: $320,000, the lowest salary among starting position players. Cabrera probably will make about $400,000 this year. He won't be eligible for arbitration until the 2007 season, meaning that until then the Marlins can pay him what they want, so long as it meets the major-league minimum $301,000. Ideally, the Marlins will have a ballpark plan in place before Cabrera is eligible for arbitration. And when that happens, ideally the Marlins would follow a similar blueprint the St. Louis Cardinals did last spring with their rising star, Albert Pujols. Pujols was scheduled to go to arbitration in his first year of eligibility. He'd been seeking a one-year deal for $10.5 million, while the Cardinals had offered $7 million. Pujols never made it to arbitration. The Cardinals signed him to a seven-year, $100 million deal. "This deal not only recognizes Albert for his accomplishments over the past three seasons, but all along we felt that it was important to retain a player such as Albert who came up through our farm system, and see to it that he remained a part of the club's nucleus well into the future," Cardinals General Manager Walt Jocketty said at the time. No one is saying the Marlins should think about giving Cabrera $100 million some day. His star is not in the stratosphere of Pujols, the 2001 National League Rookie of the Year who has 160 home runs, 504 RBI and a.333 batting average in his first four seasons. But if Cabrera continues to improve his numbers in 2005 the way Pujols did in his third season (.359, 43 HRs, 124 RBI), the Marlins should at least look ahead to 2007 and hope their finances allow them to lock up the brightest young star ever to play for Florida. http://www.palmbeachpost.com/marlins/conte...pozzi_0206.html
February 6, 200521 yr nice article. Two corrections Cabrera plays left not right, and we've had many left handed power threats before, Delgado isnt the first.
February 6, 200521 yr I wonder what it's gonna take to retain Cabrera. Assuming he continues to improve, I'm sure he'd be looking for something like 7 years $85-90 million. I'd gladly give it to him.
February 6, 200521 yr nice article. Two corrections Cabrera plays left not right, and we've had many left handed power threats before, Delgado isnt the first. 678849[/snapback] Who? Orestes Destrade? The only two are Cliff Floyd and Hee Seop Choi (who wasn't even here long enough to be considered a long term threat).
February 6, 200521 yr I wonder what it's gonna take to retain Cabrera. Assuming he continues to improve, I'm sure he'd be looking for something like 7 years $85-90 million. I'd gladly give it to him. 678850[/snapback] For him why not probably 10years 110 :notworthy
February 6, 200521 yr Yea i was going to say Bobby Bo and Cliff Floyd. They were threatening left handed hitters.
February 6, 200521 yr Yea i was going to say Bobby Bo and Cliff Floyd. They were threatening left handed hitters. 678919[/snapback] The only thing that Cliff Floyd ever threatened was to spend the summer on the DL.
February 6, 200521 yr If Bobby Bonilla is one of our top two left handed threats all time, then there really isn't a need to keep this discussion going now is there.
February 6, 200521 yr If Bobby Bonilla is one of our top two left handed threats all time, then there really isn't a need to keep this discussion going now is there. 678988[/snapback] my thoughts exactly
February 7, 200521 yr Nice article, but this is a bit premature. Cabrera won't be arbitration eligible until the 2007 season.
February 7, 200521 yr Nice article, but this is a bit premature. Cabrera won't be arbitration eligible until the 2007 season. 679097[/snapback] He'll be arbitration eligible after the 2006 season. The 2006 season will be his third full major league season.
February 7, 200521 yr Nice article, but this is a bit premature. Cabrera won't be arbitration eligible until the 2007 season. 679097[/snapback] He'll be arbitration eligible after the 2006 season. The 2006 season will be his third full major league season. 679118[/snapback] Yes, that's another way to say the same thing. :thumbup
February 7, 200521 yr Nice article, but this is a bit premature. Cabrera won't be arbitration eligible until the 2007 season. 679097[/snapback] He'll be arbitration eligible after the 2006 season. The 2006 season will be his third full major league season. 679118[/snapback] Yes, that's another way to say the same thing. :thumbup 679123[/snapback] :thumbup lol my bad
February 7, 200521 yr I'm so happy that I am part of a forum that even remembers Bobby Bonilla. Remember when he was actually on the same level as Barry Bonds? Thems wuz the days... Anyhoo, Cabrera is a huge cog in our chamionship dreams and if we let him escape I think we'll regret it (Like hall of fame regret it)
February 7, 200521 yr Yea i was going to say Bobby Bo and Cliff Floyd. They were threatening left handed hitters. 678919[/snapback] The only thing that Cliff Floyd ever threatened was to spend the summer on the DL. 678971[/snapback] Floyd is a fine ballplayer and human being. How can you degrade someone of that talent? He made it to the major leagues. He paid his dues. He worked his butt off and earned a big contract. I don't see you doing that. Until you manage to play professional baseball, I don't want to hear you speak like that about an athlete. They've accomplished something some people can only dream of thinking about. :plain
February 7, 200521 yr Yea i was going to say Bobby Bo and Cliff Floyd. They were threatening left handed hitters. 678919[/snapback] The only thing that Cliff Floyd ever threatened was to spend the summer on the DL. 678971[/snapback] Floyd is a fine ballplayer and human being. How can you degrade someone of that talent? He made it to the major leagues. He paid his dues. He worked his butt off and earned a big contract. I don't see you doing that. Until you manage to play professional baseball, I don't want to hear you speak like that about an athlete. They've accomplished something some people can only dream of thinking about. :plain 679294[/snapback] but he never put up 30Hrs and 120+ RBIs season,he was alway injured.
February 7, 200521 yr I'm a bit concerned. I was watching the Caribbean series on Saturday (Venezuela vs Domincan Rep) and Cabrera wasn't on the line up? Is he on the DL?
February 7, 200521 yr I remember at an ST game before the 97 season and I tried to get an autograph from Bobby Bonilla and that jackass wouldn't give it. He said he was stretching, but he was just standing there talking to Gary Sheffield. Guy was a grade-A jerk. My mom talked crap about him too. A young Luis Castillo gave me his autograph though. :thumbup
February 7, 200521 yr I'm a bit concerned. I was watching the Caribbean series on Saturday (Venezuela vs Domincan Rep) and Cabrera wasn't on the line up? Is he on the DL? 679310[/snapback] I noticed that also. I was wondering what happened to him. Maybe he's not on the roster... he probably wants more time off before spring training. He's played a lot of games the last year and a half.
February 7, 200521 yr I'm so happy that I am part of a forum that even remembers Bobby Bonilla. Remember when he was actually on the same level as Barry Bonds? Thems wuz the days... Anyhoo, Cabrera is a huge cog in our chamionship dreams and if we let him escape I think we'll regret it (Like hall of fame regret it) 679256[/snapback] With the pirates, bonilla was more of a power threat than the speedy bonds.
February 7, 200521 yr The only thing that Cliff Floyd ever threatened was to spend the summer on the DL. 678971[/snapback] Floyd is a fine ballplayer and human being. How can you degrade someone of that talent? He made it to the major leagues. He paid his dues. He worked his butt off and earned a big contract. I don't see you doing that. Until you manage to play professional baseball, I don't want to hear you speak like that about an athlete. They've accomplished something some people can only dream of thinking about. :plain 679294[/snapback] Perhaps you were having your diaper changed for the two plus years Cliff Floyd bad-mouthed this franchise and it's ownership after trying unsuccessfully to extort a $10+ million a year deal from the Fish. As for his affability, work ethic and his caliber of play, when healthy he's a good ballplayer without doubt. I'd take a healthy Cliff Floyd over alot of other players anytime. And for the record, "degrade" was your word, not mine. Unfortunately history shows (108 games in 2003, 113 games in 2004, approximately five of those in each season as a pinch-hitter) he can't be counted on to contribute year in, year out. As for my comments regarding baseball players in general and the sacrifices and commitment they make (both at the major and minor league level), no one, repeat no one, has been more vocal than I have on this board regarding the level of esteem I have for them, to my own detriment. I certainly don't need nor do I deserve a lecture from you regarding my post. Maybe I should just chalk up your comment to the fact you may have missed your nap time today.
February 7, 200521 yr The only thing that Cliff Floyd ever threatened was to spend the summer on the DL. 678971[/snapback] Floyd is a fine ballplayer and human being. How can you degrade someone of that talent? He made it to the major leagues. He paid his dues. He worked his butt off and earned a big contract. I don't see you doing that. Until you manage to play professional baseball, I don't want to hear you speak like that about an athlete. They've accomplished something some people can only dream of thinking about. :plain 679294[/snapback] Perhaps you were having your diaper changed for the two plus years Cliff Floyd bad-mouthed this franchise and it's ownership after trying unsuccessfully to extort a $10+ million a year deal from the Fish. As for his affability, work ethic and his caliber of play, when healthy he's a good ballplayer without doubt. I'd take a healthy Cliff Floyd over alot of other players anytime. And for the record, "degrade" was your word, not mine. Unfortunately history shows (108 games in 2003, 113 games in 2004, approximately five of those in each season as a pinch-hitter) he can't be counted on to contribute year in, year out. As for my comments regarding baseball players in general and the sacrifices and commitment they make (both at the major and minor league level), no one, repeat no one, has been more vocal than I have on this board regarding the level of esteem I have for them, to my own detriment. I certainly don't need nor do I deserve a lecture from you regarding my post. Maybe I should just chalk up your comment to the fact you may have missed your nap time today. 679371[/snapback] :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :notworthy :notworthy :notworthy :notworthy :notworthy :thumbup
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.