February 24, 200521 yr Notes: Cabrera OK with left or right Club has yet to determine corner outfield starters By Joe Frisaro / MLB.com tickets for any Major League Baseball game Miguel Cabrera would prefer to play left field, but might end up starting in right. (Alan Diaz/AP) ? Leiter: Marlins can win it all JUPITER, Fla. -- Playing either corner outfield spot is fine with Miguel Cabrera. Figuring out the left and right field starters is the Marlins' unsettled Spring Training question mark. The 21-year-old Cabrera prefers left field. For that matter, third base, his natural position in the minors, is his favorite spot. But that isn't an option because of three-time All-Star Mike Lowell. Cabrera says he is more comfortable in left field, because like third base, the ball comes off the bat in the same direction. Grasping the angles and flight of the ball in right field is more difficult. But if manager Jack McKeon asked Cabrera to play right field, the Venezuelan native would do so without question. "I don't know," Cabrera said. "That is up to McKeon, what he wants to do. I don't want to say nothing, because that is up to him. Where they put me in the lineup, I'll play. It's a harder position for me. It's not my best spot, right field. But I'll play it." The outfield options are using Cabrera in left field and Juan Encarnacion or Jeff Conine in right field, or playing Conine in left field with Cabrera moving to right. Encarnacion is established in right field and has more speed than Cabrera. Cabrera has a stronger arm than Conine, so if that is the combination, Cabrera may be asked to play right field. For the first half of 2004, Conine was in left field and Cabrera opened in right. Cabrera reverted to left field last July after Encarnacion was acquired in a trade with the Dodgers. Conine was moved to first base. Intrasquad game: On the back fields at Roger Dean Stadium, the Marlins have scheduled an intrasquad game for Sunday. The tentative time is 11:30 a.m. ET, and it's open to the public. McKeon has yet to determine who the pitchers will be. Most likely, the game will last three or four innings. "We've got so many pitchers, so many players, we have to find a way to take a look at all of them," McKeon said. The scrimmage will feature mostly minor leaguers. A number of regulars will be held out, getting a shorter day. The regulars are slated to start on March 1 against the University of Miami at Roger Dean Stadium. As of now, no starting pitcher has been determined. Happy for Hall of Famer: Veteran broadcaster Jerry Coleman received the industry's highest honor on Tuesday when he was named the 2005 recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award. McKeon takes credit for Coleman being given prominence in the baseball Hall of Fame. When McKeon began the general manager of the Padres, Coleman was the Padres' manager. McKeon dismissed Coleman, who went back into the radio booth. "I've got to call him," McKeon said. "That was nice, Jerry got the Hall of Fame. I'm very close to him. I fired him once. I'm the one who fired him as manager. His is the case where he was probably better off in the booth. He knew it. "I get credit. We joke about it all the time. 'He fired me, and it was the best thing he ever did for me,' Jerry says. He was the manager when I took over the club in San Diego. But he had a tough time. He had never managed before, and he was coming out of the radio booth. He was a pretty decent manager, but it didn't work." Batting Bentz: Left-handed reliever Chad Bentz is a pretty good hitter, and a great inspiration. Born with a defective right hand, Bentz takes pride in his hitting. A 1999 graduate of Juneau-Douglas High School in Alaska, Bentz belted 23 home runs as a prep star. Back then he pitched, played first base and right field. "I can handle the bat," says Bentz, who has been told countless times that he inspires people. "If they let me swing, I'll take my hacks." Mostly a pull hitter, Bentz has two career Major League at-bats. With the Expos last season, he sliced a ball down the right-field line against the Braves that J.D. Drew made a spectacular play on, lunging into the stands. The play earned Drew a Web Gem on ESPN. "I got around late on Jaret Wright," Bentz said. "When I looked up, I saw the fastball was 96." In Bentz's other at-bat, he singled through the hole at short off Pittsburgh's Sean Burnett. "I'm batting .500," Bentz said. "I'm content if I never hit again."
February 24, 200521 yr Thats good with Cabrera.. but Bentz hitting with only one hand? Wow..THAT is amazing!
February 24, 200521 yr The presence of Mr. Marlin, Jeff Conine. Juan Encarnacion very unlikely to come back. Jeremy Hermida's unspectacular Arizona Fall League campaign. The amount of players in the minors and next year's free agent class capable of playing LF vis-a-vis the amount capabale of playing RF. Is there a reason why to start Cabrera in left aside from that he's better at that position by the slimmest of margins?
February 24, 200521 yr The presence of Mr. Marlin, Jeff Conine. Juan Encarnacion very unlikely to come back. Jeremy Hermida's unspectacular Arizona Fall League campaign. The amount of players in the minors and next year's free agent class capable of playing LF vis-a-vis the amount capabale of playing RF. Is there a reason why to start Cabrera in left aside from that he's better at that position by the slimmest of margins? 693785[/snapback] You sure its just marginal? And when did Hermida have an unspectacular AFL campaign? I thought he did well so that his performance in AA would decide if he is our RFer for 2006.
February 24, 200521 yr Are you sure it's not? The half-dozen Cabrera play both left and right last year in person, there was not much difference. Obviously McKeon and the coaches agree as they sent in as many defensive replacements for Cabs in the second half as the first. The only success Hermida had was finding his power stroke in the hot thin air of Phoenix. Aside from that he had a low batting average to go along with 7 walks and 30 strikeouts.
February 24, 200521 yr The presence of Mr. Marlin, Jeff Conine. Juan Encarnacion very unlikely to come back. Jeremy Hermida's unspectacular Arizona Fall League campaign. The amount of players in the minors and next year's free agent class capable of playing LF vis-a-vis the amount capabale of playing RF. Is there a reason why to start Cabrera in left aside from that he's better at that position by the slimmest of margins? 693785[/snapback] You sure its just marginal? And when did Hermida have an unspectacular AFL campaign? I thought he did well so that his performance in AA would decide if he is our RFer for 2006. 693789[/snapback] Its unspecataculur by RFerrymetrics. You see, only people who can run like Juan Pierre, have defense like Luis Castillo, power like Cabrera, and hit like Ichiro, get his recommendation for a good player. I seriously don't take him seriously anymore, because by most if not all scouts, Hermida had a spectaculur AFL campaign.
February 24, 200521 yr As long as he wears those damn sunglasses, it's all good. :thumbup 693782[/snapback] :lol Yea
February 24, 200521 yr Mostly a pull hitter, Bentz has two career Major League at-bats. With the Expos last season, he sliced a ball down the right-field line against the Braves that J.D. Drew made a spectacular play on, lunging into the stands. The play earned Drew a Web Gem on ESPN. "I got around late on Jaret Wright," Bentz said. "When I looked up, I saw the fastball was 96." In Bentz's other at-bat, he singled through the hole at short off Pittsburgh's Sean Burnett. "I'm batting .500," Bentz said. "I'm content if I never hit again." Now that is Amazing :o Who ever thought that a guy with one hand could be able to do this :thumbup
February 24, 200521 yr BATTERS G AB R H TB 2B 3B HR RBI SH SF HP BB IB SO SB CS DP AVG OBP SLG *Hermida, Jeremy 31 132 23 35 69 11 1 7 23 1 2 0 7 0 30 4 0 7 .265 .298 .523 Spectacular? The guy has all the tools (although there's been some question about his arm and speed). He's not ready yet. He still has to develop power and rise to the challenge of better pitchers. The kid has barely seen a quality breaking ball yet in his travels. You know how much I like prospects and young players, but Hermida still has a lot to prove in the minors before he can make the jump. Also, exactly what scouting service has increased his ranking since the fall of 2004? (Probably the best measurement of his reputation.)
February 24, 200521 yr The presence of Mr. Marlin, Jeff Conine. Juan Encarnacion very unlikely to come back. Jeremy Hermida's unspectacular Arizona Fall League campaign. The amount of players in the minors and next year's free agent class capable of playing LF vis-a-vis the amount capabale of playing RF. Is there a reason why to start Cabrera in left aside from that he's better at that position by the slimmest of margins? 693785[/snapback] You sure its just marginal? And when did Hermida have an unspectacular AFL campaign? I thought he did well so that his performance in AA would decide if he is our RFer for 2006. 693789[/snapback] Its unspecataculur by RFerrymetrics. You see, only people who can run like Juan Pierre, have defense like Luis Castillo, power like Cabrera, and hit like Ichiro, get his recommendation for a good player. I seriously don't take him seriously anymore, because by most if not all scouts, Hermida had a spectaculur AFL campaign. 693794[/snapback] You forget he doesn't think much of Juan Pierre either. :brigginbounce
February 24, 200521 yr yea, it was nice he found his power stroke but that average and on base % are uuuuuugly
February 24, 200521 yr it is funny how the sacred cows arent allowed to be spoken bad about.... ever Cabs, Lowell, Lo Duca, Pierre, Castillo, and now Hermida
February 24, 200521 yr it is funny how the sacred cows arent allowed to be spoken bad about.... ever Cabs, Lowell, Lo Duca, Pierre, Castillo, and now Hermida 693839[/snapback] Oh come on Ramp, it isn't a matter of sacred cows being spoken negatively of, but rather the general tone that somehow whoever is in his cross-hairs they don't warrant, ever, some recognition of their skillset. It's one thing to say fillintheblank needs a changeup to make his dazzling fastball more overpowering, it's another to say the guy stinks because he doesn't have a changeup, ignoring the rest of his reportoire. If Christ came down and played CF for the Marlins hitting .970 with 275 rbis the statheads would probably say he doesn't walk enough. The good critic knows the importance of recognizing attributes as well as weaknesses otherwise there's no credibility.
February 24, 200521 yr it is funny how the sacred cows arent allowed to be spoken bad about.... ever Cabs, Lowell, Lo Duca, Pierre, Castillo, and now Hermida 693839[/snapback] Oh come on Ramp, it isn't a matter of sacred cows being spoken negatively of, but rather the general tone that somehow whoever is in his cross-hairs they don't warrant, ever, some recognition of their skillset. It's one thing to say fillintheblank needs a changeup to make his dazzling fastball more overpowering, it's another to say the guy stinks because he doesn't have a changeup, ignoring the rest of his reportoire. If Christ came down and played CF for the Marlins hitting .970 with 275 rbis the statheads would probably say he doesn't walk enough. The good critic knows the importance of recognizing attributes as well as weaknesses otherwise there's no credibility. 693863[/snapback] I know where you are coming from but at the same time, on this board, the sacred cows can not be talked bad upon or its flame city.
February 24, 200521 yr it is funny how the sacred cows arent allowed to be spoken bad about.... ever Cabs, Lowell, Lo Duca, Pierre, Castillo, and now Hermida 693839[/snapback] Oh come on Ramp, it isn't a matter of sacred cows being spoken negatively of, but rather the general tone that somehow whoever is in his cross-hairs they don't warrant, ever, some recognition of their skillset. It's one thing to say fillintheblank needs a changeup to make his dazzling fastball more overpowering, it's another to say the guy stinks because he doesn't have a changeup, ignoring the rest of his reportoire. If Christ came down and played CF for the Marlins hitting .970 with 275 rbis the statheads would probably say he doesn't walk enough. The good critic knows the importance of recognizing attributes as well as weaknesses otherwise there's no credibility. 693863[/snapback] :goodpost
February 24, 200521 yr Are you sure it's not? The half-dozen Cabrera play both left and right last year in person, there was not much difference. Obviously McKeon and the coaches agree as they sent in as many defensive replacements for Cabs in the second half as the first. Im not saying he is Willie Mays in LF and Kevin Millar in RF or anything. His being replaced defensively in equal numbers probably says more about his overall defense than it does being better in one or the other. But I do take his word on the subject when he says he feels much more comfortable playing LF and a player who feels more comfortable is a player who makes better reads on a ball. Perhaps the statistics suggest otherwise. I dont know.
February 24, 200521 yr it is funny how the sacred cows arent allowed to be spoken bad about.... ever Cabs, Lowell, Lo Duca, Pierre, Castillo, and now Hermida 693839[/snapback] Oh come on Ramp, it isn't a matter of sacred cows being spoken negatively of, but rather the general tone that somehow whoever is in his cross-hairs they don't warrant, ever, some recognition of their skillset. It's one thing to say fillintheblank needs a changeup to make his dazzling fastball more overpowering, it's another to say the guy stinks because he doesn't have a changeup, ignoring the rest of his reportoire. If Christ came down and played CF for the Marlins hitting .970 with 275 rbis the statheads would probably say he doesn't walk enough. The good critic knows the importance of recognizing attributes as well as weaknesses otherwise there's no credibility. 693863[/snapback] I know where you are coming from but at the same time, on this board, the sacred cows can not be talked bad upon or its flame city. 693868[/snapback] Ramp, you know as well as I do, that RFerry would rather have had an injured Brad Penny who we couldn't have afforded to resign, than have Lo Duca who, while Redmond was just spectaculur in the role that was asked of him IMO, Lo Duca provided that extra edge we needed down the stretch. RFerry can't be taken seriously, this is the same guy who would rather we have a team of rejects than one Juan Encarnacion.
February 24, 200521 yr Just wait until LoDuca has a couple of passed balls, Enc fails to score a runner from third with less than two outs, Gonzo goes 0-5 with a couple of K's, or one of the middle relievers has a bad outing...I'm sure RFerry can't.
February 24, 200521 yr it is funny how the sacred cows arent allowed to be spoken bad about.... ever Cabs, Lowell, Lo Duca, Pierre, Castillo, and now Hermida 693839[/snapback] Oh come on Ramp, it isn't a matter of sacred cows being spoken negatively of, but rather the general tone that somehow whoever is in his cross-hairs they don't warrant, ever, some recognition of their skillset. It's one thing to say fillintheblank needs a changeup to make his dazzling fastball more overpowering, it's another to say the guy stinks because he doesn't have a changeup, ignoring the rest of his reportoire. If Christ came down and played CF for the Marlins hitting .970 with 275 rbis the statheads would probably say he doesn't walk enough. The good critic knows the importance of recognizing attributes as well as weaknesses otherwise there's no credibility. 693863[/snapback] I know where you are coming from but at the same time, on this board, the sacred cows can not be talked bad upon or its flame city. 693868[/snapback] I disagree. It's the other way around, you mention certain players and people like RFerry say only negative things about them. Likewise, you mention how certain players are good and he can only harp on the bad things about them. It's all about being fair and balanced (but really being fair and balanced, as opposed to saying it like the people at Fox News).
February 24, 200521 yr it is funny how the sacred cows arent allowed to be spoken bad about.... ever Cabs, Lowell, Lo Duca, Pierre, Castillo, and now Hermida 693839[/snapback] Oh come on Ramp, it isn't a matter of sacred cows being spoken negatively of, but rather the general tone that somehow whoever is in his cross-hairs they don't warrant, ever, some recognition of their skillset. It's one thing to say fillintheblank needs a changeup to make his dazzling fastball more overpowering, it's another to say the guy stinks because he doesn't have a changeup, ignoring the rest of his reportoire. If Christ came down and played CF for the Marlins hitting .970 with 275 rbis the statheads would probably say he doesn't walk enough. The good critic knows the importance of recognizing attributes as well as weaknesses otherwise there's no credibility. 693863[/snapback] I know where you are coming from but at the same time, on this board, the sacred cows can not be talked bad upon or its flame city. 693868[/snapback] Ramp, you know as well as I do, that RFerry would rather have had an injured Brad Penny who we couldn't have afforded to resign, than have Lo Duca who, while Redmond was just spectaculur in the role that was asked of him IMO, Lo Duca provided that extra edge we needed down the stretch. RFerry can't be taken seriously, this is the same guy who would rather we have a team of rejects than one Juan Encarnacion. 693884[/snapback] it looks like we could have afford Penny, atleast for this year.... who is this team of rejects you speak of instead of Enc?
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