August 5, 200323 yr found this article and its intresting. Marlins report: Inside pitch Aug. 4, 2003 Notes, quotes | Roster The Marlins are gambling their playoff hopes on a 20-year-old rookie who was playing in Double-A two months ago. The Marlins let the non-waiver trading deadline pass without adding a power-hitting left fielder because the front office didn't think any of its options were better than rookie LF Miguel Cabrera. "We're 24-10 since we brought him up on June 20. It's hard to turn your head away from that," general manager Admin Beinfest said. "He brings a certain enthusiasm and even a certain confidence to the team. He will struggle at times like all rookies do until they get the necessary at-bats to make the adjustments. ... We feel Miguel Cabrera is not only going to be a great player in the future, but he can help us now." Beinfest acknowledged the Marlins were close to making a deal for a left fielder -- believed to be Padres All-Star Rondell White. "But we also spent a good part of the day talking about Miguel Cabrera. When we left the ballpark Sunday night, the general feeling was Miguel was terrific but is just going to get better," Beinfest said. "We looked at the numbers for players we could have brought in and we looked at Miguel's numbers. We decided Miguel was the guy we wanted to stay with." Cabrera struggled his first few weeks, batting .158 (6-for-38). But in July, he hit .318 (27-for-85) for the month. He was batting .379 over a seven-game hitting streak -- a performance that coincided with rumors that the team was trying to trade for White and Raul Mondesi. Manager Jack McKeon was updated on the team's trade negotiations, but Beinfest said he didn't know if McKeon motivated Cabrera by telling the left fielder about the front office's negotiations. "This is not an overnight, knee-jerk reaction at all," Beinfest said. "Miguel Cabrera is a very confident payer. When you talk about a kid like (left-handed pitcher Dontrelle) Willis and a kid like Cabrera, they are mature beyond their years certainly at the major league level." The Marlins focused the last few days on help for the bullpen. The team is relying on another rookie, right-hander Nate Bump, as a seventh-inning specialist to allow newly acquired Ugueth Urbina set up in the eighth inning for closer Braden Looper. Florida made its biggest move July 11 by sending three minor-league prospects to Texas for Urbina. The bottom line is that even without any additional upgrades, the current roster has proved it can play against the baseball's best teams. "I think if this past week or past two months are any indication, I think the answer is yes," Beinfest said. "A lot of the teams we're facing are teams that are our competition for the wild card. Every indication on our evaluation is that we can play with anybody." c/o: Sportsline.com
August 5, 200323 yr The bottom line is that even without any additional upgrades, the current roster has proved it can play against baseball's best teams. I'm still trying to get used to hearing that. I love it!
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