Cabrera sparks meeting

 

BY CLARK SPENCER

 

cspencer@herald.com

 

 

Marlins players held a 10-minute, closed-door meeting Wednesday to address comments attributed to Miguel Cabrera in a Palm Beach Post article.

 

Cabrera, who was benched Monday for showing up late to Sunday's game in Atlanta, is quoted in the article as saying he didn't need the advice of veterans about his work habits, which some of his teammates have questioned privately.

 

''[Forget] the veterans,'' Cabrera told the newspaper. ``They haven't told me anything, and they better not come tell me anything, either.''

 

After reporters were ushered out of the clubhouse, a veteran player called the meeting to air out the issue, with Cabrera in attendance.

 

Players refused to comment on what specifically was said at the meeting, and Cabrera didn't want to talk about it afterward, either.

 

''It was an internal meeting about internal things that stay in the Marlins internally,'' said Marlins closer Todd Jones. ``It's been handled and we're moving forward.''

 

Manager Jack McKeon and the coaching staff were excluded from the meeting.

 

But McKeon deflected any criticism toward the 22-year-old star.

 

''I think it's unfair to pick on Miguel,'' McKeon said. ``He hasn't done anything that any other young kid wouldn't do. I think he's a fine, young man. I think it's a case of learning by your mistakes. He'll put it all together, and he'll be a leader on this club in the near future.''

 

And from the Sun-Sentinel:

 

Marlins' Cabrera denies critical remarks

 

 

Was he insolent or misquoted?

 

By Juan C. Rodriguez

Staff Writer

Posted September 29 2005

 

 

MIAMI GARDENS -- It's a common and convenient excuse that often follows a controversial news story.

 

A day after Miguel Cabrera was quoted in a South Florida newspaper making insolent remarks about his veteran teammates, the Marlins star said Wednesday his remarks were misconstrued.

 

Happens all the time. An athlete says something to a reporter, it looks worse in print than he imagined, and the retraction demand predictably follows. Here's the problem in Cabrera's case: He made his comments in Spanish to a Spanish-speaking reporter working for an English-language paper.

 

Did Cabrera get tripped up in this linguistic hopscotch? He said he didn't think his comments were on the record, even though the reporter taped the interview and took periodic notes. Cabrera also said they were inaccurately portrayed.

 

"I didn't say that," Cabrera said before the Marlins' 11-7 loss to the Nationals at Dolphins Stadium. "What I meant was I didn't want anyone telling me anything, that I just wanted to play. I don't even want to talk about it anymore."

 

Recent behavior, including oversleeping and arriving within an hour of game time Sunday in Atlanta, prompted manager Jack McKeon to bench him Monday.

 

Cabrera, 22, was quoted by the Palm Beach Post as saying: "[The veterans] haven't told me anything, and they better not come tell me anything, either. I don't want to hear anything else."

 

The report, which national wire services picked up, forced Cabrera to explain himself to teammates during a brief pregame meeting Wednesday. He apologized for any undue attention.

 

"It's unfair to pick on Miguel," McKeon said, adding he envisioned Cabrera becoming a team leader. "He hasn't done anything that any other young kid wouldn't do. He's a fine young man. It's a case of learning by mistakes."

 

It was an eye-opening episode for a media darling that before this week received nothing but unabashed praise. If nothing else, Cabrera goes away with a better understanding of the player-media relationship.

 

"I think Miguel's a good kid, and I think he's pretty intelligent, too," teammate Mike Lowell said. "I think he could reach a point where if he was bombarded so much with the same question that he meant I want to forget the issue with the media, with the staff, with the players. It could be that way. Was it? I don't know."

 

With a semicircle of television cameras around his locker, Cabrera doesn't need reminding to carefully measure his words. When a single, Spanish-speaking reporter approaches him, he is more apt to speak freely, particularly around a familiar face.

 

Cabrera should know that unless he specifically says something is "off the record," his comments are fair game, particularly if the reporter is taking notes. Thus far he has operated in environments here and in his native Venezuela that haven't demanded he learn that lesson.

 

Along with many of his Latino teammates, Cabrera speaks candidly to familiar Spanish-speaking reporters with the expectation his words aren't earmarked for ESPN.com. American players are just as prone to make pointed comments about in-house issues, but most are savvy enough to qualify them with, "This isn't for print."

 

It may or may not apply in this case, but Spanish-speaking players' comments sometimes aren't accurately translated.

 

"Lost in translation is a legitimate thing that can happen," said Lowell, who is bilingual. "The other thing is when a Latino speaks to a Latino, I agree there might be that comfort level, but when that is printed in English, what you read and what you hear are sometimes different. I don't really know what stance to take on that because I didn't hear his tone, his demeanor and what was said."

 

Cabrera, who homered and drove in four runs Wednesday, no doubt will exercise better judgment with what he says and around who he says it.

Cool, thanks for posting.

 

I think we can put this issue to rest.

Cool, thanks for posting.

 

I think we can put this issue to rest.

 

 

If you want to believe him, then yes. I seriously hope that's the case...

Cool, thanks for posting.

 

I think we can put this issue to rest.

 

 

If you want to believe him, then yes. I seriously hope that's the case...

I feel confortable that he performed well on the field yesterday, and was even pointing to the club house and he didn't seem upset or anything.

I'm willing to bet he wasn't misquoted.

Yep due to fact he was embarrassed about negative attention

I'm willing to bet he wasn't misquoted.

 

I agree. but he didn't think this was going to be on the paper. he just wanted to look like a tough guy in front of the reporter, and it doesn't mean he would give crap to a vet if he was approached. Well Vets approached him on a closed door meeting, he went out a had a great game. Time to move on

I'm willing to bet he wasn't misquoted.

 

I agree. but he didn't think this was going to be on the paper. he just wanted to look like a tough guy in front of the reporter, and it doesn't mean he would give crap to a vet if he was approached. Well Vets approached him on a closed door meeting, he went out a had a great game. Time to move on

 

Yeah, I think this was a situation of Miguel thinking he was just shooting the breeze with a "friend" and it ended up burning him.

 

Miguel'll likely keep his mouth shut and not really say anything for the rest of this season, or possibly even next season, so as fans we need to be prepared to hear Cabrera referred to as a "brooding loaner" or something to that extent...

I'm willing to bet he wasn't misquoted.

 

I agree. but he didn't think this was going to be on the paper. he just wanted to look like a tough guy in front of the reporter, and it doesn't mean he would give crap to a vet if he was approached. Well Vets approached him on a closed door meeting, he went out a had a great game. Time to move on

 

Yeah, I think this was a situation of Miguel thinking he was just shooting the breeze with a "friend" and it ended up burning him.

 

Miguel'll likely keep his mouth shut and not really say anything for the rest of this season, or possibly even next season, so as fans we need to be prepared to hear Cabrera referred to as a "brooding loaner" or something to that extent...

I'm not so sure about that. I'm glad Jack backed him publicly because we want the highest amount of goodwill with him we can when it comes time to sign him for 10 years. However, the tone of his comments sounds more indignant than whimsical. Probably more frustration than anything. Miguel is not a cousin to defeat in his short ML career.

Miguel learned a valuable lesson. He'll fine and this whole incident will blow away. I really like the way Jack supported him and expressed confidence in him.

'It was an internal meeting about internal things that stay in the Marlins internally,'' said Marlins closer Todd Jones.

 

I'm I the only one who laughed at that quote?

'It was an internal meeting about internal things that stay in the Marlins internally,'' said Marlins closer Todd Jones.

 

I'm I the only one who laughed at that quote?

Yes, internally.

'It was an internal meeting about internal things that stay in the Marlins internally,'' said Marlins closer Todd Jones.

 

I'm I the only one who laughed at that quote?

Yes, internally.

:lol

MIAMI GARDENS -- It's a common and convenient excuse that often follows a controversial news story.

 

A day after Miguel Cabrera was quoted in a South Florida newspaper making insolent remarks about his veteran teammates, the Marlins star said Wednesday his remarks were misconstrued.

 

Happens all the time. An athlete says something to a reporter, it looks worse in print than he imagined, and the retraction demand predictably follows. Here's the problem in Cabrera's case: He made his comments in Spanish to a Spanish-speaking reporter working for an English-language paper.

Interesting...I thought the Post article was pretty explicit in noting what language the most controversial comment was in:

 

Cabrera bristled at the prospect of a lecture.

 

"(Forget) the veterans," he said, momentarily breaking into English to deliver an expletive.