Posted November 4, 200717 yr 1. Risk vs. reward It will be fascinating to see where Miguel Cabrera ends up ? and for what price ? now that the Marlins have apparently indicated that they are willing to listen to offers for the enigmatic 24-year-old slugger. At the moment, Cabrera is the sweet-swinging embodiment of high-risk, high-reward player. On one hand, he has the ability to be the Manny Ramirez of the next generation; the only two players in the baseball who have more combined Win Shares the past three seasons are Alex Rodriguez and Albert Pujols. On the other hand, he now looks like he swallowed Billy the Marlin whole, and by some estimates he's put on as many as 70 pounds since arriving in the big leagues late in '03 He's probably too talented to eat himself out of baseball, but at the rate he's going, he's going to be a Cecil Fielder-sized DH before he's 30. Thus, the questions that keep general managers awake at night: Would you give up Clay Buchholz and/or Jacoby Ellbury for him if you were Theo Epstein? Should Brian Cashman part with young Yankees Philip Hughes or Joba Chamberlain? Does Ned Colletti dare to offer Clayton Kershaw, James Loney, or assorted other jewels of the Dodgers' farm system? Let the bidding ? or given the risk involved with Cabrera, perhaps we should say gambling ? begin. http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/7401470 It seems others have noticed his incredible weight gain as well....
November 4, 200717 yr This isn't the first comparison of Miggy to Cecil Fielder, and in fact were I the first author, I'd probably cry plagiarism but in all honesty they are a) all by otherwise unknown writers with no credible history and b) beyond that, yes Miggy has added some weight since coming into the league, it is unfair to compare him to Fielder. Luckily neither our front office nor GMs throughout baseball are going to be making any decisions based on the comments written by fringe columnists at often dubious websites (not Fox), and neither should we place much credence in them. If anything, I suspect all this will do is perhaps shame him (with the help of his representation) into coming into camp in excellent condition, for if this entire off-season of ridicule isn't motivation enough, perhaps he's not the type of player we all know him to be. If you sat anywhere near the infield this summer you couldn't miss Miggy's pained looked, or was it shame, when he couldn't get his body in position to make the simple plays he had made so many, many times before. I would guess we won't see it again.
November 4, 200717 yr I put up some weight since Cabrera came to the Big Leagues as well. Everybody has. Hes still in a developing body, plus a lot of this weight is muscle weight. If youre in a developing body, of course your weight is gonna increase
November 4, 200717 yr I put up some weight since Cabrera came to the Big Leagues as well. Everybody has. Hes still in a developing body, plus a lot of this weight is muscle weight. If youre in a developing body, of course your weight is gonna increase . totally dude :lol
November 4, 200717 yr I put up some weight since Cabrera came to the Big Leagues as well. Everybody has. Hes still in a developing body, plus a lot of this weight is muscle weight. If youre in a developing body, of course your weight is gonna increase . totally dude :lol Are you kidding me? Miguel Cabrera came in weighing 185. It is absolutely not muscle weight. He has gained a lot of weight and that needs to be a big issue he deals with this offseason. His offense hasn't been affected but his defense has absolutely gone from mediocre/passable to truly awful. He has no mobility. If anyone actually sat down to watch the Marlins this year, you would know that our hitting was solid: Hanley was sensational, Dan Uggla put up big power numbers and produced a lot of runs, Miguel Cabrera was in his usual form, Josh Willingham put up nice numbers...and Jeremy Hermida came into his own in the second half. None of that great hitting could make up for truly piss poor defense, and injury riddled, inconsistent starting pitching. Miguel was a big contributer to that...as was Hanley, but Hanley is in a place where he can improve because he is the most athletic guy on the field on any given day. Miguel Cabrera on the other hand, may very well come into camp weighing 270-280...as a 3B. That just simply can't happen. For a team that won 2 championships on pitching and defense.....Miguel Cabrera really needs to step it up and lose that weight, get his mobility back, his quickness back and use that cannon of his, instead of wasting it as a 280 lbs 1B or DH because that's where he is headed. He is a great hitter, but an overall great game, hitting, and defense....is better.
November 4, 200717 yr I put up some weight since Cabrera came to the Big Leagues as well. Everybody has. Hes still in a developing body, plus a lot of this weight is muscle weight. If youre in a developing body, of course your weight is gonna increase LOOOOL. If alot of it were muscle, he'd be out of baseball and competing for Mr. Olympia, because people don't just put on 85 pounds of muscle.
November 4, 200717 yr I put up some weight since Cabrera came to the Big Leagues as well. Everybody has. Hes still in a developing body, plus a lot of this weight is muscle weight. If youre in a developing body, of course your weight is gonna increase That ain't no six pack he's sporting under his jersey, dude.
November 4, 200717 yr This is just stupid. If any GM questioned Miguel's weight as a reason to pay less, all we would do is laugh and say, "OK, we'll just keep possibly the best hitter of this generation." It's not an issue. Infact, I remember Miguel addressing this at some point this season and saying he plans on maintaining his weight and watching it closely over the off-season. So hopefully he comes into camp around 230-240. And to whoever said Miguel was 185-pounds as a rookie, that was what he was LISTED at. Right now on ESPN he's listed at 6-foot-2, 210-pounds. We all know he's at least 6-foot-3, 260-pounds. That's how reliable listed sizes are... His rookie year he was at least 6-foot-3, 215-pounds...
November 4, 200717 yr I put up some weight since Cabrera came to the Big Leagues as well. Everybody has. Hes still in a developing body, plus a lot of this weight is muscle weight. If youre in a developing body, of course your weight is gonna increase That ain't no six pack he's sporting under his jersey, dude. It was an 8-pack after the '03 World Series. I don't know if you ever saw the picture of him with his shirt up during the parade...
November 5, 200717 yr This is just stupid. If any GM questioned Miguel's weight as a reason to pay less, all we would do is laugh and say, "OK, we'll just keep possibly the best hitter of this generation." It's not an issue. Infact, I remember Miguel addressing this at some point this season and saying he plans on maintaining his weight and watching it closely over the off-season. So hopefully he comes into camp around 230-240. And to whoever said Miguel was 185-pounds as a rookie, that was what he was LISTED at. Right now on ESPN he's listed at 6-foot-2, 210-pounds. We all know he's at least 6-foot-3, 260-pounds. That's how reliable listed sizes are... His rookie year he was at least 6-foot-3, 215-pounds... I would say he was close to that 185 back in '03. And I never go by what is listed in their bios. The Amazing is listed at 5'10", as was Pudge when he was here. Both are shorter than me and I'm about 5'9" of pure ugly. LOL Final home game Miggy came out to say bye to the fans down in the Strike Zone. Dressed in street clothes. He didn't look that much out of shape then. Not slim and trim, but most definetly not way out of shape. Maybe it was the clothes or maybe I need to put the tape in and check it out again on the big screen.
November 5, 200717 yr http://www.palmbeachpost.com/marlins/conte...rlins_1105.html Marlins expected to shop Cabrera By JOE CAPOZZI Palm Beach Post Staff Writer Monday, November 05, 2007 Baseball's hot-stove season gets under way today with one scenario already sizzling - Alex Rodriguez replacing Miguel Cabrera at third base for the Marlins. Sound crazy? Perhaps. But at least one half of the equation is real. As the general managers' meetings begin in Orlando, the Marlins are telling teams that Cabrera, 24, their four-time All-Star, is on the market and could be traded by December. Why would the Marlins, with the worst attendance in the game and desperately trying to land a stadium deal, unload their best player and one of the top hitters in baseball? For one, Cabrera - who made $7.4 million last season - stands to make at least $10 million in arbitration this winter, a challenging price tag for a low-revenue team. Also, despite averaging 31 homers, 116 RBI and a .327 batting average the past three seasons, he has had several troublesome episodes. He has been benched a couple of times for arriving late for games, his weight is a concern and sources say the Marlins are frustrated with his overall attitude and approach. Admin Beinfest, Florida's baseball operations president, has declined to discuss possible personnel moves. But he suggested changes are on the way, citing the team's need to improve its starting pitching and defense. "Sitting on the sidelines and hoping you're going to get better, I'm not sure that's really a good way to go at it,'' Beinfest said last week when asked if big changes were in store for the Marlins' roster this winter. "There are some things we'd like to improve on ... that may constitute some change on this roster in order to achieve those goals.'' Is A-Rod the answer? Rodriguez, a Miami native, opted out of his 10-year, $242 million contract with the New York Yankees and reportedly is willing to talk to the Yankees again only if their extension offer would increase the value of his deal into the $350 million range. The Yankees reportedly were willing to extend Rodriguez's contract at $30 million per year - or about the same amount of the Marlins' entire payroll in 2007. Still, rumors have surfaced that Florida's bid for Rodriguez, who is expected to be named AL MVP, would include a stake in ownership. Nothing to it, a Marlins source said of the team's interest in signing A-Rod. A more likely scenario has the Yankees replacing Rodriguez with Cabrera. The Marlins, whose main target this winter is starting pitching, probably would ask the Yankees to part with right-hander Phil Hughes, 21, who went 5-3 with a 4.46 ERA in 13 starts last season. But considering New York's struggles with aging pitchers, Hughes isn't likely to be dealt away. The Red Sox also could be shopping for a third baseman. If they don't re-sign Series MVP Mike Lowell, the World Series champs might inquire about Cabrera. But would they be willing to part with right-hander Clay Buchholz, 23, who threw a no-hitter last season? Bottom line: The Marlins might be shopping Cabrera, but don't expect them to give him away. Josh Beckett, Florida's World Series MVP in 2003, was the last franchise player the Marlins traded and he's become overpowering with the Red Sox. But the Marlins got star shortstop Hanley Ramirez and pitcher Anibal Sanchez in the deal that sent Beckett and Lowell to Boston. Likewise, Cabrera won't be moved unless Florida gets something good in return. Steve Phillips, the former New York Mets GM and current ESPN analyst, said any attitude concerns about Cabrera won't scare off teams. "Any problems the Marlins have had with him would not impact his value, bottom line,'' Phillips said. "Nobody would shy away from that at all. In baseball, everybody thinks they can manage other teams' trouble players if they are a great player.'' As for joining the A-Rod sweepstakes, unloading Cabrera and pitcher Dontrelle Willis - who could make a combined $20 million in arbitration - might be the only way the Marlins could come close to offering enough cash. Still, with a premium placed on pitching, the Marlins recently have indicated that Willis is staying. Phillips said Willis' trade value dropped after a disappointing season (10-15, 5.17 ERA) and he doesn't think it's smart to trade Cabrera. "They missed their window to trade Dontrelle Willis,'' Phillips said. "I don't trade Cabrera, though. He is the one draw you have on that roster. They know when you come to the ballpark, he's the guy you come to see hit.'' As for Cabrera's behavior, Phillips said, "I'd do everything I could to manage that relationship than trade him.''
November 5, 200717 yr "I don't trade Cabrera, though. He is the one draw you have on that roster. They know when you come to the ballpark, he's the guy you come to see hit.'' Not me....
November 5, 200717 yr $20 million combined in arbitration? If he says Cabrera gets $11, he can't possibly think Willis gets nine. That I agree about (not) trading Cabrera and yet I can't not be at least a bit interested at the notion of A-Rod anchoring this team, is a conflict of mammoth proportions. Ramirez and Cabrera? Ramirez and Rodriguez? I know it can't be true. And yet, it's such a delicious fantasy... :brigginbounce
November 5, 200717 yr It doesn't make sense to trade Cabs for financial concerns and then sign A-Rod to a 10-year, $350 million deal. I understand why the local papers keep this story alive, but why not just sign Cabs to a long-term deal instead? First, besides the obvious fact that he has ungodly talent, is much younger, and has only known the Marlins organization, Miggy will still be able to be traded if he is signed long-term, no matter how large his contract. I'm not so sure about A-Rod. Even Texas had to eat a large portion of his contract when A-Rod was traded to the deep-pocketed Yanks. Second, why would A-Rod want to come here if it means trading away Cabs and D-Train just to sign him? I'm pretty sure A-Rod wants to go to a team where the post-season is a legitimate possibility in the first year of his new deal. Trading away Cabs and D-Train might reap a new starting C, CFer, and a few stellar pitching prospects (some of which should slip in our rotation immediately), but will that make us a contender in 2008? I'd say trading Cabs and D-Train might lead to a better overall team in a few years, but it is a joke to think we're playoff bound in 2008 without them (I'm assuming D-Train comes back to form under Wiley). Why not just sign Miggy long-term and call it a day?
November 5, 200717 yr I don't know what I'll do if they trade Cabrera just to slash payroll. f***ing Loria and Samson scum of the Earth eaters of babies pocketers of revenue liars aplenty
November 5, 200717 yr We should all get together and hold a rally outside Loria's office. (Is it at Dolphins Stadium?)
November 5, 200717 yr We should all get together and hold a rally outside Loria's office. (Is it at Dolphins Stadium?) Then we should burn it. Then we'll go after Wayne's office. Hard to believe two men could bring us such pain and misery.
November 5, 200717 yr I don't know what I'll do if they trade Cabrera just to slash payroll. f***ing Loria and Samson scum of the Earth eaters of babies pocketers of revenue liars aplenty You are aware of your haiku, right? eaters of babies pocketers of revenue liars aplenty
November 5, 200717 yr Why not just sign Miggy long-term and call it a day? It's not out of the realm of possibility that this (A-Rod talk) is a step in that direction.
November 5, 200717 yr I put up some weight since Cabrera came to the Big Leagues as well. Everybody has. Hes still in a developing body, plus a lot of this weight is muscle weight. If youre in a developing body, of course your weight is gonna increase That ain't no six pack he's sporting under his jersey, dude. It was an 8-pack after the '03 World Series. I don't know if you ever saw the picture of him with his shirt up during the parade... This one? I'm not seeing an 8-pack, but then again, why do people keep comparing Cabrera at 20 and now? Look, the guy's gotta lose weight, but why not compare his body to 2005's body, after he filled out a bit.
November 5, 200717 yr Well at least we finally have the upperhand in a deal. We'll get what we want (and more) for Cabs if we do trade him. I would LOVE Hughes if it were to happen that way.
