Hey all, Tigers fan here, visiting from Motownsports.com.

 

First of all, let me apologize for the lateness of this thread. I'm sure the Cabrera/Willis trade was discussed extensively here when it first happened, but my life was VERY busy at the time and I barely had the time to keep up with threads on my 'home' site, let alone think about visiting others. Plus, we've all had a number of month to contemplate the long term ramifications of the trade and a chance to see the new names in their new uniforms.

 

Let me start by giving you my perspective as a Tigers fan:

 

It essentially comes down to this: If we can sign Cabrera long term, I'd say there is a 95% of the trade being good for the Tigers long term. If we can't, I'd say there is a 95% of the trade being bad for the Tigers long term. I feel that the Tigers gave up a LOT of good prospect. Don't get me wrong... we got a fantastic player in Cabrera in return... no question there. But we only control his destiny for the next two years. If all we've done is 'rent' him for two years it isn't worth what we gave up.

 

I think most Tigers fans, like myself, feel that Willis is a wild card. We might get a lot of good games from him, or he might just be serviceable, or he might be worse. We just don't know what to expect at this point. Cabrera = very good or great. Willis = ????

 

Now, as for your guys:

 

I'm sorry to see Miller go most of all. He's got a lively arm and many compared him to a Randy Johnson type guy. Obviously it's all potential at this point has his brief time in the majors has been a mixed bag. But I think he has the potentially to be a really good guy... top of the order at least. And the fact that he's a lefty certainly doesn't hurt things!

 

Maybin was considered the best hitting prospect in the Tigers org. But that probably says more about the Tigers farm system than it does about Maybin. Certainly he's got lots of talent, but the Tigers don't have a lot of great hitters on the farm. I'm sure you're all aware of Dombrowski's method of operations: Stockpile good young arms and trade 'em for whatever else you need.

 

De La Cruz is also a guy I hate to lose. He didn't have as much hype as Miller, and probably won't end up as good, but he was certainly someone I expected to see in the rotation with the Tigers in the not too distant future.

 

Rabelo seems like a decent guy at Catcher, but I never saw him as the starter. He's a solid guy, but not a star.

 

The other two guys, Trahern and Badenhop, I don't know enought about to comment on.

 

So, that's my thoughts... again I repeat what I said at the top: If we sign Cabrera long term, good trade. If not, probably bad trade. Obviously a lot of other things could happen that might have a major impact on the trade, but that, to me, looks to be the biggest so far.

 

I've really like to hear your thoughts on thr trade and how Marlins fans are view the players involved. Thanks for any insight you can provide.

i think if the tigers dont re-sign cabs...then they for sure lose this trade...unless they win 2 titles with him that is...haha...i agree that willis is a wildcard...you could see greatness out of him like 05 form or you could see stats similar to last year...

 

maybin projects to be anywhere from a torrii hunter to an andre dawson type player...which sounds fine by me...i cant wait to see what the kid has got...miller has a live arm and some sick stuff...while i was watching my cousin pitch...the UNC pitching coach was watching his former catcher, catch my cousin...and we got talking about andrew miller and he said that he has sandy koufax like potential if he stays healthy and it all comes together for him...those are big words and shoes to fill...so we shall see...rabelo looks like a nice backup...gotta love a switch hitting catcher...so if he is anything like greg zaun was...ill be happy...

de la cruz can throw straight gas...which should be good with the rest of the bullpen guys...trahern and badenhop all look like lower level prospects...but hey...im sure they will find their niche and contribute to the organization somehow

Thanks for the visit Red.

 

If Willis can recapture some of the '05 magic then that's a huge boost to the deal for the Tigers.

 

To Dombrowski's credit he was able to expand the deal and get the Marlins to add Dontrelle to the package.

 

Cabrera is an amazing hitter though, even 2 years of him - if they're contending years - I think is worth it for Detroit. You have a playoff contender already, this makes it even stronger. You have potentially one of the best hitting lineups of this era.

 

If Detroit's pitching is even mediocre you should bash most teams right off the field.

 

 

 

For our part, as gut-wrenching as it is to part with guys like Cabs & Willis, we're psyched about the players we got in the package. :thumbup

I think even worst case scenarios with Dontrelle, you guys win with him. Even if he is never quite as dominant as he was in 05, the guy still has a rubber arm and will eat up a ton of innings. Maybe even more now that he won't be batting regularly. But I think you will see him come closer to 05 form now that he won't have the pressure of being the #1 starter and really standing apart from the other pitchers with regards to expectations.

 

I agree generally with what's been said about Cabrera, but I do think this trade gives the Tigers a very good shot on picking up at least one ring within the next two years. But the sooner you guys sign him long term, the better obviously.

First of all, I puked in my mouth a little bit when I saw Torii Hunter and Andrew Dawson and their .323 career OBP being compared to Maybin. He walks. He hits for average. No way in hell that bullcrap shows up in the OBP line. If we are going generic speed/power/defense, yea sure. Compare him to the Hawk (who should never ever ever get into the Hall, but that's another thread), but at least give Maybin a Grady or Beltran comp of far superior baseball players that do everything. That's the upside. Second, Trahern is a lower level prospect? Kid was respectful in AA as a 21 year old, and has a legit sinker out pitch. It's a compliment to the Marlins he isn't one of our 5 best pitching prospects. He could be a future 3/4 easily. That's a pretty good prospect.

 

As for the Tigers guy, you must sign Cabrera longterm or this trade was a disaster. And even then, it might not be good because you gave up your awesome farm system for Cabrera, Willis, and Renteria. If you don't win a world series the next two years, and chances are you won't because Anaheim, Boston, and Cleveland are all better right now, your front office pretty much messed up even with acquiring Cabrera because you'll have to start over with nothing coming up the pipeline except Porcello, and a lack of payroll flexibility to fill the enormous holes because of huge contracts you will have (Cabrera, Verlander, Granderson, Guillen, Willis, Robertson, maybe Bonderman or Zoom). Not saying that isn't a real nice core to build around, but finding another 15-20 guys for your 25 man roster who are good at affordable prices is going to be impossible. I wish you good luck and say enjoy all the dingers you hit this year, but I'd be really concerned that your pitching staff is compromised of an injury waiting to happen because of jumping a young pitcher's inning count to fast (Verlander), three mediocre lefties (Willis, Rogers, Robertson), a huge question mark (Bonderman), and a potentially horrific bullpen. World Series or bust.

 

If I was the Tigers, I would have been drooling to throw out Verlander, Miller, Trahern, Jurrjens, and Porcello, with a Zoom-Cruz-Bazardo 7-8-9, and a core built around Granderson, Maybin, Guillen, (And Gorky I guess!), with boat loads of salary space when Shef, Pudge, Magglio, Inge, T. Jones, Bonderman, Rodney, and Rogers come off the books (wouldn't have signed Robertson either, LOL to that) in the next season or two. Talk about an awesome young core of SP and RP, half your positional players starters already obtained, and all that would cost well under $50 million, where you could have easily acquired 3 big bats in free agency to round out the team offensively and make that team look really good and sustainable longterm, instead of the "all or nothing" nature of the 2008 Detroit Tigers. Dombrowski got to ancy in my opinion.

 

As for us, I love it because it was a trade we needed to make to get our team on the same payroll scale in anticipation for the 2011 stadium. Miller will probably be better than Willis within 1 season, and we have him for 6. Maybin is going to be a monster in the OF. Cruz could be the best reliever in Detroit's pen right now with Zoom out, and he won't crack our team until July. And Trahern could be a 3/4 as aforementioned. Hop/Rabelo who really cares. The main 4 is what matters. It hurts to lose Cabrera, but if we fill 4 holes by trading 1, and gives us money to sign Hanley (whose a better player to build around for scarcer position reasons), it's a big win for us.

First of all, I puked in my mouth a little bit when I saw Torii Hunter and Andrew Dawson and their .323 career OBP being compared to Maybin. He walks. He hits for average. No way in hell that bullcrap shows up in the OBP line. If we are going generic speed/power/defense, yea sure. Compare him to the Hawk (who should never ever ever get into the Hall, but that's another thread), but at least give Maybin a Grady or Beltran comp of far superior baseball players that do everything. That's the upside. Second, Trahern is a lower level prospect? Kid was respectful in AA as a 21 year old, and has a legit sinker out pitch. It's a compliment to the Marlins he isn't one of our 5 best pitching prospects. He could be a future 3/4 easily. That's a pretty good prospect.

 

As for the Tigers guy, you must sign Cabrera longterm or this trade was a disaster. And even then, it might not be good because you gave up your awesome farm system for Cabrera, Willis, and Renteria. If you don't win a world series the next two years, and chances are you won't because Anaheim, Boston, and Cleveland are all better right now, your front office pretty much messed up even with acquiring Cabrera because you'll have to start over with nothing coming up the pipeline except Porcello, and a lack of payroll flexibility to fill the enormous holes because of huge contracts you will have (Cabrera, Verlander, Granderson, Guillen, Willis, Robertson, maybe Bonderman or Zoom). Not saying that isn't a real nice core to build around, but finding another 15-20 guys for your 25 man roster who are good at affordable prices is going to be impossible. I wish you good luck and say enjoy all the dingers you hit this year, but I'd be really concerned that your pitching staff is compromised of an injury waiting to happen because of jumping a young pitcher's inning count to fast (Verlander), three mediocre lefties (Willis, Rogers, Robertson), a huge question mark (Bonderman), and a potentially horrific bullpen. World Series or bust.

 

If I was the Tigers, I would have been drooling to throw out Verlander, Miller, Trahern, Jurrjens, and Porcello, with a Zoom-Cruz-Bazardo 7-8-9, and a core built around Granderson, Maybin, Guillen, (And Gorky I guess!), with boat loads of salary space when Shef, Pudge, Magglio, Inge, T. Jones, Bonderman, Rodney, and Rogers come off the books (wouldn't have signed Robertson either, LOL to that) in the next season or two. Talk about an awesome young core of SP and RP, half your positional players starters already obtained, and all that would cost well under $50 million, where you could have easily acquired 3 big bats in free agency to round out the team offensively and make that team look really good and sustainable longterm, instead of the "all or nothing" nature of the 2008 Detroit Tigers. Dombrowski got to ancy in my opinion.

 

As for us, I love it because it was a trade we needed to make to get our team on the same payroll scale in anticipation for the 2011 stadium. Miller will probably be better than Willis within 1 season, and we have him for 6. Maybin is going to be a monster in the OF. Cruz could be the best reliever in Detroit's pen right now with Zoom out, and he won't crack our team until July. And Trahern could be a 3/4 as aforementioned. Hop/Rabelo who really cares. The main 4 is what matters. It hurts to lose Cabrera, but if we fill 4 holes by trading 1, and gives us money to sign Hanley (whose a better player to build around for scarcer position reasons), it's a big win for us.

 

 

:thumbup

Maybin was considered the best hitting prospect in the Tigers org. But that probably says more about the Tigers farm system than it does about Maybin.

 

That's selling Maybin a little short, isn't it? Maybin has been consistently ranked as a top 10, if not top 5, prospect in all of baseball--an indication that he is considered good not just relative to the Tigers system. That being said, he has to be able to learn to handle the off-speed stuff better if he is going to fulfill those lofty projections. And since he is still so young, he still has time to do that.

 

To me, the Marlins' perspective of the trade is the exact converse as the Tigers' perspective you put forth: We were only going to have Cabrera for two more years--two years in which we were very unlikely to be a serious competitor-- and the ballpark was not going to ready in time to generate the revenue to pay him, so we got something for him while we still could. Even with the ballpark, we were probably only going to be able to afford either Cabrera or Hanley, who was emerging as a legitimate superstar in his own right. And Hanley was not only under team control longer (i.e., until the new park was built) but I have a feeling the front office preferred his attitude/work ethic better as well.

Maybin was considered the best hitting prospect in the Tigers org. But that probably says more about the Tigers farm system than it does about Maybin.

 

That's selling Maybin a little short, isn't it? Maybin has been consistently ranked as a top 10, if not top 5, prospect in all of baseball--an indication that he is considered good not just relative to the Tigers system. That being said, he has to be able to learn to handle the off-speed stuff better if he is going to fulfill those lofty projections. And since he is still so young, he still has time to do that.

Big time. Please send him to AA for atleast 3 months. :pray

 

I want a 2012 arbitration and no super two.

I'm sorry to see Miller go most of all. He's got a lively arm and many compared him to a Randy Johnson type guy. Obviously it's all potential at this point has his brief time in the majors has been a mixed bag. But I think he has the potentially to be a really good guy... top of the order at least. And the fact that he's a lefty certainly doesn't hurt things!

 

De La Cruz is also a guy I hate to lose. He didn't have as much hype as Miller, and probably won't end up as good, but he was certainly someone I expected to see in the rotation with the Tigers in the not too distant future.

 

Rabelo seems like a decent guy at Catcher, but I never saw him as the starter. He's a solid guy, but not a star.

 

I watched Miller in his first start Monday. Not a good outing. 56 pitches, 23 for strikes, walked 5 and hit one in 3 innings. He really never looked comfortable out there. Call it nerves if you want, but... While warming up Wiley was paying close attention to him. It seemed like mostly his footwork. Mark kept walking around him getting different views while looking towards his feet. Leads me to believe his problem is mechanics, and Wiley is the right guy to figure out a cure for that.

 

De La Cruz seems like a pretty quiet guy. He mostly sits on the bench by himself and watches the game. "Studies" the game may be a better way of saying it. He did get up in the 9th and threw a few pitches. Didn't look bad. Had some pop, that's for sure.

I watched Miller in his first start Monday. Not a good outing. 56 pitches, 23 for strikes, walked 5 and hit one in 3 innings. He really never looked comfortable out there. Call it nerves if you want, but... While warming up Wiley was paying close attention to him. It seemed like mostly his footwork. Mark kept walking around him getting different views while looking towards his feet. Leads me to believe his problem is mechanics, and Wiley is the right guy to figure out a cure for that.

 

De La Cruz seems like a pretty quiet guy. He mostly sits on the bench by himself and watches the game. "Studies" the game may be a better way of saying it. He did get up in the 9th and threw a few pitches. Didn't look bad. Had some pop, that's for sure.

It's a great day when "not a good outing" produces no hits for the opposition. He ain't going to be Daniel Cabrera. As soon as those walks get down, think Kazmir and Cain's early BB issues, we're talking a great starter.

 

Cruz hits 100. Plenty of 'pop' in that arm.

I watched Miller in his first start Monday. Not a good outing. 56 pitches, 23 for strikes, walked 5 and hit one in 3 innings. He really never looked comfortable out there. Call it nerves if you want, but... While warming up Wiley was paying close attention to him. It seemed like mostly his footwork. Mark kept walking around him getting different views while looking towards his feet. Leads me to believe his problem is mechanics, and Wiley is the right guy to figure out a cure for that.

 

De La Cruz seems like a pretty quiet guy. He mostly sits on the bench by himself and watches the game. "Studies" the game may be a better way of saying it. He did get up in the 9th and threw a few pitches. Didn't look bad. Had some pop, that's for sure.

It's a great day when "not a good outing" produces no hits for the opposition. He ain't going to be Daniel Cabrera. As soon as those walks get down, think Kazmir and Cain's early BB issues, we're talking a great starter.

 

Cruz hits 100. Plenty of 'pop' in that arm.

 

Miller needs to improve his line to home plate. I watch him last year with the Tigers and he really throws across his body. That is going to be tough on the shoulder as well as hard for him to repeat his delivery and maintain consistent control. I am sure the pitching coaches are aware but when someone throws that hard I can see where they are a little worried about "tinkering." Kerry Wood has had that same problem with his line to homeplate as well.

Miller needs to improve his line to home plate. I watch him last year with the Tigers and he really throws across his body. That is going to be tough on the shoulder as well as hard for him to repeat his delivery and maintain consistent control. I am sure the pitching coaches are aware but when someone throws that hard I can see where they are a little worried about "tinkering." Kerry Wood has had that same problem with his line to homeplate as well.

 

Respectfully, I have to disagree.

I mentioned this last week subsequent to the Baltimore game in FTL, that only by luck I had an opportunity to sit 20-30 feet directly behind his left arm in a direct line with the bullpen homeplate. For two innings of baseball I watched him warmup, throwing pea after pea right over the plate, and no he does not throw across his body, at least not often. When he does it appears premeditated. His arm is slotted, he finishes with his momentum and his pitching hand right toward the plate as if it were attached to a wire in the catcher's mitt and only after the pitch is thrown does he "fall" to one side or the other.

 

What you're seeing is his momentum when he throws a certain pitch falling off the mound to the third base side, and with it his left hand, which gives the appearance of him throwing across his body but he's not, he has already thrown the pitch well before. For a good example watch the multimedia video of Miller vs the Red Sox in 2007. Most times he winds up straight at, or even slightly to the first base side. It's only when he throws one type pitch that he winds up falling off toward third.

 

If anything, he may be getting caught up too much in being perfect in his mechanics (trying too hard to throw "good" pitches vs pitching), guiding rather than throwing the ball, which is part of what I suspect happened yesterday. That and he was Steve Trachsel-like to the consternation of those playing behind him. This is not a knock at Treanor (it was his birthday after all and his homerun was huge) but I suspect had Rabelo caught him he would not have allowed Miller to take so much time between pitches, if only because Rabelo knows the kid so much better.

Miller needs to improve his line to home plate. I watch him last year with the Tigers and he really throws across his body. That is going to be tough on the shoulder as well as hard for him to repeat his delivery and maintain consistent control. I am sure the pitching coaches are aware but when someone throws that hard I can see where they are a little worried about "tinkering." Kerry Wood has had that same problem with his line to homeplate as well.

 

Respectfully, I have to disagree.

I mentioned this last week subsequent to the Baltimore game in FTL, that only by luck I had an opportunity to sit 20-30 feet directly behind his left arm in a direct line with the bullpen homeplate. For two innings of baseball I watched him warmup, throwing pea after pea right over the plate, and no he does not throw across his body, at least not often. When he does it appears premeditated. His arm is slotted, he finishes with his momentum and his pitching hand right toward the plate as if it were attached to a wire in the catcher's mitt and only after the pitch is thrown does he "fall" to one side or the other.

 

What you're seeing is his momentum when he throws a certain pitch falling off the mound to the third base side, and with it his left hand, which gives the appearance of him throwing across his body but he's not, he has already thrown the pitch well before. For a good example watch the multimedia video of Miller vs the Red Sox in 2007. Most times he winds up straight at, or even slightly to the first base side. It's only when he throws one type pitch that he winds up falling off toward third.

 

If anything, he may be getting caught up too much in being perfect in his mechanics (trying too hard to throw "good" pitches vs pitching), guiding rather than throwing the ball, which is part of what I suspect happened yesterday. That and he was Steve Trachsel-like to the consternation of those playing behind him. This is not a knock at Treanor (it was his birthday after all and his homerun was huge) but I suspect had Rabelo caught him he would not have allowed Miller to take so much time between pitches, if only because Rabelo knows the kid so much better.

 

I have not seen him throw since last year versus the White Sox. I understand what you are saying about the falling off & if you watch Randy Johnson he finishes that way as well. Perhaps, and it sounds like he has, corrected that "line" problem. I know that his line was really bad last year when he pitched against the White Sox and our TV announcers were talking about it the whole time he was on the mound and showed a lot of slo-mo on it. He was tough on lefties because he was stepping straight at them, however, I don't think he made it thru the 5th inning - wildness. Where is that video of him from last year. Would love to see it. I wish I had something to show you from that W Sox game because it was not good on that day! You would have noticed.

Miller needs to improve his line to home plate. I watch him last year with the Tigers and he really throws across his body. That is going to be tough on the shoulder as well as hard for him to repeat his delivery and maintain consistent control. I am sure the pitching coaches are aware but when someone throws that hard I can see where they are a little worried about "tinkering." Kerry Wood has had that same problem with his line to homeplate as well.

 

Respectfully, I have to disagree.

I mentioned this last week subsequent to the Baltimore game in FTL, that only by luck I had an opportunity to sit 20-30 feet directly behind his left arm in a direct line with the bullpen homeplate. For two innings of baseball I watched him warmup, throwing pea after pea right over the plate, and no he does not throw across his body, at least not often. When he does it appears premeditated. His arm is slotted, he finishes with his momentum and his pitching hand right toward the plate as if it were attached to a wire in the catcher's mitt and only after the pitch is thrown does he "fall" to one side or the other.

 

What you're seeing is his momentum when he throws a certain pitch falling off the mound to the third base side, and with it his left hand, which gives the appearance of him throwing across his body but he's not, he has already thrown the pitch well before. For a good example watch the multimedia video of Miller vs the Red Sox in 2007. Most times he winds up straight at, or even slightly to the first base side. It's only when he throws one type pitch that he winds up falling off toward third.

 

If anything, he may be getting caught up too much in being perfect in his mechanics (trying too hard to throw "good" pitches vs pitching), guiding rather than throwing the ball, which is part of what I suspect happened yesterday. That and he was Steve Trachsel-like to the consternation of those playing behind him. This is not a knock at Treanor (it was his birthday after all and his homerun was huge) but I suspect had Rabelo caught him he would not have allowed Miller to take so much time between pitches, if only because Rabelo knows the kid so much better.

Further, he is 6'6 and just cracks 200 pounds. He is a stick, and sticks look funny when they throw baseballs.

go to marlins website, go to roster, click on andrew miller. below and to the right are four or five video highlights. the second or third is against the red sox. they are all illustrative.

Admittedly, I've never seen Miller pitch, however, after seeing all that, all I have to say is wow

You guys can keep Willis, but I want Cabrera back.

go to marlins website, go to roster, click on andrew miller. below and to the right are four or five video highlights. the second or third is against the red sox. they are all illustrative.

 

For those worried about Dallas Trahern's 2nd inning and his "control issues", let me give you a little insight that hasnt been reported. On the 2nd pitch Dallas threw in the 2nd inning, a blister he had on his thumb split open and started bleeding. So basically the threw the entire 2nd inning with an open blister on his pitching thumb. He is trying to get it healed before he pitches tomorrow against the Cards. He told me today that the trainers are trying to get the stuff that Josh Beckett used on his blisters.

go to marlins website, go to roster, click on andrew miller. below and to the right are four or five video highlights. the second or third is against the red sox. they are all illustrative.

 

For those worried about Dallas Trahern's 2nd inning and his "control issues", let me give you a little insight that hasnt been reported. On the 2nd pitch Dallas threw in the 2nd inning, a blister he had on his thumb split open and started bleeding. So basically the threw the entire 2nd inning with an open blister on his pitching thumb. He is trying to get it healed before he pitches tomorrow against the Cards. He told me today that the trainers are trying to get the stuff that Josh Beckett used on his blisters.

 

Why would he continue pitching after that happened? I'm not an expert on blisters but wouldn't that make it worse?

go to marlins website, go to roster, click on andrew miller. below and to the right are four or five video highlights. the second or third is against the red sox. they are all illustrative.

 

For those worried about Dallas Trahern's 2nd inning and his "control issues", let me give you a little insight that hasnt been reported. On the 2nd pitch Dallas threw in the 2nd inning, a blister he had on his thumb split open and started bleeding. So basically the threw the entire 2nd inning with an open blister on his pitching thumb. He is trying to get it healed before he pitches tomorrow against the Cards. He told me today that the trainers are trying to get the stuff that Josh Beckett used on his blisters.

 

Why would he continue pitching after that happened? I'm not an expert on blisters but wouldn't that make it worse?

 

Dallas is a gamer. He knows how much is at stake. Also, I think once it splits open it cant get much worse. He believes in his heart that he has a chance to be a part of the rotation out of Spring Training. His first inning went great, he just tried to pitch through it because as a non roster invite, he needs to impress early to continue to get looks. He will pitch tomorrow against the Cards.

This is not a knock at Treanor (it was his birthday after all and his homerun was huge) but I suspect had Rabelo caught him he would not have allowed Miller to take so much time between pitches, if only because Rabelo knows the kid so much better.

 

I don't know if I missed this when it happened, but is Robelo injured? I was wondering why Trenor caught Miller for his first start when Robelo figures to be catching him during the regular season.

I watched Miller in his first start Monday. Not a good outing. 56 pitches, 23 for strikes, walked 5 and hit one in 3 innings. He really never looked comfortable out there. Call it nerves if you want, but... While warming up Wiley was paying close attention to him. It seemed like mostly his footwork. Mark kept walking around him getting different views while looking towards his feet. Leads me to believe his problem is mechanics, and Wiley is the right guy to figure out a cure for that.

 

De La Cruz seems like a pretty quiet guy. He mostly sits on the bench by himself and watches the game. "Studies" the game may be a better way of saying it. He did get up in the 9th and threw a few pitches. Didn't look bad. Had some pop, that's for sure.

It's a great day when "not a good outing" produces no hits for the opposition. He ain't going to be Daniel Cabrera. As soon as those walks get down, think Kazmir and Cain's early BB issues, we're talking a great starter.

 

Cruz hits 100. Plenty of 'pop' in that arm.

 

We had a no hitter going and they had a run scored. I think it's just mechanics with Miller and that Wiley will fix that problem. Then the walks will come down.

 

I just liked the intensity De La Cruz showed while sitting there watching the game. Kinda short and pudgy, but you could see the confidence. He's gonna be a good one.

This is not a knock at Treanor (it was his birthday after all and his homerun was huge) but I suspect had Rabelo caught him he would not have allowed Miller to take so much time between pitches, if only because Rabelo knows the kid so much better.

 

I don't know if I missed this when it happened, but is Robelo injured? I was wondering why Trenor caught Miller for his first start when Robelo figures to be catching him during the regular season.

 

I also wondered why Matty caught Miller. I was kinda hoping to see what Rabelo is all about and I thought for sure he would be catching Miller. He's not hurt, he started Tuesday's game. Maybe it was just a b'day thing for Matt.

Maybe it was just a b'day thing for Matt.

 

That and both catchers have to gain experience with all the pitchers. I believe I read a comment from that they didn't intend to (as a hard and fast rule) match up catchers with specific pitchers.

 

But my guess, it's spring, Matt's birthday, that was enough reason to go with him yesterday.

Let me first say that there are alot of active members of this board who really do seem to know alot about baseball, both from a player evaluation standpoint and a solid understanding of statistical analysis.

 

But I always laugh my ass off when suggestions are made for guys like Miller and Maybin.

 

IF a guy crushes fastballs and learns to crush offspeed pitches then he's basically a future HOF'er.

 

If a guy with Miller's stuff cuts down on walks then he's a top 10-15 MLB pitcher every year.

 

 

The more I have time to react to the big trade I think we made out like bandits. With the understanding that a team like the Marlins, even with a new stadium, can only have one 10 million+ player...then that player has to be Hanley and not Cabrera. And it sure looks like we sold as high as possible on Cabrera. Too bad we didn't take that Willis deal that Detroit susposedly offered two years ago.

 

If this organization ever signs Hanley long term and gets even 1/4 of the pitching prospects to develop we are all going to be in for one helluva long ride of consistent winning.