Something’s Fishy In Florida

There’s nonsense, and then there’s nonsense. I don’t dispute that the Florida Marlins might be shopping Miguel Cabrera, but something here seems a bit, well, fishy:

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.

Okay, I understand that $10 million is a lot to spend on one player when your entire team was paid $30.5 million in ‘07. What I’m not clear on is how this somehow makes, as the article seems to suggest, Alex Rodriguez affordable.

In case anyone has forgotten, Rodriguez just opted out of the final three years of a 10-year, $242 million contract. This means that he and Scott Boras think they can get more on the open market, not less. Or to put it more bluntly, Rodriguez won’t be coming to Miami for $10 million — you know, what Cabrera might make in arbitration.

I love this bit on Cabrera:

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.

What is the euphemism? “Socializing,” I think they call it. This is management and local media “socializing” Marlins fans (should that really be plural?) to the idea that Cabrera won’t be around much longer and that somehow this is a good thing.

Boy, I sure would be frustrated with Cabrera’s attitude and approach if I were the Marlins. It’s only produced MVP caliber results every year. Check out Cabrera’s list of similar players through age 24 at Baseball-Reference:

1. Hank Aaron
2. Ken Griffey
3. Frank Robinson
4. Orlando Cepeda
5. Hal Trosky
6. Joe Medwick
7. Al Kaline
8. Mickey Mantle
9. Andruw Jones
10. Vladimir Guerrero

That’s six guys who are in the Hall of Fame; three who will be; and Hal Trosky, a brilliant hitter from the ’30s and ’40s whose “demise as a player is solely attributable to migraine headaches that made his life a living hell” (The New Bill James Historical Abstract, p. 447). In other words, Cabrera is a special talent. Whatever other issues may surround him (and I don’t doubt there are some) would seem to pale in comparison to what he can offer a team.

Are the Marlins shopping Cabrera? Sure sounds like it, and maybe it’s not even a bad idea — jettisoning Josh Beckett worked out well for them. But just say that you’re cheap and don’t want to pay the guy. Don’t spew garbage about his “approach” or how the more expensive Rodriguez somehow makes sense as a potential replacement.

People aren’t stupid, you know…

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