WHY I IMAGINED MIGUEL CABRERA IN PINSTRIPES

The way the Yankees lost to the Tigers in the ALDS still has me a bit aggravated. The Yankees had a number of opportunities in Game 5 to win the series and advance to the ALCS to play the Texas Rangers, but they failed. And right in the middle of that failure was of course Alex Rodriguez. Sure, there were a number of other culprits to the series loss, but because of the spotlight and scrutiny he receives, he'll deserve the majority of the blame. But I was wondering, what if the Yankees let ARod go after he opted out following the 2007 season, and they traded for then Florida Marlin Miguel Cabrera?

Maybe some of you forgot that the Yankees had a great opportunity to land Miguel Cabrera before the 2008 season. You see, after the 2007 season had ended, Alex Rodriguez had opted out of his contract, thus becoming a Free Agent. Before he opted out, the Yankees said that if ARod opted out, the Yankees would not negotiate a new deal with him. Of course we all know that was a bunch of bull, but you can read that story HERE.

Miguel Cabrera was set to earn $10 million during the 2008 season for the Marlins, and much more beyond. That is ridiculously high for their payroll down the line, thus they had to move him. If the Yankees wanted to pry Cabrera way from the Marlins, they'd have to include one of Ian Kennedy, Joba Chamberlain, or Phil Hughes, while including a combination of then prospects Alan Horne, Humberto Sanchez, Ross Ohlendorf and Jose Tabata.(In Photo: Ian Kennedy)
Unfortunately, GM Brian Cashman was unwilling to part with either Kennedy, Joba, or Hughes in the deal. You can read that story HERE. The author of the Daily News piece, Mark Feinsand, suggested that the Yankees could be gun shy in parting with their top prospects due to Cabrera's weight issue and possible work ethic issues. But, this is what Joe Girardi told the Daily News about Cabrera when he managed him while with the Florida Marlins in 2006:

"I didn't have any problems with him. I had him and I know what he did for me. He's a great player and a smart player. He really understands the game of baseball. I loved having him."

You can obviously tell that Girardi--who was entering his first season in 2008 as Yankee manager--didn't have a problem with him. Maybe Girardi could have played a mentor to him if he landed in New York, who knows.Just think, if Cashman could have traded say Phil Hughes, Alan Horne, and Jose Tabata for Miguel Cabrera, the Yankees would have been set for a much longer period of time with Cabrera in the middle of their order--who was then 25 years old--than ARod, who was 33 years old at the time. But that possible trade could have affected other trades;
Like the Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates in July of 2008. It also could have even affected the Curtis Granderson three-way trade with the Detroit Tigers and Arizona D'Backs before the 2010 campaign.

Remember, when Detroit acquired Cabrera from Florida in exchange for six players including then top prospects Andrew Miller and Cameron Maybin, he played one more season at third base in 2008 before moving over to first base in 2009. So, if the Yanks acquired him he'd still be at third base for the 2008 season, and likely move over to first in 2009, thus this means no Mark Teixeira. The Yankees then could have acquired a new third baseman before the 2009 season for say, Adrian Beltre who was with the Seattle Mariners at the time and he probably needed a new change of scenery.
Looking back, one caveat of this trade could have been Miguel Cabrera's recent history off the field with his alcohol issues. He's been arrested way more than his fair share of times since arriving in Detroit, how would it play out in New York? Again, who knows. Maybe Girardi could have gotten in Cabrera's head and steered him in the right direction. Am I saying that would happen for sure? No, but it's a possibility.

Of course we all know by now that if Cabrera was traded to the Yanks, ARod's time with the Yankees would be over. Where would he have ended up? Who knows. Maybe he could go out west with Joe Torre and the Dodgers. What about the Angels? The Mets? Remember, ARod could have gone to the Mets before joining the Rangers prior to the 2001 season. Read that story HERE. He also could have ended up with the Red Sox, but they would have had to part ways with Mike Lowell who was fresh off winning the 2007 World Series MVP. It would definitely be a bold move by the Red Sox for sure.

Hindsight is 20/20, thus anyone can critique Cashman's work. But I'll say that if this trade was completed, it would have set up the Yankees much better for the future with Cabrera than they are now with ARod. As we know, A-Rod is 36 years old while Cabrera is 28. Also, ARod has six years and $143 million left on his contract that he signed before 2008, while Cabrera has four more years and $86 million left on his contract he signed before the 2008 season as well. As you see, the Yankees would be better set up financially for a player in Cabrera than ARod who looks like along with all his injuries, he's clearly going downhill. It's all very interesting, isn't it?

Finally, I just want to say that Bleeding Yankee Blue has allowed me to grow as a writer and I am thankful. Now comes something that I need to get off my chest. The other night, while writing this piece, I decided to float the discussion on River Ave Blues. You can see the thread HERE.To my surprise, the next day on River Ave Blues, a story appeared with my exact idea. You can look at it HERE. Now, I get it, it's the Internet; ideas are thrown around all the time, but I was both disappointed and sorry. I was disappointed that a website who is usually top notch with their posts would blatantly rejigger my idea into a piece for their audience. Of course, I am sorry that I didn't bring my idea to our Bleeding Yankee Blue readers first. It's true, there was no true violation here, but it's just disappointing and so, later that day, I commented back on RAB:We decided we wouldn't wait until Winter. Lesson learned I guess. But let's be honest here; River Ave Blues now has a black eye in my opinion. This was a site that was once reputable. Suddenly it's taking ideas from a comment section and twisting it into their own idea. Wow...baffling. You really need to ask yourself... are they really all that?




--Jesse Schindler, BYB Staff Writer




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