Post by Fish Troll on May 9, 2008 11:06:56 GMT -5
Another hip swing.
"Maybe we'll dance again someday."
He then slips back down into the chair in front of his locker, and it's 2008 again, not 2007. It's Detroit again, not South Florida. He's playing first base, not third base, and he's still hitting .258, not the .313 he averaged in five Marlins seasons.
And he misses us.
That's the news from Detroit. It's surprising news in a sense. Cabrera misses the near-empty stadium, misses the awful baseball market, misses the unbearable weather delays, misses the team hamstrung by payroll, misses the guys in the clubhouse, most obviously of all.
Did you know Cabrera and Hanley Ramirez together got tattoos of Greek crosses on their left forearms? Know he regularly had teammates to the Hallandale home he still owns? Know he never got lost driving to Dolphin Stadium, unlike he did twice the first homestand at Comerica Park?
"You know I got booed here?" he said. "That felt funny to me. First series here. I grounded out, and we were losing. I was struggling. That was the first time has booed me in my life, I think.
"I said to myself, 'They're going to forget they did this by the summer.'"
He leans back in the chair, the biggest contract on the last-place Tigers.
"It was frustrating, the way it started."
Don't take this wrong. Cabrera likes Detroit. Likes his Tigers teammates. Thinks they're going to be a good team. And, let's be honest, this is the normal feeling-out process between a player and his new city, especially when the team is losing.
But, since he's asked, yes, he misses the Marlins. And, since he's asked, he never wanted to leave. And, since he's asked, he still doesn't believe they had to part with him.
"They called when they traded me and said, 'We don't have the money to pay you,'" he said. "...That's the excuse they give. They have money.
"Maybe we'll dance again someday."
He then slips back down into the chair in front of his locker, and it's 2008 again, not 2007. It's Detroit again, not South Florida. He's playing first base, not third base, and he's still hitting .258, not the .313 he averaged in five Marlins seasons.
And he misses us.
That's the news from Detroit. It's surprising news in a sense. Cabrera misses the near-empty stadium, misses the awful baseball market, misses the unbearable weather delays, misses the team hamstrung by payroll, misses the guys in the clubhouse, most obviously of all.
Did you know Cabrera and Hanley Ramirez together got tattoos of Greek crosses on their left forearms? Know he regularly had teammates to the Hallandale home he still owns? Know he never got lost driving to Dolphin Stadium, unlike he did twice the first homestand at Comerica Park?
"You know I got booed here?" he said. "That felt funny to me. First series here. I grounded out, and we were losing. I was struggling. That was the first time has booed me in my life, I think.
"I said to myself, 'They're going to forget they did this by the summer.'"
He leans back in the chair, the biggest contract on the last-place Tigers.
"It was frustrating, the way it started."
Don't take this wrong. Cabrera likes Detroit. Likes his Tigers teammates. Thinks they're going to be a good team. And, let's be honest, this is the normal feeling-out process between a player and his new city, especially when the team is losing.
But, since he's asked, yes, he misses the Marlins. And, since he's asked, he never wanted to leave. And, since he's asked, he still doesn't believe they had to part with him.
"They called when they traded me and said, 'We don't have the money to pay you,'" he said. "...That's the excuse they give. They have money.
www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/sfl-flsphyde09sbmay09,0,483027.column?page=1
I like the last sentence.
Surprising though, I thought it was it was good news for him that he lost weight for a real dedicated team.
