DBAHO Posted June 22, 2007 Share Posted June 22, 2007 Interesting article here from the Palm Beach Post; CHICAGO — Ozzie Guillen was clowning around with Miguel Cabrera and Hanley Ramirez before Wednesday's game at U.S. Cellular Field when the animated White Sox manager spotted a familiar face. "Hey!'' Guillen shouted at Marlins President David Samson. "You can take anyone you want in my organization for those guys - from (owner) Jerry Reinsdorf all the way down to the parking lot guy.'' Ramirez, the 2006 National League Rookie of the Year, isn't going anywhere for at least two years. But listen to Guillen rave about Cabrera, and it's not hard to envision the two Venezuelans reuniting on the same team some day. "Miggy is going to be a Hall of Famer. There's no doubt,'' Guillen said. "He's that good. This kid is special. This kid is the franchise in any ballclub.'' Guillen was Florida's third-base coach when Cabrera made his Marlins debut on June 20, 2003, with a game-winning home run. Four years later, Guillen, 43, is managing the White Sox and Cabrera, 24, is the most talented slugger the Marlins have produced. Both remain close friends. They live near each other in Miami and talk on the phone several times a week during the season. "My wife and his wife are good friends,'' he said. "Miggy's like my own son.'' And like a good father, he hasn't been shy about getting in Cabrera's face when the situation warrants. Late Sunday night, after the Marlins arrived in Chicago for an interleague series, Cabrera visited Guillen's home and received a lecture about his weight gain. "I'm a little upset with him," Guillen said. "I said, 'You're still young. You're going to keep getting bigger.' He knows he's got a problem. We talked about it last winter.'' After Guillen gave him the same talk during the winter, a slimmed-down Cabrera arrived for spring training. But "I saw him again and (said), 'Oh, you been eating a lot of arepas,' '' Guillen said. "When you're young and you're good, you can get away with a lot of stuff. When you get older and you go down, they'll say you're fat. Right now, he's a little chubby. He likes to eat. But when you don't hit .340 with 40 homers they're going to call you fat boy from Venezuela. You better lose some weight.'' Cabrera doesn't need to go on a crash diet, Guillen said. But unless he watches what he eats and makes a better commitment to conditioning, "He's going to play in the Mexican League.'' "Miggy is not going to be a small kid. He never will. But I talked to him last week: 'Listen, you've got Hall of Fame numbers. You've got to take care of yourself. Yes, right now you can get away with this stuff, but later they're not going to put up with that. You have to take care of yourself because you have a chance to be one of the best players ever from our country.' '' Better than Andres Galarraga, the only Venezuelan to win a batting title? "Miggy is way better than Galarraga,'' Guillen said. "Galarraga spent 10 years in the minor leagues. He had a good career, but Miggy is a better player.'' Cabrera's numbers in four years are impressive - a .313 batting average, 120 home runs and 456 RBI. Only Albert Pujols has more RBI in the period since Cabrera's debut. "A lot of people talk about Pujols and those guys. You look at Cabrera's numbers, he's right with them,'' he said. "It's unfortunate that people don't recognize that and give him the credit he deserves.'' Cabrera is making $7.4 million after beating the Marlins in his first round of arbitration. He won't be eligible for free agency until after the 2009 season. But as he prepares for what should be his fourth All-Star Game - something no Marlins players has done - he seems destined for an eight-figure payday in 2008, which will be a strain on the Marlins' revenue streams. As often as they talk, Guillen said he and Cabrera have never discussed his future outside of the Marlins organization. "I said, 'Miggy, when you become a free agent, that's a big thing to taste.' Would he like to stay in Miami? Of course. He lives in Venezuela. He's got a house in Miami. He's got a great career down there,'' Guillen said. "Believe me, if Miggy was playing for any team in New York, he'd be the MVP the next day. They've got better marketing and better publicity. I think he's happy where he is. I hope (the Marlins) sign him.'' Guillen said he always emphasizes to Cabrera the importance of being a leader, reminding him of how veterans like Mike Lowell and Ivan Rodriguez helped him when he was a rookie on the Marlins' 2003 championship team. "I keep telling him, 'Make sure you help those kids. Make sure you take those kids under your wing. They will look up to you. You will have to be the man. The man on the field and off the field,'''' Guillen said. If Guillen still was in the Marlins organization, he said he wouldn't let Cabrera play winter ball in Venezuela. "It's too much of a risk,'' he said. "Miguel already paid his dues in Venezuela. He played every day down there. I think that was enough.'' For now, Guillen is content to continue cheering Cabrera - but only when the Marlins are not playing the White Sox. "This kid is special, believe me,'' he said. "The Marlins have a special player, even though he has to take care of himself.'' Now here's a scenario. Both A-Rod and Miggy are FA's in the off-season, who would you choose. And I'm assuming 75% or more would take Miggy here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted June 22, 2007 Share Posted June 22, 2007 QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Jun 22, 2007 -> 07:40 AM) Interesting article here from the Palm Beach Post; Now here's a scenario. Both A-Rod and Miggy are FA's in the off-season, who would you choose. And I'm assuming 75% or more would take Miggy here. From the article: Cabrera is making $7.4 million after beating the Marlins in his first round of arbitration. He won't be eligible for free agency until after the 2009 season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory Pratt Posted June 22, 2007 Share Posted June 22, 2007 He was speaking hypothetically. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rangercal Posted June 22, 2007 Share Posted June 22, 2007 I would take the fat kid from venezuala in a heart beat over arod. Is this guy serious? http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse/2007/06/19/...cabrera-is-fat/ talk about reaching for a story Ozzie Guillen Thinks Miguel Cabrera is Fat Posted Jun 19th 2007 12:35PM by Matt Watson Filed under: Chicago, Miami, White Sox, Marlins, AL Central, NL East, MLB Gossip The topic of Miguel Cabrera's weight has been a recurring one in South Florida, and now even the visiting teams have felt the need to comment. White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, a fellow Venezuelan who is a friend and mentor to Cabrera, recently spoke to Miami's local media about the slugger's increasing waistline: "I'm a little upset with him," said Guillen, the former Marlins third-base coach now in his fourth season managing the White Sox. "I said, 'You're still young. You're going to keep getting bigger.' He knows he's got a problem. We talked about it." ... "When you're young and you're good, you can get away with a lot of stuff," Guillen said. "When you're getting older and you go down, they say you're fat. Right now it's, 'Oh, he's a little chubby. He likes to eat.' When you're not hitting .340 with 40 home runs, they're going to call you a fat boy from Venezuela. You'd better lose some weight." Some friend, eh? I'm sure Guillen has Cabrera's best interests in mind, but hearing a buddy call you fat in the newspaper isn't too cool. Consider this: Cabrera is hitting .335 with 16 home runs and 52 RBI ... and we're talking about his calorie intake? The kid can flat-out rake, and people are concerned about how tight his jersey fits him? Yes, it's important for him to stay in shape, but don't forget that we're talking about a guy who's missed a total of 10 games over the previous three seasons combined. Just like when people were talking about this last month, I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt: he can play at whatever weight he wants until he shows me otherwise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Hurtin Posted June 22, 2007 Share Posted June 22, 2007 Chances of signing Miguel Cabrera as a free agent? No chance. He's going to get paid way more than the White Sox would ever pay a player. Someone's going to give him a Manny Ramiriez-like contract. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balta1701 Posted June 22, 2007 Share Posted June 22, 2007 WHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalapse Posted June 22, 2007 Share Posted June 22, 2007 8 years, $160M, $16M signing bonus + full no trade clause + large assignment bonus + AS/MVP/SS incentives Seems about right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hitlesswonder Posted June 22, 2007 Share Posted June 22, 2007 QUOTE(Kalapse @ Jun 22, 2007 -> 11:09 AM) 8 years, $160M, $16M signing bonus + full no trade clause + large assignment bonus + AS/MVP/SS incentives Seems about right. Yep. He's a future HOF (unless he eats himself out of the league) who will be a FA at a young age. He'll get the sort of deal ARod got when he left Seattle. And it won't be from the Sox. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sayitaintso Posted June 22, 2007 Share Posted June 22, 2007 (edited) Yeah, unless Jerry Reinsdorf or one of the other owners strike gold or discover that they have oil in their backyard and decide to put a lot of that money into the Sox, we won't be able to sign Cabrera. Edited June 22, 2007 by sayitaintso Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briguy27 Posted June 22, 2007 Share Posted June 22, 2007 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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