I\u2019m not a \u201cGiants\u2019 Insider,\u201d but I feel pretty strongly that Melky Cabrera\u2019s suspension means we\u2019ve seen the last of him in a Giants\u2019 uniform. When the announcement was first made, it seemed that Giants fans rushed to their schedules to see how many games the team has left.<\/p>\n
It doesn\u2019t matter, folks. Cabrera is done.<\/p>\n
Two things can happen the rest of the season. One is that the Giants pull together, hold off LA and Arizona for the Western Division title, and go deep into the playoffs. In which case, they don\u2019t need Melky Cabrera anymore.<\/p>\n
The other thing that could happen is that they miss the playoffs this season. While one of the things that makes baseball great is that one player is rarely the difference between a team achieving the post-season or not, if the Giants fail this season, the blame will like squarely at the feet of Melky Cabrera. Gone will be thoughts of the 117 games he played for San Francisco this season, or the 61 wins. This season will be all about the PED\u2019s, and Cabrera\u2019s willingness (or perhaps eagerness) to roll the dice and see how far he could get.<\/p>\n
If that scenario comes true, I don\u2019t see the Giants bringing Cabrera back next year. Even though his salary demands will be extremely low, there would be too much emotional baggage to have him around.<\/p>\n
No, it\u2019s \u201ccircle the wagons\u201d time at AT&T Park, and Cabrera is definitely outside the circle. He\u2019s on his own, to try to get someone to give him a contract next year. That team will not be the San Francisco Giants.<\/p>\n
OTHER NOTES ON CABRERA:<\/p>\n
1)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 If Cabrera had accepted his suspension when he was told about the test, which, according to CSN Bay Area\u2019s Andy Baggerly was near the All-Star break, The Giants would have had three weeks to work a trade to replace his bat. There has been some speculation that the Hunter Pence signing was a more urgent matter because the Giants had gotten wind of Cabrera\u2019s possible suspension. That can\u2019t be true. The Giants have needed another bat for two years now, and Pence was supposed to replace Blanco in the lineup, not Cabrera.<\/p>\n
2)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Another benefit to Cabrera not appealing the suspension would have been that he would have come back with almost a month to play, which might have been a more appealing option to the Giants than activating him during the playoffs.<\/p>\n
3)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0For anyone who looks at sportswriters and thinks \u201cwow, those guys get paid to go to games!,\u201d consider Baggerly\u2019s role in this saga. On June 27th<\/sup>, Baggerly had been hearing on various social networking sites that Cabrera had failed a drug test and was looking at a suspension. Before writing anything about the rumors, Baggerly went to Cabrera, telling him what he was hearing and asking for a comment. Cabrera got upset, proclaiming his innocence and indicating that he didn\u2019t know anything about anything. Baggerly felt that by even talking Cabrera about the story he had linked the player to PED\u2019s, and he apologized in his column for mentioning it to Cabrera. Three weeks later, it turns out that the rumors were really leaks, not rumors, and Baggerly had the story right all along. Trouble is, he never ran with it. Talk about a no-win situation!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I\u2019m not a \u201cGiants\u2019 Insider,\u201d but I feel pretty strongly that Melky Cabrera\u2019s suspension means we\u2019ve seen the last of him in a Giants\u2019 uniform. When the announcement was first made, it seemed that Giants fans rushed to their schedules … Continue reading