March 12, 2008
Enough!
Peter Schmuck gives up on Daniel Cabrera:
I admit it. I was mesmerized by the 6-foot-9 frame and the looming presence on the mound. Every time I looked at Cabrera, I saw a Randy Johnson in the rough. Every time I heard somebody say he would never amount to anything more than a fourth-class starter on a fourth-place team, I chuckled arrogantly to myself and waited for the moment when I could say, "I told you so."
Then I went to Jupiter, Fla., on Tuesday and watched him trip over his own feet -- both literally and figuratively -- on the way to an on-field and off-field performance that pretty much convinced me that he doesn't get it and probably never will.
Now, I feel like I've been seduced and abandoned.
The guy would be lights out if the light ever went on, but how much longer can the Orioles wait for that to happen?
In his major league career, Cabrera walked 388 batters in 661 1/3 innings. That's not a small sample. Why should we expect him to develop control now?
Posted by David Pinto at
10:40 PM
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I think a issue here is that
a. guys like RJ and Nolan Ryan were wild. but they were at least relatively effective during their early stages. it's hard to really even call D-cab "relatively" effective.
b. those guys struck out well over 10 guys per 9. D-Cab's struck out 7ish and declining. and what's worse. when looking at guys like Cabrera you must taken into account that in those 9 innings he faced a lot more men then the average major league pitcher. so that 7 per 9 isn't really above league average. it's well BELOW it. striking out 7 guys when you face 35 is clearly not the same as striking out 7 guys when you fast 45-50 like in Cabrera's case. (i did a rough calculation and realize that last year he whiffed about as many as Chien-Ming Wang per runners allowed... that's just very very bad for a guy that's being looked at for his K potential)
I'm pretty sure the Orioles could wait another year for it to happen, actually. Just a hunch, but I don't think it's Daniel Cabrera that's holding the team back from contention.
Now, that doesn't mean that they should. But it just amused me the way he phrased that.
It also typically takes taller pitchers a bit longer to find comfortable and consistent mechanics. Randy Johnson didn't figure it out until he was 29 (I'm drawing s blank on other super tall pitchers at the moment).
Cabrera is very hardheaded though, most of time he's his on worst enemy on the mound. If the O's cut him or make him available in trade talks, I think teams would line up for a chance at him, the talent is that great.
I hate to say it, but maybe Cabrera would be better off with another club. Look at Chris Young of the Padres, even taller, and put up similar numbers to Cabrera his first two years with Texas. Those numbers changed for the better when Young went to the Padres, a club that values pitching. I don't want to knock the Orioles' pitching coach, but the Padres have gotten great results from pitchers who weren't in sync with their previous pitching coaches, or who were on the outs with their pitching coaches elsewhere, like Heath Bell.
Thats what I waiting for someone to mention. Seriously...Schmuck?
Good point by Mike A. on the fact that taller pitchers do sometimes take more time to settle in with their mechanics. And Cabrera is still only 26...now having said that...he is 40-49 with a 4.99 ERA after his first four seasons....RJ was roughly 49-48 after his first four with an ERA around 4...so not terribly off. But then again, some guys just don't have what it mentally takes to be successful at this level.
The best thing he has going for him is that the O's are awful and don't have anyone pushing him which is probably to his detriment. He seems pretty unfocused.
Come on, Peter Schmuck has been a baseball writer for over two decades now. Granted he's spent most of that time in Baltimore covering bad Orioles teams. But doesn't he deserve a little better than that.
I wish he were more statistically inclined, but he's not a bad writer.
Through 1991 Randy Johnson had walked 375 in 607 innings. I wouldn't give up on Cabrera. Agree with some of those who say a change in location might make a difference.