MIAMI -- Melky Cabrera could hit the jackpot today, and no, we're not talking about a contract extension. Not yet, anyway.
Cabrera leads the major leagues with 67 hits and he'll face Miami's Mark Buehrle today -- a pitcher he owns like no other. Cabrera is 17 for 27 (.630) in his career against the left-hander, his highest average against any pitcher with at least 20 plate appearances. What's more, Cabrera is hitting .442 against left-handers this season.
And he's coming off his sixth multiple-hit performance in eight games. He's on fire.
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SIGN UP HERE So ... what about that contract extension?
I asked Giants GM Brian Sabean about that today and he said "the stars would have to align" to sign Cabrera during the season. Among those stars: The permission of ownership, the blessing of baseball operations and the willingness of Cabrera's camp.
His price might have gone up this week, too, with Baltimore's Adam Jones nearing a signature on an extension that reportedly will guarantee him 85 million over six years. Jones trails Cabrera by one year of service time, too. In other words, he won't be a free agent after this season, like Cabrera will be.
Yet Sabean said he didn't think Jones' contract would apply because Cabrera's career has been more "chopped up" in terms of service time. And like the Giants simply couldn't afford to let Matt Cain hit free agency, the Orioles are trying to build something. Jones means more to them than he would to anyone else.
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So, how many of those stars are lined up for Cabrera?
Sabean told me the Giants have to factor in their future spending when they extend a player like Cabrera and make sure they won't be left short of dollars to meet needs they cannot forecast to fill from within the system. Those evaluations are ongoing.
Left unsaid: It's clear from his struggles at Double-A and his unorthodox setup that center fielder Gary Brown is not the can't-miss prospect everyone wanted to make him out to be. So perhaps extending center fielder Angel Pagan, also a free agent after the season, will rank higher on the priority scale than Cabrera.
Pagan's having a darn fine season too, in case you haven't noticed.
Now for the lineups. It's a day off for Brandon Crawford against a left-hander. And Buehrle works quickly. So does Madison Bumgarner. Maybe both teams can get out of here after a 4 p.m. local start and make it to Joe's before they run out of stone crab.
One more thing: The Florida writers tell me that if the Giants were throwing a right-hander today, they might have called up Scott Cousins to take Austin Kearns' place on the roster. Instead, it's Donovan Solano playing in his fifth major league game. He's far less of a distraction than the alternative would've been.
San Francisco Giants
RF Blanco
2B Theriot
LF Cabrera
C Posey
CF Pagan
1B Pill
3B Arias
SS Burriss
P Bumgarner
Miami Marlins
SS Reyes
2B Infante
3B Ramirez
RF Stanton
1B Morrison
LF Solano
CF Coghlan
C Buck
P Buehrle