Did Angels miss out on Miggy?
September 4th, 2008, 8:18 am · Post a Comment · posted by BILL PLUNKETT, OCREGISTER.COM
Ten months ago, the Angels were the frontrunners to land Miguel Cabrera from the Florida Marlins, giving them the kind of slugger they long hoped dreamed of pairing with Vladimir Guerrero in the middle of their lineup.
But the Detroit Tigers stepped in and swung the blockbuster deal of the winter, getting both Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis from the Marlins in exchange for a package of six prospects. The Angels — it seemed at the time — had lost out.
But did they really?
The season has been an expensive bust for the Tigers who head into Thursday’s series finale against the Angels with a 67-72 record and never really made a serious push for playoff contention.
The Angels, on the other hand, have been one of the best teams in baseball all season — even before they added the slugger they coveted, Mark Teixeira, at the mid-season trade deadline. And they got him (albeit as a rental) for a lot less than they would have given up for Cabrera last December.
Remember — had the Angels landed Cabrera in December, they would have had to give up:
* 2B Howie Kendrick (a .308 hitter when he hasn’t been nursing a hamstring injury this season) and
* C Jeff Mathis (Angels are 85-47 when he starts the past two seasons) and
* All-Star pitcher Ervin Santana (14-5, 3.31 and possibly the Angels’ Game 2 starter when the playoffs begin) and
* at least one of their top two prospects — either RHP Nick Adenhart or IF Brandon Wood.
On top of that, the Tigers gave Cabrera an eight-year, $153 million contract extension.
Cabrera has been good this year (.291, 31 home runs, 110 RBIs). But Tiger fans got on him for his defensive indifference and a slow start offensively (when the team was stumbling out of the gates) and wonder if his numbers are hollow now, padded with the Tigers out of contention.
So the question for you is:
