18 Days, 18 Players: Melky Cabrera

Everyday until spring training begins the "Respect Jeter's Gangster" blog will review one player from the Yankees roster. We will review a total of 25 players, the 25 we believe will be on the active roster after spring training. Our reviews are all edited by Carl Pavano himself to insure they're up to the stringent "Pavano Tough" standards.

Melky Cabrera was largely given up on last season after batting .242 and being sapped of all power beyond dribbling singles. The result was an August demotion to Triple A, necessitated by the fact that he hit .115 in 26 August at bats, mustering a mere 3 hits, all of which were in one game, and all of which were singles. It seemed odd that Melky's season would come to that given that he hit .299 in April with 5 homeruns, and a .370 OBP. He hit just one homerun in each month after except for August where he hit none. If he had kept up his homerun pace, he would have had 30 by the end of the season. That's to give you an idea of how terrible his season turned. However, after his demotion, he was a September call up and despite receiving little recognition, he batted .462 in limited play. All his hits were singles.

Melky was on the trading block, and it seemed at some points almost certain that Melky would be traded for Mike Cameron. However, he began performing in the winter leagues, and given that Cashman did not want to add Cameron's $10 million to the budget, Melky's future seemed a little more secure. It is largely expected that Melky and Gardner will be competing for the starting center field spot.

My Fearless Prediction:

Melky will platoon in center with Gardner and eventually win the starting role. He will hit .280 with a little more pop, but will eventually be relegated to 4th outfield duties when Austin Jackson comes a-knocking.

Little Known Melky Fact:

Melky Cabrera claims that an evil enchantress stole his playing abilities last season. The evil enchantress was of course Madonna.