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His quick, surprising emergence has Tribe thinking of next year
By Sheldon Ocker
Beacon Journal sportswriter
Published on Friday, Sep 14, 2007
CLEVELAND: Expecting the unexpected is a normal part of a general manager's thinking process.
That's why Indians General Manager Mark Shapiro stressed the importance of depth in the offseason and in spring training. In the midst of camp, Shapiro thought that he had acquired viable players to protect the team at every position except shortstop.
Little did he know that aminor-league shortstop would be one of the players who has triggered the Tribe's late-season surge. Asdrubal Cabrera was considered in March as nothing more than a promising infielder, a 21-year-old who would begin the season atDouble-A Akron and eventually be promoted to Triple-A Buffalo.
''We always expected that he would get here in September in a utility role,'' Shapiro said Friday. ''But our needs changed that.''
Cabrera arrived in the big leagues sooner than expected, and about a week later, he became a fixture in the lineup. It took only a few games for Cabrera to gain a foothold at second base, which sent struggling Josh Barfield to the bench for good.
Despite Cabrera's age and inexperience, the youngster didn't miss a beat in making the transition fromTriple-A to the majors.
In addition to his physical ability, Cabrera has demonstrated ''good instincts and leadership,'' Shapiro said. ''He has a great approach to the game and an ability to take charge of the infield,'' Shapiro said.
Seldom does a day go by that Cabrera doesn't do something to help the team, either at the plate or at second.
Shapiro doesn't claim that he and his staff were prescient enough to know Cabrera would become such an important asset so quickly. And Shapiro probably didn't know there were serious recriminations from certain Seattle Mariners front-office operatives, who did not want to trade Cabrera for Eddie Perez late last season.
Despite Cabrera's dynamic entrance for the Tribe, Shapiro isn't ready to anoint him the next Omar Vizquel or Roberto Alomar.
He doesn't want to talk about next year, either. But one issue Shapiro will face is whether Cabrera should remain at second or move to shortstop, his natural position.
''We've considered the future,'' Shapiro said. ''But let these guys stay focused on the present.''
Sheldon Ocker can be reached at socker@thebeaconjournal.com.
CLEVELAND: Expecting the unexpected is a normal part of a general manager's thinking process.
Get the full article here.
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