Can Miguel Cabrera Live Up to the Contract?
We take back that bit on Robinson Cano winning the off-season. Somebody did a whole a lot better and his name is Miguel Cabrera. Mr. Triple Crown inked a 10-year, $292 million deal which will effectively keep him a Detroit Tiger for the rest of his career. The contract reverberated not just around baseball, but all of sports. Even LeBron James chimed in telling USA Today, “I wish we didn’t have a salary cap,” but added that, “He’s the best player in baseball, and the best players in each sport should be rewarded.” Rewarded the venezalano was. However, for the Tigers this is a must win year, anything short of a trip to the World Series will deem the season a bust, and if so, you can expect finger pointing to begin and monster contracts to be reevaluated. Just ask former Tiger Prince Fielder who was shipped off to Texas after the 2013 season.
Will Liriano Come Up Aces?
Last year the Pittsburgh Pirates had a Cinderella season of sorts. Posting a winning record and making it to post-season play for the first time in over 20 years. It was fun to watch baseball in Pittsburgh again. One of the guys responsible for that was Fransisco Liriano, the Dominican lefty went 16-8 for the Bucs and was a consistent presence in the rotation. However, things have changed a bit since 2013. Most notably, rotation ace A.J. Burnett departed for the for Phillies over the winter, Liriano inherited the Pirates’ ace role by default. There is concern and skepticism as to whether Liriano can deliver in this role because he’s rarely put together two consecutive seasons of ace production. However, if Opening Day is any indication, some of the concern may be quieted as Liriano pitched six shutout innings of ball helping the Pirates top the Cubs. We can only wait and see.