When the Nationals signed ex-Oriole Daniel Cabrera as a free agent last fall — the 6-9 righty selected the Nats over the Pirates, who actually offered more money — there were a couple of dynamics at work: Cabrera had pitched in winter ball for manager Manny Acta with acceptable results, and at just 27 years of age, perhaps the change of scenery (and pitching coach Randy St. Claire) would turn Cabrera into the dominant starter Baltimore projected him to be when they signed him in 1999.
Cabrera’s loyalty to Acta — and vice-versa — was commendable, but it’s pretty apparent the results are anything but. Cabrera is winless, in and of itself not that big a deal, but he’s allowed a league-leading 28 walks in just 34.1 innings of work. Add those to the hits he’s allowed and the batters he’s hit, and you’ve got a total of 70 base runners. Oh, and he’s thrown eight wild pitches.
Cabrera didn’t start playing baseball until his late teens. He’d played basketball and soccer as a youngster, but when he picked up a ball and threw it hard, someone took notice, and before too long, he had scouts at his door. They saw pretty much what we’ve been seeing since he broke in with the Orioles in 2004: a very tall, well put together, right-handed thrower — not a pitcher — who can touch the upper 90’s on the radar gun, but frequently has little idea where the ball is going.
The Orioles were so enamored of Cabrera’s velocity, he became part of their big league rotation after only 5 starts and 27 innings at AA Bowie in ’04. He racked up 35 Ks and only 12 walks with the BaySox, and was deemed major-league ready.
He wasn’t, despite 12 big league wins and a 5.00 ERA that year, and by the looks of it, still isn’t. He’s the weakest link in Washington’s starting rotation, though to be fair, left-hander Scott Olsen hasn’t been very good either — but there’s that whole left-handed thing.
Loyalty only goes so far. Whether they opt to stretch out Kip Wells, a starter for the bulk of his major league career, or bring a starter up from AAA Syracuse — Craig Stammen is 4-1, 1.85 ERA, with only seven walks in six starts — it’s time to pull the plug on D-Cab.
Loyalty is a wonderful thing, but really, enough is enough.
Phil Wood is a contributor to Nats Xtra on MASN. Contact him at philwood@
washingtonexaminer.com.
