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I like this nickname for Melky
Topic Started: May 26 2006, 01:05 AM (47 Views)
Mattingly23
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Cabrera can forget Boston blues

Has breakout game at scene of costly gaffe

BY ANTHONY McCARRON
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

BOSTON - Fenway Park was the symbol of Melky Cabrera's rough initiation into the majors last season. Last night, the 21-year-old erased his dismal memories of the Red Sox home with his finest game as a big leaguer.

Cabrera, batting leadoff in place of a resting Johnny Damon, went 2-for-4 with two two-run singles and a walk in the Yankess' 8-6 win. He also made a terrific running catch near the stands down the right-field line on a Mike Lowell drive in the seventh.

"I felt good it was against Boston," Cabrera said of his big night, his Spanish translated by teammate Miguel Cairo. "Doing it here is even better."

Cabrera extended his hitting streak to seven games and the four RBI are a career best. He entered last night's game with only one RBI in his first 18 games in the majors. In 13 games this season, Cabrera is hitting .325.

Cabrera was overmatched last season when the desperate Yankees called him up from the minors and put him into center field as Bernie Williams' replacement. He played four games against the Indians then was thrust into the cauldron of the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry.

The lingering snapshot was him chasing down a drive by Trot Nixon that he had misplayed into an inside-the-park home run in a 17-1 loss. He didn't play again, but the Yankees found in spring training that his psyche wasn't irreparably harmed and he worked back into being an option for them when injuries dinged their outfield.

"I remember that ball and it was a tough play," said Damon, who wore a Sox uniform that day. "He grew a lot from that. I heard he had a lot of tough plays last year, but you learn.

"He's done a great job. He doesn't seem overwhelmed by being here with these big-league stars. He's going to pay big dividends for us. On a night I get off, I want those guys to succeed. Joe (Torre) knows he can count on him. He's been a great find."

Torre admitted he was unsure about using Cabrera as the leadoff hitter, but he didn't want to shift the rest of the lineup around, so he did it.

"I didn't really know batting leadoff," Torre said. "He doesn't say a whole lot, so you really don't know emotionally what it's going to do to him, but he looked very, very comfortable there. And he certainly is playing at a level he's capable of playing at.

"We're going to have to figure out a way to get him to feel a little more comfortable in left field, because that's where he is eventually going to wind up."

Cabrera has been showing glimmers of good things recently, including a difficult ninth-inning walk against Billy Wagner in the Yankees' wild comeback victory over the Mets last Saturday. He's also more comfortable because he's spending most of his time with another young player, Robinson Cano. "They're like shadows of each other, always together," Alex Rodriguez said.

He has a new nickname, too - "Leche," the Spanish word for milk that is a play on his name. Cabrera smiled when Cano shouted it across the visiting clubhouse to him last night, finally comfortable at Fenway.

Originally published on May 25, 2006


http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball...3p-355323c.html
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KOCUR

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Mattingly23
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KOCUR
May 26 2006, 01:08 AM
Spam

No, replying with nothing is the spam. An article about a player is not spam.
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Mattingly23
May 26 2006, 01:25 AM
KOCUR
May 26 2006, 01:08 AM
Spam

No, replying with nothing is the spam. An article about a player is not spam.

Tis Spam...
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cmnyy
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I'm going with "The Melkster".



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