Yankees' patience pays off in Melky's case

Ken Davidoff

May 5, 2008

Do you remember Melky Cabrera's 2005 cup of coffee with the Yankees? Is the vision of his misplaying Trot Nixon's fly ball into an inside-the-park home run burned into your temporal lobes?

For the rest of that season, when Nixon batted at Fenway Park, the Red Sox's scoreboard staff often would include an informative tidbit that read something like, "Trot hit his first career inside-the-park HR on 7/15/05 against the Yankees." It was perfect for Red Sox Nation, a running rip of the Rivals even when they were nowhere near New England.

Nowadays, however, nobody puts Melky in a corner, or in a punch line. After his performance in yesterday's 8-2 victory over Seattle that gave the Yankees a three-game sweep at Yankee Stadium, the Yankees' youngest everyday player also happens to be their home run leader with six.

"That's not my style," Cabrera said, smiling, through the translation of Yankees official Ray Negron. "My style is hitting the ball hard and getting on base. But I'll go with it."

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What the Yankees are going with, most of all, is patience. Sometimes it brings pain to the hearts of Yankees fans, as it did with Ian Kennedy's first month of the season, which culminated in yesterday's demotion to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Yet on the other end, it can produce excitement like Cabrera's game, and his season. And the knowledge that had the Yankees given up the now-injured Phil Hughes for Johan Santana last December, they would've traded Cabrera, too - leaving a gaping hole not only in centerfield but in the lineup.

"He's just really grown, physically and mentally," Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long said. "He gets good pitches to work. He's got a short, compact, explosive swing. You very rarely see him waving at the ball. We're seeing big dividends."

Of course, this does not guarantee a similar happy ending for Kennedy. After last year's encouraging debut, the righthander really disappointed with his 0-2 record and 8.37 ERA in six appearances.

"I think it's all a part of the process," general manager Brian Cashman said before the game. "Some guys take longer than others."

When Cabrera went down to Triple-A Columbus after that brutal six-game sampling in 2005 - he had identical .211 on-base and slugging percentages - Clippers hitting coach Long was waiting.

"When he came back, he was a little down, a little taken aback," Long said. "His confidence was shaken up a bit, obviously. You come up here, and it's a big stage. Obviously, big crowds. A lot of people. You've got media. They're scrutinizing your every move.

"He handled it well. I think the next time he came up, he was ready."

The leap from even last year to now is impressive for Cabrera. Consider that last year, his .327 on-base percentage and .391 slugging percentage converted into an 89 OPS+, the measure that, incorporating ballpark factors, allows Cabrera to be compared to his fellow big-league ballplayers. A 100 OPS+ is average, so Melky was below average.

On the day off today, Cabrera can look at a .359 on-base percentage and .505 slugging percentage next to his name; he entered yesterday with a well-above-average 132 OPS+.

"I'm just working real hard," Cabrera said. "I haven't changed anything."

His two-run shot yesterday, to rightfield off Seattle starter Carlos Silva, increased the Yankees' lead from 3-2 to 5-2. It served as precisely the type of hit the Yankees haven't tallied too often this season. They haven't been able to put their opponents away.

Then his pal, the profoundly slumping Robinson Cano, to whom Cabrera has offered daily pep talks, added another homer, and Darrell Rasner had plenty of rope in his first start replacing Hughes.

Cabrera, 23, was the poster boy for patience on a day when the Yankees asked their fans for some more as Kennedy, also 23, went away for more education.

"Maybe that's a Phil Hughes thing, or an Ian Kennedy thing," Long said. "You're talking about some young kids. Sometimes you have to fail here, go back there and kind of start over."

And sometimes, like yesterday for Cabrera, you can look back at those rough times, and they seem like light years ago.