Everywhere, there were sounds of praise after it was announced that Melky Cabrera would no longer be eligible to win the 2012 National League batting title. The people stood and applauded louder when it became known that Cabrera himself asked Major League Baseball and the Players' Association to waive a rule that would have granted him one additional hit-less at-bat, and thus the batting title.

I stayed in my seat.

Certainly, the request by Cabrera came as a surprise to most fans. Most of us had resigned ourselves to the fact that a convicted cheater would take home the NL batting crown. After all, he had the advantage of being able to sit on his .346 average while the competition behind him, Andrew McCutchen (.338) and Buster Posey (.335) would need a huge surge in order to catch him. Instead, Cabrera and his agent requested that rule 10.22a be waived in this circumstance. And then everything could be flowers and rainbows again in the world of Major League Baseball.

But did you catch that one piece that makes me doubt Cabrera's contrition?

That's right, Cabrera made the request, with his agent through the Players' Association. Contrition aside, I smell a rat.

Let's look at the evidence of the past here, just for a minute. Cabrera was suspended for 50-games on August 15th after a positive test for synthetic testosterone. He initially appealed the suspension and tried to build a case for himself by having an associate set-up a fake website and supplement product that he could attribute his positive test to. When his plan started to fall through, he removed his appeal before anything went public and then announced he was accepting his punishment by admitting to making a poor decision.

So pardon me if I am a bit skeptical that everything is on the up and up here.

Here we have a player in Cabrera that has two strikes against him; one for testing positive for a banned substance and one for trying to circumvent the appeals process by fabricating evidence. He fouled off strike three by dropping his appeal and admitting to his crime, but he was still in the hole 0-2 without a clue on how to stay alive on the next pitch.

By forfeiting the batting title, Cabrera is trying to put the ball into play. Even if it makes an out, he's hoping it is enough that his actions during the case are not so damning that they impact his appeal as a free agent this winter.

That's right, I'm coming right out and saying that this maneuver is simply a marketing campaign. Melky wants to rebuild his image so that he is not left out in the cold this winter. Even though he has likely forfeited $50+ million in salary, Cabrera still needs to give teams a glimpse that they should take a flyer on him and hope he is a changed man. This move is nothing more than playing politics.

Now it just comes down to who drinks the milk and gives him what he wants. Someone is bound to do it, but buyer beware, this product is sour.

There is a lot of noise coming out of California in 2012, in both the National and American League West divisions. With the Athletics, Angels, Dodgers, and Giants firmly entrenched into the playoff races, it is easy to forget that there is another team in California, just a little South of all the action, both geographically and in the standings. That said, it is easy to forget about the Padres, with a record of 69-75, the playoff picture has blown away and dreamers can hope it will resurface in 2013.

But with forgotten teams, there are also forgotten players, and there is one Padre in particular that has enjoyed a 2012 season worth remembering; Chase Headley.

Headley has been on the cusp for a few seasons, but the dark forces of Petco Park have prevented him from putting together the batting line that he was truly capable of. That has all changed in 2012, as Headley came into his own in a big way.

At 28-years-old and entering his prime, Headley is in the midst of his best season to date, without question. He's hitting a solid .282 with 27 home runs, 102 RBI, 80 runs scored, and 14 stolen bases. He leads the National League in games played and RBI. The home run total is equal to his last three season...COMBINED.

Oh did I mention that he only has a single other teammate, Carlos Quentin, with more than 10 home runs, and that teammate has played in only 80 games? Did I also mention he plays his home games at Petco Park?

Both of those questions deserve some merit when considering how great of a season Headley is having.

The lack of line-up protection is more clearly represented in Headley's career-high 72 walks received. It's hard to put together as solid of a season when your team poses no true offensive threats. The return of Quentin and his presence is clearly seen in Headley's first and second half splits:

On December 8, 2009, Detroit Tigers fans were shocked to learn that the team's most likable player, Curtis  Granderson, had just been traded to the New York Yankees in a 7-player, 3-team deal that also involved the Arizona Diamondbacks. At the time, it looked like a deal of the rich getting richer, with the Yankees picking up the All-Star Granderson.

However, three seasons later, and this trade has been a somewhat win-win situation for every team involved.

Sure, the Yankees got a huge upgrade in center field, and Granderson has lived up to his billing in New York, nearly winning the MVP in 2011 and being among the league leaders in home runs each of the last few seasons. But this deal was about more than just Granderson and the Yankees.

The Arizona Diamondbacks picked up a couple of solid pieces in this trade as well, pulling in Edwin Jackson and Ian Kennedy in the trade. Jackson would last only 21 games in a Diamondbacks uniform before they in turn traded the vagabond to Chicago in exchange for Daniel Hudson and David Holmberg. At 20-years-old, Holmberg is still at Double-A, but has shown some promise. Meanwhile Hudson and Kennedy were instrumental in leading the D-Backs into the postseason in 2011, with Hudson winning 16 games in his first full season and Kennedy nearly taking home the Cy Young after going 21-4 with a 2.88 ERA, 198 strike-outs, and a WAR of 4.7. 2012 has been a bit of a regression for both, with Hudson having Tommy John Surgery in July and Kennedy still contributing 12 wins despite an ERA of 4.39. Clearly the D-Backs did pretty well in this trade.

However, the true winners of this deal were the Detroit Tigers.

The Tigers received a bevy of players in this deal, pulling in Daniel Schlereth, Phil Coke, Austin Jackson, and Max Scherzer. And while Schlereth and Coke have become important pieces for the Tigers in their bullpen, the true rewards in the deal have been Jackson and Scherzer.

After finishing 2nd in the Rookie of the Year voting in 2010, Austin Jackson suffered a disappointing sophomore campaign that saw regression nearly across the board. However, whatever he suffered through in 2011 made him a much better player in 2012. He's has established or is on pace to surpass career highs in almost all offensive categories, including home runs, RBI, Triples, OPS, WAR, and Runs Scored. He's also been locked in close combat with Mike Trout for honors of being the best defensive center fielder in baseball in 2012.

But wait, Jackson wasn't even the complete prize of the trade. That honor goes to Max Scherzer.

The hard throwing right hander has become a complete horse of a pitcher over the last three seasons, perfectly complimenting his teammate Justin Verlander at the top of the Tiger rotation. After winning 15 games in 2011, Scherzer has already tied that mark in 2012, but in the process, has dropped his ERA nearly 60 points to 3.85 and an American League leading 213 strike-outs over 170.2 innings pitched. That is an oustanding 11.2 K/9 rate!

Now, Scherzer is an all-or-nothing type of pitcher and can be inconsistent at times. That will prevent him from evolving to the plateau of Verlander. However, his growth in the last few seasons shows that he is capable of being a number two or three starter in this league and be a stopper when his team really needs him to be. At 28-years-old, Scherzer is right where the Tigers want him in terms of development and he has the benefit of not having logged a single season with more than 200 innings pitched, meaning that he isn't in a position to break down any time soon.

All this points to the Tigers continuing to get a big bang from their buck.

  Just a few months after Indians closer bashed Clevelanders for not coming out and filling Progressive Field, he has fired off his mouth again...This time at the Indians owner, Larry Dolan, and the front office...

Yeah dummy...That's why Cleveland fans don't fill that stadium...Like we tried to tell you Perez, your bosses suck! Many of us have no intention of putting another dime in their pockets, until they show us that they actually want to put a winning product out on the field...

When asked what the difference is between the Indians and the Detroit Tigers, Perez responded by saying, “Different owners, it comes down to that. They (the Tigers) are spending money. He (Mike Ilitch) wants to win. Even when the economy was down (in Detroit), he spent money. He’s got a team to show for it. You get what you pay for in baseball. Sometimes you don’t, but most of the time you do.”

Perez didn't stop there...When the topic of Twins outfielder Josh Willingham was brought up, he had more to say...Willingham had been a free agent coming into this year, and was looking for a 3 year deal...The Tribe only offered two...Right now Willingham has 33 HR's and 98 RBI...

Perez's view....“Josh Willingham would look great in this lineup. They didn’t want to pony up for that last year. That’s the decision they make, and this is the bed we’re laying in.”

Perez continued to discuss the moves made instead of getting Willigham, and made sure to not put all the blame on Dolan...“You can’t miss. You have to be right. That’s why I say it’s not just ownership. They don’t make the trades. It’s the GM's. It goes hand in hand. The GM's can only spend the money the owners give them, but they pick who they spend it on or who they don’t. They pick. The owners don’t pick.”

Honest to God, this is the first time Perez has ever spoken, and I actually agree with him...Too bad it took him so long to realize what we already knew...I'm guessing he won't be seeing an offer sheet from the Indians...I doubt he would sign it anyway.

Later, The Beeze.
 

The Major League Baseball waiver process is meant to be confidential. However, like everything else in the information age, nothing is truly confidential and naturally everyone knows about it.

All you need is a "major-league source".

So it was of little surprise that the entire state of Minnesota went into a panic when reports started to come out that golden boy Joe Mauer had been placed on, and later cleared, revocable waivers. Fans are worried that after clearing waivers, the often fiscally-minded Twins would now have the ability to trade the man making an average of $23.5 million over the course of the next six seasons. By clearing waivers, the Twins can now shop him to any team out there, rather than simply a single team who won a waiver claim.

But Minnesota fans can relax a bit. While the Twins are right to feel out the market and see what is out there in terms of offers, they are unlikely to find a similar deal to the one made between the Dodgers and Red Sox a week earlier. That is not to say that it isn't out of the realm of possibility, but there are several factors that would likely prevent any such deal from involving Mauer:

1.) While Mauer is a tremendous hitter,especially for a catcher, his power has never developed to the point where his contract makes sense. That is especially true when you consider that his current career path, despite his fielding abilities at the catcher position, are taking him out from behind the plate. His body just won't continue to hold up as a catcher and he is better served to play at first or designated hitter. That is where the lack of power hurts him.

2.) Mauer has spent his entire life in Minnesota, which is part of the reason the Twins chose to splurge when extending his contract. He is marketable there as the hometown kid done good. You take him out of Minnesota, and he's just another quiet leader, but not a star.

3.) Mauer has a full no-trade clause in his contract, meaning that he can veto any trade to any team. With a limited amount of teams who will be able to not only take on his contract, but also trade the pieces to entice the Twins to make the deal, it is even more prohibitive knowing that the player could not only veto your trade, but also stifle any chances of moving him in the future. Want a reason why this is a big issue, see item #2.

None of these items has stopped the media from openly speculating how the suddenly salary free Boston Red Sox could make a run at Mauer, and make him the new face of the franchise. While it is a test of Ben Cherington's resolve to not handcuff the team again, it is made easier by knowing that Mauer doesn't truly fit with Boston either.

Case in point, the Red Sox just traded a high-priced first baseman who was not contributing the power numbers expected of him in Fenway Park. When you slot another, similar player into the position, at roughly the same salary, it just does not make any further sense. Oh, and the Red Sox do not do full no-trade clauses.

Maybe the suddenly free spending Dodgers could make a run. But then again, Mauer's salary, on top of Crawford's and Gonzalez's, plus the inability to slot him into any other position other than catcher kills that thought. Oh, and did I mention they traded away a good portion of their farm system to Boston?

No, in all likelihood, Minnesota is just doing its due diligence and feeling out the market. The Twins are unlikely to pull the trigger on any deal involving Mauer for the time being. They may re-enter conversations during the winter, but even that seems like a long-shot.

Nope, Joe Mauer will likely be a Twin for a very long time. But at least he's a fuzzy pair of handcuffs.