Saturday, June 09, 2007

The Ultimate Utility Man

First base, second base, short stop, outfield, maybe catcher, no problem. Miguel Cairo is the prototypical veteran do everything player. Filling in at first base for the injured Doug Mientkiewicz, with a glove still new and shiny, played like a 10-year Gold Glover at first. Without any practice at first, Cairo put Josh Phelps and Jason Giambi to shame with the way they play the field.

Cairo is not A-Rod with the bat, but he can handle the stick, execute hit and runs, bunt, run the bases well, and get the clutch hit. Cairo has already scooped more throws to first out of the dirt than Giambi did the last year. The first base problem is solved, for now. Remember, Cairo is a utility player for a reason, just like Endy Chavez across town. They are stop gaps, not permanent solutions. Cairo may be a long term stop gap with Mientkiewicz on the shelf for six weeks, but if the rest of the lineup picks up the slack, I can see a nice lefty-righty platoon at first with Cairo and Mientkiewicz heading down the stretch.

For now, I'll take Cairo, and so will the rest of the infield and their fielding percentages.

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