A Public Apology to Everth Cabrera

A couple months ago I wrote something about Everth Cabrera and his debacle with steroids and being named and blah blah blah. Some people got pretty upset with me. They thought I was saying Everth did in fact take steroids. It was an unfortunate series of events because that was the opposite of what that post was intended to do. It was more to examine what I feel is the ridiculous lie that comes with players and steroids, to expose what they may actually do, and I used Everth Cabrera as the launching point for that. Now, I am not apologizing for that post. I still believe it and stand by it. I would however like to apologize for a something I wrote in a reply to a comment someone left in regards to that steroid post.

In that reply I basically explained that I was willing to give up on Everth. I was ready to let him walk away from the Padres. You see, I’ve never trusted Everth; he’s had a lot of trouble staying healthy and staying in the big leagues. He has had a lot of issues putting the ball in play and getting on base. However, last season Everth did shine in one category – steals. His speed and aggressiveness on the base paths progressed in a way that I don’t think anyone saw coming; and only because people had been waiting for it for so long we all just forgot it could happen. He lead the National League in steals last season, and with the shortstop position pretty much secured in 2013, most talking heads didn’t see a downslide coming. I, however, especially with distraction of steroid implications, thought a downslide was on it’s way. Given his track record, Everth seemed like a fantastic Triple-A player who might never be able to repeat that success in the Majors. I always wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, but he never gave that many reasons to fully extend that benefit. Last season when he put on a running clinic I saw some of that potential peek through, but was it enough for me to say the Padres should stick with him fulltime in 2013? I wasn’t sure.

SO I APOLOGIZE.

Standing Tall (Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports)

So far Everth has been a lighting rod on this squad. Not only did he match his homerun total from last year, he’s stealing bases and he’s hitting a little better than normal. Although, I never think he’ll be someone who hits over .260 for an entire season, I will trade that for his improved ability to get on base and timely knocks: and that’s what we’re getting so far this season. I know it’s early and I know we have a small sample size to base all of these things on. But, his progression from last season has seemed to continue upwards and expand into other parts of his game, which is what fans and the team have been hoping for over the past four seasons. If this continues and can hold steady we’re going to have one of the better shortstops in the National League. Of course I may be jinxing the whole damn thing by writing this, but I feel it’s my duty. Sportswriter, bloggers, and TV analysts are not infallible, nor should we ever act like it. Especially bloggers. We’re just fans who love the sport or team so much so that our only course of action was to try and spend our time lending a voice to the sometimes voiceless. Yes, it’s self-aggrandizing and yes it feels good to think that way. We’re wrong all the time, and whether that stems from just being negligent, lazy, or fighting to get readers by ridiculous means, it still happens. Do I like admitting when I’m wrong? Not at all. Just ask my wife. However, just as it’s our job to try and give you something interesting to read and think about, it’s our job to call attention to our mistakes as well. And, perhaps bloggers are the only ones who really do that at all. Can’t imagine a scenario where Jason Whitlock would ever admit his mistakes.

I sincerely hope Everth can keep this progression up, and continue to prove me wrong. I’m learning to celebrate when our team does well, just as much as I bitch when they do poorly.

For more Padres stuff and other things you might not care about follow me on Twitter @dallas_mc