The Mets already had buried the Giants on Friday and were shoveling more dirt on the pine box when a two-out bouncer in the fifth inning threatened to sneak through to left for a hit. But Mets shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera ranged far to his right, backhanded the ball, leaped, threw and got Matt Duffy at first.
It was a play managers love. And it supported a contention Terry Collins has held, despite the opinions of scouts he trusts.
“He’s a pro,” Collins said of Cabrera, who has given the Mets a potent, reliable, remade middle infield with second baseman Neil Walker. “This winter, when we were talking about him at the winter meetings, I talked to a couple scouts and they said he probably can’t play short any more.
“I believe scouts. I trust them, [but] I’ve got to tell you something: They’re wrong on this guy. This guy can really play shortstop,” Collins said. “And I think he’s gotten this opportunity because he likes to play shortstop to go out and show people that he still can. That play he made [Friday] night in the hole, no disrespect to the guys who have been here the last few years, we haven’t made that play. So he brings a lot to the table.”
Part of what the two-time American League All-Star brings is the .300 average he fashioned in April. And Cabrera is a switch hitter, another aspect of his game that causes tears of joy for managers.
“He’s dependable, that’s probably the best word,” Walker said of his new double-play pal. “You know when he steps to the plate, he’s going to give good at-bats, put good swings on balls. He understands situations. That’s the sign of a dependable player. And he’s a switch hitter, he uses the whole field and takes his walks when he has them.”
Plus he proves the scouts wrong virtually every time he takes the field. He showed it Friday — and for anybody to rave about one mid-game defensive play on a night when the offense exploded for 12 runs in one inning says something.
Cabrera has been a little low key through it all. Yoenis Cespedes gets the highlight reel homers. Michael Conforto steals headlines now batting third. Lucas Duda hits moon shots that travel across multiple zip codes. Walker hit as many homers in April as Met ever. Cabrera has fit in nicely. Dependably.
No bad for a guy not only on a new team, but in a new league.
“It’s the same game. It’s baseball. National League, American League. It’s baseball I just come here and try to do my thing. Do my work and help the team to win,” said Cabrera, who has been impressed with his new environs. “It’s only been a month but we have a really good team. We have good pitchers — great pitchers — good hitters. But it’s a long season and we have to keep doing what we’re doing and see what happens.”
Cabrera came to the pros in 2007, Walker in 2009. That experience has helped them bond. Cabrera missed some spring training with a knee injury but still he and Walker bonded quickly.
“He’s a great second baseman. He knows how to play the game right,” Cabrera said. “I feel really comfortable having him next to me at second base.”
Ditto Walker.
“The knock on him was that his range wasn’t as great as a lot of other shortstops, but I’ve been really impressive with the balls that he’s been able to get to,” said Walker, who claimed normally it takes two, three weeks to develop a feel with a new middle infield partner – but he did in “in a week” with Cabrera. “That has a lot to do with reading hitters, understanding situations anticipating. That’s been the one thing that has impressed me more than anything else.”