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2008 Another August pickup, Miguel Cairo made some starts at third base after injuries ended Rolen's season early yet again. He still can't hit 2007 The best evidence that a million dollars means less to the Yankees than it does to normal people. What differentiates Cairo from a hundred minor leaguers with his skill set is Yankee management`s peculiar ability to see value in him that isn`t there. He can`t hit, but, for what it`s worth, he did have a good baserunning year. The Yankees decided to wring a final drop of blood from the Cairo stone and brought him back for another season. 2006 It was not the Mets intention to give Cairo this much playing time, but the ever-accelerating disappointment of Kaz Matsui opened the door. That Cairo proved to be slightly more productive is not an endorsement of his season but a further indictment of Matsui`s. Not offered arbitration, Cairo signed on for his second stint with the Yankees in 2006. 2005 A year ago we wrote, "Any team that uses him as a regular isn't serious." The Yankees were even less serious than that, pretending Enrique Wilson was the starter before falling back on Cairo. That Cairo then went out and had a season lodged somewhere between his 75th and 90th percentile PECTOTA forecast was just pure, dumb luck. Expecting it to happen again would be like expecting to win the lottery twice. Cairo is a fine utility player, but that's all. Apparently the Yankees think so too, because they signed Tony Womack to play second. That doesn't make them any more serious than they were last year. 2003 Rarely was so much wishful thinking expended on such an odd, unworthy vessel. The Cardinals wish and sometimes pretend that Cairo is as good as Placido Polanco, but he isn’t. He doesn’t hit, and as he showed in the playoffs, he’s really only an emergency third baseman—if he plays anywhere other than second, he’s trouble. Why the Cardinals set up their postseason roster to carry Cairo and Wilson Delgado, and not anyone who could hit, is one of those little annoying areas where you wish that Jocketty would reign in LaRussa’s fascination with players about as good as LaRussa was. 2002 Cairo represents another type of player that Tony LaRussa likes. He can play second base very well, third base slightly less so, he puts the ball in play, and he can run a little. The Cardinals are collecting these guys like they're expecting a rule change that will force defenders to switch positions for each batter. Cairo has more name value than some of the others, so he might be moved or end up somewhere else in February. 2001 Never one of our favorites, Miguel Cairo wore out his welcome in Tampa Bay this year, taking criticism for the way he did the "little things." He was released at the end of the season. He's not good enough to be a regular, and he doesn't have a utility infielder's skills, so his career hangs by a thread. 2000 An undisciplined slap-hitter, Cairo is a novelty because he uses a split grip at the plate. His greatest assets are his speed and range, both of which were limited last year by hamstring injuries in both legs. Deceived by his batting average, the Devil Rays consider him a solution, not a problem. Rumors persist that he will be traded to the Angels. 1999 The Tampa Bay prototype: Small. Fast. Good glove. Hacker at the plate. He did exactly as well as should have been expected. It wasn't worth all that much, and won't get much better. 1998 The All-Star second baseman in the American Association, Cairo was the first Cub taken in the Expansion Draft, by Tampa Bay. He’s a good defender, fast, and showed some line drive sock at Iowa with 35 doubles. He’s projected as the Devil Rays’ starter. 1997 Although his defense wins rave reviews, Cairo’s bat is so weak that he’s in no better position to take hold of the second base position than any of the other Blue Jays’ options. For whatever reason, Cairo was named a top 10 prospect in the California League in ’94, which probably tells us more about how easy it is for Dodgers to make those lists than it does about Cairo’s talent.
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