Melky Follows A-Rod’s Plan
From Mike Morrissey -
When Melky Cabrera’s batting average was lean, he wasn’t. But Cabrera, one of the team’s hottest hitters entering yesterday, has added bulk to his batting average while subtracting from his weight.
Hitting coach Kevin Long said yesterday Cabrera has gotten himself into fighting shape since he began following Alex Rodriguez’s workout regimen. And in the last month, the 22-year-old outfielder had lifted his batting average nearly 40 points, from .242 on June 17 to .279 after last night’s 6-1 win over the Blue Jays.
Cabrera, listed at 200 pounds in the Yankees media guide, has probably lost at least 10 pounds.
“He’s worked hard to get his body where it needs to be,” Long said. “And when your body is in the best condition it can be in, it’s gonna help you.
“I point to that quite a bit.”
Rodriguez said Cabrera has been following parts of his routine for about two months.
“You give him a lot of credit,” A-Rod said. “He’s hungry, and he wants to keep getting better each and every day.”
With a 13-game hitting streak that coincided with the beginning of July, Cabrera was batting .393 for the month. He’s had multihit games six times this month, and three, three-hit contests in the previous nine games.
But Cabrera’s streak ended with an 0-for-3 night, as he was robbed of an extra-base hit in the seventh by left fielder Reed Johnson’s leaping catch on the run.
Gotta say…A-Rod is in awesome shape this year. Smart for Melky to get with the program. This could be a Pettitte/Clemens relationship in the making.
I’ve heard A-Rod refer to Melky as his “little buddy.” I don’t really see how a relationship with one of the best hitters in the game could possibly hurt him.
Sure would hate to see such a relationship disrupted by someone leaving the team. . .
rbj – do you know something we don’t? Is Melky getting traded?
Garcia – yeah, for Johann Santana and Torii Hunter. Also, I’m dating Jessica Alba.