Seven Reasons Why The Giants Should Sign Melky Cabrera And Three Why They Probably Won’t By Bill Morgan The Big Question: Should the Giants invite Melky Cabrera back to play in the postseason this year and/or should they sign him to play in 2013? The pluses for such a move are several: 1. Without him, the Giants have run away with their division against a good Dodger team that pulled off the trade of the year. Now, imagine Pagan, Scutero, The Panda, MVP candidate Posey, Pence, & company plus Melky? That’s offense! 2. His stats were very, very good. He has a good chance to be the NL batting champ; out of 113 games played, he had 52 multi-hit games; he runs and fields very well. 3. Melky’s former hitting coach, one D. Mattingly, asked if he was surprised at Cabrera’s breakout year, responded, "Not at all… I thought he was going to get better. I saw what he did in Kansas City. It wasn’t off the charts or anything.” So what if he’s only a 200-hit, .305 guy like he was at KC last year? I’ll take that in a minute! 4. The Giants took Guillermo Mota back after his second offense. This is Melky’s first, and his value to the team as a day-to-day player would be much greater than Mota’s. 5. He did a dumb, selfish thing, but he paid for it by losing his livelihood for 50 games. Under the rules, he’s eligible to play now like anyone else. He’ll be under a magnifying glass and probably wouldn’t even think about taking anything – cough medicine included - again. 6. The fans love him and would take him back with open arms. 7. The Giants could sign an All-Star MVP, a possible batting champ, for peanuts on the dollar. This fact alone should convince Sabean, Baer, and the money boys. But it probably won’t. For one, the Giants are sensitive to the charge that they are at the center of the ongoing Juice scandal. Five of their players have been busted. Only Seattle has had more. Victor Conte had a disturbingly close relationship with the team. Any hint that they are “soft on steroids” would reflect badly. Sabean has been known for his gut reactions. Remember his comments after the Posey - Cousins collision? Scribes close to the team have reported that Sabean is furious with Cabrera for betraying the team and its chances to make the postseason. Mike Krukow, one of the Giants’ broadcasters, remarked, “He never addressed the team, and it pissed them off.” So, taking Melky back might compromise the team’s chemistry, which is one of the Giants’ biggest assets. The worst, though, is the comic-book episode that took place after the failed drug tests. “See, this company lied online about the testosterone level in its product and Melky was taken in…” Yeah, sure. It was a cheap trick and severely undercuts his apology and confession. But forgive him, I say. It wouldn’t be easy for him to come back, nor should it be. He would need to openly and honestly address his teammates and ask their forgiveness. He would need to convince Sabean and all the front-office skeptics that he’s truly contrite. Will that happen? Probably not. But he would sure look good back in that #3 hole.